Fowodenewsletter 2013

FOWODE E-NEWS, P.O. BOX 7176, Kampala Uganda | Plot 15Vubya Close, Ntinda Nakawa Rd.
Email: fowode@fowode.org www.fowode.org. Facebook: http://facebook.com/FowodeUganda 1
FOWODE
NEWSLETTER
JANUARY - MARCH
2013, ISSUE 6
Inside this Issue
1. FOWODE gets a new Board of Directors
2. Affirmative Action In Uganda
3. Celebrating International Women’s Day
4. Performance of Agriculture Sector
in Uganda
Fowodenewsletter.indd 1 4/19/13 1:03 PM

Email: fowode@fowode.org www.fowode.org. Facebook: http://facebook.com/FowodeUganda2
Each year, International Women’s
Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8
around the world. Countries use this
day to mark the economic, political
and social achievements of women.
The theme this year was,“The
Gender Agenda Gaining Momentum”.
In commemoration of International
Women’s Day, Forum for Women in
Democracy as a leading organisation
advocating for increased numbers
and effectiveness of women in
politics began conversations on the
relevance of affirmative action in the
political sphere today.
Key questions were asked on
whether Affirmative Action has
helped or hurt the cause of Ugandan
women’s political representation?
Should Affirmative Action be revised
to address its shortcomings and
encourage women to compete ably
with their male colleagues? Given
the gender injustices that continue
to characterise Ugandan life, should
affirmative action be expanded
from its current spheres of politics
and education in order to include
issues of access and representation
in healthcare, agriculture and other
areas which have a big impact on
women’s lives?
A position paper was developed on
the effects of Affirmative Action for
political representation of Ugandan
women.This formed the basis for
advocacy and also informed our
discussions in the communities and
via media.Additionally, FOWODE
organised community Dialogues in
Luwero, Kabale, Kibaale, Masindi,
Mityana, Gulu, Napak,Amuru,Amuria,
Rukungiri, Lyantonde, Kibuku, Busia
and Wakiso and a Debate on Radio
and a National Television was held to
examine the relevance of affirmative
action in Uganda.
In this edition, FOWODE presents
the position paper on Affirmative
Action and an Interview with
FOWODE’s Executive Director
Patricia Munabi Babiiha.
With Affirmative action, some people
think women are asking for too much.
As women, there is already a large
percent in political leadership seats,
top government positions and top
management levels in the different
institutions; shouldn’t women refocus
what they want?
This sentiment is based on a
misconception. In no area of Ugandan
political life do women hold the larger
percentage of representation.Women
occupy 35 percent of the seats in
parliament, 2 out of the 6 Supreme
Court and High Court judges are
women, and only in the lower levels of
public service, which does not benefit
from affirmative action, do women make
up the 35% of positions constitutionally
mandated. Considering that women
make 51% of the population, I would
not say that this is “asking for too
much”
This question also speaks to the widely-
held sentiment, that Ugandan women
are given space at decision making
tables as a favour. Ugandan women
as much as men have the right to
participate in the processes that govern
their lives.Affirmative action quotas are
not a favour but a temporary measure
intended to address the structural
barriers, like culture, lack of education,
and others, that prevent women from
being elected to power at the same
rates as men.
What has the rural woman benefited
from the 33% women representation?
Rural women have gained
representation from local councils
to parliament as a result of the
provisions in the Constitution and the
local Government Act. It has enabled
them to voice issues of concern to
them and their communities.As their
awareness and skills and knowledge are
being built they have contributed to
the visilblity of critical women’s issues
and demanded for accountability. A
lot more can be done but the women
have begun to make inroads, we are
not where we were 20 years ago.The
presence of women has helped to
deepen discussions around poverty
and the meaning of development.As
more women like formerVice President
Specioza Wandera Kazibwe and the Rt
Hon. Speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga
gain visibility and success in the public
spheres, so is the increase in the number
of young women getting inspired to
join leadership, and opportunities for
more women to be elected and better
represent their constituency, women.
Should a woman MP stay in a seat for
more than three terms, where is the
evidence that they have transformed
their female voters, if none of them
takes up the same seat? Doesn’t it look
like one-woman emancipation and not
all?
There is a benefit to women staying in a
seat for at least two terms as usually the
first term is for navigation of the space
and understanding the workings of the
legislature.We believe that each woman
MP should groom other women so that
when the time comes to give up her
seat, there is a wealth of empowered,
pro-poor, gender-sensitive and
transformative women candidates with
the potential to replace her. However
the emancipation of poor Ugandans is
not the responsibility of only women
MPs, it is the responsibility of all policy
makers who have been elected to that
We believe that each
woman MP should groom
other women so that when
the time comes to give up
her seat, there is a wealth
of empowered, pro-poor,
gender-sensitive and trans-
formative women candi-
dates with the potential to
replace her
”Patricia Munabi
Babiiha
The Gender Agenda
Gaining Momentum

position on the mandate of improving
the lives of ordinary Ugandans.
When will women activists focus
their energies on maternal and infant
mortality?
There are a number of activist
organisations and individuals who deal
directly with the issues of maternal
and infant mortality.TERREWODE
(The Association for the Reorientation
and Rehabilitation for Women in
Development) sensitises women
about the dangers of obstetric
fistula.The White Ribbon campaign
is an alliance of actors including civil
society, government partners and the
private sector for safe motherhood.
FOWODE itself has published research
on financing for family planning and
maternal health.The statistic that 16
women die daily from preventable
pregnancy-related complications
has been a rallying cry for demands
from citizenry and civil society, that
government does more for the health
of Ugandan women and children.
Advocacy by FOWODE and other
civil society actors led to an increase
in allocation to the health budget in
the last financial year. So it is not a
question of when women activists will
focus their energies on maternal and
infant mortality, but when will we see
significant results in response to our
advocacy.
What recommendations would you
make, to see affirmative action be a
more effective mechanism for the
empowerment of Ugandan women?
Affirmative action needs to be
maintained and strengthened.This
includes a critical review on how to
translate physical presence of women
into strategic engagement.Women
politicians need capacity building so that
when they are elected, they are able
to participate effectively and represent
the concerns of their constituents.As it
is many of the sub-county and district
women councillors have such low levels
of education that they are not engaging
on equal footing with their male
counterparts in council.
Districts are often made up of two
or three counties and so while both
Women MPs and Constituency MPs
share equal votes in parliament,Women
MPs represent a much larger area.
Women MPs receive similar allowances
for travel to their constituencies, and
similar amounts for their Constituency
Development Fund for a much
larger constituency than their male
counterparts. Many Ugandans do not
know that a Woman MP represents a
whole district, leading to misconceptions
about the effectiveness of Woman MPs.
This is an issue that must be addressed.
Affirmative action for women within
political parties needs to be enforced.
Major parties e.g. NRM and FDC have
provisions for 40% women in leadership
positions which have remained on
paper.Women achieving equal status in
the political spheres means more than
always deputising them.As we go about
reforming our electoral system, we need
to consider the system of Proportional
Representation, which guarantees
representation for minorities, even
without affirmative action.
There should be a deliberate effort
to support women to contest
mainstream seats, not only to expand
the opportunities for women generally,
but also to get the voting population
to engage with their own prejudices
particularly the preference of male
candidates. Even when women do not
win in great numbers, the very point
of competing on the mainstream seats
gets society to engage, thereby pushing
the boundaries for women’s political
participation. Research especially by the
School of Women and Gender Studies
at Makerere University indicates that
prejudices against women are slowly
being dented. In 2006 the Monitor
newspaper of March 8, reported a
62% success rate for women who
contested mainstream seats.This
particular election indicated that there
was more willingness to vote women
candidates especially on the basis that
they held a promise for more pro-poor
development.
The quest for gender diversity on
mainstream seats should not be
confused with the idea of competing
with men or being ‘as good as men’. Men
cannot be the yardstick of something
they have dominated simply on the
basis of male privilege.The quest should
rather be about the right for women
to occupy that space that men have
monopolized for a long time.
The Gender Agenda
Gaining Momentum cont’d
Commemorating
the International
Women’s Day in
Nakasongola
AVBC member explaining theVBC model
to one of the Women Leaders from Butaleja
District who visited the FOWODE Stall
AVBC member explaining theVBC model
to one of the Women Leaders from Butaleja
District who visited the FOWODE Stall
To commemorate the International
Women’s Day 2013, FOWODE
participated in the national level
celebrations that were held in
Nakasongola District. FOWODE
mobilized the village budget club
members of Luwero district who held
an exhibition and shared information
on our work in Luweero District.
It was an enlightening moment for
many of the women that FOWODE
supported to attend the celebrations
as often times, majority stay home
and as Justine explains, for many it
was the first time to participate in
marking the women’s day “I feel, as a
farmer, FOWODE has exposed me to
participate in national activities that I
had not participated in before.
This participation has empowered
me to get confidence in articulating
women’s concerns and our work
in monitoring service delivery to
visitors at the FOWODE stall” said
Justine Kivumbi aVBC member from
KasaalaVillage-Kasaala Parish-in
Luweero Sub County. FOWODE also
facilitated other grassroots women in
all 17 districts where we operate to
participate in district level celebrations.
Affirmative action for women within
political parties needs to be enforced.
Major parties e.g. NRM and FDC have
provisions for 40% women in leadership
positions which have remained on paper.

FOWODE gets a new Board of Directors
Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in January
this year elected a new Board of Directors.The new board
will serve for 3 years and their term expires in 2015. The
new Board members bring diverse, inspiring perspectives
and wide-ranging experiences, as well as significant
achievements in their fields of expertise.We believe each of
these highly qualified gallant women will uniquely contribute
to strengthening FOWODE’s ability to achieve it mission
and goals as their commitment to the cause of women’s’
empowerment remains unquestionable.
Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe the Board Chairperson is a Feminist Activist, She
was elected back into this position having been elected chair in 2009. Solome who holds a
Masters degree in Development Studies and a Bachelors degree in Social Sciences, previously
worked as the Executive Director for Akina Mama Wa Africa (AMWA) and Uganda Women’s
Network (UWONET) among others. She served on different boards including that of the
Uganda National APRM Governance Council, District Service Commissions of Mityana and
Mubende Districts;Transparency International and the Independent Media Council. Solome
also carries with her experience working with Lower Local governments
Lina Zedriga Waru theVice Chairperson possesses knowledge of the global and national
women’s movement and has a track record of working on women’s issues.A lawyer by profession,
Lina holds 2 Masters Degrees of Arts in Peace and Conflict studies and Human Rights, and a
Bachelors Degree in Laws. She is the Director for Women Peace and Security, Regional Associates
for Community Initiatives; the Secretary Board of Trustees for Trust for Africa’s Orphans Uganda
and has previously served as aVice Chair of Center for DomesticViolence (CEDOVIP).Lina is also
a peace and security advocate and a trainer for Gender equity and diversity
Sylvia Namabidde Ssinabulya the Finance Secretary was elected back into this position
having been elected in the same position in 2009. Sylvia who holds a Masters Degree in Public
Health Leadership and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management is theWoman Member of
Parliament for Mityana district. Sylvia has served as Chairperson of the Network of African
Women Ministers and Parliamentarians Uganda Chapter. She is the current chair of the
Parliamentary Committee on Education and Sports and an active Member of the social services
and government assurance committees in Parliament.
Beth Mwebaze Juna a Board member is one of the longest serving members of
FOWODE. She holds a diploma in Social Work and a Certificate in Public Administration. Beth
is the current LC IV Woman Councilor, Ruharo ward in Mbarara. She is also the Director
for Ruharo Infant School while at the same time serving as,Vice Chair for Mbarara Women’s
Development Association; Board Member Mbarara High school and Secretary for Finance in
Mbarara Municipality. She is also a trainer on gender and women’s empowerment.
Tezira Jamwa a Board member is one of the founder members of FOWODE. She was a member
of the Constituent Assembly (CA) and the Gender working group of the CA.Tezira has a Masters
in Public service, an Undergraduate Degree in Social Work & Social Administration and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Management. She bounced back on the FOWODE board having briefly served
as Chairperson of FOWODE in 2002.Tezira is a former Resident District Commissioner and a
Member of Parliament. She is also an experienced trainer on gender and women’s empowerment.

Affirmative Action for Women in
Uganda: Navigating through Muddy
Waters and Pushing on!
Interesting patterns on the world scale are
that Rwanda (56.3%) ranks number one,
Sweden (42.7%) comes fourth together with
Senegal, and Tanzania comes 20th just above
Uganda. UK (22%) and USA (16.85) come
54 and 78th respectively. No doubt, these
numbers in politics and other areas such
as higher education in Uganda today, are a
cause for celebration. However, from these
figures, it is very clear that we may not easily
make clear connections between the level of
regime democratization in a specific country
and women’s presence in the legislature.
Neither can we easily discern the impact of
the women’s presence in the decision making
structures. So then what should we think and
say about affirmative action for women as we
stand today?
In Uganda, anxieties about women’s physical
presence in political decision making
structures abound. On the part of the
women’s movement there is anxiety about
the pace of change. Accordingly Uganda has
achieved the critical mass widely regarded as
sufficient for women to have direct impact,
for example, towards gender sensitive
legislation and policies that positively impact
on women’s lives, in all their diversity.Within
the wider society there is a more reactionary
anxiety which classifies those women
who come to decision making spaces via
affirmative action as less deserving, as well
as concerns on whether it benefits the elite
women to the disadvantage of the grassroots
woman.
There is a whole discussion of the need
for term limits such that affirmative action
seats are structured as training grounds so
that senior women politicians are able to
move into mainstream seats to create space
for their juniors to compete on affirmative
seats.The bottom line that should guide all
dialogues, including anxieties and misgivings
is to say that affirmative action should not be
seen as a favour but rather a compensation
for structural barriers that women meet in
the electoral process.The direct as well as
hidden societal barriers that prevent women
from being selected as candidates and getting
their fair share of political influence are well
known.
In other words, through quotas, society is
only correcting what was wrong from the
very beginning.Through quotas society is
trying to clean up its own mess, and allows
that women should not have to bear the
burden of tearing down structural barriers
on their own. Indeed the Constitution of
the Republic of Uganda is clear.The National
Objectives and Directive Principles of
State Policy enshrined in the Constitution
stipulates that the state shall ensure
gender balance and fair representation of
marginalized groups on all constitutional and
other bodies. Specifically,Article 32 provides
for affirmative action. It states that, the state
shall take affirmative action in favour of
groups marginalised on the basis of gender,
age, disability or any other reason created by
history, tradition or custom, for the purpose
of redressing imbalances that exist against
them.Article 33 (5) of the same Constitution
provides that “Without prejudice to Article
32.Women shall have the right to affirmative
action for the purpose of redressing the
imbalances created by history, tradition or
custom.” Hence the Constitution puts the
burden on the state to correct historical
imbalances as opposed to “helping’” women.
That said, however, there is a tacit
social contract between the women’s
representatives and the broader womenfolk,
a sense in which the women in political
leadership should be accountable to women
in general.The relevance of this social
contract becomes even more relevant in the
specific case of Uganda, where affirmative
action was a result of mobilisation politics
and some level of women’s activism,
particularly, in the 1980s and 1990s to
demand space at the decision making table.
To this extent then, women in Uganda are
faced with the question of beyond numbers
and how to achieve the desired quality of
result and impact.At the general level, we
need to acknowledge that presence and
action of women has expanded and relatively
deepened public concerns. Both at the
national and local levels, the relative presence
of women has brought new questions on the
political agenda.Without doubt the robust
debates around equal access to health,
education and water, gender based violence
can be partly attributed to women’s presence
in the legislature and other key spaces.
Accordingly presence of women has helped
to deepen discussions around poverty and
the meaning of development. The experience
of the constitution making process in 1994
and the resultant 1995 constitution indicate
that the numerical presence of women
in the Constituent Assembly had a lot to
contribute to the gendered contestations and
outcomes.The outlook of decision making
bodies has changed ideologically to relatively
accommodate the construction of a leader as
male and female.
Furthermore the increased presence as
engineered by affirmative action has given
space for the women to demonstrate their
ability to govern.The formerVice President
Dr. Specioza Wandira Kazibwe once said in
an interview that,“if there was no affirmative
action, nobody would have seen that she had
the potential to be a leader”. We can argue
without doubt that Hon. Rebecca Alitwala
Kadaga the current speaker of Parliament
demonstrates a direct link where measures
to bring women into decision making spaces
With 35% of women in
parliament, Uganda ranked
above the regional average
of 17% in the 1990s. Today
Uganda is 21st in the world
rankings, with 35%. With
the minimum 30% at local
government level, Uganda
beats the world average of 19%.
Affirmative action should not
be seen as a favour but rather a
compensation for structural
barriers that women meet in
the electoral process.
continued to page 8...

PICTORIAL
Patricia Munabi, FOWODE ED distributing Black Monday
Flyers, January 2013
Women activists during a courtesy visit to the Rt. Hon.
Speaker of Parliament, January 2013
FOWODE members casting their votes for the new
board
Bishop Zac Niringiye addressing FOWODE Members on
the gender dimensions in corruption, January 2013.
FOWODEVillage Budget Clubs during a meeting at study tour in one of
the areas of operation for Uganda Debt Network’s, March 2013
Hon. Sylivia Ssinabulya honouring Hon. Benigna Mukiibi as ab outgoing
FOWODE member.

KibukuVBC presenting a song during the district Women’s day
Celebration, at Tirinyi primary school grounds 22nd March 2013
Women Councilors in Wakiso during an Effective Legislative
Engagement Training
LomunoVBC members during field visit
WakisoVBC with other partners cleaning Kira town council in preparation
of the women’s day 8th march 2013.
FOWODE staff wearing black as a sign of solidarity for the
Black Monday movement

may, in practical and ideological terms
demonstrate their ability to govern. A
number of women have also performed
exceptionally well in various capacities, in
parliament and political party structures
within the ruling party as well as in the
opposition parties
Yet, there is a tendency to individualise
women’s strengths and collectivise
their failures. For example, women MPs
are more liable to being looked at as a
collective, where the failings of some
of the women are easily attributable to
the entire collective, yet the strength of
a number of women does not work to
create a positive collective identity for
them as a group. Men on the other hand
tend to be viewed more as individuals
than as a collective. Failings of individual
men are less likely to be attributed to the
entire group.This is also partly the reason
why there tends to be anxiety around the
performance of women politicians.
The other level of anxiety stems from
the reality.This is the reality of stagnation
and backlash.There seems to be a wave
that threatens to roll back the gains
that Ugandan women have made over
the years.The wave threatens to turn
women once again into subjects to only
support that which, the powers that are
comfortable with. Again the women in the
spotlight are those occupying spaces of
decision making, which inadvertently brings
the question of affirmative action into play.
How do we push on through these
muddy waters? And how do we address
the daunting question of quality of
result? The demand for greater women’s
representation in its broadest formulation
should not attempt to predetermine the
ways in which women politicians should
represent their constituency.The issue is
rather one of access to arenas of public
decision making so that various interests
of women can be debated and acted upon.
Framed this way, the question then alerts
us to the fact that it takes more than
women politicians for the complexities of
gender inequalities to be fully addressed in
policy terms. Presence is the basic starting
point.The leap from this very basic starting
point should involve broader social
mobilisation and transformation.
In this way the quality of women’s
participation becomes a function of several
factors, without question starting with the
numbers and the social base of the women
politicians but much more importantly
including the level of activism of women
and their organisations to demand
accountability and push for a democratic
culture.To borrow from the Ann Marie
Goetz, a renowned feminist political
scientist, we ought to look at the extent
to which women’s access to parliament
is translatable results in a shift in systems
that enables previously excluded groups to
influence decision making in a tangible way.
On with Affirmative Action, should the
policy be reviewed in view of the new
realities?
Whatever the answer to this question
is, women should prepare to control the
terms of the discourse of this review
rather than leave it to be driven by the
conservative and reactionary imperatives.
The terms should be as follows:
• The Women’s movement should
occupy the driver’s seat in channelling
the different anxieties around
affirmative action for women.
Affirmative action needs to be
strengthened but on the terms
firmly defined and streamlined by the
women’s movement.This includes a
critical review on how to translate
physical presence of women into
strategic engagement.This cannot
be left to the women standing on
affirmative action seats to figure out
as individuals.
• Affirmative action should be
maintained and strengthened.The
picture worldwide is that without
quotas in the several countries,
women’s representation would still be
meagre.
• Term limits for women on affirmative
action should not be entertained
as a point of debate as long as
all other seats are not subjected
to this limit. Indeed why should
women be subjected to different
standards from men? Limiting terms
of women legislators will only work
to accentuate their secondary
citizenship status as that group which
needs to be constantly corrected
and tamed.This debate should also
be preceded by a critical study of the
attrition rate which in any case limits
the accumulation of a critical mass
of seasoned female legislators and
councillors.
• Affirmative action for women
within political parties needs to be
enforced. Major parties e.g. NRM
and FDC have provisions for 40%
women in leadership positions
which have remained on paper.The
deputising syndrome seems to be
taking root as the norm. Enforcement
of affirmative action for women
within party structures will create
more opportunities for their greater
political influence.
• Affirmative action should be
expanded to other critical areas
such as public service employment
and corporate governance. In very
specific ways affirmative action is
required in areas where policies are
implemented and monitored. Once
women’s strategic presence in such
areas is enhanced, the totality of the
women’s efforts to change systems
will be felt and positive impact
realised. On corporate governance,
lessons can be drawn from the
Scandinavian countries like Norway
where companies are required by law
to ensure that no sex occupies more
than 60%, a policy originally focused
at a minimum of 40% women.
• There should be a deliberate effort
to support women to contest
mainstream seats, not only to
expand the opportunities for women
generally, but also to get the voting
population to engage with their
own prejudices particularly the
preference male candidates. Even
when women do not win in great
numbers, the very point of competing
on the mainstream seats gets society
to engage, thereby pushing the
boundaries for women’s political
participation. Research especially by
the School of Women and Gender
Studies at Makerere University
indicate that prejudices against
women are slowly being dented.
In 2006 the Monitor newspaper of
March 8, reported a 62% success
rate for women who contested
mainstream seats.This particular
election indicated that there was
more willingness to vote women
candidates especially on the basis
that they held a promise for more
pro-poor development.This optimism
needs to be further nurtured rather
than taken for granted.The quest for
diversifying mainstream seats should
not be allowed to be confused with
the idea of competing with men or
being ‘as good as men’. Men cannot
be the yardstick of something they
have monopolised simply on the basis
of male privilege.The quest should
rather be about the right for women
to occupy that space that men have
tended to monopolise.
• Women need to move from the
status of the exception to the norm
in the leadership arena.This requires
a process of continuously developing
a critical mass of purposeful women
leaders. In the short term women
need to be encouraged to join
leadership positions while in the long
run, young girls need to be nurtured
to ensure that in the future they will
be willing to seek political office and
other leadership roles.
• The East African community should
be utilised as a space to streamline
and strengthen affirmative action and
women’s presence in decision making
in the region. Connecting the national
questions to the regional level will
improve the quality of the dialogue
and in turn may have the potential
to address the limitations within the
national contexts.
...continued from page 8

FOWODE enters new
Strategic Period 2013-2017
Focus areas of
FOWODE strategic Plan
FOWODE will strengthen women’s
voice and promote gender
justice.
Build the leadership of young
people to advance women’s rights as
well as foster accountable institutions.
Influence economic policy from a
women’s rights perspective.
Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe the FOWODE Chairperson,Winnie
Byanyima a FOWODE Founder and Patricia Munabi the FOWODE
Executive Director at the launch of the FOWODE strategic plan.
In March, FOWODE launched her new strategic plan 2013-
2017.The five-year Plan was launched by Winnie Byanyima
who is also one of the founder members of FOWODE.
The new Strategic Plan builds on the past successes and will
facilitate FOWODE to scale up and deepen her work of
ensuring women’s voices are more audible and their capacity
to access and control resources is enhanced. FOWODE
will move towards ensuring that there is increased
accountability towards women centered economic and
political processes.
Describing it as a blueprint for growth and improvement,
Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe the FOWODE Chairperson,
pointed out that although the previous strategic plan did a
lot to transform the lives of women in the public sphere,
the new plan focuses on working with unthreatened men
to support women in their private and public lives, working
with communities and families to travel the gender equality
journey and engaging on social accountability.
The FOWODE Executive Director, Patricia Munabi stated
that with this new plan, FOWODE will focus on key areas
of strengthening ‘women’s voice and participation in the
political, economic and social arenas; improving women’s
knowledge of their rights and enhancing their capacities to
seek gender accountability; supporting women to engage
effectively in economic processes as a foundation for their
participation and as well as enhancing FOWODE’s capacity
to effectively deliver on the new strategy.
Speaking to the audience, the Chief Guest Winnie Byanyima
reiterated the need for fair representation and participation
of Women in governance as a prerequisite of democracy.
Stating that having a critical mass of women in leadership is
crucial for human development in all countries developed
or not developed. She urged different actors to commit to
work towards increasing numbers and impact of women in
decision-making processes.
She urged FOWODE to focus on some of the emerging
trends including volatility in the economy, scarcity and the
geopolitics which have critical implications for women’s
rights and gender equality.
The FOWODE chair pledged to provide prudence
governance, which will implore FOWODE to travel this
journey of change. She called on members to partner with
FOWODE in this new phase as partners, donors, and friends
and as people that want to see an organization that has
come of age move to another level.
Present at the launch were FOWODE founder members,
partners as well as FOWODE friends.
FOWODE also celebrated Winnie Byanyima’s appointment
as the CEO of Oxfam International, making her the first
woman and first African to occupy such a position she will
her to provide strategic direction and coordination of the
world wide confederation of OXFAM affiliates.

Donor support to agriculture needs re-tweaking -
CSBAG report
The bulk of donor funds in agriculture
are on-budget. For example, during
FY 2010/2011, the sector received
$58million on budget and $16 million
off budget.The study focused on donor
funds that are on-budget.
The donor funding is aimed at
complimenting Government efforts in
areas such as: improving control and
mitigation capacity of crop pests and
livestock diseases; deepening access
to markets; capacity for research and
generating new technologies etc
In 2003 African Union (AU) Maputo
Declaration directed all AU member
countries to increase investment in the
agriculture sector to at least 10 per
cent of the national budget by 2008.To
date just about 10 or so countries have
achieved that and Uganda is not among
them.
Government reliance on donor
support to transform agriculture from
subsistence to commercial farming
is not bearing enough ripe fruits as
originally presumed.This is despite
millions of dollars being made available
to finance almost all the large scale
projects meant to promote commercial
agriculture.
A report commissioned by the
Civil Society Budget Advocacy
Group (CSBAG) to examine
the country’s performance of the
agricultural sector indicates that the
donor budget support in agriculture has
actually done more harm than good.
The Financial year 2011/2012
performance of the donor funds
contribution attests to the CSBAG
study.
In that financial year (2011/2012),
about 74 per cent of the total donor
funds equivalent to $341million was
not disbursed. This, according to
policy analysts sums up what has since
become the norm (the performance
of donor financing in agriculture) over
the years—slow disbursement of
donor funds.
“Of concern, however is the slow
disbursement of donor funds in
the sector which has led to slow
implementation of donor funded
projects,” reads part of the civil
society commissioned report.
Slow disbursement coupled with the
minimal allocation of the national
budget, currently at less than five per
cent, partly explains why agriculture
seems to be retarding as service
sector progresses.According to the
report, some of the justifications for
the poor performance in agriculture
stems from the f slow disbursement
and the fact that most funds are
disbursed as small discrete projects.
This affects slow implementation
of donor projects.The report
observed that the Farm Income
Enhancement Project- Irrigation
Component (FIEFCO) was badly
implemented because of slowed funds
disbursement.
Though the project was intended to
end in 2010, the Project was later
extended to end in 2012.
An ADB supervision mission
conducted in 2011 found that no
work had been done by Ministry of
Agriculture and it recommended
cancellation of the project if trends
of slow implementation were not
rectified.
“In financial year
2011/2012, about 74
per cent of the total
donor funds equiva-
lent to $341million
was not disbursed”.
Project Period 2008 - 2012, supported
by IFAD loan, BIDCO, Government of
Uganda Project cost USD 156 Million
The Project implemented in Kalangala
district achieved a sizeable number of
its targets, despite the delayed start
to implementation which affected
disbursement, and led to escalated
project costs from the original
USD 60 million to USD 156million.
Although the project was approved in
1997 implementation commenced in
2005. Project was extended 4 times.
Expenditure was at 88% reflecting a
fairly good absorption capacity.
Women beneficiaries constituted 31%
though many tended to get involved
as small scale beneficiaries and helpers
to their husbands.Widows hardly
participated as they lacked land.
Lessons and recommendations
1) Implementation modalities:
Delays in implementing projects
can have gross cost implications
and organizational problems that
negatively impact on project
implementation. For large complex
projects/PPPs, sufficient time should
be allocated to the planning process
before project approval and all the
key stakeholders should be adequately
sensitized and involved in the project
design and planning processes.
2) Funds absorption: TheVODP
exhibited a fairly good absorption
capacity of the earmarked funds,
indicative of proper budgeting and
identification of priority expenditure
items, functional financial management
systems and adequate capacity building
within the implementing agencies.
3) Mainstreaming gender:
although gender issues were
integrated in theVODP, not much
attention was paid to this aspect as
implementation progressed. Gender
planning should be part and parcel
of the project design, planning,
implementation and monitoring
process.
Vegetable Oil
Development
Project

This FIEFOC case illustrates that
some donor-funded projects fail
because of poor implementation and
institutional capacity of the government
departments involved in co-managing
the external funded schemes.
“…Although funds absorption for this
(FIEFOC irrigation project) was high, it
was for the wrong reasons, with 87 per
cent of the resources being spent on
general operating expenses without any
tangible outcome,” reads the report in
part.
The report
also cites the
creation of the
Trypanesomiasis
and Tsetse Areas
as the other
project whose
fruits did not
measure up to
the required
standard. The
objective of
this project was to control tsetse flies
infestation and trypanesomiasis, but
a year before completion, the project
was behind in addressing the key.“A
Physical verification by the Budget
Monitoring and Accountability Unit
in 2012 indicated that there was no
physical presence of this project in any
other district to be targeted other than
Kalangala district.” Reads the report.
quite quantified because of the mixed
result it generated was the improved
rice production funded by the Japanese
and Ugandan government.According
to the report, the project was meant
to improve rice varieties but its results
turned out to be quite disappointing.
“The Government of Japan and FAO
took lead in the implementation of the
Agriculture improved Rice Production
project which led to distribution of
poor quality inputs with the bulk
of funds being used in recurrent
(unproductive) expenditures,” reads one
of the reports findings.
In response to the report, the
Agriculture Ministry Principal
Information Scientist, Consolata
Acayo, argued that unlike what the
study unearthed, all is well between
the donors financing agriculture and
the Ministry. In an interview, she said:
“Civil society is entitled to their
views, but as far as we are concerned,
there are so many donor funded
projects that have done so well.”
She mentions the Mobuku irrigation
project which she stressed is due
for commissioning, adding that the
Agoro irrigation project and another
in Tororo are all underway. This is
in addition to what
she described as the
success of the banana
wilt project and the
Influenza project that
saw constructions of
laboratories to diagonise
diseases for both
humans and animals.
However, she did concur
that most delays in such
huge projects emanate
from laborious and bureaucratic
procedures that must be followed.
She said: “It takes time to carefully
examine what is contained in this
project and that explains most of the
delays that are being talked about.”
According to the study, agriculture
sector attracts less than 10 per
cent of the donor assistance. In FY
2011/2012 alone the sector attracted
8 per cent of the donor assistance
while external assistance flows to
Uganda have averaged about $760
million annually over the years.
The funds are normally channeled to
the development budget and another
substantial part of the external
support goes to the sector in form of
“Technical Assistance and institutional
development” yet the agriculture
Ministry continues to lack sufficient
implementation competence.
Save forVegetable Oil Development
Project (VODP), the report seems
Project Period: 2008 – 2010,
implemented by MAAIF in collaboration
with the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and with funding
from the Government of Japan.
This was a successor to a previous
project known as “Dissemination
of NERICA and Improved Rice
production Systems to Reduce
Poverty and Food Deficit in Uganda”
implemented in Amolotar,Amuru,
Apac, Dokolo, Gulu, Kitgum, Lira,
Oyam and Pader during 2006 to
2008 and was estimated to cost US$
1,239,983.The project benefited 72
farmer groups with a total of 2,150
farmers, majority of whom were
women.
This project met its set objectives
of increasing rice production and
income within Northern Uganda.
All the donor funds were absorbed
by the end of the project. However,
some of the inputs that were
provided to the farmers were poor
quality and inappropriate.A year
after the end of the project, rice
production had ceased for some of
the groups that had been targeted
indicating low sustainability of the
intervention.
Lessons for Agricultural
Improved Rice Production
1) Planning and implementation
modalities:
The approach of the donors taking
lead in planning and implementation
led to less involvement and follow
up by Government entities including
Ministry of Agriculture. Insufficient
inputs were delivered and the
sustenance of the project and its
impacts was low. It is critical that
donor funded projects use the
approach of Government taking the
lead in planning and implementation
to enhance supervision of the
interventions and long term impacts.
Agricultural
Improved Rice
Production
Donor support to agriculture
needs re-tweaking - CSBAG
report cont’d

to further emphasize that all other
donor funded project in agriculture
have largely been let down.And this
is because the donor takes lead in
planning and project design which leads
to low ownership of interventions
by the beneficiaries, explaining why
the impact of the projects in several
instances is almost negligible.
For that the reports recommends that
budget allocation to the agricultural
sector should be stepped up to at least
10 per cent of the national budgetary
resources while at the same time
calling for a review of donor funded to
enhance reach, impact and sustainability.
Rather than soliciting for small discrete
projects that have limited impact, the
report recommends that Government
should focus on encouraging donor
funded projects that are larger and
impactful with wide geographical reach.
There should also be some level of
flexibility and minimal conditions
imposed by donors for projects as the
government improves its procurement
and accountability systems to win the
donors trust.
The Government should take
lead in the planning, designing and
implementation of donor funded
projects to allow ownership.
And while doing so it should bear in
mind gender equity that should go
beyond just seeking involvement of
women and other marginalized groups
to confronting issues related to equal
access of agricultural services. This is
because women are the most ardent
players in the sector, yet there are
often not funded or considered a
priority.
The District and Sub-county
officials of the respective Local
Governments that are to be involved
in implementation of a donor funded
project should be involved early
in the project design, planning and
execution of the project.
In an interview with Mr. Julius
Mukunda, Senior Program Director,
Forum for Women in Democracy
(FOWODE) and Coordinator for
CSBAG, it became apparent that the
major challenge lies with the Ministry
of Agriculture rather than the donors.
He said:“Donor funding to agriculture
has been reducing because the parent
ministry is dysfunctional (it lacks a
clear vision of what it wants to do),
explaining why up to now they have
failed to show the results of their
work.”
He continued:“Government still
needs donor funding for agriculture
because donors have been supporting
most of the development budget for
agriculture and with their reduced
funding it will affect agricultural
growth significantly.”
He further argues that donor
funds should be directly invested in
boosting production of agricultural
inputs, among them, fertilizers,
and easily accessible hybrids, and
importantly perhaps, the funds should
be investing in agricultural research.
2) Funds utilization and
disbursement modalities:
Donor funds were budgeted for and
disbursed to beneficiaries from the
donor offices. Ministry of Agriculture
was not involved in guiding
expenditure and ensuring efficiency
and effectiveness of the project.The
donor records indicated the bulk
of funds were used for recurrent
expenses which is indicative of poor
allocative efficiency. Future projects
should allow for the Government
agency to have a more active role
in budgeting and utilization of the
funds.
3) Project design:
Providing a small input package to
a few farmers in every geographical
locality does not generate meaningful
impacts in terms of enhancing
agricultural production and
household incomes. Future projects
should be designed to cover larger
project area, target a significant
number of farmers and provide
adequate inputs for economic
viability and sustainable impact
Agricultural
Improved Rice
Production cont’d

Creation of Tsetse &
Trypanosomiasis Free
Areas (STATFA).
_________________________
Implementation period was indicated as April 2006 to
2011, however project is still ongoing. Funded by the African
Development Fund (ADF) and GoU.
Farm Income
Enhancement Project –
Irrigation Component
_________________________
Implementation period was indicated as April 2006 to
Implementation period was 2005-2010. However, a mid-
term review in April 2009 recommended an extension to
December 2012 to complete unfinished activities. Funded by
the African Development Fund (ADF) and GoU.
The total loan amount is UA 6,550,000 and Grant
Amount UA 240,000. Project is being implemented in
Masaka, Rakai, Lyanyonde, Kalangala, Mpigi, Sembabule,
Wakso, Kampala, Mukono, Kayunga, Kaliro, Jinja, Mayuge,
Iganga, Bugiri,Tororo, Butaleja, and Pallisa.
Only 15% of the total project funds had been disbursed
over the four year period.About 85% of the funds
remained undisbursed, one year to the originally
scheduled project closure date and most objectives of
the project had not been achieved. Hence the project
was given an extension of additional five years to
complete the pending activities and is still ongoing.
Lessons and recommendations from the Creation of
Tsetse & Trypanosomiasis Free Areas project:
________________________________________
1. Prior conditions and bureaucracies: the
ADB loans had stringent prior conditions and lengthy
bureaucratic procedures that affected the pace of
project implementation. It is critical that the prior
conditions in future donor funded projects are well
negotiated at planning stage to ensure that they
are flexible and implementable by the Government.
Delays in project implementation can be avoided
if the donors trust and use the Government
procurement systems rather than imposing their
own systems or allowing for parallel procurement
channels.
2. Low counterpart funding: the unavailability
of sufficient counterpart funding from GoU grossly
affected the pace of project.The Government
should only accept projects for which it has assured
counterpart funding; this should be disbursed in a
timely manner in adequate amounts for triggering
project implementation.
3. Limited outreach and project
sustainability: this project distributed
limited traps to 3 parishes in Kalangala district.
The beneficiaries had no skills and materials for
replacing the traps implying low reach sustainability
of the project. Future projects should provide
adequate equipment and inputs that cover a larger
geographical area and also train the beneficiaries in
replacing worn out equipment to ensure reasonable
project impact and sustainability.
The total project cost for the five-year period (2005-2010)
is estimated at US51.15m funded by ADB/ADF and GoU.
In 2009, the project was restructured to focus on four
irrigation schemes.The overall objective of the project is to
induce a commercially sustainable agriculture for improved
income level for the community and help in poverty
alleviation.
Lessons and recommendations:
1. Institutional and Implementation capacity:
Ministry of Agriculture lacked sufficient capacity to
supervise construction and implementation of irrigation
schemes.The abrupt change in project design without
analyzing the capacity of the ministry to implement
4 large irrigation schemes was a major constraint.
Ministry of Agriculture had only one resident Engineer
at project start who could not supervise such a large
project single handedly. Other Engineers were co-opted
from other ministries but they were still inadequate.
Future projects that are largely of a civil works nature
require recruitment of adequate engineers and other
requisite skills before project start to ensure smooth
implementation.
2. Allocative efficiency: For the period when the
project was under Ministry of Agriculture, it exhibited
poor allocative efficiency as over 80% of the funds
were being spent on operational expenses without any
tangible output.Absorption was high but for less critical
expenditures. For future projects, entities should only
be allowed to spend after establishing that they have
adequate capacity to manage and spend funds efficiently
and effectively.Value for money should be promoted in
donor funded projects
3. Decentralised planning and execution: The
relevant district officials (District Engineer, District
Water Officer and District Community Development
Officer) were brought late in the implementation
process and yet they were expected constantly
supervise the project.The Local Governments should
be brought on board at project inception stage to
help in implementation and setting up management to
ensure project sustainability. Decentralized planning and
execution should be encouraged as the districts are
the final beneficiaries of the project; they should own it
right from planning and execution phase.

NEWS BRIEFS
Forming University Governance and Leadership Clubs
To increase advocacy on the integration of the Women’s Agenda in Government plans and budgets, FOWODE
formed Gender and Leadership Clubs in Makerere, Kyambogo, Nkumba, Nkozi and Uganda Christian Universi-
ties
The clubs which comprise of 125 female students are a platform for students to interrogate, dialogue and debate
key pertinent issues with duty bearers. Each club has its own leadership committee and they have specific ac-
tion plans which will guide their advocacy on critical issues as outlined in the Uganda Women’s Agenda by 2016.
Training Young Leaders in transformative and leadership building
Enhancing Women councilors’ capacities
In March 2013, FOWODE trained 30 young women
16 of whom were Karamajong and 1 PWD in Alterna-
tive and Transformative leadership. This camp pro-
vided special slots for Karamoja young girls who are
often times less likely to benefit from such trainings.
Many signed up to join a cadre of young leaders un-
der the Fowode Young Leaders’ Alumni Association
to continue engaging on leadership and governance
issues.
As Akello below shares her personal opinions on the
camp, many girls perceived it as a very enlightening
training that challenged them to get to the forefront of
transforming their own communities.
“ through the camp, I now know that development in
my community is dependent on me and thus I must
promote women empowerment so as to contribute
to the development of our region, Karamoja- Akello
Caroline, Abim district
The young leaders developed action plans that will
be funded to support them put into action some of the
new knowledge and skill gained in this training. An
additional 30 girls will be selected to benefit from the
same training this year.
Lyantonde, Wakiso, Masindi and Busia were trained
to enhance their capacities in effective legislative en-
gagement. The women formed sub county caucuses
in each and developed action plans to strengthen
their voice for gender equality and women specific
issue.
The training which has benefited more than 1,000
women councilors at both district and sub county
level since their election in 2011, aims at making
women more effective in council and improves their
lobbying and advocacy for women specific issues.
In the districts where women councilors have previ-
ously been trained, FOWODE has started realizing
change and to attest to it even other leaders work-
ing with women councilors are attesting to it. The
Chief Administrative Officer, Wakiso in a recent in-
terview acknowledged the increased levels of confi-
dence and quality of issues articulated by the trained
women.
“There is a difference in the way women councilors
raise issues… in their argument… in the way they
articulate issues. They quote some laws something
the used not to do before. They lobby for consid-
eration of gender specific issues during budget pro-
cesses and they also follow up on implementation”,
stated the CAO wakiso
One of the most significant change stories comes
from Amuru district when Hon. Atim Josephine a
District Woman Councilor LC V representing Atiak
Sub-county requested the Speaker to suspend the
passing of the Amuru District budget for financial
year 2012/13 until the report of the District Public Ac-
count Committees enquiry was released. This would
have been the second time that the District passed
the budget without declaring the District PAC report.
The passing of the District budget was brought to a
halt by the speaker and a later date was proposed to
allow the PAC report to be released.

Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE)
is a non-partisan national women’s organization.
Vision:
A just and fair society where women and men equally
participate in and benefit from decision-making processes.
Mission:
To promote gender equality in all areas of
decision-making through capacity development,
community empowerment, policy engagement
and strategic partnerships

VISIT THE FOWODE RESOURCE CENTER
Latest Publications
The FOWODE resource center is a ONE STOP
CENTER, where you can access over 1000 infor-
mation materials relevant to the FOWODE The-
matic areas of Gender, Governance, Democracy,
and Human rights.You can also access internet,
photocopying and printing services. Please visit the
FOWODE website,
www.fowode.org or the FOWODE resource
center at our offices in Ntinda.
The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) chaired
by FOWODE in 2012 commissioned a study using case
studies of four donor funded projects -theVegetable Oil
Development Project,Agricultural Improved Rice, Produc-
tion Creation of Tsetse and Trypanomiasis Free Areas, Farm
Income Enhancement Project – Irrigation Component.The
study provides an in-depth assessment of how agricultural
loans have been applied in Uganda to improve agricultural
performance. It further analyzes the spending patterns and
service delivery within agriculture and brings out the salient
issues for action.
Forum for Women in Democracy in 2012 commissioned a
study in Gulu and Luwero districts to measure citizens’ satis-
faction with Family Planning (FP) services using a Citizens’
Report Card (CRC).This report card has provided valuable
feedback to improve Family Planning services and provides
important information to guide policy makers and other key
stakeholder to consider when addressing the key challenges:

Fowodenewsletter 2013

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie Fowodenewsletter 2013

Ähnlich wie Fowodenewsletter 2013 (20)

Mehr von FOWODE Uganda

Mehr von FOWODE Uganda (14)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Fowodenewsletter 2013