Uganda: The Dynamics of Neoliberal Transformation

409 Pages·2018·2.289 MB·English

by  Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano Martiniello, Elisa Greco, Jon Harald Sande Lie, Ronald R. Atkinson, Adam Branch and Adrian Yen, Joshua B. Rubongoya, Kristof Titeca, Japhy Wilson, Godfrey B. Asiimwe, Malin J. Nystrand and Gordon Tamm, Sarah N. Ssali, Adrian Nel, Kristen Lyons, Laura Smith and James Van Alstine, Karin Wedig, Rose Nakayi, Anneeth Kaur Hundle, Barbara Bompani, Julia Vorhölter, Ben Jones, David G. Pier

Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa
Published by one of the world’s leading publishers on African issues,
‘Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa’ seeks to provide
accessible but in-depth analysis of key contemporary issues aff ecting
countries within the continent. Featuring a wealth of empirical mate-
rial and case study detail, and focusing on a diverse range of subject
matter – from confl ict to gender, development to the environment
– the series is a platform for scholars to present original and often
provocative arguments. Selected titles in the series are published in
association with the International African Institute.
Editorial board
Rita Abrahamsen (University of Ottawa); Morten Boas (Norwegian
Institute of International Aff airs); David Booth (Overseas Devel-
opment Institute); Padraig Carmody (Trinity College Dublin);
Neil Carrier (University of Bristol); Fantu Cheru (Leiden Univer-
sity); Kevin Dunn (Hobart and William Smith Colleges); Amanda
Hammar (University of Copenhagen); Alcinda Honwana (Open
University); Paul Jackson (University of Birmingham); Gabri-
elle Lynch (University of Warwick); Zachariah Mampilly (Vassar
College); Henning Melber (Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation);
Garth A. Myers (Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut); Léonce
Ndikumana (UMass Amherst); Cyril Obi (Social Science Research
Council); Susan Parnell (University of Cape Town); Mareike
Schomerus (Overseas Development Institute); Laura Seay (More-
house College); Howard Stein (University of Michigan); Mats Utas
(Uppsala University); Alex de Waal (Tufts University)
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Mobility between Africa, Asia and Latin America: Economic Networks
and Cultural Interactions, edited by Ute Röschenthaler and Ales-
sandro Jedlowski
Agricultural Development in Rwanda: Authoritarianism, Markets and
Spaces of Governance, Chris Huggins
Liberia’s Female Veterans: War, Roles and Reintegration, Leena Vastapuu
and Emmi Nieminen
Food Aid in Sudan: A History of Power, Politics and Profi t, Susanne Jaspars
Kakuma Refugee Camp: Humanitarian Urbanism in Kenya’s Accidental
City, Bram J. Jansen
Development Planning in South Africa: Provincial Policy and State Power
in the Eastern Cape, John Reynolds
Forthcoming titles
AIDS in the Shadow of Biomedicine, Isak Niehaus
Negotiating Public Services in the Congo: State, Society and Governance,
edited by Kristof Titeca and Tom De Herdt
Economic Diversifi cation in Nigeria: Fractious Politics and the Paradox of
Prosperity, Zainab Usman
About the editors
Jörg Wiegratz is Lecturer in Political Economy of Global Develop-
ment at the School of Politics and International Studies, University
of Leeds.
Giuliano Martiniello is Assistant Professor of Rural Community
Development in the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the
American University of Beirut.
Elisa Greco is a Research Associate at the Sustainability Research
Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds.

Uganda
The Dynamics of Neoliberal Transformation
Edited by Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano
Martiniello and Elisa Greco
Published with the support of
Uganda: The Dynamics of Neoliberal Transformation
was fi rst published in 2018 by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry,
17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK.
www.zedbooks.net
Copyright © Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano Martiniello and Elisa Greco 2018
Copyright in this Collection © Zed Books 2018
The right of Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano Martiniello and Elisa Greco to be
identifi ed as the editors of this work has been asserted by them in accor-
dance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Typeset in Plantin by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon
Index by Nataliya Mykhalchenko
Cover design by Steve Marsden
Cover photo © Emmanuel Owaraga
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior
permission of Zed Books Ltd.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78699-109-6 hb
ISBN 978-1-78699-108-9 pb
ISBN 978-1-78699-110-2 pdf
ISBN 978-1-78699-111-9 epub
ISBN 978-1-78699-112-6 mobi
Contents
List of illustrations ix
About the contributors x
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction: interpreting change in neoliberal Uganda 1
Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano Martiniello and Elisa Greco
Part I: The state, donors and development aid
1. Donor-driven state formation: friction in the 43
World Bank–Uganda partnership
Jon Harald Sande Lie
2. Our friends at the bank? The adverse eff ects of 60
neoliberalism in Acholi
Ronald R. Atkinson
3. Neoliberal discipline and violence in northern Uganda 78
Adam Branch and Adrian Yen
4. ‘Movement legacy’ and neoliberalism as political 95
settlement in Uganda’s political economy
Joshua B. Rubongoya
5. More is less? Decentralisation and regime control in 111
neoliberal Uganda
Kristof Titeca
6. Neoliberal neverland: the Millennium Villages Project in 127
Uganda
Japhy Wilson
Part II: Economic restructuring and social services
7. The impact of neoliberal reforms on Uganda’s socio- 145
economic landscape
Godfrey B. Asiimwe
8. Social service provision and social security in Uganda: 163
entrenched inequality under a neoliberal regime
Malin J. Nystrand and Gordon Tamm
9. Neoliberal health reforms and citizenship in Uganda 178
Sarah N. Ssali
Part III: Extractivism and enclosures
10. Neoliberalism as Ugandan forestry discourse 201
Adrian Nel
11. Plantation forestry and carbon violence in neoliberal 218
Uganda
Kristen Lyons
12. Neoliberal oil development in Uganda: centralisation, 234
accumulation and exclusion
Laura Smith and James Van Alstine
13. Water grabbing or sustainable development? Eff ects of 249
aquaculture growth in neoliberal Uganda
Karin Wedig
14. The politics of land law reforms in neoliberal Uganda 266
Rose Nakayi
Part IV: Race, culture and commoditisation
15. African Asians and South Asians in neoliberal Uganda: 285
culture, history and political economy
Anneeth Kaur Hundle
16. Religious economies: Pentecostal-charismatic churches 303
and the framing of a new moral order in neoliberal Uganda
Barbara Bompani
17. Youth as ‘identity entrepreneurs’: emerging neoliberal 318
subjectivites in Uganda
Julia Vorhölter
18. Neoliberal times: leisure and work among young men in 334
rural eastern Uganda
Ben Jones
19. The transformation of national performance arts in 349
neoliberal Uganda
David G. Pier
Conclusion: neoliberalism institutionalised 365
Jörg Wiegratz, Giuliano Martiniello and Elisa Greco
Index 384
Illustrations
Figures
7.1 Trend of Uganda’s total external debt for the fi nancial
years 2000/01–2015/16 148
7.2 Uganda import–export trade 149
9.1 Context of neoliberal reforms in Uganda’s healthcare 181
9.2 GoU health expenditure as percentage of total
government expenditure 185
9.3 Per capita health expenditure (US$) 186
9.4 Health funding sources 187
9.5 Health fi nancing by function 187
9.6 Percentage allocation of the PHC budget 188
9.7 Current healthcare expenditure by disease/condition 189
9.8 Health insurance fi nancing by provider 191
9.9 Total household out of pocket expenditure by service 192
9.10 Average out of pocket household expenditure on
health by quintiles 193
9.11 Average household expenditure by region 193
Tables
5.1 Transfers to local government 118
7.1 Total external debt 148
9.1 Government current health expenditure by recipients 190
10.1 Project distinctions and diff erentiation 213