LOCAL REVENUE MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN

MUBENDE MUNICIPALITY

BY

EDISON SSALI

/MMSPAM/

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

SCIENCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF A MASTER’S DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

OF MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

FEBRUARY, 2024

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS...............................................................................................................i

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................v

CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................1

1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................1

1.2 Background to the study............................................................................................................1

1.2.1 Historical background.............................................................................................................2

1.2.2 Theoretical background..........................................................................................................4

1.2.3 Conceptual background..........................................................................................................6

1.2.4 Contextual background...........................................................................................................7

1.4 Purpose of the study...................................................................................................................9

1.5 Objectives of the study..............................................................................................................9

1.6 Research questions...................................................................................................................10

1.8 Conceptual framework.............................................................................................................10

1.9 Justification of the study..........................................................................................................11

1.10 Significance of the study.......................................................................................................12

1.11 Scope of the study..................................................................................................................13

1.11.1 Geographical scope.............................................................................................................13

1.11.2 Content scope......................................................................................................................13

1.11.3 Time scope..........................................................................................................................13

i
1.12 Operational definition and key concepts...............................................................................14

CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................15

LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................15

2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................15

2.2 Theoretical review...................................................................................................................15

2.3 Review of the related literature................................................................................................17

2.3.1 Revenue planning and service delivery................................................................................17

2.3.2 Revenue control and service delivery...................................................................................20

2.3.3 Revenue allocation and service delivery..............................................................................23

2.4 Summary of literature review..................................................................................................26

CHAPTER THREE.....................................................................................................................27

METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................27

3.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................27

3.2 Research design.......................................................................................................................27

3.3 Study population......................................................................................................................28

3.4 Determination of the Sample Size...........................................................................................29

3.5 Sampling Techniques and Procedures.....................................................................................29

3.6 Data Collection Methods.........................................................................................................30

3.6.2 Interview Method..................................................................................................................31

3.7 Data Collection Instruments....................................................................................................31

3.7.1 Questionnaire survey............................................................................................................32

3.7.2 Interview Guide....................................................................................................................32

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3.8.1 Validity of the Questionnaire................................................................................................33

3.8.2 Reliability of the Questionnaire............................................................................................35

3.8.3 Trustworthiness of the interview guide................................................................................35

3.9 Data collection procedures......................................................................................................36

3.10 Data analysis..........................................................................................................................36

3.10.1 Quantitative analysis...........................................................................................................36

3.10.2 Qualitative analysis.............................................................................................................37

3.11 Variable measurement............................................................................................................37

3.11 Ethical consideration..............................................................................................................38

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................40

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 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

CSOs: Civil Society Organizations

CVI: Content Validity Index

DV: Dependent variable

HIV: Human Immune Deficiency Virus

IV: Independent variables

NGOS: Non-Government Organizations

RDT: Resource Dependency Theory

SDGs: Sustainable Development Goals

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Service delivery becomes so paramount because it represents the fundamental structure of

nation-building, it serves a tangible link between government and citizens to the government,

and it also promotes the values of nations to the citizens and finally serves as a bond between the

state and citizens (Edogbanya et al., 2023). Since effective service delivery remains the overall

outcome of public services, measuring the performance to keep them in line of duty is very

essential. In Uganda, many urban councils are assumed to have many revenue sources like

trading licenses, local service tax, produce loading fees, market dues, fines, and charges, among

others, with no or little positive impact on service delivery. Local Revenue in Local Government

is the heart that determines its functionality just like the body of a human being. Its effective and

efficient collection and utilization takes a central position in ensuring the success of any local

government in service delivery. The study will concentrate on local revenue management as the

independent variable and service delivery as the dependent variable in Mubende Municipality. In

this study, local revenue management will be the independent variable (IV) and Service delivery

will be the dependent variable (DV). The chapter comprises of an introduction, background to

the study, statement of problem, purpose of the study, objectives, research questions, hypotheses,

significance as well as justification of the study, the scope of the study, and finally definition of

key concepts or variables.

1.2 Background to the study

The background to the study entails the historical, theoretical, conceptual and contextual

backgrounds as explained in the sub sections below.

1
1.2.1 Historical background

Historically, The Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1839, is the world's first international NGO

that fought hard to bring about social change and the fight against slavery as slaves were in a

critical situation (Timmerman, 2022). This shows that service delivery is influenced by

traditions, time and income (Igbokwe-Ibeto, 2019). Individuals with more income tend to acquire

more service delivery than low income earners (Deserranno, Stryjan, & Sulaiman, 2019). By the

end of 2018, 600 million people across the world lived in extreme poverty characterized by

access to poor or no service delivery from their immediate stakeholders (Bopi-Kerepa et al.,

2017).

Worldwide, local governments have been adopted as the most effective means through which

service delivery could be decentralized to the grass root people. In the USA for example, one

system of local government used is the federal states, where semi-autonomous political and

administrative sphere referred to as states with local administration through which peoples’

representation, voice and services are channeled down to the masses. The system will be adopted

due to the principle that opinions are supposed to originate from bottom to top, that is to say,

from the masses to the central federal state of the USA (Coelho & Nobre, 2019).

In Africa, decentralization reforms have been pursued for over the last 30 years with the aim of

improving service delivery through emphasis on governance efficiency and making policy more

responsive to the needs of local people, particularly the poor (Choudhary & Das, 2020).

However, Choudhary and Das (2020) note that the pursuance of the attributes of service delivery

has continued to suffer from lack of systematic analyses of decentralization in Africa and its

impact in service delivery and poverty reduction. There is hardly any evidence that service

delivery although poverty indicators have improved as result of decentralized governance.

2
In Uganda, over- the past two decades, the transformation and reform of local governments has

been a key feature of the political programmes of the Uganda Government, Created by the Local

government Act (1997), local governments aim to develop local authorities that are more

dynamic, entrepreneurial efficient, effective and in touch with their citizens or local people.

According to Akai (2013), local government is the process of transferring responsibility from the

central government to local governments, in local government, providing social services

involved three levels of policy decisions. Previous interventions to address the problem had not

led to serious improvements in the quality of services. Political and institutional mechanisms of

delivering and monitoring the delivery of social services had also been very weak (Nuwagaba,

2016). These had mainly been supply-side interventions where it was assumed that monitoring of

lower local governments by the centre would result into improvements in the quality of social

service delivery, This supply side approach was devoid of triggering demand for accountability

by the service recipients in a particular local government to the extent that accountability made

to the centre rather than the citizens.

Revenue management as far as public institutions are concerned is traceable in early 18 th and

later 19th when Great Britain initiated some of its projects that required continuous flow of

resources from the subjects in form of taxes (Rose, 1950). The need for public revenues required

that more taxes become imminent and many people got concerned on how public revenues

realized from taxes was planned for and eventually spent to cater for public demands (Agrawal

& Ferguson, 2007). For the case of Uganda, local revenue management is still very sensitive and

has stemmed from the time when Uganda had independence in 1962 under Britain as its colonial

rulers. It is during this period that Uganda structured into districts with each district segmented to

3
manageable departments was tasked to administratively manage their routine operations

supported with locally generated local revenue (Ugandan Constitution, 1995).

For the case of the study area, Mubende Municipality is situated approximately 80 km North

West of Kampala along Kampala-Hoima road. Mubende Municipality is a newly established

Lower Local Government having been declared a municipality by Parliament effective 1 st July

2018. More to note, local revenue management at the town council has focused on key priority

activities. These have ranged from preparing budget estimates and revenue enhancement plan,

carrying out a comprehensive tax assessment and registration of new business, Additional

registration, mobilization and sensitization of revenue sources has been done and organizing as

well as conducting sensitization meetings on different taxes for effective revenue collection

among others have been frequently done to better revenue management (Mubende Municipal

council Budget Reports, 2013/2014/2015/2016). Mubende Municipality, provides a number of

required urban services namely proper planning of infrastructure, provision of safe water,

improvement in primary education, maintenance of community urban roads, garbage collection

& disposal as well as addressing other cross-cutting issues like environment, HIV/AIDS, gender,

and human rights concerns. The study will be therefore based on the historical information

provided above.

1.2.2 Theoretical background

The Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) will be used for this study. The core argument of RDT

as advanced by Pfeffer and Salancik (1978), cited in Nyakato (2009) is that organizations would

respond to demands made by external actors or organizations upon whose resources they are

heavily dependent, even if those organizations will try to minimize that dependency as much as

possible. In this theory, the management style in a given organization will follow, and to that

4
extent, will depend on external circumstances. This theory is one of many theories organizational

studies have used in understanding the behaviour of organizations. From the fiscal

decentralization point of view, local governments heavily depend on central government

financial transfers (LGA, CAP 243) and donor funds, as argued in the work of Rioja (2015). The

Resource Dependency Theory proposes that actors lacking in allocation resources will seek to

establish relationships with (for instance, be dependent upon) others in order to obtain needed

resources. This questions the argument that local governments are autonomous and have powers

of planning and budgeting. In this case the relationship between central government and local

governments in Uganda is based on the Resource Dependency Theory. Local Development

Grants are an incentive-based policy instrument predicated on resource dependency theory. This

theory puts forth that changes in resource availability would threaten organizations and

encourage adaptation for continued existence.

The Resource Dependence Theory also focuses on the exercise of power, control, and

negotiation of interdependencies to secure a stable inflow of vital resources and reduce

uncertainty. This argument is supported by the 1995 Constitution of Uganda (Article 193, section

3) that defines the utilization of the conditional grant to be determined by both central

government and local government through the planning and budgeting processes (Republic of

Uganda, 1995). From a resource dependence point of view, performance measurement systems,

embedded in Local government revenue implementation, can be considered as tools closely

linked with the exercise of power, self-interest and political advocacy. Therefore, because of the

dependency nature of local governments on external resources for executing most of their

mandates, resource dependency theory is very paramount in this study.

5
1.2.3 Conceptual background

The conceptual background provides an insight of two key study variables that have been

selected to be studied that is local revenue management as the independent variable and service

delivery as the dependent variable.

Ansaldo and Marcotte (2017) define revenue management as the process of planning,

mobilization and collection, allocation, utilization and controlling of public funds that are

generated by the government to provide public services, for instance education, water, roads and

sanitation to the general public nationally while Kimes (2020) asserts that local revenue

management is the application of information systems and pricing strategies to allocate the right

capacity to the right customer at the right price at the right time. To the scholar, the concept of

revenue management encompasses setting fair prices according to predicted demand levels so

that price-sensitive customers willing to purchase at off-peak times can do so at favorable prices.

Local revenue planning as a dimension of the independent variable is a very important function

for revenue performance improvement, through formulation of local revenue enhancement plans

and budgets, proper business registration and revenue assessment. These measures or constructs

form the basis for mobilizing the financial resources required for Maintenance of physical

infrastructure.

Local revenue control as a local revenue management dimension is concerned with allocation of

funds collected in the local government to other sectors in accordance with the budget and local

revenue sharing mechanism. Proper allocations, timely release of funds will ensure effective and

efficient budget implementation. In addition, effective internal controls such as audits,

accountability, monitoring and evaluation will lead to proper maintenance of physical

infrastructure hence sustainability of the investments.

6
Revenue allocation is described as a method of sharing the centrally generated revenue among

different tiers of government and how the amount allocated to a particular tier is shared among

its components for economic development (Bashir K. 2023).

Service delivery is defined as the actual producing of a service depending on the kind of service

being offered, as each service has a primary intervention of transforming the customer

(Muhammad & Usman, 2023). On the other hand, service delivery is the way in which the

different responsibilities around services are organized, typically indicating who is directly

responsible for the daily tasks of operating, maintaining and administering the services or the

client himself or herself is regarded as the principal beneficiary. Service Delivery is

conceptualized social services (primary education and basic health services), infrastructure

(water and sanitation, roads and bridges) and services that promote personal security (justice,

police).

1.2.4 Contextual background

The task of revenue management as far as government parameters are concerned has been given

to its entities, especially districts and town councils, and the role is executed guided by Section

35 of the Local Government Act Cap 243, Amendment 2010. The act grants administrative

powers to government authorities to ensure that they properly manage all local revenue which

has been planned and documented in their budgets and three-five strategic plan development.

This practice has remained operational in Mubende municipality. Mubende municipality, like

any other local government in Uganda, derives its mandate to deliver social services from the

2nd Schedule (Part V) of the Local Governments Act (Cap. 243). Like other local governments

in the country, Mubende municipality is faced with problems of poor quality in respect of

primary health care services. There is limited access to quality health services by the

7
beneficiaries and ineffectiveness of care. The rate at which the newborn babies in Mubende

municipality die is alarming. In 2017/2018, statistics indicated that five mothers and their babies

died during the delivery process and 41 babies died immediately after being born (Mubende

municipality Health Status Report, 2021/2022).This indicates very poor performance of service

delivery. Attaining service gratification in the whole world demands that local governments

improve on the quality of services they offer (Makanyeza, 2015). Service delivery in Uganda is

often characterized by weak public health systems (Nabukeera, 2016). Besides, an audited report

published in 2016 by Auditor General on local authorities in Uganda show that health services

offered in Mubende municipality are unsatisfactory (Office of The Auditor General, 2022). The

aforementioned report and studies indicate deficient and dilapidated infrastructure, questionable

drug inventory techniques and quality, unreliable staff, unqualified and limited human resources,

among others. Consequently, there has been increased mortality rate, low life expectancy,

questionable health conditions, lack of trust in health systems, among others (WHO, 2022). In

view of the aforementioned, revenue management has been regarded a distinctive factor to

enhance quality service delivery (Wane and Gayle, 2016).

1.3 Problem statement

Revenue management is a devolved responsibility to local governments which has been viewed

as an instrument for addressing problems of providing and maintaining public services (MOLG,

2012). Besides, there has been increased central government funding to Local governments in

Uganda. Revenue management has enabled local governments to carry out their own budgeting

with a focus on their local priorities. Various efforts have been put in place in improve on service

delivery such as increased central government funding to Mubende municipality and their

discretional powers over revenue management in terms of Local revenue planning, Local

8
revenue collection and Local revenue control, Revenue allocation and utilization, there is still

inadequate delivery of health care services.

Notwithstanding the above, Mubende municipality is faced with problems of poor quality service

delivery as indicated by the alarming rate at which the newborn babies in Mubende municipality

die. In 2020/2021, statistics indicated that five mothers and their babies died during the delivery

process and babies died immediately after being born (Mubende municipality Health Status

Report, 2020/2021), poor road infrastructures, poor waste management practices and poor urban

planning. This indicates very poor performance of service delivery. The health care services are

not easily accessed, the expected health outputs are not being obtained and there is lack trust and

respect between the service providers and clients (Mubende Town Council Five-Year

Development Plan, 2015/2016-2019/2020). Based on the reviewed literature, there has been no

study conducted to establish the effect of revenue management on service delivery in Mubende

municipality. This leaves a gap on the extent to which revenue management influences service

delivery in Mubende municipality. If this trend continues, the desired health results will not be

obtained. This will eventually result into unbearable disease burden with unprecedented

proportions of life years being lost due to premature deaths. This study therefore purposes to fill

this gap. It is against this background that the study will to determine the effect of local revenue

management on service delivery in Mubende Municipality.

1.4 Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of local revenue management on service

delivery in Mubende Municipality.

1.5 Objectives of the study

i. To examine the effect of revenue planning on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

9
 ii. To investigate the effect of revenue control on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

iii. To examine the effect of revenue allocation on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

1.6 Research questions

i. What is the effect of revenue planning on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

ii. What is the effect of revenue control on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

iii. What is the effect of revenue allocation on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

1.7 Hypotheses of the study

H1: Revenue planning significantly affects service delivery in Mubende Municipality

H2: Revenue control significantly affects service delivery in Mubende Municipality

H3: Revenue allocation significantly affects service delivery in Mubende Municipality

1.8 Conceptual framework

The conceptual frame work provided below gives a diagrammatic insight of the proposed study.

On the right hand side is the independent variable (local revenue management) and on the right is

the dependent variable (service delivery).

Local Revenue Management (IV)

Revenue planning
Revenue enhancement Service Delivery (DV)

Set Revenue Objectives

Quality of local services
Budget preparation
delivered
Revenue Control Timely delivery of local
Revenue sharing services
Budget implementation Local service coverage
Accountability Cost effectiveness of
service delivery
Revenue allocation
Local Spending
M&E 10
Source: Adopted from Akongo (2012), Khan (2000), Sondalini (2015), Schiff A. et al. (2013)

and modified by the researcher, 2024.

Figure 1.1: Presents a conceptual framework showing the relationship between Local

revenue management and service delivery.

The model in figure 1.1 illustrates the relationship between local revenue management and

service delivery. The independent variable is revenue management while the dependent variable

is performance. The independent variable is conceptualized to have three dimensions namely;

revenue planning with subthemes of revenue enhancement, set revenue objectives and budget

preparation, revenue control with subthemes of revenue sharing, budget implementation and

accountability and revenue allocation with subthemes of local spending and monitoring and

evaluation. The dependent variable is measured in terms of quality of local services delivered,

timely delivery of local services, local service coverage and cost effectiveness of service

delivery. Revenue control is concerned with allocation of funds collected in the local government

to other sectors in accordance with the budget and local revenue sharing mechanism. Proper

allocations, timely release of funds will ensure effective and efficient budget implementation. In

addition, effective internal controls such as audits, accountability, monitoring and evaluation

would lead to improved quality service delivery.

1.9 Justification of the study

This was the first time a study of this kind has been conducted in Mubende municipality. It

aimed at establishing the effects of local revenue management on the maintenance of physical

infrastructure in local governments with specific reference to Mubende municipality and below

is its rationale: The maintenance of existing public infrastructure has often been neglected in

11
favor of building new infrastructure in developing countries and Uganda in particular, has a

weak financing system that focuses on putting up new investments in local governments without

a corresponding provision for operation and maintenance of physical infrastructure. This study is

destined to be an eye opener. This study is a current invitation of the public sector to sustain a

commitment on the maintenance of physical infrastructure. Still in tandem is the fact that the

adverse effects of poor or lack of maintenance of infrastructure on service delivery in local

governments and its socio-economic impact on the entire citizenry as expounded probably

remain obscure to both policy makers and implementers and the general public. Therefore, this

study retains a central position in the promotion of local ownership and sustainability of projects

and programmes.

1.10 Significance of the study

Under the Ministry of local government, the study highlights the problems that physical

infrastructure or investments funded by local or central government or donors face. Therefore, as

a supervisory body, it shall have the opportunity to appreciate the state of the various physical

infrastructures that it continues to fund so as to step up efforts intended to revamp their centrality

through ensuring that necessary and appropriate budgets are made and implemented effectively.

In the area of policy makers, the study will draw the attention of policy makers in parliament

since it exposes the flaws in policy implementation with regard to the state of physical

infrastructure to which public resources are allocated every year without appropriate routine

maintenance yet budgets presented before parliament signal a commitment by the local

governments to maintain the public physical infrastructure.

12
Through adding to the existing body of knowledge, the research benefits the academicians and

researchers to learn and acquire more knowledge on local revenue management and service

delivery and particularly in the Urban Council parameters in Uganda.

1.11 Scope of the study

The scope of the study provides the geographical time and content scope as explained below.

1.11.1 Geographical scope

The study will be carried out in Mubende municipality in Mubende district. This is one of the

administrative units of Mubende District. Mubende District is located in the Central region of

Uganda. It borders with Kassanda district in the East, Kiboga and Kyankwanzi in the North,

Sembabule and Gomba in the South, Kyegegwa and Kakumiro in the West. The district

headquarters is located 160 Kilometres West of Kampala

1.11.2 Content scope

The study will focus on the effect of local revenue management on service delivery in Mubende

Municipality. Specifically, the study will consider the following research objectives; to examine

the effect of revenue planning on service delivery in Mubende Municipality, to investigate the

effect of revenue control on service delivery in Mubende Municipality and to examine the effect

of revenue allocation on service delivery in Mubende Municipality

1.11.3 Time scope

The study will cover a period of five years from 2018 to 2023. Anecdotal evidence showed that

the existing physical infrastructure is poorly maintained and as such services and facilities have

continued to deteriorate, hence this time period was long enough to provide the necessary data

for understanding the relationship between two variables under study in a bid to address the

problem.

13
1.12 Operational definition and key concepts

Revenue management: Is the application of disciplined analytics that predict consumer behaviour

at the micro-market levels and optimize product availability and price to maximize revenue

growth.

Revenue allocation: This is instruments of fiscal policy by which priority is developed through

budgeting, i.e. how the money generated through taxation and government investment are shared

among the various governmental levels and economic sectors to speed up policy implementation

process. Performance: This is considered in terms of extending basic services like education,

healthcare, water, transport and communication where the end users are the public or local

people within the country. Revenue: Revenue is income collected and received by a Local

Government (LG).

Revenue refers to a sum of payments received by a LG from individual residents and

organizations and transfers by the central government for the purpose of financing service

delivery and devolved expenditure functions.

Local revenue management: The concept referred to how local revenue is closely monitored in

terms of how its accounted for affect collection, how revenue is planned, how revenue records

are kept and whether the revenue collected has been put to good use hence internal auditing.

Service delivery: In the context of this study was refer to component of support that explains the

relationship between providers seen as BTC for this study and clients seen as tax payers where

the provider offers a service. The services identified for the study included maintenance of roads,

provision of safe water, and building of school blocks, garbage and waste collection.

14
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter will present existing literature on the effect the effect of local revenue management

on service delivery in Mubende Municipality. Specifically, the study will consider the following

research objectives; to examine the effect of revenue planning on service delivery in Mubende

Municipality, to investigate the effect of revenue control on service delivery in Mubende

Municipality and to examine the effect of revenue allocation on service delivery in Mubende

Municipality. Literature was drawn from secondary sources such as journal articles, policy

documents, physical planning Acts, the constitution of the Republic of Uganda, and reports. The

literature study chapter constituted the theoretical, conceptual, the actual study concerning the

specific objectives of this study and the summary of the literature study.

2.2 Theoretical review

The Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) will be used for this study. The core argument of RDT

as advanced by Pfeffer and Salancik (1978), cited in Nyakato (2009) is that organizations would

respond to demands made by external actors or organizations upon whose resources they are

heavily dependent, even if those organizations will try to minimize that dependency as much as

possible. In this theory, the management style in a given organization will follow, and to that

extent, will depend on external circumstances. This theory is one of many theories organizational

studies have used in understanding the behaviour of organizations. From the fiscal

decentralization point of view, local governments heavily depend on central government

financial transfers (LGA, CAP 243) and donor funds, as argued in the work of Rioja (2015). The

Resource Dependency Theory proposes that actors lacking in allocation resources will seek to

15
establish relationships with (for instance, be dependent upon) others in order to obtain needed

resources. This questions the argument that local governments are autonomous and have powers

of planning and budgeting. In this case the relationship between central government and local

governments in Uganda is based on the Resource Dependency Theory. Local Development

Grants are an incentive-based policy instrument predicated on resource dependency theory. This

theory puts forth that changes in resource availability would threaten organizations and

encourage adaptation for continued existence.

The Resource Dependence Theory also focuses on the exercise of power, control, and

negotiation of interdependencies to secure a stable inflow of vital resources and reduce

uncertainty. This argument is supported by the 1995 Constitution of Uganda (Article 193, section

3) that defines the utilization of the conditional grant to be determined by both central

government and local government through the planning and budgeting processes (Republic of

Uganda, 1995). From a resource dependence point of view, performance measurement systems,

embedded in Local government revenue implementation, can be considered as tools closely

linked with the exercise of power, self-interest and political advocacy. Therefore, because of the

dependency nature of local governments on external resources for executing most of their

mandates, resource dependency theory is very paramount in this study.

2.3 Review of the related literature

2.3.1 Revenue planning and service delivery

Over the years, decentralization has been tipped as a perfect mechanism to improve health

services. Lately, it has been viewed as a fundamental means of a wider health reform to attain

‘improved equity, efficiency, quality and financial soundness. Annet et al (2023) observe that

16
local councils should be responsible for overseeing and authorizing annual plans from the ‘health

service managers’ at every government level. “Decentralization of health services provision has

also resulted in the mandatory establishment of local health councils at state and municipal

levels. As well as guaranteeing local access to national funds, these councils have come to play a

key role in local politics, becoming important arenas for participation, decision making and

public accountability for the government’s actions (Mbufu, 2023).

Mbufu, (2023) argues that revenue planning for revenue includes identification of revenue

sources, assessment of revenue and collection of revenue, debt and credit management. On the

contrary, Ongodia, (2021) highlights that a large portion of local government customers are

indigent and therefore cannot afford to pay for health services; and this has to be factored into

financial planning and strategy development. Additionally, Ssenjala (2019) acknowledges that to

curb and reverse the declining local revenue, many LGs come up with revenue enhancement

plans that entail identifying revenue sources, among others, to increase the revenue base. The

scholar adds that the actual collections could be less than the budgeted. This shows negative

performance in revenue collection and it is not desirable if the Local Government is to deliver

quality and sufficient health services to its people. The challenge with the above scholarly works

is that local governments are time and again affected by the prevailing sources of local revenue

which are fewer and therefore negatively affecting their revenue management and service

delivery.

Ongodia, (2021), while referring to a study in Tanzania found out that LGs needed to meet

certain minimum conditions in order to access development funds. The scholar goes ahead and

argues that such conditions are intended to reinforce good governance for instance approved

annual plan and budget; submission of final audits on time; no adverse opinion audit certificate

17
awarded to latest accounts of the council; and submission of quarterly financial reports. Such

requirements are seen as minimum safeguards for handling funds and aim at entrenching

accountability on the part of the staff and leaders of the councils. Furthermore, Baghedo, (2022)

stresses those local governments fail to avoid unrealistic increases from revenue enhancement

activities, which make the realization of revenue and service delivery such as paediatrics and

gaenacology to be more of a dream than a reality.

Namanya, (2022) argue that local governments improve their local revenue collection when they

deploy a team of enforcers to oversee its collection. The scholars argue that to ensure smooth

financial health of an organization, a number of interrelated factors need to be considered; they

argue that using strategic plans, enforcement inclusive, fulfills objectives of an organization.

This task requires setting of goals, which has to do with the quality of service with other drivers

directed at attaining organization goals. Conclusively, Christopher, Komunda & Milton (2022)

stress that well designed revenue assessment strategies improve the efficiency of revenue

collection, win public support, incentivize economic activity, and improve urban affordability for

the poor. More still, budgetary improvements can allow municipalities to make strategic

investments in their cities, stimulating a virtuous cycle of growth, revenue generation, and

prosperity. On the other hand, Tasha et al. (2023) agrees that the local government ‘own

revenue’ systems across Anglophone Africa are often characterized by a huge number of revenue

instruments. However, the main sources of ‘own revenues’ are usually property rates in urban

councils, business licenses, market fees and various user charges, often in the form of surcharges

for health services provided by or on behalf of the local government authority.

Steffensen, (2023) contends that in planning for revenue for local governments, across and

within health sector, decision making and budgeting in the local government play a major role in

18
determining the efficiency and effectiveness of local governments in delivering services to their

citizens. The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995) and the Decentralization Policy

empower the local governments with the responsibility of service delivery and promotion of

popular participation and empowerment of local communities in decision making on matters that

concern them. Article 190 of the Constitution of Uganda (1995) specifically provides that

District/Municipal councils shall prepare comprehensive and integrated development plans

incorporating the plans of lower local governments and thereafter submit to the National

Planning Authority. Stiefel, Rubenstein and Schwartz, (2021) asserts that there is always some

degree of conflict among priorities established by various levels of government and one way to

induce local governments to follow priorities established by central government is for central

government to use its spending power in providing conditional grants. This is in agreement with

the resource dependency theory. Contrary to the above, by central government overly getting

involved in local government decision making, this biases the system towards centralized

outcomes and yet the grants are intended to facilitate decentralized decision making for the

delivery of services.

Nkanata (2020) did a study on survey of budget practices in secondary schools. The study aim

was to look at benefits of budgeting by Public Secondary Schools Managers and to establish

factors that secondary schools consider when undertaking a budgetary process. The study

established that most secondary schools do not have a strategic plan to guide them towards

achievement of both long-term and short-term objectives (Bitarabeho, 2021). The head of

schools had received training in financial management on preparing budgets and the commonly

prepared budget was income and expenditure budget with only a few schools preparing the cash

budget and long-term assets acquisition budget, despite the fact that most of them had incurred

19
expenditure on long term investments. He notes that there is lack of a solid base to enforce

budgetary approach. The research finding concluded that activity-based accounting was

commonly used, but this could not be proved if it was actually done based on the principle of

ABB. Ifrah (2023) study focused on budget practices in secondary schools, yet the present study

was on revenue planning as a dimension of revenue management and service delivery in

Mubende municipality . This was therefore the motivation for this study.

2.3.2 Revenue control and service delivery

Revenue expenditure control entails three indicators namely, budget implementation reviews,

quarterly audit reports and quarterly progress performance reports. The indicators are explained

below in line with service delivery by several scholars. For instance, Petershie (2018) argues that

accountability as a revenue control is often best strengthened by working through a

multistakeholder approach involving citizens, government and health service providers to

improve service delivery. Petershie (2018) further argues that it is important to recognize and

strengthen systems of mutual accountability and partnership at local level inclusive of LGs since

accountability ensures proper utilization of financial resources for improved service delivery.

The ability to ensure joint responsibility for service delivery runs the risk of everyone’s

responsibility becoming no-one’s responsibility. In addition, Robert (2023) further argues that

formalizing revenue enhancement plan, budget priority allocations and effectively implementing

the plan are issues that can ensure availability, accessibility of improved service delivery.

On the contrary, Muhammad and Usman (2023) recommend that in order to enhance local

government revenue, accountability of such revenue would be seen in terms of the quality and

quantity of health services extended to the local communities. The scholar further notes

accessing such services would drive more people to pay tax that are allocated to the provision of

20
such services; however, an LG would register more taxes if it strengthened enforcement of laws

and adherence to revenue controls. Furthermore, Uguru, (2022) argue that budgetary expenditure

controls within LGs improved local revenue availability, decreased misappropriation of public

funds, decreased unnecessary spending and improved the delivery of health services.

Additionally, Adedokun, (2019) states that the creation of new districts has put more expenditure

pressures on the local governments, reducing and in some cases taking away completely

resources that would have been used in increasing and improving service delivery. These authors

did not talk about how revenue control in local governments in Uganda affects service delivery.

Thus, this study will be conducted to fill this information gap by establishing the effect of

revenue control on service delivery in Mubende municipality.

Onwe, (2022) recites that sources of revenue, for instance parking fees, rent, licenses, and

permits, among others, are instrumental in realizing service delivery in LGs including

expenditure on health, education. To the scholar, any increase in local revenue collection

improved service delivery, thus a significant relationship between local revenue control and

service delivery. Okarafor (2020) agrees that management of any company should be acquitted

with internal control procedures that would ensure effective service delivery and the desired

revenue generation. Nkanata (2021) examined the budgetary control in Non-Governmental

Organizations and its effects on their performance. The study found that there is a weak positive

effect of budgetary control on the performance of NGOs in Kenya and suggested the need of

sensitizing employees on budgetary controls so as to improve its consequent effect of

performance.

In addition, Nebo and Chigbo, (2020) examined some aspects of budgeting and budgetary

control system and organizational performance in the case of selected Indian companies with the

21
objective of investigating the relationship between budgetary control and organizational

effectiveness by using statistical method. The study found that there is strong relationship

between budgetary control system and organizational efficiency and it was concluded that there

are some barriers in proper implementation of budgetary control system in the organization.

More still, Onwe, (2022) conducted a study on expenditure and budgetary control in urban local

bodies in India using the prism model with the objective of achieving expenditure control

through strengthening the budgetary control. It was concluded that many public expenditure

management professionals are trying different approaches to their tasks.

Furthermore, Ibitoye, (2021) conducted a descriptive survey on the effect of budgetary control

on effectiveness of non-governmental organizations in Kenya with the aim of determining the

effect of budgetary control on effectiveness of non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The

study found that there is a low positive relationship between budgetary control and performance

and planning contributed the highest towards the positive performance of the NGOs followed by

monitoring and control and finally budget participation. It was concluded that the NGOs

generally have budgetary control at different levels of the organization and most of them have

planning, monitoring controlling, controls and budget participation. The above studies talked

about budgetary control yet the current study focused on revenue control as a dimension of

revenue management and its effect on service delivery in local governments in Uganda. Thus,

there was a need to fill the gap by establishing the effect of revenue control on service delivery in

Mubende municipality.

Atama (2019) examined the budgetary control and performance in government parastatals in

Osun state, Nigeria, with the primary objective of determining the relationship between revenues

and expenditures estimates and actuals using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Five

22
parastatals were sampled using budgetary performance for five fiscal years (2020-2021) and the

study revealed that there existed strong and weak negative relationship in the revenues and

expenditures of the establishments over the periods selected, viz: Agricultural Corporation -0.28

(weak), Broadcasting Corporation -0.58 (strong), College of Education -0.41 (weak), Property

Development Corporation -0.64 (strong) and Water Corporation -0.33 (weak) (Balunywa, 2021).

The study concluded that the budgeting process in those corporations needed a re-engineering to

reflect the true picture of their fiscal ability and to be a guide to action and performance. This

study was done to examine the budgetary control and performance in government parastatals in

Nigeria and not the effect of revenue control on service delivery in local Governments in

Uganda. Therefore, the findings may not be applicable in the context of revenue control and

service delivery (Crain & O’Roark, 2023). This is why the study will be conducted in Mubende

municipality focusing on revenue as a dimension of revenue management and service delivery.

2.3.3 Revenue allocation and service delivery

Revenue allocation process is to ensure the fulfillment of the financial and economic aspects of

the revenue. The financial tasks include: spending the amounts for the purposes specified,

minimizing savings and avoiding lapses or rush of expenditures during the end of the year

(Obwona, 2022). The economic tasks on the other hand are: ensuring that the physical targets of

programmes and projects are achieved and the macro-economic aspects of the budget such as

borrowing and deficit levels are also achieved. In managing revenue allocation, one of the key

areas of focus is the government spending pattern (Foster & Morella, 2022). Two key factors

influence revenue allocation process for government spending namely, the level of local

revenues collected and the availability of external resources to bridge the gap occasioned by

shortfall in revenues. When revenues fall short of the projected level, then budget

23
implementation is affected to the extent that the expenditures have to be reduced and some

projects and programmes postponed altogether. External resources in the form of loans and

grants are also factored into the budget following commitment by donors. The funds may

however not be available at all or may be released late into the financial year as the budgeted

amount may be reduced or a result of some donors refusing to release funds as result of the non-

fulfillment of donor conditions.

Studies that have compared allocation of public expenditure on infrastructure investment and

maintenance in an endogenous growth framework have shown that maintenance spending affects

both the durability and efficiency of public capital (Agenor, 2021). In line with the foregoing, the

study was to give a thorough assessment of the contribution of allocation of public revenue or

expenditure on maintenance of infrastructure. Increased funding for new infrastructural

investments has been witnessed in many African countries. In addition, Stiefel, Rubenstein and

Schwartz (2020) analyzed the relationship between the spending of public schools in Chicago

and patterns of budget allocation by constructing and using adjusted performance measures.

They concluded that even though the total spending differences between low-performing schools

and high-performing schools were small, there were significant differences in the distribution of

discretionary spending across function. They concluded that “high performing schools average

almost five percentage points more discretionary spending on instruction and less on

instructional support and administration”. As a dimension of revenue management and service

delivery which indicated that there was a gap to be filled by investigating the effect of revenue

allocation on service delivery in Mubende municipality.

Studies have been carried out on revenue allocation of government budgets. The majority of

these studies, such as Oriakhi, (2022) and Nebo & Chigbo (2021) were on revenue allocation at

24
the Local Government level or revenue generation and utilization at the Federal level. These

studies did not relate revenue generation to social service delivery at the state level, except for

Oriakhi (2022) that considered the relationship between revenue allocation and service delivery

in the federation (Federal, States and LGs) as a whole. Most of these studies used exploratory

research design. However, this study intended to find the impact of revenue allocation on service

delivery in local governments in Uganda with a focus on Mubende municipality using cross-

sectional research design. This study was motivated on the premise of deficiencies in empirical

researches on state revenue allocation for the provision of public service. Researches in this area

could not fully utilize the use of the study’s variables at local government level, which is revenue

allocation and service delivery. Therefore, a study of this kind pushed the frontier of existing

knowledge in this area.

Furthermore, studies have been conducted in the field of revenue allocation and spending but

focused on different aspect other than the relationship between revenue allocation and service

delivery in Uganda. Agrawal and Ferguson (2022) studied on the relationship between donor

funding and performance contracting score of state-owned enterprises in Kenya. Akonyo (2023)

studied on the factors affecting government spending on the budget allocations by accounting

officers, a case of Ministry of Education, while studied the factors affecting budget utilization by

government ministries in Kenya, Also, Makanyeza, et al (2021) studied the budgetary allocation

process in the public sector institutions, a case of University of Nairobi. These studies did not

cover the relationship between revenue allocation and service delivery in Mubende municipality

s in Uganda. The purpose of the study therefore was to fill this gap in literature by addressing the

following question: what is the effect of revenue allocation on service delivery in Mubende

municipality?

25
2.4 Summary of literature review

The review of literature looked at the following thematic areas thus; Local revenue planning and

maintenance of physical infrastructure, local revenue collection and maintenance of physical 39

infrastructure and local revenue control and maintenance of physical infrastructure in local

governments. In summary the review of the literature revealed that decentralized governance still

has challenges in bringing about effective local revenue management that translates into effective

maintenance of physical infrastructure or investments in local governments. There are challenges

in the implementation of financial management framework in order to generate sufficient

revenues required for effective service delivery including maintenance of infrastructure. This is

evidenced by unclear definition of fiscal decentralization, poorly articulated roles and resource

deficiencies as argued by Smoke (2003 p7-16). There are also ineffective revenue collection

mechanisms despite many different sources of local revenue as such there is declining local

revenue mobilization and collection. In addition there is poor prioritization of funds generated

from local revenue. There is high dependency on central government transfers for service

delivery among Local governments in Uganda but maintenance of existing public infrastructure

continues to rely on local revenue financing and yet local governments’ responsibility to enhance

local revenue collection that matches with the devolved mandate is still weak. This is evidenced

by tendencies of the Management committees in government facilities to appropriate or execute

their plans on the funds released to them either from Donors or central government through the

district or local revenue transfers.

26
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents the methodology of the study. The study employed a pragmatic paradigm

that focused on providing a comprehensive insight into the real-world application and practical

solutions to the study phenomenon. The primary goal is to produce knowledge that could be

directly applied to improve the social problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2019).

3.2 Research design

A research design is the way the objectives are linked to the structure of the independent and

dependent variables, the time it takes to collect data, the locations where it is collected, the tools

used for data collection, and data analysis. Mixed Methods Research (MMR) will be used in this

study and a convergent mixed methods strategy will be adopted. This approach combined

quantitative and qualitative research methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of the

research problem. This approach enabled the gathering of both numerical data and rich, context-

specific insights (Creswell et al., 2018; Onwuegbuzie & Collins, 2007). The qualitative approach

will permit a better understanding of the views of the stakeholders regarding the contributions of

local revenue management to service delivery s. The quantitative approach will be used to

examine the theory that predicts the contribution of revenue planning , Revenue control, and

Revenue allocation. Qualitative results will be compared with the quantitative results to generate

a conclusion as guided in figure 2 below.

27
Figure 3.2: Visual procedure for the convergent Mixed Methods adapted from Creswell, 2018.

3.3 Study population

According to Stratton (2021), a population is a complete set of all individuals who share a

common observable characteristic, and a target population is any group of individuals who meet

the requirements for a research study (Willie, 2022). Asiamah, et al (2017) assert that an

accessible population is a subset of a larger population that is realistically available for study or

investigation. It represents the group of individuals or elements from the broader population that

the researcher can access, reach, and study within the constraints of their research design,

resources, and practical limitations. The accessible population for this study will consisted of 88

respondents from the sampling frame of the staff in Mubende Municipal Council. They included

members of the leaderboard (15), the councilors on the Sectoral Committee (32), (06) Speaker

and Deputy of both municipal and division, and the Technical Team of the Council (32). They

will be key informants in the study as they possessed the key information needed for the study.

3.4 Determination of the Sample Size

According to Mooney (2019), a sample size is defined as a subset of a particular selected

population. A sample size of 91 will be considered for this study using the statistical tables of

28
Krejcie & Morgan. The statistical Table provides an accurate and scientifically proven sample

size for each population hence easy to calculate. An illustration is in Table 3.1 below.

Table 3.1: Sample Size Determination

Category Target Population (K) Sample (S) Sampling Method

Head of departments 10 07 Purposive sampling

Revenue mobilisers 10 06 Purposive sampling

Councilors on the 32 28 Simple random
Sectoral Committee
Speaker and Deputy of 06 05 Purposive sampling
both municipal and
division,
Service users 400 196 Simple random
Total 458 240
Source: (Mubende Municipality Records Office, 2024).

3.5 Sampling Techniques and Procedures

The study will employed both simple random and purposive sampling techniques.

3.5.1 Purposive Sampling

Purposive sampling is a non-probability method for obtaining a sample where researchers use

their expertise to choose specific participants that will help the study meet its goals. These

subjects have particular characteristics that the researchers need to evaluate their research

question. In other words, the researchers picked the participants “on purpose” (Rahi, 2017). This

will help the researcher select 18 key informants from the Head of departments, Revenue

mobilisers and Speaker and Deputy of both municipal and division, in Mubende Municipal

Council. They will provide in-depth information that will be used to analyze and triangulate data

generated by the questionnaire (Thomas, 2020).

3.5.2 Simple Random Sampling

29
Simple random sampling is a type of probability sampling in which the researcher randomly

selects a subset of participants from a population. It makes sure that every person in a population

has an equal probability of being chosen as a respondent (Thomas, 2020). It is embraced because

it helps a scientist to efficiently pick a more modest gathering of delegate items or individuals (a

subset) from a pre-characterized populace to go about as subjects (information hotspots) for

perception or trial and error as per the objectives of their study (Golzar, 2022). The justification

for adopting this technique will be used to minimize bias and increased the generalizability of the

study findings. When done correctly, it ensures that your sample is representative of the larger

population, making it more likely that your research results can be applied to the population as a

whole.

3.6 Data Collection Methods

The methods of collecting data for the study were categorized as primary and secondary. Primary

data was gathered through qualitative and quantitative approaches. Primary data collection

methods in this study will be applied to gather original data directly from individuals, about the

contribution of local revenue management to service delivery in Mubende Municipality. The

secondary data will be generated from the Municipal reports and periodicals (Taylor, 2021).

3.6.1 Questionnaire survey method

Muhammad and Kabir (2018) assert that the survey technique is used to collect data from a

group of respondents by presenting them with a structured set of questions. This study will adopt

a questionnaire survey method. The primary goal of a questionnaire survey will be used to gather

information, opinions, or attitudes from the representative sample selected to participate in the

study (Taherdoost, 2022). The questionnaire will be closed-ended providing a list of predefined

response options from which the participants had to select responses that suited their opinion

30
about the set statements. The questionnaire will be administered to the selected respondents

through paper surveys. With the assistance of research assistants, questionnaires with closed-

ended questions will be distributed to respondents. This will be utilized to get their perspectives

comparable to the study's peculiarities (Mutepf, 2019; Linderman, 2023). The justification for

using this method was; that firstly, it is cost-effective for collecting data from a large number of

respondents. Secondly, the standardized questions will allow for easy comparisons and analysis.

Thirdly, anonymity encouraged honest responses on sensitive topics.

3.6.2 Interview Method

An interview method in research refers to a systematic approach used by researchers to collect

information from participants by asking them questions in a structured or semi-structured manner

(Sileyew, 2019). This method will be adopted to gather in-depth insights, opinions, experiences,

and perspectives from the selected participants. The setting for the interviews was face-to-face to

answer the research question (Young et al., 2018; Ethami, et al.,2022). The key informants who

are Executive Committee Members will be the subject of interviews. This method will aim to

delve deeply into a participant's thoughts, feelings, experiences, and perspectives about the

contribution of local revenue management to service delivery in Mubende Municipality.

3.7 Data Collection Instruments

The researcher will adopt a mixed method for data collection whereby self-administered

questionnaires, key informative interview guides will be utilized for the process of collecting

data as discussed below.

3.7.1 Questionnaire survey

According to Muhammad and Kabir (2018), a questionnaire is a method of survey data collection

in which information is gathered through oral or written questionnaires. The questionnaires will

31
be self-administered to the Councilors on the Sectoral committee and the Technical team of the

council to obtain the required information for the study. The questionnaires will be adopted since

they are easier to administer, less costly, and timely and they allow the aspect of confidentiality

(Budianto, 2020). The researcher will design the questionnaire with sub-sections to include;

demographic characteristics, local revenue management (IV): Revenue planning, Revenue

control, Revenue allocation, and Service delivery (DV). The questionnaire will generate data for

objectives one, two, and three (see Chapter One, specific objectives).

3.7.2 Interview Guide

An interview guide is an alternative tool of data collection whereby researchers collect data

through direct verbal interaction while recording respondents’ answers using an interview guide

to supplement other data collection methods (Budianto, 2020). Key informants, such as members

of the Head of departments, Revenue mobilisers and Speaker and Deputy of both municipal and

division, who are knowledgeable about the study problem, will be interviewed. It enabled the

researcher to gather comprehensive qualitative data on the phenomenon under investigation; this

approach will be taken into consideration. This will allow for more in-depth analysis and provide

more relevant information that could not have been obtained through the questionnaires (Wang,

2018). The researcher will use interview guide to have a professional conversation with the

respondents to get complete explanations of how they perceived the study phenomena.

3.8 Data Quality Control

32
The researcher pre-tested the instruments used to collect data to ensure that they met the study's

acceptable standards for reliability and validity.

3.8.1 Validity of the Questionnaire

The validity of a research instrument refers to the extent to which the instrument (such as a

questionnaire) accurately measures what it intends to measure (Kothari, 2008; Mugenda &

Mugenda, 2003). In other words, it assesses whether the instrument is measuring the specific

construct or concept it claims to measure and whether the results obtained from the instrument

are genuinely reflective of the underlying phenomenon Chetwynd (2022). The researcher will

adopt Yusoff’s six steps to quantify the Content Validity of the questionnaire as illustrated in

Figure 3 below.

Source: Yusoff 2019

Figure 3.3: Content Validation Procedure.

Procedure to perform content validity in research:

The research defined the constructs or variables that had to be measured within the questionnaire

(Yusoff, 2019). This will be followed by reviewing the relevant literature to understand the key

concepts, variables, and dimensions related to the study “Local revenue management and Service

delivery”, to identify the important aspects to be reflected in the questionnaire. Based on the

33
literature reviewed, and construct definition, the researcher will generate a pool of potential

items or questions that could be included in the questionnaire. These items were diverse and

covered various aspects of revenue planning, revenue control, and revenue allocation.

Thereafter, the researcher will seek input from two experts in the subject matter. These experts

will help to evaluate the relevance and clarity of each item in the questionnaire. They can also

suggest additional important items. The Content Validity Index (CVI) will be adapted to

calculate the validity of the questionnaire (Yusosff, 2019)

a.) Item-CVI: This method assesses the content validity of each item in the questionnaire.

Experts rate each item for relevance on a scale (for example, 1 to 4 or 1 to 5), where higher

ratings indicate greater relevance. Calculate the Item-CVI for each item by dividing the number

of experts who rated it as relevant by the total number of experts. An Item-CVI score of 0.80 or

higher is often considered acceptable.

b.) Scale-CVI: If the questionnaire consists of multiple items that are meant to measure the same

construct (e.g., a Likert scale), calculate the Scale-CVI to assess the overall content validity of

the scale. This is typically done by averaging the Item-CVI scores for all items within the scale.

The study adapted Scale-CVI.

Before conducting your main study, the questionnaire that will be validated will be tested

through a pilot study on a small sample to identify any potential issues with wording,

comprehension, or item difficulty. The researcher will finalize the questionnaire by making

necessary revisions based on the pilot test results.

CVI = Number of items considered relevant

Total number of items.

34
3.8.2 Reliability of the Questionnaire

The reliability of a questionnaire refers to its ability to yield the same data when it is re-

administered under the same conditions (Learnovate, 2022; Hassan, 2023). Reliability for

quantitative research ensures that the results obtained are not just due to random fluctuations or

measurement errors. It helps researchers ensure that the data they collect are consistent and can

be used to make valid inferences about the underlying construct of interest. To assess the

reliability or internal consistency of a set of items in a questionnaire or a test, the Indeed

Editorial Team (2023) proposed doing a stability test using the test-retest method on a 10%

population with similar characteristics to the study population small population during the pilot

study. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient was computed.

Cronbach's alpha ranges from 0 to 1, where; If alpha is close to 1, it indicates high internal

consistency, meaning that the items in the scale are measuring the same construct consistently. If

alpha is close to 0, it suggests low internal consistency, meaning that the items in the scale are

not measuring the same construct consistently. A threshold of 0.7 and above will be considered

reliable (Scribbr, 2019; Hair, et al., 2019).

3.8.3 Trustworthiness of the interview guide.

According to Noble and Smith (2015), assessing the reliability of study findings requires

researchers to make judgments about the soundness of the research concerning the application

and appropriateness of the methods undertaken, and the integrity of the conclusions. Therefore,

researchers must be certain that the methods and instrumentation employed for data collection

are sound to give credibility to the meaning and interpretation of the results. From the

35
perspective of qualitative research, both validity and reliability are broadly concerned with the

issue of trustworthiness.

3.9 Data collection procedures

After the successful proposal defense, the researcher got a presentation letter from the Uganda

Management Institute (UMI) and presented it to the Mubende municipality authorities for

endorsement to complete the study. The researcher tested the interview guide and questionnaire

on two respondents and a sample of ten respondents, respectively. The researcher will make

changes to the interview guide and questionnaire based on the feedback from these respondents.

As of now, initiates for research partner positions are prepared on moral contemplations. After

that, the researcher got in touch with representatives of the Mubende Municipality to negotiate a

work-friendly schedule. Appointments were made for the researcher to meet the respondents and

collect the data at the organization (Mubende Municipality). The researcher will personally

deliver the questionnaires to respondents, assisted by research assistants, after obtaining

permission from the Mubende Municipality authorities. The researcher will conduct in-person

interviews with the most significant respondents, which included a question-and-answer session.

From that point on, the instruments for the exploration will be gathered, and the data will be

recorded, coded, deciphered, and studied.

3.10 Data analysis

Data analysis is the strategy associated with bringing solicitation, plan, and importance to the

mass of information amassed. The research encouraged both qualitative and quantitative methods

of data analysis before the analysis of the data that is discussed in this section.

36
3.10.1 Quantitative analysis

Quantitative data analysis, which calls for employing both descriptive and inferential statistics,

was carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Descriptive statistics

describe the characteristics of a data set. Descriptive statistics will be computed using frequency

distributions, mean, and standard deviation. Inferential statistics will focus on making predictions

about the contribution of Local revenue management to the service delivery. The data will be

presented in comprehensive tables displaying the responses to each category of variables after

being edited, coded, and entered

3.10.2 Qualitative analysis

The term "qualitative analysis" was coined by Borgstede and Scholz (2021) to describe a method

that "provides insights and understanding of the problem setting.". Narrative analysis of

qualitative data will be consolidated given how the outcomes connect with the exploration

questions. The researcher will collect data from a collection of written, oral, or visual texts (such

as books, papers, magazines, talks, and meetings) to identify patterns in written correspondence

to conduct Narrative analysis (Marsh, et, al., 2020; Luo, 2022).

3.11 Variable measurement

According to IvyPanda (2020), a measurement variable is an unidentified attribute that can

measure a specific entity and can take one or more values. It is frequently used for scientific

research. A variable that is used to name, label, or classify specific characteristics that are being

measured is referred to as a nominal variable. A nominal variable is the simplest measurement

variable in the two categories of categorical variables. Some examples of nominal variables

include gender, name, and phone number (Bhandari, 2022). A measurement variable whose

values can be sorted or ordered is known as an ordinal variable. They are constructed on nominal

37
scales by assigning numbers to objects to represent an attribute's rank or order. The independent

and dependent variables were measured using the Likert scale, which has five points (1-strongly

disagree, 2-disagree, 3-not sure, 4-agree, and 5-strongly agree). Since it gives a mathematical

score at each point, this scale was decided to measure the respondent's demeanor. In studies of

social attitude, the summated scale is also the one that is used the most frequently. The study

variables will be calculated in a predetermined order using the nominal and ordinal measurement

levels. The Likert scale will be utilized during the information assortment interaction to decide

respondents' sentiments and impressions of the formed factors. On a scale of 1 to 5, factors

addressed by emphatically deviate, dissent, not certain, concur, and firmly concur were measured

using ordinary and plausible estimations.

3.11 Ethical consideration

Morals in research allude to the standards that recognize satisfactory and unsatisfactory ways of

behaving (Cammaerts, 2020). The researcher will be aware of the significance of ethics in this

study, which prioritized honesty, integrity, and attribution.

Confidentiality and privacy: It refers to the obligation of an individual or organization to

safeguard entrusted information. The research participant’s privacy will be assured by the

researcher, who kept all the information safely locked up during the research process.

To ensure privacy, the respondents will be informed that indeed their names were required, that

they have the right to leave questions unanswered for which they do not wish to offer the

requisite information, and that the study could not put the respondent under pressure if this

happens.

Informed Consent: The researcher sought informed consent before conducting the data collection

process. Informed consent for research requires that the respondents or subject must be

38
competent to understand and decide, receive full disclosure, comprehend the disclosure, act

voluntarily, and consent to the proposed action to which this study adhered.

Plagiarism: presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent

by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgment. All published and unpublished

material, whether in manuscript, printed, or electronic form, is covered under this definition. This

was minimized by paraphrasing, citing, quoting, citing quotes, citing own material, and

referencing.

39
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Akonyo, E. (2023). Financial Management and service delivery in local government systems in

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