10th Feb 2015 About twenty NGO’s and civil society organizations have been awarded a cumulative amount of five billion Ugandan shillings to enable them advance in their work towards human rights and good governance in Uganda. The grant is by the Democratic governance facility, a multi donor funding institution consisting of The European Union, Sweden, Nederland, Norway and four other countries.
The Independent development fund, IDF is in charge of disbursing the funds, and its Executive Director Davis Ddamulira, has said the monies will assist these civil groups with innovations in information technology in order to monitor and document human rights abuses. In cases where government projects are poorly carried out, the groups will also report to governmental agencies.
Mr Ddamulira is quoted as saying “We can’t change the country because we have received 5 billion shillings. However, our concern is the way it is going to be used to create an impact through multiplying effect and to draw the attention of relevant authorities to take action on human rights protection and practice good governance”.
While he addressed the representatives of the civil agencies, Mr Ddamulira emphasized the importance of the funds being utilized as originally intended as the project will be immediately scrapped if it is discovered that there are discrepancies or misuse of funds.
He is quoted as saying to the agency representatives that “We (the donors) are interested in seeing the impact you create on the ground. We are going to improve the human rights situation in the country.” He also asked that the bodies check with the existing laws regarding their activities to avoid problems with law enforcement authorities.
A recipient of the grant, Hilda Tadria whose organization centers on women issues and girls empowerment said that the funds will be used in mobilizing and motivating women from different walks of life in Uganda, to be more vocal about issues affecting them. Another recipient, Dorcas Akello who heads an organization called Africa Development Network based in Gulu district said the funds allocated to her group will greatly help her work in women and girls rights, especially those whose lands have been taken from them.