The Structure of Government

The Structure of Government

Introduction
After studying this chapter, you will be able to understand the structure of the governments of East Africa and how they operate. You will be able to appreciate how the structure promotes good governance. You will also be able to make an analysis of governments in East Africa nations and make a comparison with the Ugandan system of government.

Societies have had systems of governance since the ancient times. They had both centralized and non-
centralised government structures headed by kings, chiefs or elders and a hierarchy of administration that provided leadership to the societies. These structures ensured peaceful existence and productivity of its members.

In our societies, the families are structured based on lineage of grandfather, father, mother, children and other kinsmen with each playing a different role. The family

structure has a hierarchy of power or authority and how it is distributed in the family, the boundaries defining the level of participation and role section where assignments are given to each member of the family. Figure 1.2 shows the structure of a centralised
society.

Figure 1.3 shows the structure of a typical secondary school in Uganda whose some
of the details are as below:
1 Board of Governors (BOG)
It is a policy organ body comprising of 12 members.
@ It is appointed by the Ministry of Education and Sports.
O: It makes the decisions on behalf of the Ministry of Education and
Sports.
2. Parents & Teachers Association (PTA)
It is between Board of Governors and the Head Teacher.
O It is not in the formal structure but it is recognised by the Ministry of
Education and Sports.

O It is made up of teacher and parents with the aim of supplementing
activities of the Board of Governors.
3. Head Teacher
@ He is appointed by the Ministry of Education and Sports through the Education Service Commission in consultation with foundation bodies.
@ He is the secretary to the Board of Governors.
He is the link between the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Education and Sports.
@ He reports to the Commissioner Secondary Education, in the
government.
4. Deputy Head Teacher
They are appointed by the Ministry of Education and Sports through the Education Service Commission in consultation with foundation
bodies.
The two are of equal status.
They only differ in terms of responsibilities which are complimentary in the school administration,
They deputise the head teacher in the running of the school.
They run the school through teaching, non teaching staff and the prefectorial body.

Note: O-level secondary schools have only one deputy who performs all the duties of the deputy. Therefore they have a structure slightly different from that of an A-level secondary school in respect to Deputy head teacher.
This simplified example of a school helps us to understand the structure and hierarchy of governance when it comes to countries.
Countries have governance structures in which political institutions within a state are organised to deliver services to the citizens. Governance structure includes, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. There is separation of powers among the three arms of government. This happens in a democracy. In other systems like monarchies or military governments most power is concentrated in the king
or president. The structure of government is therefore the state in which power is distributed and exchanged among its agencies and between the government and the
society at large.

Writing short notes on a country, nation, state and government
Activity 1.1

a)Using ICT, dictionary or library resources, carryout research about a country, a nation, a state and a government and make short notes in your books.
b)Explain how a country, a nation, a state and a government are linked together.

The Structure of Government in Uganda
Uganda inherited a colonial governance structure used by the British during the colonial rule. The colonial administrative structure was headed by the governor, who appointed the Executive council and the Legislative council.

The structure of colonial government in Uganda

Figure 1.4: The electoral structure
Uganda attained her independence from the colonial administration in 1962 to a sovereign state governed by the constitution with the Prime Minister as Head of government and President as Head of State. Under the 1967 constitution, Uganda became a republic with three arms of government. The three arms are: the Executive comprised of president and cabinet; the Legislature or parliament; and the Judiciary.
Under the 1967 constitution, the kingdoms and chiefdoms were abolished. The structure of government is based on the principle of separation of powers where authority is distributed among the three branches namely the executive, the legislative and the judicial. This is done to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a single group of people.

The executive enforces the law as written by the legislature and interpreted by the judiciary but it cannot pass laws because it is the role of the legislature. The parliament cannot interpret laws because it is the role of the judiciary. However, the executive can be the source of most bills that are passed into laws.
The executive therefore is the branch of government that exercises authority and holds responsibility for the governance of the country.

It executes and enforces laws passed by the legislature and the policies of the government. The President of Uganda is both the head of state and head of government. The Parliament is the arm of government that consists of elected and appointed members from all over the country that exercise the legislative power. Parliament is the physical form of the people’s sovereignty. It drafts, debates and passes laws
that guide the institutions of government and the country. The parliament has three functions; representing the citizens, making laws, and overseeing the government
activities.

Figure 1.5: The Parliament of Uganda, Kampa a
The judiciary is the arm of government that interprets, defends, and applies the laws made by parliament. Its role is to adjudicate disputes according to the law. In Uganda, this judicial role is played by the courts of law.

Figure 1.6: High Court of Uganda in Kampala good governance is determined by how well these three arms of government exercise their roles independently of each other. It is through the structure of government that government functions to manage the state and regulate public affairs, decision-
making and policy implementation.

Activity 1.2
Discussing the structure of Uganda government
a) Using ICT or library, identify the composition of the executive, legislature, and judiciary in Uganda.
b) In groups, discuss how the three arms of government work and support one another. Make a presentation to the class.
c) In groups, discuss the changes or improvements that would improve the roles of the executive and the legislature to serve the citizens better.
The System of Government in East Africa
The Kenyan Government System
Kenya is a sovereign democratic state. It is a republic made up of three arms Of government. Unlike other East African governments, Kenya has two-tier government system that are distinctive but interdependent at both the national and county levels.

Counties in Kenya are larger territories than we have in Uganda. A county comprises of several districts.

Figure 1.7: The Kenyan Government Structure
The Executive at the national level is headed by the President assisted by the Deputy President, the Attorney General, cabinet Secretaries (ministers in Uganda), Principal secretaries (personal secretaries in Uganda) and the National Civil Service. The executive at county level is headed by the Governor and assisted by the Deputy Governor and the Public Service.

The Kenyan parliament is composed of two chambers namely the upper house called the Senate and the lower house called the National Assembly. The legislature exists at both the national and county level. A county in Kenya is larger than what Uganda has as a county. A Kenyan county comprises of several districts. The Judiciary is composed of superior courts and subordinate courts. The superior courts include the Supreme court, the court of appeal and the high court. The subordinate courts include
the magistrates courts, the kadhi courts, and the tribunals

Activity 1.3
Researching about other systems of government in East Africa
a)Using ICT or library, carry out research on the structure of government in Tanzania. Make notes in your book.
b)In groups, compare the systems and the structures of governments in East Africa. Make a presentation to the class.
c)In a short essay, suggest changes or improvements that would benefit the citizens in East Africa.

The Best Structure for Good Governance
Governance is the process in which decisions are made and implemented. A good governance structure is important in realising the decisions made by actors. The actors exercise power or authority on behalf of the people in the management of resources. Therefore the structure and actions should allow openness, transparency, accountability, equitability and responsiveness to people’s needs. It is through good
structures that the interests of citizens are articulated and their rights exercised. A good structure should allow participation of all citizens and should be accessible to the vulnerable groups. It should be impartial and should protect the rights of all citizens including the minorities. The governance structure should allow the institutions to be accountable to the people and to one another.

Activity 1.4
Identifying the elements of a good structure for a good governance
a) Using ICT or library research, identify the good elements in the structure of the government in Uganda.
b) In groups, compare the similarities and differences in the structure of the governments in East Africa. Make presentations to the class.

Governance Systems in Africa After Independence
Most African states did not get independence on a silver plate. It was through a struggle that African nationalists liberated their nations from wlonial bondage. Independence gave back the African states their sovereignty. Soon after independence, the African states were faced with a number of challenges. The challenges were rooted in the colonial set up. The states found it hard to maintain their economies that soon affected their capacity to maintain stable political systems.

The economic difficulties in most African states led to power struggles which resulted into political instability. The power struggles in most cases were fueled by the former colonial powers. The political leaders were forced to adopt new systems and structures of political leadership that would keep their citizens together and address the challenges facing them. Most states tried to keep within multipartism that had been left behind by the colonialists. Some adopted single party states. Others adopted militarism as the best alternative.
Multipartism was the political system that was adopted in the that independent governments inherited from the coonisers. Multipartism had its own challenges. It was a system that was not practiced during colonial rule. The were instead repressive. They used divide and rule policy which was based on tribal and religious differences in managing their colonies. It became increasingly difficult to sustain multipartism. This led to military takeover of governments through coup detats in some countries like Uganda, Burundi, Sudan, Zaire, Algeria, Nigeria. It also led to the rise of military dictators in Africa uch Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Sani Abachi of Nigeria and Idi Amin of Uganda. See
igure 1.10.

The single party system became an alternative to multipartism in many African states. It gave hope to most states. Most states in Africa were not well prepared for multipartism. It is multipartism which created a lot of opposition in the country. It delayed decision making yet African statesmen wanted to develop their countries. It became necessary to adopt single party systems to reduce opposition and competition for rivalry parties. For the countries that were emerging from colonialism, single party states were considered peaceful, cheap, efficient and best in achieving national unity. Single party system created less resistance since its implementation was similar to the pre-colonial states system managed by Africa kings and chiefs.

The one-party system was promoted in Tanzania, and Zambia and later in Kenya, Uganda and others. See Figure 1.11.

Figure 1.11: Advocates of one-patty state in Africa; Kamuzu Banda of Malawi (left), Julius Nyerere of Tanzania (middle) and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia (right)
Multiparty system however remains the preferred system of governance world over. Military regimes and single party systems have met increased pressure from internal political forces and international financial institutions as systems of the past. The new demand requires systems that allow liberalization and increased participation in the political process by the citizens. In view of this, multi-party-political systems have become the preferred systems in cultivating development and institutionalization of democracy. It has more to offer than any other systems despite its weaknesses. However, multipartism is still far from delivering democracy in post-independence
Africa because ruling parties continue to be in full control of the electoral process
instead of institutions.

Comparing government systems in Africa
Activity 1.5

a)Using ICT or library, research on the system of government in Ghana, hina and USA and make notes in your book.
b)Compare the government systems in the countries in (a) above with

in Uganda.groups, discuss the similarities and differences of the government system for each country and make a presentation to the class.
e)Discuss the lessons Ugada can learn from the political systems of these countries.

Activity 1.6
Interviewing a government representative on government
structure
Your school or teacher invites an official from government at the district or
sub county to make a presentation on the structure of local governments.
a) Make notes as the official makes the presentation.
b) Prepare some questions that you will ask the official in areas you may
not understand on the topic.

Ac .6
Interviewing a government representative on government structure Your school or teacher invites an official from government at the district or sub county to make a presentation on the structure of local governments.
a) Make notes as the official makes the presentation.
b) Prepare some questions that you will ask the official in areas you may not understand on the topic.

Chapter Summary
In this chapter, you have learnt that the structure of government is about the separation of powers among the three arms of the state and that powers are distributed and shared among the three arms and governance agencies in the management of a country’s affairs. For the system to be effective it must allow participation of citizens and be accountable to them as well. Most countries in East Africa and Africa have governance systems and government structures with emphasis on separation of powers between
the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.