Six Month Report;  1996 July to December

This report is the result of joint team efforts. Contributions were made by Osinde Owor, NPC, Dr Phil, CTA, Godfrey Kuruhiira, DPC Mubende, Ruth Muguta, DPC Kampala, Anthony Mwanje, DPC Mpigi, Monica Rujumba, FAA.

Mr. Joshua Ogwang, CMP National Coordinator since September 1994, was promoted in the Ministry to Commissioner. A new National Coordinator was appointed by the Ministry, Mr Osinde Owor. He completed his orientation and briefing, making several field trips to all the operational districts of CMP. He brings with him experience in the Unicef-supported Water and Sanitation (WATSAN, now WES) programme, and continues to maintain liaison with WES for the Ministry, thus also benefiting CMP's aim of closer links with related agencies, organizations and projects.

The National Steering Committee (NSC) sat twice (October 30 and November 22). Authorization was given to redesignate District CDOs as the Kampala and Mpigi DPCs. The extraordinary NSC meeting in November, gave a go ahead to initiate the Income Generation (IG) element of CMP.

In October there was a redesignation of the DPCs of Mpigi and Kampala. The former DPC of Mpigi, Tabisa Mawano, was replaced by the DCDO of Mpigi, Anthony Mwanje, and the former DPC of Kampala, James Luyima, was replaced by Ruth Muguta, the CDO for Kampala. This redesignation was in response to the report of the Joint Review Mission of 1994 (May 17 to June 7) recommendations, and constituted the final implementation of all the JET recommendations. The hand over exercises were accomplished successfully.

Mr. Osinde Owor, NPC, participated in the GoU - Unicef Country Programme of Co-ordination, Communication and Advocacy (CCA), Skills Development Training Manuals, held in Rakai September 23-27. This document is to be used by the Government of Uganda for its Unicef country programmes, 1995-2000, for community information management. Mr. Osinde Owor, NPC, also attended the annual review of Unicef Uganda Programmes, November 28 to review progress and seek solutions to constraints.

The Ag. Director for Community Development, Joshua Ogwang, in the presence of District officials and the community members, handed over a cheque to the Nakawa CBO for hand wash closet toilets in colourful ceremonies, covered by the press. This helped CMP to appear in higher public profile.

CMP has been liaising with other programmes such as UNICEF's WES, UNCDF's DDP, World Bank's PUIP, and with several NGOs, with an aim in 1997 to develop partnerships.

The UNCHS CMP Coordinator, Mr. Gert Ludeking, visited Uganda December 10-13. While on mission, he held meetings with the project staff and Ministry and UNDP officials, participated in the commissioning of St. Kizito Primary School, Namigavu, Mubende District, by the MG&CD Permanent Secretary, and visited the Nakawa Sewer Drainage Project.

Preparations for the recruitment of NPPs are being finalized; short listing and invitations have already been completed. (Interviews have been arranged for 1997 January 21-22).

Changes in the environment within which CMP is operating. All events included here are those over which the CMP project could not effect any control.

The wars in the North and West of Uganda continue, making security a problem in those areas. Events in Sudan, Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi continue to affect the bordering districts of Uganda. CMP does not currently operate in those districts, but military conflicts hinder plans for expansion to them. We are grateful that they are happening out of our operational areas, but they do contribute to some general negativity and uncertainty in the nation as a whole. Most Ugandans do not want the country to return to the civil wars of the past few decades.

Establishing an information, monitoring and evaluation system for CMP, for example, has not been fully institutionalized. While much skill training, such as "How to Write Progress Reports," (through informal on the job training, workshops, and production of training materials) has been imparted to the DPCs, CDAs and mobilizers, there is still no community-based format for communities to evaluate their own projects. We are expecting one of the three expected National Professionals to be assigned to rectifying this.

The following sub sections examine each of the seven objectives of CMP Uganda, and indicate the degree to which the project has moved towards reaching them.

1. Mobilization:

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To support community members, especially women, in their efforts of taking active part in planning, implementation and maintenance of the provision of community facilities, services and housing improvements in their settlements and thereby creating movements/organizations responding to their needs in an effort of democratizing the development process in low-income settlements.

Among the target communities, the mobilization and training that have so far been conducted have resulted in many tangible results. The communities continue to identify, prioritize, plan and manage their own programmes. The submission of well written proposals by some communities is a testimony of this success. The general trend in the communities is the realization that they have local resources which they can tap to enhance their development. They now see the donors as partners in development instead of initiators of development. They now see themselves as actors of their own development rather than expecting other people to work for their development.
 
 
1. Mpigi:

Mobilization continues. Community members were mobilized for planning and implementing the construction of community facilities. The DPC held meetings with the communities as they implemented the community constructions. As a result of CMP mobilization, women contributed to the construction of community facilities, particularly in providing communal labour. The intense involvement in election activities, which interfered with community work in the first half of the year, has died down and there has been no further interference.
2. Mubende:

Construction continues apace. The visit by the head of the multilateral desk of Danida (earlier in the year) has risen the profile of Mubende District in donor discussions. Perhaps because it is the most rural of CMP Uganda's operational districts, community development work in general has gone further than in the other two districts, which are slowed down by problems especially related to urbanism (especially land problems and lack of community cohesion). Mobilization involved meetings that sparked off participation in improvement of water sources, sanitation facilities and general home improvement.
3. Kampala:

In Kampala, the members of the District Co-ordinating Committee launched a house to house mobilization programme to sensitize the people to get actively involved in the planning, implementation and management of facilities and housing improvements. As a result of this mobilization, several women and youth groups were formed.
4. National Office:

The National Office continued to provide back-up support to the District Coordinators. The NPC uses cheque handing-over ceremonies to encourage local government officials and communities to work in partnership with each other in their effort to improve living conditions of low-income dwellers. This effort has paid dividends especially in Mpigi and Mubende Districts, where the LC officials are actively behind the programme.

The National Office continued to implement the JET recommendations: eg redesignation of CDOs as DPCs in Mpigi and Kampala Districts, recruitment of NPPs, Steering Committee meetings, working out the modalities of Income Generation Schemes and monitoring activities in the field.

2. Training:

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To involve women in the formulation and implementation of community improvement programmes as planners and physical builders of community facilities, services and housing improvements generating income for them, as educators of children and adults regarding environmental awareness and protection, and as managers of community facilities and services.

Some outsiders have claimed that this programme has carried out too much training at the expense of other activities. Training, in the CMP sense, however, included not only training ABOUT mobilization, but also training AS mobilization. CMP is fundamentally a "training" not a hardware construction programme, and should be judged by the results of its training, not on hardware construction. "Increased capacity: among target groups is not a very visible result. What is needed in CMP, is for the training to be more focussed on stimulating community groups to undertake the construction and maintenance of human settlements facilities, which are physical and more visible than something nebulous as "capacity building," so that the progress of CMP would be more noticeable, therefore more appreciated.

Income Generating Training, as a major element in generating income among target groups, has lain un-implemented for most of CMP Uganda's operations. Much of the last half of 1996, in contrast, was devoted to developing a scheme of income generation that can be implemented after the National Professional for Income Generation comes on board.

Four proposals have been received for income generation activities. In the sector of Income Generation, whose objective is poverty reduction, we expect to play it slow until the NPP Income Generation Trainer is in place to plan and run seminars on this subject:

• Kisa Kya Maria Women's Mushroom Project (Mubende)
• Kisekende Bee Keeper's Community (A group of 25 Families)
• Kisekende Twegate Poultry Project
• Rwabogabo Twegate Women Poultry Project (Kisekende)
The involvement of women, our target group in income generation activities, is gaining momentum.
1. Mpigi:

Training that has dated back to 1995, in project planning and proposal writing, has continued to have developmental effects in Mpigi. The construction of communal facilities, which was the purpose of such training then, continues up to now. Construction training has included some brick-making and pump maintenance.

In Wampewo, women were assisted in proposal writing for income generation projects.

The planned workshop and home improvement was not run because of personnel changes in District Coordinators. Communities have already been sensitized on integration of gender in planning development activities and have elected some women who are active on the implementation committees of the projects construction.

One community member from each parish was trained and the DPC attended the two day workshop on finance and expenditure organized by the CMP head office.

2. Mubende:

Workshops were conducted and the participants were mostly local leaders, mobilizers. Women leaders constituted 1/3 of the members.

One community member from each parish was trained at, and the DPC attended, the two day workshop on finance and expenditure organized by the CMP head office.

After the awareness on home improvement campaign, the activities had encouraging results, with visible social and physical results in the targeted villages, both domestic and public facility improvement. Fifty homes and one sub-county headquarters are improved in Kisekende, Mubende.

Several strategies and plans were drawn by the DPC and Gender Officer, aimed at improving human survival standards and gender balanced strategy in reference to: (a) community priorities of education, income generation, water, health and housing in Kisekende; and (b) priorities of water, education, income generation, health and infrastructure in Namigavu.

These strategies resulted in a village-to-village plan of action to sensitize men and women on gender promotion of women groups and clubs and creation of a home improvement campaign.
 
 

3. Kampala:

Training was two pronged: informal and formal. The informal training involved going from house to house throughout the period with a team consisting the CDAs, an Agriculture Assistant and a Health Assistant, covering simple topics such as improved agricultural methods, simple hygiene and advantages of co-operative groups.

Formal training sessions were held with the community mobilizers and the topics covered included the basic principles of social animation, basic principles of community management, project proposal writing and the aims and objectives of CMP. Informal brainstorming on credit mechanism, participation of two of two community members in the Administrative and Financial Management workshop and urban community development activities were carried out.

Training was organized on VIP toilet construction and garbage management.

On a small scale, in Nakawa parish, women in the Bwara Kwemu Women's Group produced cakes, scones, buns and handicrafts, as an income generation activity, where they get some money. This money distributed amongst members is used to purchase necessities of life and has positive impact to people's life style.

Meanwhile, the urban farming in Nakawa serves not only as an assistance to waste management and hygiene, but also income generation.

Training seminars and workshops had a positive impact on the communities. The ever increasing demands and requests for more training in various sectors such as income generation, project management and managing project accounts are a manifestation of the community members' desires to be equipped with skills with which to manage their own programmes.

4. National:

A two day workshop on finance and expenditure control was conducted in Luweza for 18 participants including CMP staff from the field plus community representatives from the six parishes. The resource persons were Mr. Marcellus Chegge from UNCHS (Habitat) HQ, Mr Eric Van Den Bossche, FAA Ghana, and Ms Monica Rujumba, FAA (Uganda). The workshop highlighted issues of financial constraints and accountability problems. Recommendations were made to both CMP and the communities on accountability formats and expenditure controls.

The CTA, Dr Phil, was invited by the Kampala office of Concern to provide a one day intervention for their planners, managers, mobilizers and community representatives. CMP Senior Secretary, Sophia Kyamanywa accompanied him. The Concern (an Irish based NGO) management in Uganda has adopted the CMP project cycle approach, and has a field methodology very similar to that of CMP, as determined by Dr Phil in the workshop while he was presenting the CMP approach. This is a positive result of the liaison activities in Kampala which began over the second half of 1995 and has continued up to present. It also reconfirms the viability of CMP having a wider impact than its own pilot target communities by providing leadership and professional guidance to such NGOs (as per objective six).

3. Community Based Projects:

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To establish a number of community facilities, services and housing improvements in the above mentioned rural and urban settlements selected for the project activities;

Several contract agreements have been signed with communities for funding. Some projects have been funded while others are not funded because of financial constraints or because proposals have not reflected good project design. Central Government counterpart flow is low while local contribution is non existent; the community inputs amount to at least half the value of each project, reflecting CMP's "strengthening" methodology; it does not provide charity.

To date, twelve construction of community facilities proposals have been submitted. See Community Based Projects CMP has signed contract agreements with most of the implementing community based groups for funding assistance to these construction projects. Some are already completed as indicated.

1. Mpigi:

Construction work slackened a bit because of some overdue impending accounting reports from the communities. While sorting these out, the communities prepared soil for brick making.

In Wampewo, seven of the ten shallow wells were completed.
 
 

2. Mubende:

Construction of community projects is in progress, especially schools. The Kisekende Education Committee finished their third phase in construction of a five classroom block at Mubende Light Senior Secondary School. Namigavu has already put up five classrooms for which CMP was paid 9.2 million shillings. The school was commissioned December 11 and is in use. Other facilities proposed are still at initial stages. These include Nanzirugadde Health Centre, Shallow Wells, Namigavu Road Construction and more schools and community centres. Attention shall be geared to them in the first six months of 1997.
 
 
3. Kampala:

In Nakawa, an agreement of project for the construction of Nakawa Wash Hand Closet Toilet project was signed and first instalment paid by CMP, however the community wants the agreement to change so that they start another project with assistance from both city council and CMP at a cost of 25 million Unless Kampala City Council gets involved, no construction to join the main sewer can take place. This is so because of an upward cost adjustment, from 8,496,000/= to 25/= million, yet CMP can provide a maximum of 9/= million.

CMP has advised the Nakawa community members to stick to the original project proposal.

In Kiwatule, an extension of a 2 1/2 km piped water project was accomplished. The community members are encouraged to look after the sources effectively through their committees. The people participated in excavating a trench of 2 1/2 kilometres, for which 500 homes have contributed in labour, cash, food, transport and other kinds of contribution.

4. National:

The NPC, FAA and CTA went to the districts to attend to issues connected with project activities. These included handing over cheque ceremonies and monitoring the progress of the various projects under construction, participating in community meetings and planning sessions. In the CMP methodology, the national office does not directly implement projects but facilitates the district offices to assist communities to plan implement and manage their own projects.

4. Community Management:

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To develop and implement an effective and sustainable management and maintenance system for community facilities and services;

This aspect of community empowerment is most advanced in the water sector, such as the Kisekende water project. Water supply is a sector where maintenance has a high visibility and importance.
1. Mpigi:

Two committees were formed to implement the construction of Maziba Primary School and the construction of ten shallow wells in Wampewo parish. The management training these committees has been mainly planning and implementation of construction. Maintenance training was carried out for the wells. Two water source committees started experimenting tendering out water as a way of cost recovery.
 
 
2. Mubende:

Three committees: Mubende Education Committee, Namigavu Implementation Committee and Namigavu Water Committee, were set up by the communities to manage the implementation of the projects under construction. These committees are in place purposely to manage and implement development projects. A CBO by the name of Kisekende Cadres Organisation was also formed. This was as a result of the mobilization and training organized and conducted by CMP.
3. Kampala:

The programme trained the mobilizers and eight community members at Kiwatule Parish, the Kiwatule Water and Sanitation Committee, on how to manage and sustain the water system after completion of the construction.
4. National:

Through the monthly Programme Management Team (PMT) meetings, the District Coordinators (DPCs) and the team as whole continued to discuss topical issues related to training of communities in management of their facilities. Policy guidance of tending to more construction activities other than training was given. Hand outs were distributed to the coordinators to assist them conduct these management training sessions.

5. Governmental Reorientation:

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To support the process in the government and other relevant public organizations in re-orienting their roles and interventions from being the providers of community facilities and services to being facilitators of community action programmes (enabling strategy).

CMP Uganda is fortunate to be operating in a political climate of increasing democratization, especially through a national decentralization exercise. CMP sees itself as a practical complement to this national political process, in promoting the increased capacity of low income communities to do things for themselves, and in promoting leaders, civil servants and technical specialists to move more towards an "enabling" approach in contrast to the dependency-creating "provision" approach.

The implications on the desired movement from provision to facilitation, of the recent changes at ministerial and senior civil servant level of the Government, remain to be seen, but so far we see indications that this approach will continue to be supported.

At the district level, CMP staff continued encouraging District Co-ordinating Teams to guide implementors and to keep heads of departments abreast with the programme activities. Districts are appreciating the programme as an appropriate methodology for rural development and are calling for some reorientation sessions that can enable them expand in other parishes. District Local Government is already urging for budget allocations from political leaders for the programme.

6. Policy Formation:

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To formulate a viable and replicable policy and strategy for community management in securing services and facilities for low- income communities.

The spirit of exposing the purpose of CMP of training communities to choose and plan their own development and counteract tendencies towards community dependency and apathy is gaining strength. This is more consolidated because of the decentralisation policy being implemented in all the districts of the country. Communities are involved in planning and management of their programmes. Weak areas are being revealed and corrective measures are being under taken by the people themselves. This is a conducive and enabling environment.

Meeting the new Minister of Gender and Community Development, Hon Janat Mukwaya, and the Country Representative of UNDP, Prof A Babatunde Thomas October 17, the status of the Ministry programmes were listed, and CMP was highlighted. (The Res Rep mentioned plans to cluster CMP with DDP). Since the Minister was new, this opportunity was used to orientate her on CMP methodology.

CMP has realized that one way to influence policy has been for the Ministry to provide guidance and leadership in community management methodology to other implementors, especially international NGOs and other projects in the social sectors. To this effect, the Ministry has been preparing a Policy Document for such guidance, and CMP sees a role for itself soon in assisting the Ministry to complete its draft and finalization of this document.

The Directorate of Community Development is working on a policy paper on Community Development that is expected to come out with an operational framework for government and all stake holders. CMP finds itself in an opportune position by assisting the Directorate in finalizing this paper.

7. Monitoring:

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To establish information, monitoring and evaluation systems for use by planning, implementing and financing agencies, CBOs, and NGOs related to the above objectives.

This is so far the weakest area of the programme. In the absence of the evaluator who would be monitoring and evaluating the activities regularly, it has not been possible for staff, especially at headquarters, to carry out monitoring effectively. Establishing a sustainable system for CMP has not been fully institutionalized. While informal skills training on issues such as "How to write Progress Reports" has been imparted to the DPCs, CMP Uganda still has no community based format for communities to evaluate their own programmes.

We hope to have at least a draft designed monitoring system in the first half of 1997. Meanwhile, verbal, informal discussions and some supervisory and monitoring duties carried out have yielded some positive results as exemplified earlier .

 Meanwhile, substantial information that can be used for evaluation is being produced by the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR). The research is about the Evolution and Application of the Concepts of Community Participation, Community Management and Enabling Government of Uganda. The specific objectives of the study are to identify and trace the evolution of the community participation and community management concepts, from the beginning of the programme to the present; to assess the conceptual validity of the concepts in the light of past and present thinking on the subject, and of regional differences; to assess the practical; effectiveness of the concepts; that is to say, the translation of these concepts into practice, in the light of the experience and performance of the projects of the programme; and to make recommendations for strengthening and improving the concepts for each of the regions, with a view to a more effective and wider application of these in development projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. As CMP staff assist the MISR researchers, they are confronted with evaluation of issues at the heart of the CMP methodology.

It must be pointed out, here, that CMP itself is not a community based programme. Decisions made in Denmark to fund UNCHS, or by UNCHS in Nairobi to initiate and fund CMP Uganda, are not made by members of the target community, even if a few of them have been consulted in the past. What can be "community-based" evaluation and monitoring, are the community activities decided upon by community members themselves. Meanwhile, CMP itself has not designed or implemented a systematic process or system of monitoring and evaluation of its own activities, let alone institutionalized such a system.

1. Social Conditions:
1. Land Tenure System:

Lack of available land continues to be a constraint encountered in the construction of some communal facilities. This is more severe in urban areas. Much awareness creation among the communities about problems with the present land tenure systems and their right to land ownership will have to be carried out. (The CTA and NPC drafted and submitted a paper of the land-related constraints to community development in Uganda, which will be published in the UNCHS magazine, " Habitat Debate .")

The land tenure system does not favour the construction of communal projects in urban areas and this is why construction in Nakawa Parish has lagged behind.
 
 

2. Community Dependencies:

Our communities have been given resources by many donors; some of which do not bother about sustainability or community contribution. This has severely reduced voluntary spirit and created dependency tendencies. CMP does not operate as a charity, which poses some problems to us in convincing the dependency-oriented minds of many people to accept the CMP methodology.

Other programmes, fortunately, including the Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES), Plan International, Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP), do not encourage dependency attitudes. This fact buttresses CMP objectives and has created more acceptance.

3. Lack of Training:

There is need to train community members in banking skills and micro enterprise for income generation.
4. Negative Attitudes:

With much development of some management requirement like gender responsiveness, transfer of power from the central level to local levels, privatization and in the society where illiteracy rate is high (54%), there is always room for manipulation towards negative attitude. CMP has tried to come counteract this by collaborating with departmental programmes, such as functional literacy, where capacities are built for change towards positive attitudes.
5. Security:

There have been security and peace in Uganda in general since 1986. After the elections, however, some pockets of insecurity in some areas have surfaced. Fortunately are not in CMP districts of operations. Staff are also doing a recommendable job in mobilizing and educating people in the need for peace for development and the concept is being accepted.
6. Poverty:

The greatest poverty in low income communities is not lack of resources alone but a "poverty of spirit," ie: lack of knowledge about potential resources and opportunities, poor organization, and low levels of confidence and self esteem. This is being overcome by training given by CMP and other programmes such as Poverty Alleviation (PAP).
7. Transport:

The constraint of transport was hoped to be overcome by providing the mobilizers with bicycles. Recent reports show that the bicycles are now in bad state of repair.
2. Administrative Constraints:
1. Staff Remuneration:

Poor remuneration to local staff is still a constraint. There is a big disparity in the salaries of Habitat (UN) staff and local (GoU) staff. The local staff attached to the project work on a full-time basis and have no spare time to do other things to augment their meagre incomes. This tends to lower the working morale of the local staff. Government of Uganda regulations currently forbid the topping up of local staff members' salaries for any bilateral or UN-funded projects. The Government should reconsider authorizing Habitat or UNDP to apportion some reasonable amount as top-up to the local staff. This will help boost their morale and motivation to work harder. (However, this suggestion does not imply that the local staff are not presently working hard; far from that!).
2. Staff Turnover:

As a result of the redesignation of DPCs in Mpigi and Kampala, fresh training had to be conducted and this slowed down the pace of the implementation. Orientation of the new DPCs by the CTA and the NPC has begun, and will continue through 1997.
3. Office Accommodation:

The CMP national office is at Udyam house where the Ministry of Gender and Community Development is housed. It is small but adequate for the present number of national office staff. However when the NPPs are recruited, the office might be crowded as it is small.
4. Government Procedures:

The disbursement of funds sometimes is complex; sometimes releases are delayed or cancelled. This delays the running of workshops funded by Government.
3. Operational:
1. Previous Project Misdirection:

Prior to the second half of 1994, there was an "unprofessional" approach to the implementation of CMP. It was seen as a project bringing resources to target communities. Promises were made (or assumed by many to have been made), the communities' expectations unnecessarily raised but the promises not fulfilled. District Coordinators of that time did not actively counteract or contradict the incorrect assumptions that this was a programme bringing resources (eg a charity) rather than a training programme bringing challenges. When new management took office in September 1994, the programme had been called derogative names and there was a cold reception towards its revival. Through training for the District Coordinators, and discussions with district officials, it was possible to reactivate the programme. There continue to be still some misconceptions, even among CMP staff, and it is necessary to continue to address these.
2. Shortage of Material:

Still some projects delay because of unavailability of materials in the country, eg: water pipes and accessories.
3. Community Contract:

The community contract system initiated by CMP, was not understood at first. The communities have now understood it. CMP spent more time educating the communities, something which should have been done three years back.
4. Lack of Equipment:

The computer equipment that should have been acquired in 1995 October were received in (1996) September, and on connecting them we found that four computers were faulty. The computers were sent back to Nairobi in December.

The vehicles are all in a state of requiring many expensive repairs.

The programme requires new computers and vehicles.

This section includes those direct activities that took place which did not contribute to reaching project objectives.

1. Administrative Activities:

The Programme office got connected to a second telephone service line, which is dedicated to e-mail and fax. The office is attached to the InterNet e-mail system which is a cheap and rapid media of communication. E-mail also opens up more possibilities for networking with similar projects, using similar methodologies as CMP, around the world, at very low cost. (The office fax machine was connected in July).
2. Visits and Missions:

Marcellus Chegge, Finance Assistant, UNCHS HQ, Gigiri, Kenya, and Eric Van Den Bossche, the new FAA for our sister project, SCMP Ghana, visited Uganda, and were resource persons at the Uganda CMP Finance and Expenditure Control workshop August 6-11.

An international Workshop on Training Strategies (for Community Participation Training) was held in Zambia, October 10-16. It was attended by the Acting Director of Community Development, Joshua Ogwang, the new NPC, Osinde Owor, the CTA Dr. Phil Bartle, and Dr. Harriet Birungi and Prof. Patrick Muzaale from Makerere University (MISR). The workshop provided an opportunity for selected researchers, trainers and Community Development Programme UNCHS staff from Nairobi, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia, to exchange experiences on training strategies for community participation and management. It was followed directly with another workshop for planning the CMP Africa research, part of the Netherlands supported ISS (Institute of Social Studies in The Hague) study of CMP and CDP in Ghana, Zambia and Uganda.

Mr Robert Kapopo, Africa Regional Coordinator of UNCHS CDP, visited Uganda September 17-20 to initiate dialogue viz a regional process of community development. CMP Uganda has pledged to offer all appropriate and available support to this process, which is aimed at furthering the sharing of experiences in this field with neighbouring countries, Tanzania and Kenya, as well as to determine the kinds of regional resources that which would benefit programmes such as CMP Uganda.

October 31 to November 2, Dr. Phil Bartle, CTA participated in the Expert Group Meeting on "Community and Resources Management," in Copenhagen, as a guest of Danida. The objective of the meeting was to review strategies and challenges on community management as an equitable, democratic and cost-effective tool for local development.

The CTA, Dr. Phil Bartle, undertook took two missions to Tanzania, October 21-23 and December 22-24, on the invitation of the Minister of Community Development, Women Affairs and Children, Hon Mary Nagu, to contribute to a cabinet policy paper on community development in Tanzania, and to liaise with respect to Tanzania's desire to initiate a CMP similar to those in Ghana and Uganda.

Mr Gert Ludeking, the CMP Coordinator visited the programme December 10-13. During his visit, he had consultation meetings with UNDP and Ministry officials. He participated in the commissioning of St. Kizito Primary School, Mubende, and visited Nakawa Sewer Drainage project where he advised Nakawa community members to consolidate self dependency.

3. Habitat's CMP/CDP Regional Process:

Ministry of Gender and Community Development has accepted the regionalization of community development programme as a vehicle of sharing of experiences that would benefit the regional countries. At the moment, the Ministry has identified a consultant who is charged with data collection to produce a country paper report expected by April this year.
 
 
4. Staff News:

The replacement of Joshua Ogwang by Osinde Owor was mentioned above in the half year highlights. We continue to have a good relationship with Joshua Ogwang who is now the Commissioner for Community development, and look forward to much future co-operation.

Dr. Phil Bartle, Chief Technical Adviser, went on a home leave (60 days) to his home country, Canada. He returned at the beginning of September. He is welcome back to the land of no winter.

The CTA, Dr. Phil Bartle, shifted his residence from Kabalagala, Kampala, to Luzira, Kabalega Crescent 25, and held a house warming party in December. All CMP staff were invited and most attended. Unfortunately, Dr Phil has not yet been able to obtain telephone service for his new residence.

Tabisa Mawano, DPC Mpigi, and James Luyima, DPC Kampala, left CMP in October; and were replaced by Anthony Mwanje (Mpigi) and Ruth Muguta (Kampala). The two new DPCs are very much welcomed to CMP. Best wishes to Tabisa and James.

Sadly, the mother of Office Attendant, Maria Namujuzi, passed away.

Josephat Byarugaba, driver for Mubende, fathered a baby boy in November 1996.

The Mubende and Mpigi drivers went on annual leave in November and December respectively.

CMP Management has decided to rotate all the CMP drivers for their 1997 contracts.

Senior Secretary, Sophia Kyamanywa, attended a secretarial studies course in 1996 August to November and graduated in December.

1. To the CMP Programme:

Lessons learned should be recorded, and used in the production of a joint team-produced position paper on CMP-2, the proposed programme to be based on the current CMP.

Much training is still required for the communities and community actors, particularly for Kampala, which has lagged behind.

Groups whose proposals for income generation have been approved should be assisted in their endeavours to alleviate poverty.

Social mobilizers should be facilitated in their mobility and group skills to enable them play their role more effectively.

Efforts should be made to establish a community based information, monitoring and evaluation system.

More training in 'Proposal Writing' and 'Mobilizing Funds for Local Development' is required.

There is need to train community members in banking skills and micro enterprise for income generation.

CMP staff should begin putting issues to contribute to a position paper in preparation for a CMP-2, especially listing lessons learned and their implications for a design of another CMP.

2. To Central Government:

Where possible, long delays in release of project funds should be avoided as these delays tend to delay the implementation of planned activities.

Non-release of funds in certain months, has also upset our planned programmes. Government counter-part contribution should be fulfilled as per ProDoc agreement.

3. To UNCHS HQ:

The project has five old vehicles which are very expensive in terms of repair and maintenance. We have recommended for their replacement. Bureaucratic requirements should not delay their supply when tendering our supply requests.
4. To District Local Government:

We recommend that they continue to provide the support and assistance that they have been doing for CMP up to now.

We request that Local Government explore ways that the monies raised in the district, for which fifty per cent is now to remain in the districts, can be used in part to contribute to community based projects which, up to now are funded only by CMP and the target communities themselves.

5. To District Leaders:

We recommend that they also continue to provide the support and assistance that they have been doing for CMP up to now.

We request that the LCs debate ways that the moneys raised in the district, for which fifty per cent is now to remain in the district, can be used in part to contribute to community based projects which, up to now are funded only by CMP and the target communities themselves.

6. To Target Communities:

We recommend that the target communities continue in the spirit of co-operation which they have shown towards CMP up to now.

The District Technical Teams are dormant. Attempts to reactivate them is finalized so that they play their management and advisory roles to the implementing teams. Its composition has been restructured as per the demands of the district Sectoral Committees.

Training Documents and Reports:

Workshops:

Community Projects:

Initials and Acronyms:

National Steering Committee:

Partners:

Staffing:

 

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