Assessing Grant Utilization Practices in Kakiri Sub-County, Wakiso District.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025-10-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Makerere University Business School
Abstract
The study assessed grant utilization practices in Kakiri Sub-County, Wakiso District, Uganda. Despite increased government and donor funding for community development projects, concerns persist regarding ineffective utilization of grants, resulting in delayed project implementation, financial mismanagement, and limited sustainability of project outcomes. The study sought to assess the effectiveness of grant utilization practices, identify the key challenges affecting grant utilization, and propose strategies for improving grant utilization in Kakiri Sub-County.
The study adopted a cross-sectional research design using a quantitative approach. Data were collected from 68 beneficiaries drawn from 44 grant-funded projects in sectors including education, health, infrastructure, and water using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20), employing descriptive statistics comprising frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations.
The findings indicate that grant utilization practices in Kakiri Sub-County are moderately effective. Stakeholder engagement in project planning and implementation, staff competence, and the realization of community benefits from completed projects emerged as the strongest aspects of grant utilization. However, weaknesses were observed in timely fund disbursement, adherence to approved project budgets, compliance with project timelines, and sustainability of grant-funded projects. The study further established that inconsistent financial reporting, diversion of grant funds to unauthorized activities, inadequate community engagement, project scope exceeding available funding, corruption, bureaucratic delays, procurement irregularities, and weak monitoring and evaluation systems were the major challenges affecting effective grant utilization.
The study identified several strategies for improving grant utilization, including strengthening financial oversight and accountability mechanisms, enhancing monitoring and evaluation systems, enforcing procurement regulations, adopting automated financial management systems, improving financial reporting frameworks, strengthening stakeholder collaboration, promoting public participation, implementing performance-based funding, conducting regular audits, enhancing staff capacity through training, protecting whistle-blowers, and undertaking legislative reforms to strengthen grant governance.
The study concludes that improving transparency, accountability, financial oversight, stakeholder participation, and institutional capacity is essential for enhancing grant utilization and ensuring that grant-funded projects achieve their intended development outcomes. It recommends that local governments and implementing agencies strengthen financial management systems, institutionalize regular monitoring and evaluation, build staff capacity, promote community participation throughout the project cycle, and leverage digital financial management technologies to improve accountability and sustainability of grant-funded projects.
Description
This is a master's thesis.
Keywords
Citation
Mwijukye, A. (2025) Assessing Grant Utilization Practices in Kakiri Sub-County, Wakiso District. (unpublished master's dissertation). Makerere University Business School, Kampala, Uganda.