NewVision_21st July 2020_Page 33 _ Assurance_Baraza_Ministry of Water&Environment_Title_Farmers to reap big from shs 10b dam_

Despite the efforts to engage the citizens at project implementation levels for the Mabira Dam, and the Nyamihanga solar-powered scale irrigation scheme, under the Ministry of Water and Environment, the citizens continue to call for continuous engagement across the entire value chain of project delivery, including preparation, planning, and procurement. Community Barazas are very influential in addressing time and cost overruns that result from any delayed right of way. Once the citizens are engaged, they will own, appreciate, and sustain infrastructure projects beyond completion.

To all our stakeholders, and Friends of CoST Uganda,

We are coming back to you with a thank you note. Thank you for engaging with us in the last few weeks, we have been blessed to have your audience and contribution in the efforts to enhance transparency and fair business practices in Uganda.

4th Assurance Report launched on 10th February 2021 We were very honoured to have you on 10th February 2021 as we launched the 4th Assurance Report on 10th February 2021 in the presence of 89 participants from the Government, Private Sector, and Civil Society. A Ray of sunshine into the Infrastructure sector in Uganda. Please read here for details about the launch;

Indeed, as revealed by the report, the culture of transparency in the public infrastructure sector is taking strides in Uganda, with an increase in disclosure by 20% in one year, moreover, a year of great tabulances of COVID-19. Following the validation and completion of the 4th Assurance process, sector representatives gathered at the Protea  Hotel in Kampala, to discuss the results of the Assurance Process. We are grateful to all media houses, and journalists who have since taken an interest in further writing, and speaking about the findings, we call on you and many others to keep the discussions growing. We believe the more we speak about these issues, the more we will find a middle ground for transparency and accountability in the public infrastructure sector.

Following the launch of the report, we received credible feedback and remarks which we are including in the final report that will be distributed to stakeholders in March 2021.  We extend our appreciation to all media houses, individuals, and journalists who have used this information to publish blogs, and air out news bulletins and we encourage you to do more. Please read about the 4th Assurance Report in the media;

Stakeholder engagements; On 17th February, we organized a platform for the contractors and consulting engineers to engage with the Government. The event was attended by 68 representatives. There were commitments made and suggestions for addressing issues affecting private sector participation in public infrastructure procurement processes were documented and will be shared accordingly.

A moment with the press on the 4th Assurance results; Following the release of the Assurance report, on 12th February 2021, in partnership with PPDA, we engaged the press/journalists to further create awareness and demand for action on findings and recommendations in the report. We are grateful to all those journalists and media houses that have and are still speaking about these results, this is indeed a sign that CoST is an enabler of data use. We pledge to continue providing information for us all to engage. We have so far documented over 20 blogs/online articles, over 30 radios and 10 Televisions have aired the results. Our paid target media engagements have also reached across the country, we will be sharing more statistics. Our social media coverage has also increased with more than 3000 people following us on Facebook via @CoST Uganda and over 100 people have followed us on Twitter @CostUgChapter. We encourage you all to visit our platforms and website www.cost.or.ug for frequent updates about Infrastructure Transparency.

Learning and reflection on Fair Business practices; On 19th February 2021, we held a learning event, to harvest what stakeholders picked up as experiences, lessons, and areas of improvement as we journey in this work of promoting transparency in the sector. Key takeaways include; disclosure has improved, meaning there is a growing culture of transparency, data use is also improving observed by the interest of stakeholders to use disclosed data to engage, many commitments made by the Government revealing an interest to see the sector flourish, a platform for engagement established, and a growing level of trust that, transformation in the sector is possible.

An action matrix on Fair Business practices; Following the events, stakeholders agreed to develop an action matrix. The draft matrix is being reviewed by a select committee and shall be shared at an appropriate time to inform joint advocacy. We invite you all to support the CoST Uganda programme, speak about the findings in the Assurance Report, and fair business practices, and let us jointly engage for better results of the investments put into infrastructure projects in Uganda.

Below is a list of publications, and presentations from the most recent engagements, use them to join our advocacy for Infrastructure transparency, and business integrity.

CoST Uganda _Draft findings on factors affecting Private sector pptn

Fair_Business_Practices_GPP_Infrastructure Data analysis Report_June 2020 _Press

Infrastructure Procurement Disclosure Trends in the Year 2020_PP by Michael Chengkuru

Joint statement by UACE and UNABCEC on Fair Business practices at the high level meeting

Learning and Reflections of the Fair Business Practices _Business Intergrity Initiative in Uganda

PPDAs Presentation on Fair Business practicies

Presentation 4th Assurance_Process Results

Remarks by the Eng In Chief _MoWT at the Launch of the 4th Assurance Report

Remarks of the Senior Regional Manager Africa_CoST International at the Launch of the 4th Assurance Report

Speech by Permanent Sec MoWT at the launch of the 4th Assurance Report

Speech by the Min of Works and Transport at the Launch of the 4th Assurance Report

Statement from the OPM Permanent Secretary_on the 4th Assurance Report

UNABCEC Presentation at the High level panel on Fair Business practices

UNRA Presentation at the Launch of 4th Assurance Report_Local Content

4th Assurance Report in the Media!

Facts about the Mabira Dam project_Ministry of Water and Environment_3rd Assurance process

The Mabira dam was a long-awaited project expected to benefit over 300 farmers in Mabira, Mbarara district, Western Region of Uganda. The project was reconstructed after a decade to a better facility with the capacity to serve the Mabira community with enough water for production and domestic use. This leaflet summarises the experiences, lessons, findings, and recommendations from the Assurance process conducted on this project with the able support of the Ministry of Water and Environment – Western Region Team!

Leveling the playing field: How CoST Uganda promotes business integrity

Back in December 2019, CoST Uganda was awarded funding through the UK Government’s Business Integrity Initiative (BII) and launched the programme Promoting fair business practices in Uganda. The BII sought to strengthen emerging markets by combatting issues such as corruption and low competition which can otherwise impede private sector participation. Through Promoting fair business practices in Uganda, several improvements were made to Uganda’s business environment including:

• Greater transparency with an increase in infrastructure data disclosure from 42% in 2019 to 61.5% in 2020
• An increase in private sector understanding of – and participation in – the infrastructure procurement process. This has increased competition, with the number of bids per tender for infrastructure projects increasing from 1.6 in 2019 to 12.5 in 2020
• Improvements in local content provisions, with reservation schemes (which ‘reserve’ contracts for national and resident firms) reviewed to include more sectors for local providers.

This success story provides insights into the results of the action”Promoting fair business practices between Government and the private sector in Uganda”

Citizens around Busoga College Mwiri celebrate the new tarmac

This is an impact story resulting from the Assurance report on the upgrade of the Busoga Mwiri Access Road. It has been documented with consent on publication of views and experiences of stakeholders and citizens around the project.

“We were not involved in the implementation of the project; we were never invited to any stakeholder’s meetings and were not happy being involved at the finishing lane. However, we promise to cooperate and ensure that the project is successful as it will be maintained and managed by the same town council. The Client should adjust the design of the roads to enable citizen access to their gardens. The project has had time overruns due to the delays by the contractor. In addition, the level of citizen engagement on the project was not effective; this would have catered for offshoots to overcome the storm waters. We need to see the Environmental Impact Assessment to identify gaps to address the concerns from the community” Town Clerk Kakira Town Council during the Baraza of 13^th July 2020.

You are welcome to read the publication for details.

Civic engagement strengthens the supply of water, income, and food for farmers

In the farming communities of Mabira and Nyamihanga in Uganda, the start of the dry season brings with it lower production levels for farmers, impacting their take-home pay and food supply for families. Lack of access to water during the dry season had a critical impact on the viability of crops and the well-being of livestock. To maintain production levels, the Ministry of Water and Environment has been extending water supply to farmers through infrastructure projects across both communities to ensure land and livestock can thrive all year round. However, project implementation has not been plain sailing and a lack of stakeholder engagement impacted the maintenance and efficacy of both projects delivered.

To resolve these issues, CoST Uganda built on its past success of holding community engagement meetings called ‘barazas’ to establish a platform for public officials to engage with residents and other local stakeholders. This impact story describes the outcome of the barazas which have ensured that projects in both communities are better maintained, residents are aware of their intended use and the government has agreed to extend water supply to a further 200 farmers, meaning they too will be able to maintain their livelihoods throughout future dry seasons.