The Third Leg of My Trip

Today, I was encouraged to finally start the third leg of my trip. Thus far, I’ve really been consumed with spending time with my friends and volunteering at MYDEL. I’ve been so busy, that I almost forget one very important reason for my trip: RESEARCH. This semester I am writing my master’s thesis so that I can finally graduate and I have decided to focus my research on Uganda’s Public Expenditure Tracking System for Primary Education. While talking to people about my reasons for being here, I casually mentioned it and was chastised for not visiting any government offices yet. This was a much needed scolding and today I finally ventured out to three government offices. I visited the IGG (Inspector General of Government) Office, the KCC (Kampala City Council) and the MFEP (Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning).
At the IGG we got the run around and no one seemed to know what I was talking about or who I should even speak to. I wasn’t disappointed because I expected this, but I was annoyed that the so-called receptionists knew close to nothing about anything.
At the MFEP, the administrators were extremely helpful. They directed me to the resource center where I found a ton of books documenting the government’s allocation of funding in education. This was exactly what I was looking for. The down side was that I am not allowed to check out the books, so I will have to physically sit in the library everyday until I get all the information that I need.
At the KCC, we ran into a friend's friend who knew exactly who I needed to speak to, but he wasn’t in the office. He encouraged me to come back on Monday, but stated that I should only speak to that particular officer, as much of the information that I needed is public record, but the officers do not like to share it because it leads to further investigation about other things. This most certainly did not surprise me, considering my interest in the Public Expenditure Tracking System (PETS) stems from my interest in corruption.
PETS was established because even though education and other services are being subsidized by the government, poverty is still rampant and the infrastructure of many institutions does not reflect government subsidies. Officials and donors found it necessary to track where funds were going and how they were being utilized. Is it an issue of too little funds or are funds not reaching the most needy? The fact that officials in the KCC would like to keep public records of funding allocation to schools private, leads me to believe that perhaps it is the former.