Semi-Annual Partner Management Report
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Semi-annual Partner Management Report Contact person: Opwonya Tom Partner Address: Plot 11, ASDI Building, Republic Street, Akere Division, Apac Municipality Telephone: Mobile 0772647107, Office: 0790915362 Email: [email protected] / [email protected] Website: www.taacc.org.ug ©The Apac Anti-Corruption Coalition December 2016 Semi-annual Partner Management Report Page ii 1. Basic Project Information Profile Name of project Strengthening citizens’ capacity to monitor, report and engage duty bearers for improved service delivery. Project goal Project Goal: Informed and empowered citizens engaging and holding duty bearers accountable for effective service delivery by 2017. Project Objectives Objective 1. Empower citizens to monitor & report misuse of public resources & poor service delivery in target 3 districts. Objective 2: Strengthen the capacity of duty bearers to constructively engage and provide effective service delivery to the citizens. Objective 3. Strengthen the institutional capacity of TAACC to deliver services effectively to the target beneficiaries. Location of the project Northern Uganda Geographical coverage Apac, Kole and Oyam districts Contract start date 1st July 2016 Contract end date 31st December 2017 Total project lifetime Budget Ugx. 736,327,763/= Planned budget for the reporting period Ugx. 89,908,884/= Actual expenditure for the reporting period Ugx. 121,483,832/= Contact person Opwonya Tom 2. Executive Summary The 18 months project goal is an informed and empowered citizens engaging and holding duty bearers accountable for effective service delivery by 2017. The emphasis of the project is to scale up community capacity building, facilitate and mentor community structures and the target community in the 3 target districts to monitor, report and engage duty bearers to reduce inefficiency, fight corruption and ensure equitable quality service delivery contributing to sustainable development. The project started on the 1st July 2016 & is expected to end on the 31st December 2017. Within the 6 months; 17,069 people (8,203 female & 8,866 male) were reached. 7,000 of the people are youth reached directly through civic education programmes. TAACC used the forum theatre plays, radio talk shows & and conducted face to face civic education sessions. The civic education programmes helped TAACC to empower the citizens to put pressure on the contractor working on Apac – Aduku – Lira road that was done in a shoddy way to begin afresh. The empowerment also caused Apac district executive committee of the council to commit to allocate the local revenue to settle the outstanding electricity bill of Apac general hospital that had risen to Ugx. 219 million that had caused UMEME to disconnect power from the hospital leading to poor health service delivery at the hospital. The face to face civic education session also inspired a villager from Akali Parish in Abongomola Sub County, Apac district to on his own demand and became a member of TAACC. The trained IBMS & empowered citizens reported 130 cases of corruption & poor service delivery to TAACC. At least 43 cases were followed and 6 cases were successfully concluded. TAACC referred 41 cases i.e. 11 referred to the Parliamentary Local Government Accounts Committee (LGPAC), 10 to the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) and Police, 21 cases to the local government leaders. However, 40 cases reported to TAACC are pending verification. TAACC caused the recoveries of Ugx 3,574,900/= mismanaged. From the intervention of TAACC, evidence of increased responsiveness by the leaders with examples being the audit of the books of Accounts of Barromo Primary School and Atop Primary School in Aleka and Loro sub counties respectively in Oyam district and the arrest of 8 members of the School Management Committee (SMC) of Barromo P.7 School for mismanaging the UPE funds totaling Ugx 8,000,000/= following TAACC’s intervention using the Community Score Card (CSC). Following TAACC actions, 4 case files have been opened. E.g. case file against the DCDO of Kole district, i.e. GEF/04/2016 for mismanaging the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) fund. Case file number GEF 05/2016 was opened against the Malaria Focal person one Andrew Ayo for mismanaging Ugx 17,568,000/= meant for training the Village Health Teams (VHT) of Kole district. TAACC is happy that the case file for the YLP got sanctioned by the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). However, the same case file was taken over by IGG – Lira office. Otherwise, the DCDO was interdicted from office following TAACC’s action much as the legal aspect is not yet fully concluded. TAACC has continued to face resistance, negativity from the corrupt, laxity and lack of cooperation by some leaders. Some leaders delay to take actions on the issues unearth by TAACC. There is also slow pace by the Public Anti-Corruption Institutions in investigating & prosecuting cases. TAACC witnessed the role conflict among the public anti-corruption agencies (CIID & IG). Lastly, there is still denial, hiding and distortion of information not only to the IBMs but to TAACC as well. TAACC will continue to get credible evidences, remain passionate, insist and continue engaging all the stakeholders to ensure that it achieves its objectives. TAACC will strengthen partnership, build synergy with power center, media houses and use legal means where possible so that it remains focused. Also, the Civic Education programmes will be tailored to the issues of effectiveness in service delivery as well as empowerment of the affected community so that the people get to understand and appreciate work to ensure transparency and accountability. TAACC has always and will continue to use innovative approaches and adopt the kind of social accountability tools based on situations till all the people get to appreciate its work. By remaining innovative, hopefully one time TAACC will overcome some of the challenges. Rallying the citizens will enable TAACC to be acceptable. Semi-annual Partner Management Report Page 2 3. Operating Environment and its impact on the project The operating environment for accountability work is never palatable always. There is denial of information, direct antagonism by culprits, arrogance and others have gone to the extent of putting Court injunctions that TAACC should not implement public engagements at the service delivery points and areas that they feel will unearth destructive things on them. To date, TAACC is fighting a Court case instituted against the coalition by the former LC III Chairman of Kamdini Sub County. The same Chairman does not want TAACC to hold the activity that he sought court injunction over! This is challenging because TAACC does not have a legal wing and relies on pro bono legal services of lawyers who are its members. The Independent Budget Monitors (IBMs) are sometimes denied information, harassed, undermined etc. Examples are the IBMs of Ayer & Alito Sub Counties of Kole district who have reported denial of inputs under the Operations Wealth Creation (OWC) because of their watchdog actions. Even other whistle blowers, TAACC activists are rarely included to benefit from such community projects with the fear that they will cause problem as most of the government projects like YLP, NUSAF 11, even SAGE are most of the time marred with corruption by those who manage such projects. TAACC staff are sometimes isolated, threatened, intimidated and unnecessarily feared even when they just want to socialise with others in their private time. Currently, the IBMs & LC.1 Chairperson of Adak “A” Cell in Kamdini Sub County in Oyam district who reported the case of the former Chairman Hon. Arac Tom and former LC. III Chairman face threats just because they reported the alleged mismanagement of the Adak A road fund. Even the OC- CIID of Kole district who is supportive to TAACC is unhappy that after completing the investigation of the YLP fund on Ojan Tommy and others, the IGG got so much interested over the case and withdrew the case from him. Police Detectives have openly explained to TAACC the challenge that they get especially since they sometimes need audit reports in order to proceed, yet the very person accused sometimes are the one to ensure that the needed audit reports are produced. “….I was denied information on the VHT training and I am just getting some today that TAACC has come to Kole district…’ lamented the O-C CIID of Kole Central Police station (CPS). The same was echoed by the Hon. LCV Councillor Michael Edule who represents Bala Sub County. Other officers tactfully refer the IBMs, TAACC and whistle blowers to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), District Education Officer (DEO) or Sub County Chiefs to get information that they can give with the knowledge that such officers are not always available. On the part of the community members, there is still fear and apathy. Some prefer to suffer silently, remain resigned and or fail to openly report and or, testify. Yet to conclude any case, witnesses are needed to provide evidences. Typical example is the fact that only 4 VHTs from Kole district turn out to make statements at Kole CPS over the mismanagement of the VHT training funds, yet all of them totalling to 976 VHTs had their payment mismanaged. Lastly, some citizens want to be facilitated to attend face to face civic education sessions. Some refuse to sign the attendance lists, complaining that the IBMs will use the list for their accountability for the funds “…..that they have received….”. There is also immediate demand for results and outcome from the advocacy work by the affected citizens. Adopting the CSC approaches which non-confrontational, participatory and involves negotiations and other innovations have helped TAACC to succeed. Indeed, Oyam District Inspector of Schools remarked “….I used to have a very negative attitude towards TAACC…..but today after looking at what the CSC is all about, I feel challenged…..” This was after TAACC had presented the CSC report in Oyam district dialogue to the stakeholders.