Details

Between 2011 and 2013, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in cooperation with Action for Development (ACFODE) implemented the EU co-financed project “Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability in Uganda”. The project was implemented in eleven Ugandan districts: Jinja, Palisa and Soroti in the east; Kabale, Kisoro, and Mbarara in the west; Arua, Pader and Lira in the north; and Masaka and Kiboga in the central region. Its overall objective was to contribute to the enhancement of democratic processes and accountability at the local level in Uganda while one of the specific objectives was to increase the capacities of and mechanisms for civil society and elected representatives to fulfil their roles and responsibilities in a democratic system more effectively.

From the different measures undertaken KAS and ACFODE registered remarkable success in the attainment of specific targeted results through a series of systematic training initiatives as well as research and publication activities. Among the outcomes of the project was the successful establishment of the Uganda Inter-District CSO Network, an indigenous structure through which the work of promoting democratic accountability at the local level can be carried forward. The network brings together civil society actors from the 11 districts where the project was implemented.

In order to maintain the momentum of the network and promote the continuous sharing of knowledge and best practice exchange, KAS convened a meeting of the civil society network in Kampala. During the meeting it became obvious that there is dire need for the network to not only come up with a shared vision and mission, but also with a strategic plan that will guide the actions of the network in the years to come and a concrete strategy for the network’s engagement in the Karamoja sub region. This engagement would be the test run for any further activity of UCSO-NET in the area of promoting good governance and accountability on the district level in Uganda.

The workshop is going to cover three areas of planning for the network. The first area deals with a Memorandum of Understanding for the members and the questions of mission, vision, guiding principles, area of engagement, etc. The outcome of this session is supposed to be a document which can be signed by the participants of the workshop, in which the above questions are answered and which steers the network in its overall area of engagement. Another question that is going to be worked on is that of a secretariat of the network, from which the network activities are going to be coordinated.

The second planning area is the most comprehensive one and deals with the question of a strategic plan for UCSO-NET for the next two or three years to come. The strategic plan is going to cover the overall direction of the network and will be the basis for all future activities. It is also going to be the document with which the network will at some point be able to raise external funds and attract development partners.

The third area is going to cover the concrete engagement of the network in the Karamoja sub region. As the above mentioned project showed significant impacts on good governance and accountability in the districts where it was implemented, the idea of carrying those successes forward to other districts had been developed. As Karamoja is still one of the most marginalised sub regions in Uganda, enhancing democracy and accountability on the local level there is not only timely, but in some regards also necessary. The goal of the workshop is to come up with a concrete plan of engagement in the Karamoja sub region, factoring in the challenges presented by the culture and lifestyle of the local population.