The role of district NGO networks in good governance and decntralisation

This bulletin is a compilation of four papers delivered at DENIVA workshops on 'Governance and Poverty for NGO District Networks' in Uganda in 2001. The papers are informative and contain illustrations. 1) 'The quest for good governance in Uganda: The role of NGO district networks' traces the history of decentralisation in Uganda, the concept of governance, and of the NGO district network. It is argued that there are a number of governance issues that this network should take up: voluntarism, poverty, literacy, civic education, gender, lobbying, income generation, agriculture, human rights and accountability. 2) 'Decentralisation and the question of gender' introduces gender analysis in relation to local governance institutions, provisions and practices, and suggests some strategies for NGOs to follow. 3) 'Decentralisation and Poverty Reduction: The role of NGO district networks' and 4) 'The Local Governments Act, 1997: Issues for NGOs' detail the legal provisions, opportunities and challenges for NGOs vis-Ó-vis local governance in Uganda.