Infrastructure community meetings (Barazas)
Intervention Mechanism
In Uganda, barazas (a Kiswahili word meaning public meetings) are community-based meetings used to monitor the performance of government programmes implemented by local governments. Building on this existing mechanism, CoST Uganda began convening barazas to discuss infrastructure projects and related policies.
Initiative Summary
CoST Uganda brought approximately 3,000 citizens face-to-face with decision-makers to build trust, raise concerns and co-create solutions around public infrastructure. Seeing the success of this approach, the Office of the Prime Minister institutionalised the baraza approach to engage communities in government programmes more widely.
Practice Lesson
The initiative demonstrates the value of building on existing accountability mechanisms to promote citizen engagement and improve oversight of infrastructure projects. In Uganda, leveraging the trusted baraza community space fostered constructive dialogue between citizens and decision-makers, strengthened accountability for infrastructure delivery, and contributed to tangible improvements in public service delivery, including expanded access to infrastructure services.
Reference
CoST – Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. (2025, October). CoST impact: Uganda: Stronger together. Available from: https://infrastructuretransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Uganda-Impact-Final.pdf
Supporting References
CoST – Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. (2025, October). CoST impact: Uganda – Stronger together. Available from: https://infrastructuretransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Uganda-Impact-Final.pdf