GIZ, Uganda’s friend indeed!

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OPINION

By Aaron Magara Mwesigye

Germany has been a long-standing partner to Uganda. The beginning of the German-Ugandan development cooperation dates back to the year 1964, two years after Uganda declared its independence.

Germany’s current bilateral cooperation portfolio focuses on agriculture and rural development, renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as support to refugee-hosting communities, good governance, human rights, public finance management and job creation. This thematic approach, coupled with a regional focus on, mainly but not exclusively, Northern Uganda, allows for a long-term engagement aiming at sustainable development in different sectors as well as quick responses.

It is crucial to acknowledge that Uganda serves as the primary host for refugees on the African continent. Uganda's refugee policy is known for being progressive, offering refugees land, freedom of movement, and access to public services.

Currently, Uganda hosts more than 1.9 million refugees and asylum seekers, living mostly in the refugee settlements in the northern and south-western regions. The overwhelming majority of the approximately one million refugees in the north (mostly in West Nile) come from South Sudan. Over 80% are women and children under the age of 18. In West Nile, the refugees are settled mostly in the districts of Yumbe, Terego, and Madi-Okollo.

Consequently, the Federal Republic of Germany, a tenacious partner to Uganda, instituted a programme called Water Supply and Sanitation for Refugee Settlements and Host Communities in Northern Uganda (WatSSUP) in 2019. The programme is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), otherwise known as the German Corporation for International Cooperation. 

To address the plight of the underprivileged, the German Government has so far committed €30 million ( sh126 billion) within a sexennial period since the inception of the programme.

Unlike other programmes, the WatSSUP programme has a multi-layered approach of implementation which has imprints from the upper echelons to the general public. The Germans, known for being meticulous, scripted the programme in an elaborate manner.

Distinct from previous initiatives, this designated project aims to provide support to displaced populations & host countries or communities, strengthening the ability of host nations/communities to respond to the increasing population by supporting expansion and maintenance of infrastructure and capacities, addressing root causes of displacement and eradicating them over the long term by tackling their structural causes.

This comprehensive and robust methodology sets the German development cooperation apart and would exonerate them from the usual run-of-the-mill thinking that donor funding actually thrives more in protracted conflicts, and there is no commitment to ending conflicts.

The fulcrum of the implementation of the WatSSUP Programme is in the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) and the German Development Cooperation. The objective of the interventions is to implement measures to sustain water supply and sanitation services in refugee-hosting areas in line with national and international refugee strategies. The programme focuses on the West Nile sub-region of Northern Uganda in the districts of Yumbe, Terego and Madi-Okollo.

There are five areas of intervention, namely;

(A) strengthening the capacities of national structures of MWE,

(B) strengthening the capacities of regional structures of MWE,

(C) improvement of services at the district level,

(D) utilisation of the potential of local actors (training institutes, handpump mechanics association and spare part suppliers) and

(E) Improvement of hygiene conditions and sanitation provision in refugee settlements and host communities.

Within a relatively short period, the programme has accomplished these subsequent remarkable events.

• Facilitated the setup and operationalisation of the WASH Refugee Sub-Working Group and the WESRRP secretariat and facilitated the landmark signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the MWE, Office of the Prime Minister and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The MoU paved the way for the takeover of Water Supply systems in refugee settlements by the Ugandan Government.
  
  
• Water Supply systems have been upgraded to the International/national drinking water standards. These water supply systems serve a population of more than 200,000 people, both refugees and host communities.
  
  
• In anticipation of the government takeover of the service delivery, the programme has continued to bolster the capacity of the government utility that was gazetted to take the reins of service delivery within that locality.
  
  
• The district local governments have been facilitated to fast-track the integration of refugee water supply and sanitation needs into the Third District Development Plans (trained 98 stakeholders (inclusive of refugees) on integrated participatory planning).
  
  
• The project has endorsed local Vocational training centres to become the first regional training institutions for Operation & Maintenance of solar-powered water systems, including the construction of the practical training demonstration facilities.
  
  
• Through the programme, over 500 selected vulnerable households (70% female-led) received an improved sanitation facility with a handwashing facility.

It should be borne in mind that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (access to clean water and sanitation for all) requires €100 billion (approximately sh420 trillion) for operation and maintenance (O&M) globally. However, only €20 billion (sh85 trillion) is available for O&M interventions worldwide. Notwithstanding the substantial shortfall, the reduction in funding has persisted. That is why the German government, through its development initiative, is promoting self-sufficiency or emphasising autonomy.

Although the German development cooperation has chosen a softer stance towards publicity, the achievements are undeniable, and the facts speak for themselves. This has garnered support from other development partners in the sphere, such as the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), and the European Union, among others, all with the view to utilising the WatSSUP programme as a platform for subsequent advancements.

As we say in one of our local languages, ‘gakyali mabaga’ (‘we are just getting started’), the struggle continues as we build our own capacity as a country to meet governmental obligations under the social contract that exists between citizens and their leaders.

The writer is a passionate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Advocate