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The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in partnership with ACFODE has received funding from the European Development Fund (EDF) as part of the Democratic Governance and Accountability Program(DGAP) for the Project “Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability in Uganda". The 1.2 billion shillings project will be implemented over a period of 24 months in 11 districts namely Jinja, Palisa and Soroti in Eastern Region, Masaka and Kiboga in the Central Region, Kabale, Kisoro and Mbarara in the West and Arua, Pader, Lira in the North.

With the new EDF grant for the project “Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability in Uganda”, KAS is partnering with Action for Development (ACFODE), a women’s NGO focussing on the promotion of women empowerment, gender equality and equity. 11 districts will be reached in the project designed to contribute to the enhancement of democratic processes and accountability at the local level. The districts are 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.

The KAS-ACFODE project is specifically aimed at increasing the capacities of and mechanisms for civil society and elected representatives to fulfil their roles and responsibilities in a democratic system more effectively. This will be achieved through a set of activities including developing a civic education toolkit and then on that basis training civil society actors and supporting them implement civic education actions at the grassroots. In the same line, elected representatives in the districts will also be trained. The project also seeks to establish an Inter-District Forum for exchanging best practices in promoting democratic accountability at local level and enhancing cooperation between civil society actors and elected leaders.

In a rather unique intervention it is planned under the KAS-ACFODE project to hold “Democracy Fairs” in the districts, including reception of the “Democracy Torch” and display of a democracy exhibition – as symbols for mobilising commitment of leaders and citizens to democratic values and principles. The assessment of democratic governance and accountability in the 11 districts through a District Peer Review Mechanism (DPRM) and compilation of the results in a national report shall crown interventions under the 2-year project.