ENGLISH FOR ADMINISTRATION UNDER

DECENTRALIZATION AT THE
SUB-COUNTY LEVEL

PETER MUGUME
Tel: 077-2685129
Email: pmugume@educ.mak.ac.ug
and
C.M. SSEBBUNGA
Tel: 256-41-540733
Email: deaneduc@mak.ac.ug

Postal Address: C/o Language Teaching Resource Centre

School of Education
Makerere University
P.O. Box 7062, Kampala

Final Research Report

October 2004
 National Policy Research (NPR)

Language and Decentralization Policies in Uganda

September 2003 – September 2004

Fully Funded by Network of Ugandan Researchers and Research Users

(NURRU)
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I am grateful to the Network of Uganda Researchers and

Research Users (NURRU) for giving us the opportunity to conduct this study,
training us and funding the study. I am also very grateful for the guidance and
advice given by the staff at the NURRU Secretariat and by the fellow researchers
during the national research progress review workshops. In addition to the above
people, I am grateful to Mr. Anthony Okech and Mr. Samuel Ssekiziyivu for the
research consultation, supervision and guidance given.

Secondly, I am also expressing our appreciation for the cooperation and support
given by the chiefs and chairpersons of Busiisi and Kakiri Sub-counties. They
granted us permission to conduct the study in their areas, helped with planning,
sample selection and mobilization of the respondents, and also provided free
venues for the research planning and data collection meetings. My gratitude also
goes to the LC III leaders and staff in the two sub-counties, who were selected as
respondents, for their cooperation throughout the study; as well as the research
assistants, who assisted us during the data collection and analysis process.

Last but not least, I am very grateful to the District Chairpersons and Assistant
Chief Administrative Officers of Hoima and Wakiso Districts for their support and
cooperation as informants during data collection. I am also grateful to the
Community Development Officer and District Inspector of Schools for Wakiso
and Hoima districts respectively, for their contributions as informants during the
study.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Project description page .......……………………………………………… i

Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………… ii
Table of contents……………………………………………………………. iii
List of tables…………………………………………………………………. v
List of acronyms…………………………………………………………….. vi
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………… viii
Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………. 1
Background………………………………………………………………….. 1
Problem statement………………………………………………………….. 6
Objectives……………………………………………………………………. 6
Research questions………………………………………………………… 7
Scope of the study…………………………………………………………. 7
Chapter Two: Review of Related Literature ………………………… 9
Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 9
Multilingualism and development ………………………………………… 9
English as Uganda’s official language………………… ………………… 10
Communicative competence in English………………………………….. 11
Leaders communication needs under decentralization ……………….. 14
Strategies for training adults ………………………….. ...............……… 23
Steps for developing training programmes for adults………………… 27
Conceptual framework…………………………………………………… 28
Chapter Three: Methodology………………………………………….. 30
Research design................................................................................. 30
Areas of study and population…………………………………………… 30
Sample for the study……………………………………………………… 30
Research instruments……………………………………………………. 31
Data collection procedure………………………………………………… 32
Data analysis………………………………………………………………. 33
Significance of the study………………………………………………….. 34
Chapter Four: Presentation, interpretation, and discussion of results 35
Introduction.......................................................…………………………… 35
Sample for the study…………………………………………………………. 35
Level of functional communicative competence in English of the
sub-county leaders and staff………………………………………………… 37
Training needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in the use of
English for administration purposes…………………………………………. 54
Ways of training the sub-county leaders and staff in the use of
English for administrating purposes………………………………………….. 59
English for administration under decentralization: content based
draft curriculum for sub-county leaders and staff………………………….. 64
Chapter Five: Discussion, conclusions and recommendations. 71
Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 71
Conclusions.............................................................................................. 71
Recommendations……………………………………………………………. 72
Suggestions for further research ………………………………………….. 73
References…………………………………………………………………… 75
Appendices…………………………………………………………………… 80
 List of Tables
Table 1: Sample for the study…………………………………………… 31
Table 2: Respondents knowledge of English skills and structures….. 41
Table 3: Respondents' ability to read and write functional texts:
data from the questionnaire…………………………. …… 46
Table 4: Respondents' ability to read and write selected
functional texts: data from interviews……………………. 47
Table 5: Ability to explain meanings of selected terms using
correct English ………………………………………………. 50
Table 6: Summary of the grammar errors made in written work…. 51
Table 7: Respondents’ areas of need for training ………………… 54
Table 8: Convenient ways of training raised by the respondents… 59
 LIST OF ACRONYMS
AAU : Action Aid Uganda
AIDS/HIV : Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/ Human
Immuno-deficiency Virus
CBLT : Content Based Language Teaching
CONFINTEA V : Fifth International Conference on Adult Education
ESIP : Education Strategic Investment Plan
FAL : Functional Adult Literacy
GoU : Government of Uganda
I@MAK.COM : Innovations at Makerere Committee (Project)
LCIII : Local Council Three (sub-county)
LCs : Local Councils
LCV : Local Council Five (district)
LGA : Local Government Act
MELLT : Makerere English Language in Literature Teaching
Journal
MGLSD : Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development
MISR : Makerere Institute of Social Research
MoES : Ministry of Education and Sports
MoFPED : Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic
Development
NAADS : National Agricultural Advisory Services
NCDC : National Curriculum Development Centre
NGOs : Non-Government Organizations
NGP : National Gender Policy
NHP : National Health Policy
NSGEU : National Strategy for Girls’ Education In Uganda
NYP : National Youth Policy
PEAP : Poverty Eradication Action Plan
PMA : Plan for Modernization of Agriculture
PRA : Participatory Rural Appraisal
RC : Resistance Council
REFLECT : Regenerated Freirian Literacy Through Empowering
Community Techniques.
UACE : Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education
UCE : Uganda Certificate of Education
UMI : Uganda Management Institute
UNESCO : United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization.
ABSTRACT
This study was an analytical survey on the competence of local leaders in the
use of English for administration under decentralization at the sub-county level,
the basic level of policy implementation and development planning in Uganda.
Focus was on three objectives. The study was meant to help:
i) Establish the level of communicative competence in English of the
sub-county leaders and staff.
ii) Analyze the training needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in the use
of English for administration purposes.
iii) Establish the convenient and effective ways of training the sub-county
leaders and staff in English for administration.
A detailed draft curriculum based on andragogic and content-based
methodology, and divided into modules focusing on the specific needs of the
respondents was developed for teaching local council leaders English for the
administration.

In terms of methodology, an analytical survey design based on participatory

approaches was used, with quantitative methods playing a supportive role. The
following instruments were used: interview schedules, focus group discussion
guides, questionnaires and a shortlist for analyzing sub –county records. A
participatory approach was adopted for planning, sample selection and data
collection purposes, with the stakeholders, who were the LCIII leaders and sub-
county staff playing a central role in the entire process.
The sample included the following:
1. Sub-county leaders; 13 from Busiisi and 16 from Kakiri sub-counties.
2. Sub-county staff; 7 form Busiisi and 14 from Kakiri sub-counties.
3. Informants, 3 from Hoima and 3 from Wakiso Districts.
4. There were also 4 informants included from the two sub-counties.

The data collection procedure was as follows: questionnaires were administered

first, followed by interviews and focus group discussions for the subjects, then
interviews for the informants and lastly, analysis of sub-county records. Analysis
of data was done concurrently with the data collection process and the
interpretation was done afterwards. The results revealed the following:

1. English being the official language of Uganda has an indispensable role to

play in administration in local governments. This is because of its role as
the official medium of communication in administration work.
2. The ability of the sub-county leaders to use English is rather weak while
that of the staff members is much better. The weak competence of the
LCIII leaders is largely due to little formal education and it makes them
helpless and incapacitated, thus frustrates the goals of decentralization.
3. The leaders and staff at the sub-county level fall in three categories of
need: the very weak primary school leavers, the average and secondary
school leavers; and the reasonably good graduates at degree, diploma
and certificate levels.
4. The training needs of the leaders and staff at the sub-county level vary
depending on their level of education and exposure to English in practical
life situations. These needs range from basic grammar and vocabulary,
use of the four language skills, cross-sectoral administrative register, and
official functional communication skills, both oral and written.
5. The sub-county leaders and staff can best be trained using andragogic,
interactive and participatory methods, suitable for adults, such as in
workshops and seminars. Other media such as the radio programmes ,
booklets for reading on individual basis and FAL should play supportive
roles.
6. A content-based draft curriculum divided into course modules based on
the needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in the use of English for
administration was developed. This needs further refinement.
On the basis of the above findings, conclusions were drawn, recommendations
made and suggestions for further studies put forward.
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
English is Uganda’s official language, the language of administration and the
leading lingua franca. As such, it is supposed to be used for all government and
other official transactions. This however appears to be largely theoretical
because of the low levels of functional literacy in the country.

Uganda is a poor developing country of 27.4 million people (GOU, 2002), using
over 50 local languages and dialects, most of which are not developed (Mukama,
1986; GoU, 1993). This complicated multilingual situation is accentuated by the
fact that Uganda has no national language and clearly defined language policy
(Ndoleriire, 1996; GoU, 1992; Nsibambi, 1998). The level of functional literacy is
also low (GoU, 1999) and very few people, as a result have a working knowledge
of English, the official language (Mukwaya, 1996). The level of awareness on
various development issues is also low and poverty is a widespread
phenomena, at household, institutional and national levels (GoU, 1999; PEAP,
2001; and Bibagambah, 2001).

Due to the undesirable facts above, the country faces problems arising from the
inability of the majority of the people to use English, the official language for
business transactions. The inability of majority of the population to use English
for functional communication definitely affects the flow of new ideas and
information vital for understanding and implementing government policies, as
well as decision making and supervision of staff by leaders, especially at the sub-
country level, which would help in poverty alleviation efforts. The information
communicated from the central government to the local governments through
English is indispensable for effective planning policy implementation and
supervision purposes, all of which would lead to development (GoU, 1997;
Nsibambi, 1998; and Kiyaga – Nsubuga, 2000). Under the decentralized system
of governance, the people are empowered to govern themselves, but without
competence in English, the official language, they are bound to remain powerless
and inefficient, ignorant of, and thus unable to understand and implement
government policies, plans and programmes vital for poverty alleviation and
development.

Obbo (2004) explains the essence of a policy:

“…a policy refers to a set of guidelines which determine and

underline the way individuals or groups of people think and
behave in a certain social , cultural , economic and political
environment. It is an agreed position or course of action to be
followed by a government, an organization, or a party of any kind. A
policy is therefore, a practical acknowledgement that the people or
objects for which it is made form a significant proportion of a
national population”

Obbo (2004) also explains the nature of a plan:

“A plan is a scheme that intends to translate a given policy into

action. A plan therefore, contains several programmes and projects
to be implemented in a given period of time”

As far as LCIII leaders are concerned they should be conversant with the PEAP,
which comprises all major government policies, plans and programmes geared
towards development and poverty alleviation. They should also be conversant
with the specific policies such as NHP, NGP, NYP, ESIP, PAM, NSGEU and
NALSIP.

At this juncture, it is important to note that the PEAP is Uganda’s approved

national planning framework. It provides the overall goals for government policy
and programmes. The PEAP can only succeed if the government framework of
security, sound economic and political institutions, good governance and the
delivery of services encourages and empowers stakeholders to take action in
making things better, hence implement it.

The PEAP is aimed at alleviating poverty, which is a reality in Ugandan societies

in both urban and rural areas. According to the abridged PEAP version (2002),
the poor people described poverty as: insecurity, lack of education, poor health,
isolation, powerlessness, toiling with little benefit, and lack of information.
They also described the causes of poverty as lack of asset ownership (land), no
or low education, poor health and large family sizes. Lack of information and little
or no education are the factors, which under score the relevance of English as
the official language in the poverty eradication challenges in Uganda.

The PEAP (2001), through its four pillars of: rapid and sustainable economic
growth and structural transformation, good governance and security, ability of the
poor to raise incomes, and enhanced quality of life for the poor; has come up
with fifteen cross cutting principles for poverty eradication:

i) AIDS care and prevention.

ii) Addressing geographical inequalities.
iii) Addressing income inequality.
iv) Addressing environment issues.
v) Creation of employment.
vi) Ensuring food security and proper nutrition.
vii) Defining roles for government and private sectors.
viii) Paying attention to inter-sectoral changes.
ix) Cost effectiveness in all areas of spending.
x) Awareness of gender issues.
xi) Subsidies and services for the poor.
xii) Empowerment of the people through democracy.
xiii) Promotion of development partnerships.
 xiv) Attention to the needs of disadvantaged groups.
xv) Monitoring poverty trends and sectoral performance.

LCIII leaders are supposed to play a major role in supervising the implementation
of all the above crosscutting principles in their sub-counties. As such they should
be conversant with the use of English in administration work. This will hopefully
enhance good governance, which is defined in PEAP (2001) as “ the efficient,
effective and accountable exercise of political, administrative and financial
authority”. The above facts underscore the need for this study, so as to find out
how affectively the sub-county leaders and staff can use English, their training
needs and the best ways of training them: as well as developing a curriculum for
training the leaders and staff.

It is important to note that the introduction of decentralized administration in

Uganda in 1992 was a result of the institutional crises of the 1970s that resulted
in the near total collapse and failure of the central government to perform its
functions (Lubanga et al, 1996; Nsibambi, 1998; Kiyaga-Nsubuga, 2000; MISR,
2000). As Onyach-Olaa (2004) reports, the decentralization trends started in
1992 with the decentralization pronouncements by President Museveni, followed
by the Local Government (RC) Statute of 1993, the promulgation of the
Constitution of 1995 and was crowned by the enactment of the LGA of 1997.

In the Ugandan context, decentralization embraces the devolution of powers,

roles and functions from the central government level to the local levels of
government (GoU, 1997; MISR, 2000; Nsibambi, 1998; and Kiyaga – Nsubuga,
2000; Onyach-Olaa, 2004). The overall aim is to empower the people so that
they can plan, take decisions, generate and control resources, and supervise the
implementation of all programmes and projects in their areas as well.
Onyach-Olaa (2004) lists six objectives of decentralization:

i) Transfer of real power to the people.

 ii) Ensuring all inclusive participation of the people in governance.
iii) Ensuring downward and upward accountability.
iv) Ensuring transparency.
v) Promoting good governance.
vi) Reducing poverty by making investment decisions and resource
allocations responsive to the local needs of the population.

However, the implementation of decentralized governance is facing teething

problems like lack of experienced staff, lack of competent LC leaders, corruption,
low levels of commitment and motivation and inadequate flow of information both
from central to local governments and within the local to the local governments
(Lubanga, et al, 1996; MISR, 2000; and Kiyaga – Nsubuga, 2000). This study
focused on flow of information in the context of using English, the official
language. The contention in this study was that unless English is learnt,
mastered and used effectively by the local leaders, their understanding and
implementation of government policies and development programmes including
poverty eradication will be difficult to realize. The local council leaders will
definitely find it difficult to understand and play their roles, use their powers and
fulfill their responsibilities as stated in the Local Government Act (GoU, 1997).
Put otherwise, knowledge of English can help empower the local leaders hence
improve their performance. The concept of empowerment as defined by Kiyaga-
Nsubuga (2004) refers to the process through which the people’s freedom of
choice and action is expanded to enable them have more control over resources
and decisions that affect them.

Statement of the Problem

Uganda is a multi-lingual developing country with widespread poverty, low levels
of functional literacy and without a national language and a clearly defined
language policy. As a result of the above undesirable situation, English, the
official language can be understood and used for functional communication in
administration, policy implementation and supervision only by the few well
educated people. Yet English, as the official language has a central role to play
in the implementation of decentralization and poverty eradication programmes
both at central and local government levels. The leaders at the sub-county level,
on which this study focused, are expected to draw development plans, engage in
decision making processes, supervise delivery of services by technical staff,
ensure accountability and transparency in the use of funds; all in line with
national policies and strategies. The problem investigated in this study was that
lack of the necessary competence in the use of English among the local council
leaders and staff at the sub-county level was affecting their ability to understand
and play their roles, use their powers and fulfill their responsibilities in line with
the national policies under decentralization.

Research Objectives
This study was meant to achieve three research objectives:

1. To establish the level to functional communicative competence in English

of the sub-county leaders and staff.
2. To assess the training needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in the
use of English for administration purposes.
3. To establish the convenient and effective ways of training the sub-county
leaders and staff in the knowledge and use of English for administration
work.

The findings were used to develop a detailed draft curriculum for training sub-
county leaders and staff in the use of English for administration.

Research Questions
There were three research questions based on the objectives above:

1. What is the level of functional communicative competence in English of the

sub-county leaders and staff?
2. What are the training needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in English for
administration purposes?
3. How can the sub-county leaders and staff be effectively and conveniently
trained in the knowledge and use of English for administration work?

Scope of the Study

In terms of geographical scope, the study was based at two research sites:

1. Busiisi Sub-county, Hoima District, Western Uganda; 202 kilometers from

Kampala.
2. Kakiri Sub-county, Wakiso District, Central Uganda; 28 kilometers from
Kampala.

These two research sites were selected purposely because of easy accessibility,
and the fact that the researchers understand the native languages of those areas
(Runyoro and Luganda).

Busiisi Sub-county is 61.81 square Kilometers in terms of size and with a

population of 14,059 people and a population density of 227 people per square
kilometer. The major economic activities are subsistence farming and small-
scale trade. The levels of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment are high
according to the Sub-county Development Plan, (2003-2006). The sub-county
has only three parishes; Kibingo, Kasingo and Kihukya and twenty three villages
(refer to the map in the appendices).

Kakiri Sub-county is 362 square kilometers in terms of size, six times bigger than
Busiisi, and with a population of 35,143 people and a population density of 97
people per square kilometer. The major economic activities are also subsistence
farming and small-scale trade. The levels of poverty, illiteracy and
unemployment are high according to the Sub-county Development Plan, (2003-
2006). The sub-county has ten parishes; Buwanuka, Kakiri, Kamuli, Kikandwa,
Lubbe, Luwunga, Magoogo, Nakyerongosa, Nampunge and Sentema; and a
total of fourty five villages (refer to the map in the appendices). Focus in this
study was on the sub-county leaders and staff. Because of a larger population
and area, Kakiri Sub-county has more leaders and staff than Busiisi sub-county,
hence a larger sample in this study.

In terms of content coverage, the focus of the study was on three basic areas:

1. The level of functional communicative competence of the sub-county leaders

and staff in the use of English for administration purposes.
2. The training needs of the local leaders and staff in the use of English for
administration purposes.
3. The convenient and effective ways of training the local council leaders and
staff in the use of English for administration purposes.

It was anticipated that the data generated on the above areas was to be used
(later on), for designing a viable intervention strategy in form of a curriculum, for
improving the knowledge and use of English for administration at the sub-county
levels of administration under decentralization. A detailed draft of this curriculum
has been developed; and is attached to chapter four.
 CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction
In this chapter, the review of related literature is presented in five sections: multi-
lingualism and development; English as Uganda's official language;
communicative competence in English; leaders’ communication needs under
decentralized governance; and strategies for training adults.

Multi-lingualism and Development

Uganda is a multi-lingual country with over 50 languages and dialects, almost all
of which are not developed and standardized to convey modern concepts and
ideas effectively (GoU, 1992; GoU, 1993; Mukama, 1986; Ssebbunga, 2001).
This complexity of this multi-lingual situation poses a big challenge not only to
education system but also to the realization of the national development
aspirations like good governance and poverty eradication (GoU, 1992;
Ssebbunga, 2001; Nsibambi, 2000).

Coombs (1985) explains:

Multi-lingaulism is not only an educational problem, it hobbles national

development efforts and inhibits the personal development and mobility of
individuals. Not least of all, it breeds political problems by fostering
misunderstandings and creating among different ethnic groups deep
schisms and conflicts that undermine national cohesiveness and unity
(p.256).

The situation in Uganda is not far from Coombs observation, as reported by GoU
(1992) in the White Paper on Education:
 Government fully agrees that the diversity of local languages in Uganda
makes it difficult to achieve rapid and democratized education, literacy for
all, and intellectualization of the people, as well as the attainment of the
much-needed national unity (p15).

All the above are related to the implementation of decentralization and a

prerequisite for development, both of which are hard to realize without a widely
used and understood official language with high functional utility, for case of
Uganda, English.

Uganda lacks not only a national language, but also a clearly defined language
policy (GoU, 1992; Nsibambi, 2000, Kasozi, 2000; Ssebbunga, 2001; Mukama,
1986; and Ndoleriire, 1996). This situation reflects a big omission in the
development planning process and has resulted in intra-national communication
bottlenecks and challenges in all aspects of national life including administration
and implementation of national policies and programmes. The nation has
continued to rely on English, a legacy of colonialism, as the official language.
Which is only understood by the educated few ( Ndoleriire, 1996).

English as Uganda's Official Language

English is Uganda's official language and also the most widely used language in
the world today (Ndoleriire, 1996; Quirk et al 1985). Ndoleriire (1996), notes that
Uganda is lucky to have inherited English from the colonial rulers, and must
ensure that this language is taught with the seriousness it deserves. It is only
then that Ugandans will be able to communicate among themselves with ease
and with the international community, and implement national policies, plans and
programmes effectively. Compared to other languages, English is a fully
developed language with high functional utility and worldwide usage.

English language has a very high functional utility in Uganda and many parts of
Africa and the world. It serves the following purposes as the official language in
Uganda and in many other parts of the world as well ( GoU, White Paper, 1992;
Ssebbunga, 2001):

i) it is the official medium of communication;

ii) it is the language of administration;
iii) it is the major medium of instruction at all levels;
iv) it is the language of law and legislation;
v) it is the language of the media/information dissemination;
vi) it is the language of science and technology; and
vii) it is the language for international communication and business
transactions.

Due to the above functions, English should play a central role in all walks of life in
Uganda in ideal circumstances, including administration in local governments,
hence the need for this study.

However, the literature reviewed shows that the state and use of English in
Uganda leaves a lot to be desired (Ssebbunga, 2001; Ndoleriire, 1996; Fisher,
2000; and Mukwaya, 1996). These sources of literature reveal that the standard
of English both in education and national life is not good and that few people
have a working or functional knowledge of the language. This scenario definitely
limits its use as the official language for the country.

Communicative Competence in English

For language users to communicate effectively, they must possess sufficient
mastery of the structures of a language and the skills of using those structures.
They should possess communicative competence, which refers to a person’s
internalized grammar of a language. According to Richards et al (1991),
competence means a person’s ability to create, use and understand sentences,
including those they have never heard before (p. 68). Performance on the other
hand refers to the actual output or application of the language structures using
the appropriate rules. Language competence is of three categories according to
Venkateswaran (1997): there is lexical competence, embracing the mastery of
and ability to use a wide range of words (vocabulary) correctly; then there is
grammatical competence, embracing the mastery of and ability to use a wide
range of phrase, clause and sentence patterns correctly; and strategic
competence embracing the ability to communicate effectively in a variety of
contexts and to cover up breaks in fluency in the communication process, that is
through use of gap and time filters.

Corson (1991) explains that the complexity of skills, attitudes and knowledge that
the term ‘communicative competence’ is associated with, can be broken into six
sub competences:

i) Linguistic competence or the ability to use and interpret the structural

elements of the language.
ii) Socio- linguistic competence or the ability to use and interpret
language with situational appropriateness.
iii) Discourse competence or the ability to perceive and achieve
coherence of separate utterances in meaningful communication
patterns.
iv) Social competence or empathy and ability to handle social situations.
v) Strategic competence or the ability to use verbal and non-verbal
strategies to compensate for gaps in language users’ knowledge of
codes.

It should be noted that language serves several functions in society, all of which
LC III leaders should be able to fulfill using English. These are listed by
Venkateswaran (1997) as follows:

i) Instrumental or using language to get things done.

ii) Regulatory or using language to control the behavior of others.
 iii) Interactional or using language to get along or share with other people.
iv) Personal or using language to express feelings and emotions.
v) Heuristic or using language to learn and discover new things.
vi) Imaginative or creative use of the language such as in literature.
vii) Representational or use of the language to communicate or share
information with others.

Leaders and staff at the sub-county level are supposed to possess

communicative competence in English language in general, and in English for
administration purposes as well. They should possess knowledge of adequate
vocabulary, both content and functional words, and the ability to use them. They
should also possess knowledge of adequate grammar (phrase, clause and
sentence patterns) and the ability to use them. They should also posses the skills
of using those structures in form of a speaking, reading, writing and listening
(Richards, et al 1991, Crystal 1987, Venkateswaran, 1997).

English for administration purposes falls in the area of English for Specific
Purposes (ESP). According to Hutchson and Waters (1989), English for specific
purposes embraces specialized language use in terms of register and specific
communication contexts. Cunningsworth (1984) observes that ESP relies on:

…”the use of a functional syllabus, whereby the functions of the

language in that context should be selected and sequenced
according to their relevance to the learners or the extent to which
they meet the learners’ needs (p.22).

The language needs of local council leaders can best be identified and analyzed
in the context of their roles and responsibilities as stated in the Local
Government Act (1997), MISR (2000) and Nsibambi (1998). These are explicitly
stated:
 1. Decision-making, basing on national policies in all sectors.
2. Planning and drawing development plans for all sectors.
3. Finance resource mobilization, budgeting, accounting and ensuring
accountability and transparency.
4. Monitoring and supervision, which involves overseeing implementation of
various projects, staff performance, accountability and delivery of services.
(MISR, 2000).

Therefore the local leaders should have the knowledge of not only basic
vocabulary and grammar but also subject specific registers cutting across all
sectors in their local governments and functional communication skills as well.
These were the issues investigated in this study.

Leaders Communication Needs Under Decentralization

The world over, decentralization is increasingly becoming one of the key
development strategies in the quest to deliver goods and services efficiently and
effectively to the citizenry (Olum, 2004). As defined by Kiyaga-Nsubuga (2004),
decentralization refers to transfer of powers over decision-making and
implementation to lower administrative levels for the purpose of improving
efficiency and effectiveness. As noted by Onyach-Olaa (2004) access to
information is indispensable for the success of decentralization because it is vital
for ensuring proper planning, supervision, accountability, transparency and good
performance in local governments.

Effective communication is an indispensable prerequisite for the success of all

human activities including administration. Briggs (1990) defines language as
basically a means of communication, and Bowers (1978) defines communication
as the flow of ideas and information in society, upwards, downwards, and
laterally. This flow of ideas is indispensable in decision-making, planning,
supervision, policy implementation and raising people awareness as well, which
are closely related to the roles and responsibilities of the leaders under
decentralization. Therefore, for the local government leaders to perform their
duties well, they should have a good working knowledge of English, thus be able
to communicate and access vital information at the local, national and
international levels. They should have both good competence and good
performance in English. The concepts of competence and performance embrace
a person “functional" or “working knowledge of a language” and the “ability to
understand and use its structures and skills well” (Richards et al, 1991; Crystal,
1987).

The communication needs of the local government leaders arise from their
powers, roles and responsibilities, which are enshrined in the Constitution of the
Republic of Uganda, (1995) and the Local Government Act, (1997). According to
the above constitution, "all power belongs to the people, who shall exercise it in
accordance with the constitution"(p.1). But this constitution is written in English
using technical legal language, which the less educated people and leaders it is
supposed to empower may not understand. The above constitution further states
that:

"Decentralization shall be the principle applying to all levels of local

government…. to ensure the people's participation and democratic control
in decision-making" (p.117).

Again the people and their leaders can only participate meaningfully in
decentralized governance if they understand government policies, plans and
programmes, all of which are presented using technical forms or specialized
forms of English in most cases, hence the need for this study on “English for
administration under decentralization”.

Decentralization in Uganda as reported by Rugambwa (2004) relies on

participation of the people and leaders so as to:
 i) Promote a sense of self-reliance, responsibility and ownership vital for
maintenance and sustainability of community development initiatives.
ii) Ensure that the actual needs and priorities of whole communities are
considered since the communities are the ones that identify and
prioritize them.
iii) Enable people to make decisions that concern them and have say in
managing their own development.
iv) Provide for planning and implementation that are easy since each
member understands right from the start what they are doing and why
they are doing it.
v) Make it easy to mobilize community resources such as materials
labour and time.
vi) Create good working relationships between the people and local
governments.
vii) Ensure greater sense of confidence and unity among the citizens.
viii) Promote transparency and accountability over resources and services.
ix) Ensure that the community becomes more conscious of their rights
and duties.

Therefore, decentralization has much to offer to the people in terms of

empowerment and development. According to the LGA, (1997), the functions of
the Local Council III governments, which determine and underlie their
communication needs include the following:

i) Policy formulation at local levels in line with the needs of the people and
national policies.
ii) Policy implementation in the context of the needs of the people.
iii) Ensuring law, order and security.
iv) Implementation of government programmes.
v) Receiving and solving problems from lower local councils.
vi) Evaluation of performance at the end of each financial year basing on set
work plans.
vii) Initiating and participating in self-help projects and mobilizing people for
development.
viii) Serving as a communication channel between the government, district
council and people of the area.
ix) Generally monitoring and supervising projects and other activities
undertaken by the central and local government and NGOs.

Since its introduction in the 1990s, decentralization has achieved many benefits.
According to Olum (2004), the values or benefits associated with decentralized
administration since its introduction are as follows:

i) Greater political legitimacy for the LCIII and LCV leaders.

ii) Improved efficiency in planning and management of resources.
iii) Increased flow of political information and education of the population
on matters of good governance.
iv) Training of nationals in political, social and economic skills essential for
good leadership.
v) Political equality, unity and stability leading to a sense of togetherness.
vi) Responsive governance that listens to the demands of needs of its
citizens.
vii) Greater transparency and accountability hence partly addressing the
problems of corruption.
viii) Improving efficiency in the provision of services and public goods.
ix) Getting rid of central government responsibilities for local government
problems, hence enabling the central governance to concentrate on
policy levels of major national significance.

In light of the above, it should be noted that the communication needs of the LCIII
leaders and staff cut across many areas of specialization and disciplines
reflected in the above roles. What they need is English for Specific Purposes
(ESP), in this case English for administration, which Richards et al (1991) define
as one in which the content and aims are fixed by the specific needs of he
learners/users" (p125).

The leaders should be competent in English in the following areas:

i) The grammar of the language.

ii) Vocabulary and administrative register.
iii) Functional communication skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening in
an administrative context).

Research reports on studies conducted in Uganda show that there are many
factors affecting the successful implementation of decentralization in Uganda.
Olum (2004), Kiyaga-Nsubuga (2004), and Onyach-Olaa (2004) note the
following:

i) Weak competence or capacity among local leaders and staff in the

functions of planning, budgeting, supervision, monitoring, evaluation,
decision-making and management.
ii) Poor coordination and communication between the national and local
government levels and within the local governments as well (partly due
to English factor).
iii) Limited resources for implementing government policies, plans and
programmes
iv) Policy design problems, especially the difficulty of matching ideal plans
and the practical realities on the ground.
v) Environmental factors such as constraints including political structures
and styles, patron/client relationships, socio-cultural conditions, etc…
vi) Inability of the local governments to raise resources and fund their own
operations.
 vii) Limited access to information on ideas and events of significance from
else where in the world (partly due to the English language factor).
viii) Low levels of citizens’ involvement in decision-making implementation,
monitoring, evaluation and accounting.

From the above problems it is clear that the English and education factors
contribute much to the success or problems of local governments in terms of
policy implementation under decentralization.

Reports in The New Vision generally show that many local council leaders both
at the district and sub-county levels do not have a working knowledge of English
and that this affects their performance. Musoke (26/7/2003) in his article" MPs
want literate LCs; illiterate councilors a nuisance" reveals that in Mukono District,
at LCV and LCIII levels councilors use Luganda in meetings because:

"…Uneducated ones can not follow in English. Some councilors who head
committees were unable to present reports and hired other people to read
them… they can not contribute, all they do is to agree".

The failure or inability to use English renders the LC leaders powerless thus
affects the realization of the goals of decentralization.

Nzinjah (4/2/2003) in his article "Kasese LCs fail to use 4 billion shillings" reports
that the money meant for village projects was lying idle because the LCs could
not compile and present viable development plans, yet the people were dying of
poverty. They lacked functional and creative communication skills.

Mambule (30/9/2003) in an article: "Masaka LCs ignorant of Constitution" reports

that the LCV Chairperson asked government to give LCs copies of the
Constitution (1995) and the LG A, (1997) because they are ignorant of the laws
and do not know their duties. This shows that leaders do not really know what to
do in their respective offices, partly due to their inability to use English.

Mugenyi (27/9/2003) reports a similar situation in his article "Leaders lack the
tools of power" that most LCs in Western Uganda do not know the LGA, (1997)
the Leadership Code and the Constitution… that; "none of the 250 leaders at a
meeting could explain decentralization". Again this reflects the lack of awareness,
information and real power among local leaders, emerging from little education
and inability to use English for administration.

The former deputy Prime Minister, Kategaya (2/10/2002) in an interview in The

New Vision attributes this pathetic situation to illiteracy and argues that local
leaders cannot defend their rights when they are not aware of them; that the
most government policy documents are in English, a language understood and
used by a few people. This argument under scores the centrality of the English
factor in the successful implementation of decentralized programmes.
In another article in The New Vision, 18/10/2004 by Abraham Ahabwe, “Local
councilors incompetent, say district leaders”, the district leaders from western
Uganda meeting at Mbarara agreed that:

“…most Councilors were semi literate and yet supposed to supervise the
degree holders… some councilors even have difficult in interpreting
government documents and don’t not even understand their contract
terms”.

The situation in the above articles underscores the need for this study so as to
establish the communication needs of the LCs and staff at the sub-county level
and the best ways of training them in the use of English for administration.
Otherwise the implementation of government policies under decentralization may
not be easily realized.
Research reports also reveal a situation similar to that in the newspaper reports.
In Vision 2025 (GoU, 1999), it is reported that Uganda lacks not only a national
language and language policy, but also a policy framework for information
systems and services that could be a contributing factor to streamlining decision
making, problem solving, planning and management (p16). Inability to access
information, through English language therefore affects the performance of local
governments, hence the need to find out how well LCs and staff at the sub-
county can use it.

The local governments under decentralization in Uganda face many

communication and English language related challenges, which affect their
performance. Makara (1998) reports that at the LCV level, in making district
budgets, the councilors lack consensus on priorities because they are
handicapped by inadequate information (p.60), due to their inability to understand
and use English well. They also find it hard to monitor and supervise the civil
servants who are much better educated people. So the excellent opportunity
provided by decentralization to deal with poverty alleviation hence promote
development through people-centered participatory governance, reported by
Bibagambah (2001) may not be fully utilized if leaders lack competence in using
the official language (English).

It should be noted that as reported by the Makerere Institute of Social Research

MISR (2000), the human resource requirements are inadequate at the local
government levels in Uganda. Most local leaders are not well educated and even
the graduate civil servants lack practical skills, motivation, dedication to duty,
ability to solve problems and cross-cutting, multi-disciplinary and integrated
knowledge. That the university curricula used to train them is too far or detached
from addressing the needs of the society (p iv). The MISR (2000) report also
reveals that national policies such as modernization of agriculture, universal
education, poverty eradication and institutionalization of capital development
funds at the sub-county require well educated, committed and informed staff and
leaders (p.15), who by implication should be competent in English. As such,
English becomes an indispensable tool in effective administration at all local
government levels under decentralization, including the sub-counties.

Research studies conducted in Uganda at the district levels on the

implementation of decentralization show that there is still much to be done.
Katarijja (1996) in a study conducted in Mukono District reports that the financial
and personnel capacity is too limited, especially at the sub-county levels. He
recommends the following:

• Training leaders in practical management skills.

• Training all stakeholders on policy issues.
• Supervision of all tasks and programmes by the center (district).
• Minimum qualifications are set for the LC leaders.

This study did not mention the language /communication factor, but implied it
indirectly hence the need to fill this gap in research knowledge.

Karwani (2000) conducted a similar study in Kabarole District, and noted many
challenges to decentralization, including role conflicts, problems of accountability
and the human resource capacity gaps partly arising from limited access to
information. Again this study did not focus specifically on the language factor
though it was indirectly hinted upon, hence the need for this research to fill the
gap.

Anok (2000), in yet another related study conducted in Lira District reports
problems of inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation, and that the success of
the sub-county local governments depends on the vision, willingness and
capacity of the local leaders to fulfill their roles, use their powers and fulfill their
responsibilities. He further reveals that communication laterally and horizontally
should play a central role in administration. He stresses the need for the
leadership of local governments to build their capacity in the areas of planning,
budgeting, results oriented management and flow of information hence effective
coordination and cooperation. This is where the English /official language factor
comes in.

Magezi (2001) in yet another study conducted in Kibaale District notes that much
as decentralization has achieved much success, there are still many challenges.
These include lack of enough resources, poor accountability and lack of
transparency, and that local leaders lack the capacity to fulfill their
responsibilities, play their roles and use their powers due to little education and
access to information, hence understanding of government policies and
programmes. He reports that the leaders lack skills in making development
plans, mobilizing and using resources and accounting procedures. He
underscores the need to train them in all the above areas, and again here the
English language factor though not directly stated comes in, hence the need for
this study.

Tweyanze (1997) in yet another study conducted in Ntungamo District condemns

the illiteracy of the LC leaders who do not understand issues and polices hence
fail to perform. He reports that the powers devolved under decentralization are
abused and that there is rampant corruption and inefficiency. He reveals that
there are poor quality leaders and weak staff and calls for the need for capacity
building training and sensitization to improve the situation. Otherwise
decentralization would spearhead development through popular participation,
planning, decision-making and accountability. The English language and
communication factors were not considered through implied indirectly hence the
need to fully address them in this study.

Strategies for Training Adults

Strategies or methods for teaching adults, referred to as andragogy
(Knowles,1986, Hope and Timmes, 1999; Prossier,1967; Kabuga, 2004) differ
from those for teaching young people, referred to as pedagogy. This applies to all
subjects including English language education. Knowles (1980) describes adults
as, "…people who are mature and perform social roles typically assigned by
culture to adults"(p.24). The training of LC leaders and staff in the realm of use of
the English for administration will fall in this area of adult education.

As Atim and Ngaka (2004) state, citing UNESCO (1976) and CONFINTEA V
1997) state:
Adult education denotes the entire body of organized education
processes, whatever their content, level and method, whether
formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or replace the initial
schools, colleges and universities as well as apprenticeship, where
by persons regarded as adults by the societies to which they
belong, develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge, improve their
technical or professional qualifications, all to turn them in a new
direction and bring about improved changes in their attitudes or
behavior in the two fold perspective of full personal development
and participation in balanced and independent social economic
and cultural development.

It should be noted that adult education is non-formal in nature in that it is:

"…organized systematic educational activity carried out outside the

framework of the formal system so as to provide selected or specialized
types of learning to particular sub-groups of the population"
(Coombs,1985).
According to ISIS (1991): non-formal education:

"…arises out of the need to compensate for the inability or failure of the
formal education system to reach the majority of the people, especially
adults"… (p.179).

This is the situation of the potential beneficiaries in this research study because
many of them left school prematurely due to the pyramidal structure of the
system that makes many people dropout, more especially during the primary and
secondary cycle of education.

Uganda has got a functional adult literacy programme whose objectives Oketch
(2004) summarizes as follows:

i) To encourage the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes in

reading, writing and numeracy based on the needs and problems of
the learners and their community.
ii) To create awareness among the learners concerning the causes and
possible solutions to their problems.
iii) To enable learners actively participate in their personal development
and that of their community and improve their quality of life.
iv) To provide integrated, functional non-formal basic education to
learners through a problem solving approach.
v) To promote the appreciation and enjoyment of the benefits and
opportunities acquired through the mastery of the skills of reading,
writing and numeracy.

Oketch (2004) also reveals that the FAL programme in Uganda covers a number
of other programmes in addition to reading, writing and numeracy. These include
health, income generation, marketing and trade, agriculture, gender, culture, civic
consciousness, environment education and cooperative education. It should be
noted that some of these at the very areas where local leaders and staff at the
sub-county are supposed to participate in planning and supervise the
implementation of their decisions by the delegated staff members. Therefore all
these ideas and areas need be considered in training for LCIII leaders in using
English for administration.

The training for LCIII leaders and staff, should be unique and based on
andragogic methodology which is suitable for adults in contrast to pedagogic
methodology which is good for young people. Knowles (1986) describes
experience as the best resource of the highest value in adult education and as
the adult learners' text book (p.29). He states four foundations of modern adult
learning theory as presented below. Adults are motivated to learn as they
experience the specific needs and interests that the learning will satisfy.

1. Adults’ orientation to learning is life-centered, with focus on practical and

real life situations, not subjects.
2. Experience is the richest source for adult learning. Thus the core
methodology in handling adults should be analysis of experience.
3. Adults have a strong desire to be self-directing; therefore they should be
engaged in a process of mutual inquiry, not outer directed process.
4. Individual differences between people increase with age so adult education
should consider differences in style, time, and pace of learning.

In Uganda, Action aid Uganda has developed the REFLECT training techniques
which have worked very well with adults as reported by Openjuru (2004). This is
an approach for teaching literacy which aims at involving and empowering
communities by helping them acquire both literacy and analytical skills which
they can use to analyze their local environment and seek solutions to their day to
day problems. The LCIII leaders need such an approach for their training in the
use of English for administration work.
As far as the approaches to language teaching are concerned, the most
appropriate for teaching LCIII leaders English appears to be content-based
language teaching (CBLT). This approach enhances language and concept
development, as well as promoting positive attitudes towards learning not only
the language but the subject matter as well (Ssebbunga 2000). The proposal for
the content based curriculum is grounded in the widely accepted claim that a
second language is most effectively learned if it is used as a medium to teach
and discuss content of interest and relevance to the learners. By definition CBLT
refers to the integration of subject matter with language teaching aims. In precise
term the concept refers to the concurrent study of language and subject matter
courses where by the form and sequence of the intended language items for
teaching and learning are controlled and directed by the content based materials.
Put otherwise, CBLT means that the language curriculum is directly centred on
the academic needs and interest of the learners.
In addition to the above, Eldson (1975) suggests the following process in
developing programmes for teaching adults in various fields.

Steps for Developing Programmes for Teaching Adults

• Problem identification
• Needs identification
• Objectives identified
• Selection of the content
• Planning of content
• Selection of methods
• Development of materials
• Execution
• Assessment
• Follow up and support
• Evaluation-objectives
-criteria
-indicators
As the diagram above shows, teaching adults should be a systematically planned
and cyclical process that takes time to implement and needs constant review.
This process for developing a fully fledged course for English for administration
should go through the above stages and should be very well planned considering
all issues raised above as well.

Conceptual Framework

A B C D

The English
National policy /official language
strategic factor
The current interventions Performance of
Status quo Flow of local
Constitutionalism information: vital
Poverty, weak democratization, governments
governance, for development. Economic, social,
LGA, PEAP, etc Leaders' ability to
powerlessness, All these are and political
low awareness understand and empowerment and
presented using implement
levels. English, the awareness. Poverty
government eradication and
official language. policies using development.
English, the
official language.

As shown in the diagram above, the present development status quo in Uganda
leaves a lot to be desired. Poverty is widespread, governance is weak, the level
of awareness on development issues is low and the people suffer from
powerlessness (A). As a result, government has put in place policy strategic
interventions to create a conducive environment for better governance, poverty
eradication, raising people's awareness and empowering them. This is through
the constitution, democratization, and decentralized governance, the LGA, and
PEAP (B).
All those strategies are developed and presented using English, the official
language in Uganda. Therefore, English becomes a key factor in the
development process because it is the medium of communication hence vital
for effective flow of information in administration. Therefore, all leaders should
be able use English so as to understand and implement government policies
effectively (C). The ability of the leaders to understand and implement
government policies (presented in English) can ultimately lead to better
performance: economic, social and political empowerment and awareness, which
can eventually lead to poverty eradication and ultimately, the much desired
development.
 CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The study was an analytical survey based on participatory approaches, with
quantitative methods playing a supplementary role. The participatory aspect
involved the use of interviews, focus group discussions, analysis of records and
the involvement of the subjects and stakeholders in decision-making in the
context of planning together, and their role in generating the data needed. The
quantitative aspect involved the use of questionnaires to get general data from
the LCIII leaders and staff members. This design was adopted for two reasons;
because of the sociological nature of the study; and because of the need for
triangulation of data collection methods, so as to come up with detailed and
reliable findings.

Study Areas and Population

There were two areas or sites in which this study was based: Busiisi Sub-
county, Hoima District and Kakiri Sub-county, Wakiso District. Both are located
in areas where most of the people are peasant farmers. Busiisi, which covers
61.81 square kilometers, is much smaller than Kakiri Sub-county, which covers
362 square kilometers. Busiisi has a population of 14,059 people compared to
Kakiri with 35,143 people. However, the population density for Busiisi Sub-county
is higher (227 people per sq.km) than that of Kakiri Sub-county (97 people per
sq.km). Busiisi has a smaller local government than Kakiri because of the smaller
geographical size and fewer administration divisions or parishes. Whereas
Kakiri Sub-county has ten parishes, Busiisi Sub-county has only three of them.

Sample of the Study

The sample for the study included all the leaders and staff at the two
Sub-county and some parish chiefs. Informants included district leaders, staff
and opinion leaders. This sample was arrived at during the research-planning
meetings held in September 2003 with the stakeholders in both sub-counties.
The details are presented below:

Table 1: Sample for the Study (n=56)

Number of subjects selected Total
Category of sample Busiisi s/c Kakiri s/c Hoima D Wakiso D.
Sub-county leaders 13 16 - - 29
Sub-county staff 7 14 - - 21
Informants - - 3 3 6
Total 20 30 3 3 56

Among the sub-county leaders were 24 (48%) councilors, 2 (4%) chairpersons,

1(2%) vice chairperson, 2 (4%) chairpersons Parish Development Committees
(PDCs); making a total of 29 (58%) of the sample. The sub-county staff
members included, 2 (4%) administrative officers (chiefs), 2 (4%) health
assistants, 2 (4%) Community Development Officers (CDOs), 2 (4%) agricultural
officers, 1 (2%) entomologist, 1(2%)Officer in Charge (OC) local administration
police and 5 (10%) support staff, making a total of 21 (42%).

Research Instruments
Four research instruments were used in this study: A questionnaire for the
subjects, an interview schedule for the subjects, an interview schedule for the
informants and a shortlist for analyzing sub-county records. These were
developed by the researchers and pilot tested at Wakiso Sub-county with a
similar sample and then refined.

The questionnaire comprised both open and close-ended items. The interview
schedule was semi- structured in nature, to allow for flexibility during data
collection. The short list for analyzing sub-county records comprised a list of
areas of interest to the researchers as far as the use of English for administration
is concerned (refer to the appendices for details on these instruments). These
four instruments were used with the goal of collecting comprehensive data and
for data triangulation purposes.

Data Collection Procedure

A participatory procedure was followed throughout the data collection process;
with the stakeholders playing organizational, sample selection, mobilization and
data generation roles. Details are presented below:

1. Field survey and gaining entry into the areas of study was done first, so as to
get familiar with the target population and the setting in the areas of study.
2. Research planning meetings with the chiefs, chairpersons and other selected
leaders in the areas of study. These stakeholders were briefed on the study,
and they set the dates and time for the meetings, selected the venues and
suggested the samples for the first phase of data collection.
3. Data collection; phase 1: the subjects were briefed on the study (open
discussion), and helped to fill in a detailed questionnaire. The questionnaire
helped both in eliciting their responses on various issues and revealing both
their level of language competence level and problems (written language).
4. Research planning meeting with the chiefs and chairpersons of the sub-
counties for the second phase of data collection (interviews, focus group
discussions and analysis of sub-county records). The stakeholders were
briefed on the second phase; they set the dates and venues, selected the
samples and later on carried out the mobilization of the respondents.
5. Collection of data from the informants at the district levels: These were
identified by the sub-county leaders, appointments were made with them and
they were interviewed on individual basis in their offices. Follow up was made
using telephones.
6. Analysis of sub-county records: these were reviewed and discussed with the
chiefs and cashiers, who write them in most cases (the LCs rarely write in
English).
7. Data analysis and literature review were done concurrently, with reference to
the data collected and the patterns emerging during its analysis. Both
qualitative and quantitative methods were used during the data analysis
process as will be explained later.

The communities in the areas of study were very cooperative and contributed to
the study in the following ways:

1. They offered and organized free halls for the planning and data collection
meetings at Busiisi and Kakiri Sub-counties, and for the pilot-testing
meeting at Wakiso Sub-county.
2. Identification and selection of the participants was done by the local
council leaders in the planning meetings.
3. Mobilization of the selected subjects at Wakiso (pilot testing), Kakiri and
Busiisi was done by the chiefs and local council III chairpersons. This
would have been difficult without their involvement.
4. The participants were also very cooperative and gave the researchers all
the information asked for.
5. It should be noted that it is the selected participants and leaders who set
the dates and programmes for the research meetings at their convenience
with the guidance of the researchers. For instance, the meeting
programmes started at 10.00am because most of the participants had to
work in their gardens first (we held the planning meetings and collected
data mostly during the planting and weeding seasons). The chairpersons
L.C. III, chiefs and their secretaries and office attendants were also very
cooperative throughout the course of the work done so far.

Data Analysis
The data collected using interviews and focus group discussions was of a
qualitative or categorical nature hence verbal and detailed. It was summarized
right after collection, when the context of interaction was still fresh in the minds of
the researchers. The data was summarized basing on the objectives of the study
and the categories and patterns that emerged were refined to get the findings.
Where necessary, these were converted into percentages. The data from the
open-ended questions in the questionnaires was analyzed in a similar way. Data
from the close-ended items in the questionnaire was tallied, summed up and
converted into percentages. Data from analysis of records was of qualitative
nature and was also summarized, refined and presented. Data from interviews
for the subjects and informants was also of qualitative nature, so it was also
summarized, refined and where necessary converted into percentages. Some of
the data was presented in tables for clarity, summary and cross-comparison
purposes.

Significance of the Study

It was anticipated that the study would show the categories of beneficiaries below
the centrality of the English language factor in eradication of poverty,
strengthening governance, empowering the people, raising levels of awareness,
and hence hopefully promoting development in the long run.

1. Administrators at the Ministry of Local Government.

2. Leaders and staff at the district level.
3. Projects and Non-Government Organizations working with rural communities.
4. Development planners and policy makers at national level.
5. Community development workers at the district and sub-county levels.
6. Researchers and teachers of English language.
7. Researchers and teachers of management and administration.

At the end of it all, a draft curriculum for the use of English for administration in
local governments was developed. If refined further, it would hopefully help
empower the above potential beneficiaries with the necessary knowledge and
skills to do their work effectively, hence contribute to poverty eradication and
development.
 CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

Introduction
In this chapter, the findings from this study are presented, interpreted and
discussed in three thematic sections based on the three objectives used. The
data from the various instruments used is presented, interpreted and discussed
concurrently.

Sample for the Study

The sample used included fifty (50) respondents from Busiisi and Kakiri
sub-counties and six (6) informants from Hoima and Wakiso District
headquarters, where the two sub-counties above are located. The same
respondents in the two sub-counties who filled in the questionnaires also gave
information in the interviews and focus group discussions.

The characteristics of the respondents were as follows:

In terms of gender, 21 (42%) were females, while 29 (58%) were males. The
local council governments in both sub-counties are dominated by males, possibly
because of the patriarchal nature of the communities, that is why more males
were sampled.

In terms of the age of the respondents, 12 (24%) were youths of 21-30 years, 10
(20%) were mature people of 31-40 years, 12 (24%) were mature people of 41-
50 years, and 15 (30%) were old people of 51 years and above. Two of the
respondents did not state their age. Here the sample was well balanced, with
people of all ages well represented.

In terms of working experience, many of the respondents 21 (42%), were

relatively new in the fields of local governance and politics, having served for only
1- 5 years. A few, 11 (22%) had served for 6-10 years, which is reasonable time,
while the remaining 16 (32%) had served for over 11 years, thus had enough
experience. The remaining 2 (4%) did not state their experience.

In terms of the levels of education of the respondents, 8 (16%) were primary

school leavers, 9 (18%) secondary school leavers, 19 (38%) were certificate
holders, 9 (18%) were diploma holders and 5 (10%) graduates. The responses
here showed that 36% of the leaders left school before or after completing either
primary or secondary education, while the rest (64%) completed at certificate,
diploma and degree levels. Therefore many of the leaders have reasonable
education to enable them fulfill their roles and responsibilities well, and learn
English for administration easily in case the chance arises.

A total sample of 27 respondents form Busiisi and Kakiri Sub-counties out of the
50 respondents above were interviewed; 11 (41%) were female and 16 (59%)
were males. 14 (52%) were elected LC leaders; 9(33%) were sub-county staff
members; and 4 (15%) were opinion leaders. This sample was selected during
planning meetings held with the LCIII chairpersons and the sub-county chiefs of
both areas of study. The LC leaders included chairpersons (2) a vice chairperson
(1), a speaker (1) and councilors (10). Interviews and focus group discussions
generated similar responses so the data from these sources was combined.

The educational background of the respondents interviewed varied out of a total

of 27 people, 6 (22%) primary school leavers; 12 (44%) secondary school
leavers; and 9 (33.3%) graduates at degree, diploma and certificate levels. The
interviews were conducted on individual -researcher interaction basis and in a
relaxed atmosphere, using English.
In addition to the above respondents, a total of 6 informants working as leaders
and staff at the district level were interviewed. These included the following:

1. Chairperson LCV, Hoima District (Grade III Teacher).

2. Chairperson LCV, Wakiso District (Graduate Engineer).
3. Inspector of Schools, Hoima District (Graduate Teacher, now on Masters).
4. Assistant CAO, Wakiso District (Graduate, with a Postgraduate Diploma).
5. Assistant CAO, Hoima District (Graduate, with a Postgraduate Diploma).
6. Community Development Officer, Waksio District (Graduate)

The Level of Functional Communicative Competence in English of the

Sub-County Leaders and Staff
The data on this objective was collected using questionnaires, interviews, focus
group discussions and analysis of the records at the sub-county headquarters.

Majority of the respondents agreed that they rarely use English while conducting
official business at their sub-counties. In the questionnaire, 43 out of the 50
respondents (86%) agreed that they mainly use the local Luganda and Runyoro
languages in Kakiri and Busiisi Sub-counties respectively. It is the remaining 7
respondents (14%) who are non-native Luganda and Runyoro speaking civil
servants who use mainly English.

Here the multilingual factor in Uganda, noted by Mukama (1986) and GoU (1993)
comes in, and underscores the value of English as the official language and
language of wider communication.

From the interviews and focus group discussions for the respondents, all the 27
respondents from the two sub-counties also agreed that they mostly use their
local vernacular languages in all official transactions, that is Luganda for Kakiri
and Runyoro for Busiisi Sub-counties.
One respondent answered thus:

“We use our own language, Luganda and it serves us very well.
There is no reason why we should complicate matters by bringing
in English which some of us may not be capable of using well”.
(LCIII leader, Kakiri)

Another respondent answered thus:

“I don’t see why we should use English while doing our work here
at a local level. It is only in circumstances where we cannot avoid it,
such as when discussing technical issues that we use English,
even then few terms that cannot be expressed locally using
Runyoro”
(LCIII Leader, Busiisi).

And one of the sub-county chiefs commented:

“it is true that we mostly use vernacular while transacting official
business orally, such as in seminars, debates and meetings…
when it comes to writing, however, it is only English that we use.”
(Sub-county chief)

One of the less educated councilors observed:

“| don’t know much English… actually many of us do not know much , so
when other people use difficult English words , we cannot follow. We just
have to agree.” (Councilor)

The ideas from the interviews with informants at the district level also showed
that local languages are widely used in official interaction not only at the sub-
county local government level, but also at the district levels. One informant
attributed this to the culture of informality that pervades our “office culture”. That
is why oral interaction is conducted in local languages while all written work is in
English. Another informant noted that many of the elected leaders cannot follow if
English is used, so the only viable option is to use vernacular: The local
languages dominate oral interaction, while English is used for all written
tasks/communication. The informants also noted that many development ideas
and concepts are difficult to express using vernaculars, thus when English is
used (at a technical level) many of the local council leaders lose out and just
agree.

The facts on the ground as reported in The New Vision by Ahabwe, A. in the
article “Local councilors incompetent, say district leaders” (18/10/04); Musoke, in
“MPs want literate LCs : illiterate councilors a nuisance” (26/7/2003); and
Mambule, in “Masaka LCs ignorant of Constitution “(30/9/2003). Therefore, the
English factor contributes much not only to the LCs’ understanding of leadership
and development related issues, but also to their ability to communicate hence
fulfill their roles and responsibilities.
Otherwise, as one ACAO noted:

“What do you expect in a situation where the people you are working with
are semi literate? There is no way we can use English as the official
language at local government levels when the people don’t know it.”
(ACAO)

As far as analysis of records is concerned, there was not much data generated
using this research instrument due to the fact that the elected leaders transact
most (if not all) of their business orally. It is mainly the chiefs (administrative
officers) and their accountants and secretaries who write. These are trained and
experienced graduates and all their functional communication texts are well
written. The records reviewed included the following:

1. Minutes for meetings.

2. Official letters (to their districts, the projects and subordinates).
3. Budgets (for different activities and functions).
4. Projects proposals.
5. Reports about different activities.
6. Speeches (for various occasions).
7. Account records (with the cashiers who are technocrats).
8. Radio announcements (for different activities).
9. Sub-county development plans (with district planners).
10. Programmes (for occasions and workshops/seminars).

All these records are well written following standard conventions and using
appropriate register. The chiefs also help the chairpersons while writing their
documents. This applies to both sub-counties. The more technical texts like
project proposals and development plans are written with the assistance of the
distinct planner’s office, as one respondent noted:

“We usually leave the technical issues to the technical civil servants here
and at the district to handle. We are simple people, politicians who cannot
do things like planning” (Councilor).

The above statement highlights not only the inability of the local leaders to fulfill
some of their roles, but also their pathetic sense of helplessness in the face of
technical responsibilities and their attendant challenges of using English for
effective functional communication. Such a scenario sets a fertile ground for the
rampant problems of corruption and abuse of office so common in local
governments as noted by Mugenyi(2003), Olum(2004) Kiyaga-Nsubuga(2004),.
and Onyach-Olaa (2004). According to these authors, LCIII leaders lack the
capacity to perform their roles and fulfill their responsibilities, ability to coordinate
the various activities their responsibilities entail and limited understanding of
policy issues due to little education and access to information among other
challenges.
In a state of desperation, one leader during the interviews explained thus:

‘It is not our fault that we missed out on education… why cant you let us
do what we can with the little knowledge we have? Even if we are not well
educated, we should be left to enjoy our right to participate in leadership”
(LCIII leader).

The problem with the above view is that local leaders should not just sit and
lament but rather should devise ways of improving their knowledge and capacity
to use English, hence improve on the quality of their leadership.

The respondents rated their competence in the context of their knowledge of

English structures and skills as presented in table 2 below:
Table 2: Respondents’ Knowledge of English Skills and Structures
(n=50)
Questionnaire items Responses given
Yes No Not sure
1. I can use English well in meetings. 26 (52%) 16 (32%) 8 (16%)
2. I can use English well in official work. 29 (58%) 6 (12%) 15 (30%)
3. I can read materials written in English. 40 (80%) 3 (6%) 7 (14%)
4. I can write materials using English. 34 (68%) 3 (6%) 13(26%)
5. I can listen to facts and ideas in English. 34 (68%) 4(8%) 12(24%)
6. I can speak English well while at work. 32 (64%) 8 (16%) 10 (20%)
7. I know enough English to use at work. 19 (38%) 1 (2%) 30 (60%)
8. I know enough English words. 27 (54%) 5 (10%) 18(36%)
9. I can speak good English sentences. 29 (58%) 5(10%) 18(36%)
10. I can write good English sentences. 26 (52%) 7 (14%) 17 (34%)
11. I have no problems with tenses. 26 (52%) 10 (20%) 14 (28%)
Average competence 29.26 6.18 14.56
(58.5%) (12.36%) (29.12%)
 The responses from the items in the table above generally showed many
of the local council leaders have problems with use of the language
structures and skills. Only 52% of the respondents do not many have
problems when English is used in meetings while 48% cannot follow. Only
58% of the LC leaders and staff can use English well while the remaining
42% cannot do so while doing official work. It is only with reading where
the majority (80%) can understand the texts, and only 20% cannot. With
writing and listening, again many of the respondents, 68%, rated their
ability as good while 32% did not do so. The percentage for speaking was
also not so bad with 64% rating it as good and 36% as weak. In other
areas the respondents who rated their abilities as good were as follows,
vocabulary 54%, speaking good sentences 58%, writing good sentences
and tenses at 52%. On average, for all the areas above, 58.52% rated
their competence as good, 12.36% as weak and 29.12% were not sure of
their competence. The responses here showed that almost half of the
respondents, 41.48% have weak competence in English. Only 58.52% are
confident of themselves.

Thus generally, the ability of the LCIII leaders and staff (to a lesser extent) to use
English leaves much to be desired, and this is a reflection of the generally low
standard of English in the country as noted by Ssebbunga, (2001);
Ndoleriire,(1996); and Mukwaya, (1996).

In the interviews and focus group discussions, when asked about their general
ability to use English in administration, all the 27 respondents (100%) agreed that
they have limitations. Three categories of need emerged here:

1. The certificate, advanced level, diploma and degree holders who know
enough grammar and vocabulary (structures) but need to learn more
about various functional communication skills.
 2. The secondary school leavers who know some grammar and vocabulary
but need to learn more of these, and to learn the functional communication
skills as well.
3. The primary school leavers who know very little grammar and vocabulary
and also lack the functional communication skills.

Again here it should be noted that the Ugandan education system like those of
most developing countries is pyramidal in nature, with a high wastage level
across the primary and secondary levels (GoU, 2000) at which most students
drop out. These drop outs usually end up as prominent people in politics,
business and other areas of life.

One of the respondents also noted that due to their mixed ability in terms
knowledge and skills of using English, they rarely use the language in official
business and this further undermines their chances of learning it, and that there
is a strong social stigma associated with English more especially among the less
educated people.
One respondent noted that:

“it is difficult to start using English for two reasons:

In the first case, we, the leaders differ in levels of education. Some people
left school at primary level while others completed university. Secondary,
in Uganda, people who are not well educated will think that you are posing
and despising hem if you start using English all the time. They fear
speaking and making mistakes and as such, they cannot learn the
language” (Opinion leader/politician)

With reference to the literal skills of reading and writing, 18 (66.6%) of the
respondents said that they have problems, more especially with writing. With
reading, they noted the problems of difficult unfamiliar words confusing them;
inability or difficulty in interpreting texts, and slow reading speed.
One councilor noted:
“We try to read and use English. But there is a big problem of very difficult
words which frustrate us and make us fail to understand.”
(LCIII Councilor)

With writing, they noted the problems of weak grammar, lack of adequate
vocabulary, spellings of words, punctuation and poor graphics/handwriting. They
also noted the inability or difficulty of writing functional communication texts.

One member of staff noted that:

“Even for us who have had some professional training, there is still need
for training not only in the use of English but also in basic management
and other social skills” (Sub-county staff member).

This situation reflects the one portrayed by MISR (2000), that the capacity in
local governments is weak and that even in cases where graduates are
employed, they lack practical skills, cross-cutting, multidisciplinary knowledge,
and that the university curricula used to train them does not in most instances
match with the needs of society.

Commenting on their abilities in using the oral/aural skills of speaking and

listening in English, only 26% of the respondents rated their competence as
good. The remaining 74% rated it as weak and with many limitations. They
noted the problems of weak grammar, lack of enough words, fear or lack of self-
confidence, lack of fluency, poor voice levels and weak speaking/listening speed.
They also noted the problems associated with understanding the accents of
speakers of English form other regions and parts of the world, especially when
they speak very fast. This explains why most LCIII leaders do not contribute in
meetings when English is used, but just agree instead as reported by
Ahaabwe(2004) and Musoke (2003) in The New Vision.
When commenting on their lexical competence; majority of the respondents
(74%) also revealed that their command of English vocabulary and administration
register was weak and limited, and that this affected their ability to use the
language or to follow when English is used.

When commenting on their grammatical competence, only 22% rated it as good,

while the remaining 78% said that it was weak and lacking. They attributed their
weakness to limited formal education and lack of practice and exposure to the
language in adult life in their village setting.

The above responses show that the language competence of the local leaders
and staff at the sub-county is generally weak. Yet for them to do their work well,
they should possess; linguistic, socio-linguistic, discourse and strategic
competence as explained by Corson (1991) and Venkateswaran (1997).

However, on the issue of tenses, almost half of the respondents (48.2%) rated
their competence as good, while the remaining 51.8% rated it as weak. Tenses
are much easier to use well than other aspects of grammar, they revealed in their
responses. This is because there are a few categories of tenses, hence they are
easy to learn.

On the above issues, the responses of the informants from the interviews
revealed the following:

1. Most elected leaders have very weak command of English.

2. Few who are retired civil servants have good command of English.
3. Chiefs and technical staff, most of who are graduates have good
command of English.
4. Parish chiefs most of who left school prematurely have very weak
command of English.
 5. English is not the best language to use in meetings at the sub-county level
because most the leaders cannot follow the proceedings. That is why the
LCIII governments rely on local languages for their official transactions.
6. The limited knowledge of English affects the capacity of the LCs to
understand their responsibilities, thus affects their performance/output.

The informants here revealed that the level of competence in English at the sub-
county level is generally weak and this affects their over all performance in
governance under decentralization, as noted by Anok (2000); Karwani(2000),
Kiyaga-Nsubuga (2000) and Makara, (1998) in their studies in different parts of
Uganda.

On the issue of the ability of the LCIII leaders and staff to read and write
functional communication texts, the responses of the respondents in the
questionnaire were as presented in table 3 below:

Table 3: Respondents' Ability to Read and Write Functional Texts

(n=50)
Writing skills Reading skills
Types of texts Yes No Unsure Yes No Unsure
1. Official letters 40 80%) 5(10%) 5(10%) 35(70%) 11(22%) 4(8%)
2. Minutes 36(72%) 7(14%) 7(14%) 33(66%) 13(26%) 4(8%)
3. Programmes 41(82%) 5(10%) 4(8%) 33(66%) 12(24%) 5(10%)
4. Dev’t. plans 31(62%) 10(20%) 9(18%) 25(50%) 21(42%) 4(8%)
5. Speeches 37(74%) 7(14%) 6(12%) 28(56%) 15(30%) 7(14%)
6. Budgets 43(86%) 5(10%) 2(4%) 25(50%) 19(38%) 6(12%)
7. Projects 36(72%) 10(20%) 4(8%) 28(56%) 19(38%) 3(6%)
8. Invitations 40(80%) 6(12%) 4(8%) 35(70%) 11(22%) 4(8%)
9. Manifestos 45(90%) 2(4%) 3(6%) 29(58%) 17(34%) 4(8%)
10. Posters 36(72%) 9(18%) 5(10%) 26(52%) 17(34%) 7(14%)
11. Leaflets 35(70%) 10(20%) 5(10%) 24(48%) 19(38%) 7(14%)
The data in table 3 shows that majority of the respondents, between 62% and
90%, agreed that they can write eleven categories of functional communication
texts. The percentages are lower with reading; with between 48% and 70% of the
respondents agreeing that they can read and understand the eleven types of
functional communication texts. In both cases, over half of the respondents rated
their competence in the use of English in functional texts as good, with less than
half rating theirs as either poor or being unsure. It should be noted that functional
communication texts are very important in transacting administrative business.

However, the responses from the interviews and focus group discussions differed
in that fewer respondents in terms of percentages rated their functional abilities
as good. As revealed in table 4 below, their average for good competence stood
at 26.6% while that for poor competence stood at 51%. The implication here is
that the competence of the respondents is generally weak as explained further
below.

Table 4: Respondents’ Ability to Read and Write Selected Functional

Communication Texts (n=27)
Respondents’ ratings
Type of functional texts Good Fair Poor Unsure
Minutes for meetings 16(59%) - 6(22.2%) 5(18.5%)
Budget statements 2(7.4%) 2(7.4%) 17(63%) 6(22.2%)
Project proposals 3(11%) - 17(63%) 7(26%)
Official letters 12(44.4%) 2(7.4%) 11(40.7%) 2(7.2%)
Development plans 3(11%) - 18(66.6%) 5(18.5%)
Average ability /competence 7.2 (26.6%) 0.8(0.3%) 13.8(51%) 5(18.5%)

The average ability of the respondents in table 6 above showed that their
competence in reading and writing five selected functional communication texts
leaves a lot to be desired. On average, only 7.2 (26.66%) rated it as good while
of the majority 19.8(73.33%) rated it as poor or were not sure of themselves. The
responses here revealed that more respondents understand and are able to write
minutes and official letters, while very few could read and write budgets, project
proposals and development plans. They later revealed, that technical teams
mainly write these from NGOs and the district planner’s office.

The respondents also revealed that they rarely access and read key government
texts on administration. When asked about whether they can read and
understand the Local Government Act of 1997, 52% have never seen or read it,
22% read but did not understand it and 18.5% have problems of understanding
the legal language used. Only 7.5% have read and understood it.

One district leader commented thus:

“We have got a very weak reading culture in this country. When the poor
reading culture combines with the problems of the leaders’ weak English
and lack of simplified versions of government texts, then there is little hope
of our elected leaders accessing vital information hence improving on their
performance” (ACAO).

The comments of the informants at the districts on the functional reading and
writing competence of the LCIII leaders and staff in English were as follows:

1. Functional reading and writing competence is very weak for most LCIII
leaders and parish chiefs.
2. Most of the LCIII leaders can neither interpret texts written in English, nor
write them well.
3. Most of the writing is done by the chiefs and most written information is
translated is relayed orally by the chief.
4. Living in rural areas and having dropped out /left school long ago
accentuates the weak competence of the leaders at LCIII in English.
5. The poor reading and writing culture in Ugandan society especially in
English also makes the problem worse. Many people nowadays
 communicate using mobile phones and this has further reduced the need
to read and write much.

Another district informant did not mince his words:

“A good number of the elected leaders do not qualify to occupy positions

of responsibilities in the LCIII governments. Their English is poor, they
cannot interpret govern documents and they don’t understand government
policies” (District informant).

The functional reading and writing competence of the leaders is generally weak.
That is why they are ignorant of vital legal documents such as the Constitution
and LGA in Masaka (Mambule, 2003), they can not develop viable projects in
Kasese (Nzinjah, 2003), they cannot use English in meetings and for planning in
Mukono (Musoke, 2003) and thus do not have real power as the case should be
as argued by Kategaya (2002), all in The New Vision.

In the test items in the questionnaire, the respondents were required to explain
the meanings of selected terms related to leadership under decentralization
using correct sentences. Their responses revealed not only weak understanding
of the issues related to decentralization but also a very weak command of
English grammar.
Details are presented in table 5 on the next page:
Table 5: Ability to Explain Meanings of Terms Using Correct English (n=50)
Responses given
Terms explained No response Correct Wrong
 lack of consensus on key issues vital for the alternative running of the
local governments”.(ACAO).

Therefore, little education and the inability to communicate hence access

information and ideas and be updated contribute much to the failure of local
governments under decentralization as noted in studies conducted by MISR
(2000), Kiyaga-Nsubuga, (2000), Makara, (1997), Karavani (2000) Anok (2000)
Magezi(2000) and Tweyanze (1997) in various districts and sub-counties in
Uganda.

On the issue of the extent to which the local leaders and staff at the sub-counties
understand the Local Government Act and the Poverty Eradication Action Plan,
the informants gave the following responses:
So the ability of the LCIII leaders to understand key government texts was rated
as weak on average, but the informants also revealed that there were efforts
being undertaken to help them improve. These include sensitization seminars in
both Hoima and Wakiso Districts, translation of parts of the documents into the
local languages (Luganda), and use of abridged versions of the documents.
However, according to the informants interviewed, the situation still leaves a lot
to be desired, many efforts are also being made in programmes such as NAADS
and PMA and by other projects as well, to help alleviate the problem.
Training Needs of the Sub-County Leaders and Staff in the use of English
for Administration Purposes

In the questionnaire, the respondents identified the following problems/ areas of

need for training in the use of English for administration purposes, presented in
table 7 below.

Table 7: Respondents Areas of Need for Training (n=50)

Areas of need stated Number of respondents
1. Learning to use new words 41 (82%)
2. Learning to use sentence patters 29(58%)
competences of communicative competence in the areas of linguistic
competence, socio-linguistic competence, discourse competence social
competence, and strategic competence (Corson , 1991) Richards et al 1991 and
Venkateswaran 1997). Many lack adequate lexical knowledge, syntactic
knowledge and functional knowledge of the language as well. The findings also
revealed that almost all the leaders at LCIII and staff do not posses enough
command of subject specific register across the various sectors in local
government such as health, agriculture, veterinary medicine, entomology,
community development, works, finance and accounting, planning, etc…. the
leaders need this knowledge of cross-sectoral registers to be in position to fulfill
their planning, supervision and decision making roles.

The informants also noted that weak English affects the performance of the LC III
officials in the following ways:

1. They are rendered powerless because of limited access to information vital

for decision-making.
2. They are limited in their ability to communicate both within the sub-county and
to the higher levels of administration.
3. Incompetence/inability to play their supervisory roles.
4. Limited conception/understanding of government plans and policies, hence
inability to deliver.
5. Role conflicts with sub-county and district staff and fellow leaders.
6. Inferiority complex before the sub-county and district staff members almost all
of whom are university graduates.

As already noted, effective communication is an indispensable prerequisite for

the success of all human activities including effective administration. This is why
the limited ability of the LCIII leaders and staff negatively affects the performance
of local governments in the six ways above raised by the informants. It is
important to note that the above issues reflect those reported by Olum (2004)
Kiyaga-Nsubuga (2004) and Onyach-Olaa (2004), in their research based papers
on decentralization: weak competence/capacity, poor coordination and
communication both laterally and horizontally, poor planning and policy
formulation problems, limited access to information and events of significance,
and low levels of practical involvement in decision making, implementation and
supervision. It should also be noted that the informants reported the inferiority
complex that many LCIII officials feel before the graduate civil servants they are
meant to supervise also undermines their authority.

These deficiencies underscore the need to train the LC III officials in the use of
English for administration purposes. The findings here also reveal many areas of
their needs as far as English for administration is concerned.
Ways of Training the Sub-county Leaders and Staff in the use of English for
Administration Purposes
In the questionnaire, the respondents identified the ways presented in table 8
below as the most convenient for helping them improve on their ability to use
English for administration purpose.

Table 8: Convenient ways of Training Raised by the Respondents (n= 50)

Ways suggested/supported Number of respondents
1. Listening to radio programmes. 34(68%)
2. Reading work books and other materials. 40 (80%)
3. Attending adult learners classes. 20 (40%)
4. Organizing seminars and workshops. 45 (90%)
5. Being taught privately by a teacher. 24(48)
6. Reading newspapers/handouts. 32(64%)
7. Going back to school. 17(34%)
8. Forming study groups with colleagues. 24 (48%)

The responses in table 8 above show that majority of the subjects prefer to be
trained in a practical and interactive way through workshops (90%). Majority also
prefer the use of workbooks and other materials, which they can read on their
own to back up the workshop training. Other ideas supported include the use of
radio programmes (68%) in the evenings when the respondents have finished
their daily work); reading newspapers and other materials (64%) forming study
groups with their fellow leaders (48%); being taught privately by teachers from
schools within the area (48%); attending adult learners classes (40%); and a few
supported the idea of going back to school (34%). The responses here generally
showed that there are many avenues that can be used to help train the local
council leaders in the use of English for administration purpose, the most
supported one’s being the use of interactive seminars and workshops backed by
provision of materials and workbooks for follow up purposes. Other ways of
training can play supportive roles.
In the interviews and focus groups discussion for the respondents, the following
ways of training were arrived at as the most effective and convenient for the LCIII
leaders and staff:

1. Majority (78%) prefer workshops and seminars because of their practical

nature and face-to-face interaction with the trainers, guidance and immediate
feedback.
2. Another common suggestion made by 59% of the respondents was the use of
well-timed radio progammes, lasting a long period of time at least 1-2 hours
and aired in the evenings when the day’s work is over-8:00- 10:00pm.
3. Another common suggestion was that of using graded texts for people with
different levels of competence, preferably with Book One for beginners
(primary leaves); Book Two for the intermediate group, and Books Three for
the advanced leavers. This was suggested by 52% of the respondents.
4. A few of the respondents suggested the need to learn from practice through
practical use of language (26%). These were of the view that unless the local
governments create conditions conducive for learning and using English, all
the other attempts however good will be a waste of time.
5. One of the respondents stressed the need for funding the programme,
arguing that the local governments do not have enough resources and that
payment of allowances would motivate the beneficiaries

The responses here showed that majority of the respondents favoured the use of
practical and interactive workshops and seminars, backed by texts, radio
programmes and the creation of a conductive environment for using the
language. They also underscored the need for funding the programme because
the LC III governments do not have enough resources.

The responses of the informants were similar to those of the respondents on

ways of training the LC III leaders and staff in the use of English for
administration. The following strategies were suggested:
1. The LC III leaders and staff should be trained in workshops in a practical and
interactive way. There are enough human resources in all sub-counties to
train the leaders in the use of English for administration. What is needed is to
train them first, in a trainers’ workshop on the content and methods of
teaching adults English.
2. The programme for training sub-county leaders in the use of English for
administration purposes can be integrated into the Functional Adult Literacy
(FAL) programmes in the various sub-counties.
3. Graded texts and other materials should be produced and distributed to the
various sub-counties for the leaders to use and improve on their English.
4. The Local F.M radio stations should be used for both mobilizing and
sensitizing the people on the use of English for administration purposes.

The responses here showed that district leaders have similar ideas with the LC III
leaders as far as training leaders in the use of English for administration is
concerned. The F.M radio stations can be used for mobilization, and then training
can be done through workshops, which are practical and interactive in nature.
These should be backed up by graded texts and radio programmes. Secondary
school teachers and functional adult literacy instructors can be trained and used
to teach the leaders English for administration purposes.

Andragogic methods, which are participatory and interactive in nature should be

adopted in training the leaders in the use of English for administration. The
programme should be modeled along the goals of FAL as stated by Oketch
(2004). These match very well with the needs of the leaders and are as follows:

vi) To encourage the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes in

reading, writing and numeracy based on the needs and problems of
the learners and their community.
vii) To create awareness among the learners concerning the causes and
possible solutions to their problems.
 viii) To enable learners actively participate in their personal development
and that of their community and improve their quality of life.
ix) To provide integrated, functional non-formal basic education to
learners through a problem solving approach.
x) To promote the appreciation and enjoyment of the benefits and
opportunities acquired through the masterly of the skills of reading,
writing and numeracy.

Knowles’ (1986) four foundation of adult education should theory should be born
in mind and integrated into the training programme:

1. Adults’ orientation to learning is life-centered, with focus on practical and

real life situations, not subjects.
2. Experience is the richest source for adult learning. Thus the core
methodology in handling adults should be analysis of experience.
3. Adults have a strong desire to be self-directing; therefore they should be
engaged in a process of mutual inquiry, not outer directed process.
4. Individual differences between people increase with age so adult education
should consider differences in style, time, and pace of learning.

The REFLECT, a PRA based model could also be adapted and used to train
LCIII leaders and staff. This has worked very well for AAU in Bundibugyo in
Uganda and other countries all over the world as already noted (Oketch, 2004).

In the area of approaches to language teaching, the most appropriate for training
LCIII leaders appears to be content-based language teaching (CBLT). This is
because this approach not only enhances language and concept development
but also promotes positive attitudes towards learning not only the language but
the subject matter as well (Ssebbunga 2000). Content based curriculum is
grounded in the widely upheld belief that the second language is most effectively
learned if it is also used to teach and discuss content of interest and relevance to
the learners. It is important to note that Eldson’s (1975) systematic process of
curriculum planning and development should also be utilized. This implies that
the process of developing and updating a viable curriculum is a gradual and
detailed one involving :

i) Problem identification.
ii) Needs analysis.
iii) Definition of aims and objectives.
iv) Selection of the content.
v) Planning/sequencing the content.
vi) Selection of methods and activities.
vii) Development of instructional materials.
viii) Pilot testing and improving the curriculum
ix) Execution /using it for teaching.
x) Assessment of the curriculum, instructors and learners.
xi) Follow up evaluation
(then back to problem identification)

Therefore, the challenge of developing a fully-fledged and reliable curriculum for

teaching English to leaders under decentralization is a big one. It will require
follow up, research studies and field work as well as much input in terms of
expertise( language education and administration consultants)
 English for Administration under Decentralization:
A Content Based Draft Curriculum for Sub-County Leaders and Staff
Peter Mugume

Introduction
This draft curriculum is intended to help LCIII leaders and staff improve on their
knowledge of, and ability to use English, Uganda’s official language for
administration. It is content –based, participatory and designed in four modules
based on the needs of the targeted learners, so as to help impart to them the
knowledge and skills they need and to address their specific categories of needs
in terms of basic language structures, basic language skills, administrative
register and functional communication skills.

Course Objectives
The general objective is to help improve the functional ability of the LC III leaders
and staff in the use of English for administration purposes. The specific
objectives are as follows:

1. Enable LC III leaders and staff improve on their basic lexical knowledge
(vocabulary and morphology) in terms of both content and function words.
2. Enable LC III leaders and staff improve on their basic syntactic knowledge
(grammar/sentence patterns).
3. Improve the knowledge and ability of LC III leaders and staff to use a
comprehensive range of administrative register (to be developed basing on
their scope of work as reflected in their roles, powers and responsibilities).
4. Improve ability of LC III leaders and staff to use the four basic language skills
through conceptualized practice in writing, reading, speaking and listening.
5. To help LC III leaders and staff practice and master the use of a
comprehensive range of functional communication texts necessary in
administration, both written and oral.
Proposed Course Content
The content will be presented in four course modules:

Module 1: Basic vocabulary and grammar.

Module 2: Basic language skills: speaking, listening, writing and reading.
Module 3: Administration registers.
Module 4: Functional Communication texts and skills.

It is anticipated that the above modules will help improve the language
competence and performance of the LCIII leaders and staff in the context of the
use of English for administration purposes under decentralization.

Course Module 1: Basic Vocabulary and Grammar

Vocabulary:
• The nature of vocabulary.
• Content and function words.
• Parts of speech.
• Word formation and transformation (derivation and inflections).
• Denotation and connotations (literal and contextual usage).
• Using the dictionary and other reference texts.
• Exercises/practical work.

Grammar
• The meaning /nature of sentences.
• Parts of sentences: phrases and clauses.
• Simple sentences (sentence patterns).
• Compound sentences (sentence patterns)
• Sentence transformations.
• Paragraph and text structure (discourse).
• Exercises/practical work.
Course Module 2: Language Skills: Speaking, Listening, Writing and
Reading
Speaking
• Production of sounds peculiar to English
(vowels, consonants and diphthongs).
• Stress and intonation in speech.
• Audibility and voice quality.
• Use of figures of speech.
• The grammar of speech (contractions, question tags etc).
• Appropriateness in speech contexts.
• Paralinguistic features in speech, etc.

Listening
• Listening consciously.
• Relating sounds and meanings.
• Context clues and meanings.
• Judging effectiveness of oral communication.

Writing
• Correct use of words and sentences (grammar/cohesion).
• Effective use of plain and figurative language.
• Determining the purpose /message for writing.
• Effective use of punctuation.
• Ordering ones content well (logical flow /sequence/coherence).
• Sustaining plot and developing events to a climax.
• Handling direct and indirect speech (contractions, question tags, etc).
• Clear descriptions of concrete objects and abstract situations/ ideas.
• Clear argument, handling the features of discussions- argument markers.
• Note making and note taking.
• Summary writing sub-skills.
 Reading
• Good reading habits (vs. movement of lips, heads, fingers etc),
encouraging rapid eye movement.
• Good reading speed (300-400 words per minute).
• Adjusting reading speed to appropriate materials and purposes.
• Perceiving literal (surface –denotation) and contextual (deep-connotation)
meanings.
• Responding to figurative language use.
• Understanding /recognition of registers.
• Relating reading experience to practical real life situations.
• Use of reference texts (dictionaries, manuals, etc..).
• Use of different features of texts ( i.e. contents, index, headings, etc).
• Summary writing and note making skills.
(Partly adapted from the Integrated English Syllabus and Teachers’ Guide,
1983; developed by NCDC, Kampala).

Course Module 3: Administrative Registers

The meaning and nature of registers.
Scope/content of registers for LCIII leaders and staff:
knowledge and practical use of terms from the following areas:
• Agricultural terms.
• Banking/business/commercial terms.
• Budgeting/accounting terms.
• Development planning terms.
• General education terms.
• Administrative/ leadership terms.
• Basic/ primary health care terms.
• Political/ civic educational terms.
• Cultural /religious terms.
• Legal /constitutional terms.
 • Transport/communication terms.
• Environment related terms.
• Security terms.
• Gender sensitive language use.
• Exercises/ practical work.

Course Module 4: Functional Communication Texts and Skills

The nature of functional communication skills.
The scope of functional communication texts for LCIII leaders and staff.
• Minutes for meetings.
• Official letters.
• Procedure in meetings/debates.
• Business letters.
• Officiating as master of ceremony.
• Note making and note taking.
• Programmes for various functions.
• Advertisements of various types.
• Development plans.
• Directions and instructions.
• Budget statements.
• News articles.
• Speeches for various occasions.
• Announcements.
• Projects proposals.
• Circulars.
• Invitation letters.
• Condolence messages.
• Congratulation messages.
• Filling in forms, etc…
Methodology
Strategies or methods for teaching adults, referred to as andragogy (Knowles,
1986; Hope and Timmes 1999; and Kabuga, 2004), differ from pedagogical
methods used to teach the young. The curriculum is modeled along FAL
objectives and approaches explained by Oketch (2004):

1. Acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes in reading, writing and

numeracy based on the needs and problems of the learners.
2. Creating awareness among the learners of the causes and possible
solutions to their problems.
3. Enabling learners to actively participate in their personal
development and that of their community, thus improve their quality
of life.
4. Providing integrated, functional, non-formal basic education to
learners through a problem solving approach.
5. Promoting appreciation and enjoyment of the benefits and
opportunities acquired through the mastery of the skills of reading
writing and numeracy.

Just like FAL, which covers other programmes in addition to the basic reading,
writing and numeracy (Oketch, 2004); the language aspects in this curriculum are
integrated with the content derived from the roles and responsibilities of the LCIII
leaders and staff. This is in line with the four foundations of adult learning theory
propounded by Knowles (2004).

1. Adults’ orientation to learning is life centred, with focus on practical

and real life situations, not specific subjects.
2. Experience is the best source for adults learning, thus the core
methodology in handing adults should be analysis of experience.
 3. Adults have much desire to be self-directing, thus should be
engaged in processes of mutual inquiry, not outer directed
processes.
4. Individual differences between people increase with differences in
age, style, time and pace of learning.

Therefore, since adults are motivated to learn as they experience the specific
needs and interests that the learning will satisfy, this curriculum will be learner
centred and participatory in nature and aimed at the empowerment of the LCIII
leaders and staff as well. It will be modeled along the procedures followed by
REFLECT designed and used by AAU. As explained by Oketch (2004), the
architects of REFLECT based it on PRA techniques, whereby instruction is
learner-centered and participatory. This approach has worked well in Uganda,
Bangladesh and El Salvador, in Africa, Asia and Latin America respectively.

English for administration for LCIII leaders and staff under decentralization falls
under English for Specific Purposes (ESP). According to Cunningsworth (1984),
this ESP relies on the use of a functional syllabus where by the items learnt are
selected and sequenced basing on their relevance and extent to which they meet
the needs of the learners. Therefore, the best teaching approach for this
curriculum is Contented Based Language Teaching (CBLT). This is because this
approach enhances the learning of both the language (skills and structures) and
concept development (relevant administrative and development related ideas). It
also helps in promoting positive attitudes towards not only learning the language
but the subject matter as well (Ssebbunga, 2000).It is the researcher’s contention
that this approach will help ensure the integration of both the basic administrative
knowledge and language structures and skills hence provide optimum learning
for the LCIII leaders and staff. The curriculum is directly centred on both the
linguistic needs and knowledge requirement of he LCIII leaders and staff as
reflected in government policy statements and documents like the constitution
and LGA.
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Introduction
In this chapter, the conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further
studies based on the discussion of the research findings in chapter four are
presented.

Conclusions
The following conclusions were drawn basing on the findings and discussions:

1. LCIII leaders and staff are fully aware that English has a central role to
play in administration at the sub-county level in Uganda because it is the
official language in which most of the government policies, plans and
programmes are presented.
2. The ability of the leaders and staff to use English at the sub-county level is
generally weak, so viable strategies should be devised and effected to
improve it.
3. The ability of the leaders and staff to use English at the sub-county level
falls into three categories, depending on their levels of education and
exposure: the weak primary education people, the average junior and
secondary education people; and the good graduates at degree, diploma
and certificate levels. Therefore, the strategies devised should embrace
the specific needs of these groups preferably through course modules.
4. There training needs of the sub-county leaders and staff in English vary
depending on their levels of education and exposure to the language.
Thus these people can best be handled in groups based on their levels of
competence.
 5. The sub county leaders and staff can best be trained in the use of English
using interactive and participatory methods such as seminars and
workshops. The FM radio broadcasts; books, handouts and other methods
are good for supplementary roles.

Recommendations
The following recommendations were made basing on the above discussions
and conclusions:

1. A fully-fledged programme for training local government leaders and staff

in English should be developed. This will help them improve on their
communication skills and access to ideas and information.
2. There is need for action research and fieldwork for developing the draft
curriculum further, pilot testing it, and developing the relevant instructional
materials including four module based work books and instructors guides
basing on the four areas of need below:

i) Basic grammar and vocabulary

ii) Language skills
iii) Administrative register
iv) Functional communication skills

3. In the meantime, government policies, plans and programmes should be

translated into local languages so that the less educated leaders can
access and understand them, hence do their official duties better.
4. The training programmes for leaders and staff at the sub-county level
should be in form of course modules so as to address the specific needs
and weaknesses of the leaders of different educational backgrounds
(primary, secondary and post-secondary).
5. There should be resource centers established at every sub-county where
leaders can borrow materials and read about government policies, plans
 and programmes and access other information as well. This will help
improve their level of awareness.
6. The human resources at the sub-county level, that is teachers of English,
especially in secondary schools, should be trained as trainers and used to
train the leaders and staff in the use of English for administration.
7. if politically acceptable, minimum clearly defined education standards
should be set for LCIII leaders and enforced during elections so as to
ensure that only competent people in the context of using English are
elected for key leadership positions in local governments.
8. Government policy documents and programmes should be abridged and
simplified, and availed to the local leaders. These include the Constitution,
LGA and PEAP.
9. Local governments at district and sub-county levels should plan for
capacity building and training in many areas including basic English,
management skills and awareness of leaders roles, responsibilities and
powers.
10. The FAL programme should be widened and elevated from focusing only
on basic skills to focusing on functional skills for special interest groups
such as English for LCIII leaders and staff.
11. The local governments at district and sub county levels should invest in
Information and Communications Technology to improve on flow of news
and knowledge in rural areas.

Suggestions for Further Research

The following are the suggestions for further research studies:

1. There is need for more library based research for developing the draft
curriculum further and developing instructional materials including four
module based work books and instructors guides for teaching English for
administration to local government leaders.
 2. Approaches and strategies for teaching English as the official language to
LC leaders under decentralization.
3. Gender, participation and women’s empowerment under decentralization at
the sub-county level.
4. Management, information and skills for LC leaders under decentralization at
the sub-county level.
5. Capacity building needs for LC leaders under decentralization at the sub-
county level.
6. Information dissemination systems and services at the district and sub-
county levels under decentralization.

These studies can help give more insights into pertinent issues related to the
implementation, decentralization and performance of leaders at the grassroots
level.
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