Decentralization policy and human resource management in local governments in Uganda

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between the decentralization policy and HRM in local governments in Uganda; it assessed the relationship between governance and HRM, the effect of budgetary management on HRM and the relationship between accountability and HRM in local governments. The research used a descriptive case-study design. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilized. The study targeted officials of Masaka district local government. The research used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected with help of questionnaires while secondary data was obtained from the review of documentations and internet. And analysis of data after the research was by use of SPSS to come up with the research findings Results from objective one which was the relationship between governance and human resource management revealed that there is shared control over priority setting during participation, there is collective involvement of human resource in decision making, there is transparency during information sharing, open behaviour and clear decision-making procedures, equity and Gender Sensitivity is considered, however HRM does not consider efficiency in management of resources and time. The second objective was to assess the effect of budgetary management on human resource management and findings, which revealed that the budget is a great opportunity to reposition and reinforce the HR function, all HR at the local government rely on the accountants for allocation of finance and all district officials are involved in the budget formulation and implementation. Finally Research in relation to the third objective which was to evaluate the relationship between accountability and HRM revealed that there is a positive relationship between Accountability and HRM revealed by the value of the co-efficient which equals to .976. In general the study in regard to the relationship between the decentralization policy and HRM in Uganda concluded that there is a strong relationship between the two variables. This was revealed by the positive response to good governance practices like participation, accountability, transparency, and equity and gender sensitivity with exception to efficiency which was rejected by the respondents. The research made recommendations to policy makers and stakeholders among others to ensure a streamline of good governance in relation to HRM.