Global Corruption report on sports launched in Uganda

Transparency International Uganda (TIU) hosted Ms. Elena Panfilova the Vice Chairperson of Transpar-ency International who purposely came to launch the Global Corrup-tion Report (GCR) on Sports. This was done through a media engage-ment with journalists. The “Global Corruption Report: Sport,” which looks at why sport has become so corrupt and what can be done to stop this, was launched by Trans-parency International on 23rd Feb-ruary 2016 in Berlin. The report was thereafter launched in several oth-er countries including Uganda. The report stresses the need for greater participation of all those involved from the fans who buy tickets, the athletes who provide the entertain-ment, to the sponsors and broad-casters who fund sports activities.It’s an extensive report of corrup-tion issues, covering different top-

ics including one on corruption in sports. The Global Corruption Re-port: Sport puts forward a series of detailed recommendations includ-ing: Increased independent oversight in international sports governance. Stringent and transparent crite-ria for eligibility, plus independent verification for all senior decision-making positions. Increased financial transparency in all sports associations, the money they make and how it is disbursed, far beyond minimum legal require-ments of host countries. Citizen engagement in bids for ma-jor sporting events and the need for formal safeguards to stop corrup-tion and all human rights, labour, environmental and social sustain-ability abuses. The need for sponsors to promote integrity and hold sports organiza-

tions to the same standards that they apply to their supply chain. Further exploration of the need for a global anti-corruption sports agency.Transparency International calls for these recommendations to be ap-plied to all international sports or-ganizations, particularly those facing corruption scandals such as the IAAF in athletics. It will also use them as a checklist for FIFA reform in the first 100 days under its new president to be elected on 26th February. Below are some of the links to the media engagement;

1.http://www.kawowo.com/index. php/football/item/25369-sport-de-serves-incorruptible-souls-trans-parency-international-report.html2 . h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m /watch?v=cUflOcl-mck

Extracted from the New Vision which was published on 29th March 2016

Mr. Peter Wandera the ED TIU together with Ms. Ellena Panfilova the TI Vice Chairper-son during the launch

In a bid to improve the lives of Ugandans through Good Gover-nance and Accountability, a Three Pronged Local Accountability Mod-el is being used in the Greater Ma-saka region. The model responds to the acute national concern about the quality of services for health, education, water and sanitation, production, roads and infrastruc-ture which are being provided by the Ugandan social service system at the Local Government level. The model facilities citizens at the grass root level to take charge of their rights and demand account-ability from duty bearers. The ex-perience of TIU is that given the complexity of accountability issues that undermine the quality of so-cial services at grass root level, no approach can singly address these challenges therefore, they have to be approached from different

The 3 pronged CSO local accountability handbook

perspectives. TIU has blended into one model the 3 social account-ability approaches which are as follows;Voluntary Accountability Commit-tees (VACs) is a small team of com-mitted service delivery monitors that are elected by communities to represent them in monitoring quality of service delivered and demand accountability from duty bearers. They can be village, par-ish or sub county based and are held accountable by the commu-nity that elected them. VAC mem-bers constitute themselves into a 5-person governing team headed by the Chairperson. These meet periodically to draw strategies of monitoring service delivery and engaging Local Government lead-ers on monitoring findings and other issues of concern.Development Pact (DP) is a social

accountability tool comprising of negotiated agreements between public officers or duty bearers charged with delivery of social ser-vices and the citizens who are in-tended to benefit from the servic-es. In the Development Pact, the duty bearers make mutual pledges to the citizens based on the actual work plans for ministries, depart-ments and agencies or Local Gov-ernments. The funded activities in the work plans are declared to the beneficiaries including timelines for implementation. These be-come pledges that the duty bear-ers make to the citizens to which they are held to account since both the duty bearers and the citizens append their signatures to the De-velopment Pact turning it into a social contract.Technical Working Groups (TWGs) were formed at district level com-

The Ag. PS Mr. J.G Walala from the Ministry of Local Governement launching the 3 pronged CSO Local Accountability model at Hotel Africana

A stakeholders’ meeting was held in Masaka district with VACs, Technical Working Group (TWG) members, LCV chairpersons, Civil Society Organizations (CSO). The purpose of the meeting was to as-sess and share the progress of the project, experiences and challeng-es as well as to draw up a way for-ward for improved service delivery.During the meeting, the partici-pants shared a number of achieve-ments that have been registered by the project such as; improved

Regional Stakeholders’ meeting held in Masaka Districtservice delivery especially in the sectors of health, education and production, enhanced monitoring of service delivery, improved infor-mation flow between district offi-cials and people within the com-munity, the VACs have been able to bridge the gap between the community and the district officials which used to exist before project implementation, among others. Major challenges noted included; the slow speed at which the dis-tricts implement the Development

Pacts, the project operating in a few sub counties which hinders other areas from enjoying the fruits of the project as well as some public officers who are still uncooperative with the VACs considering them as “policemen”. A key recommenda-tion from the meeting was that TIU should continue implementing the project, cover the remaining two districts in greater Masaka region ie Kalungu and Bukomansimbi and also expand to other sub coun-ties instead of the 2 per district .

Land Stakeholders in Mukono meeting

Mukono District is one of the dis-tricts in Uganda which embraces the four land tenure systems as embedded in the Constitution of Uganda and the Land Act 1997. The district is occupied with main-

ly mailo land tenure system origi-nating from the 1900 agreement.

The Resident District Commis-sioner (RDC ), Maj. Matovu David said that issues being reported

on land take up over 70% of his office time because they are so many and require investigations to be carried out so as to obtain evidence from the affected com-munities. Because issues of land

Participants after the land stakeholders meeting in Mukono district

prising of heads of relevant service delivery departments, relevant secretaries of the district executive committees, one cultural leader, one religious leader as well a staff from Transparency International Uganda. Formation of TWGs is an-chored on the argument that for

local accountability to be effective, it must have mutually 2 enforcing components ie answerability (ob-ligation to provide an account and the right to get a response) and en-forceability (ensuring that action is taken or redress provided when ac-countability fails).

TIU launched the CSO accountabil-ity handbook and shared the good practices with other CSOs. It was launched by the acting Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Local Government Mr. J.G Walala at Ho-tel Africana.

Alao Health Center II in Oyam dis-trict has only two blocks of staff ac-commodation. These buildings are meant for 2 (two) staff each since they are twin houses. In July of 2015, through a phone call from a TIU Vol-untary Accountability Committee

TIU team met with Mr. Ambrose Mwesigye the deputy RDC in a bid to forge a working relationship with his office. The office of the RDC is central and critical in all the ac-tivities TIU implements in the Oil region and so found it important to include it among the strategic partners to ensure success of the project. He acknowledged the fact that the number of land disputes and wrangles in Hoima is increas-ing and needs to be addressed to avoid potential evictions and land grabs. Mr. Ambrose noted that it would also be important that those

Staff house block renovated and roof re-placed at Alao Health Center II

TIU meets Hoima Deputy RDC

(VAC) member, TIU was informed that during a thunder storm in the month of April of the same year, wind blew off part of the roof of one of the buildings. The other side that seemed to be intact was un-stable that rendered it inhabitable

working on land issues understand the history of the land wrangles in the region and try to solve them in that line. From his perspective, land wrangles only exist where there is public land, kingdom land and to a smaller extent private land. He stated that he wrote to the Ministry of Lands to cancel some of the land titles awarded in the area since they were acquired fraudulently. He also mentioned that Hoima District Land Board-whereas it has tried to clean its house still needs to be closely monitored to avoid conflicts. In that respect, he shared that his office is

to the members of staff. The occu-pants had to evacuate and tempo-rarily relocate to rental apartments at a nearby trading centre. Accom-modation challenges were made worse by this occurrence since the initially available staff house blocks were already inadequate. The build-ing remained unused for eight (8) months with rain and sunshine con-

planning to hold a high level multi-stakeholder meeting to discuss how to avoid evictions and how land dis-putes should be addressed to avoid land grabbing. The outcome of this meeting will be used to inform the responsible parties like CSOs and possibly minimize the numbers of land grabbing cases and possible evictions. He pointed that there is need to conduct massive sensitiza-tion and create awareness since the communities themselves are not aware of their land rights.

and corruption are volatile and in the process affect women, Trans-parency International Uganda was compelled to spearhead the stakeholders meeting on land, women and corruption in Mukono district. This was intended to; Establish well-coordi-nated CSOs and stakeholders dealing in land related initiatives Discuss and reaching consensus on undertaking joint activities on land, wom-en and corruption affecting the vulnerable communities Sharing experiences and practices on Women, Land and corruption issues among the different actors Come out with practical recommendations geared to-wards minimizing and solv-

ing land related disputes. Partners in Mukono include; Transparency International Uganda, International Justice Mission, Justice Centres, Legal Aid Project, Saferworld, Uganda Land Alliance, Uganda Network on Law Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET), Police Land Protec-tion Unit, Mukono District Land Office, Buganda Land Board and Akright Projects Uganda.The Mukono Chief Magistrate Mr. Baguma Emmanuel in his sub-mission informed members that there was a big back log of land related cases in Mukono to a tune of 409 from 2015 but that he is do-ing his best to ensure decreased backlog of cases at the court. The following issues emerged; Bibanja holders were a big

issue causing tension between the tenants and land lords Evictions and interim orders. People sell land with-out involving squatters Majority of the people af-fected because of the lack proper information on land and prop-erty rights as well as poor docu-mentation of transactions made Land Brokers are ex-ploiting the situation Land surveyors make sketch-es without visiting the site which leads to overlaps and having sev-eral titles for one piece of landFrom the meeting, it was evi-dent that cooperation between the Chief Magistrate, RDC’s of-fice and the CSOs would of-fer a solution to the menace.

The staff house with a destroyed roof

The right view of the staff renovated house

tributing to its quick deterioration. Upon verification of the state of the building in August, TIU observed that the staff house block required urgent attention by the responsible office. TIU had a productive discussion with the in-charge of the Health Centre who informed the team that; “I have tried the sub county and the district but they claim there is no money to repair that house, but am happy

that Transparency has come in.” TIU compiled a comprehensive report and shared it with the sub county and the DHO’s office. Subsequently, a stakeholders’ meeting was orga-nized in November and a pledge made by the DHO and Sub County chief to work on the staff quarters. TIU subsequently maintained rea-sonable pressure on them and on 13th January 2016, the DHO handed

over the building in question to Mil-lennium Construction Company lim-ited to replace the roof of the build-ing and do general renovation of the staff house block since rain and sun-shine had weakened it. This work lasted 2 (Two) months and at the end of March 2016, TIU visited the site upon getting information from a VAC that the block had been completed.

Launch of the IG report Publish a report on the procurement procedures of large investments in the Albertine Graben Community meetings in Mukono district Publish the position paper on the Mining Act 2003 Staff retreat Project review workshop in Berlin Publish report on mineral royalty distribution with recommendations for royalty sharing

Upcoming activities for the next Quarter

C h a r l e s D a r w i n once stat-ed that if the mis-ery of the poor be c a u s e d not by the laws of nature,

but by our institutions, great is our sin. Darwin in his book ‘Voyage of Beagle’, postulate that these deeds are done and palliated by men, who profess to love their neighbours as themselves, believe in God and pray that His will be done on Earth! It indeed makes one’s blood boil wit-nessing how women in rural areas continue to languish in penury. Ac-cording to one District Official, land wrangles, disputes and evictions in the districts of Hoima and Buliisa are becoming a ‘normal’ thing’. Land in the rural areas is a symbol of identi-ty and belonging and is essential for livelihoods and wellbeing of many.Article 26 of the Uganda 1995 Con-stitution stipulates that every per-son has a right to own property either individually or in association with others. It is followed by Arti-cle 33 which advocates for women empowerment and provides a le-gal framework for gender equality. However, in reality, two decades af-ter it came into force, it is evident

that women scarcely benefit from these legal elements. The 2001 and 2004 Land Act amendments pro-vides for the protection of spouses by right of occupancy on family land. Sadly, even with these amend-ments, the Act does not still address the issue of co-ownership rights! Whereas the National Land Policy 2013 acknowledges the inadequa-cies in the existing land laws, it does not advocate for women land rights; but recommends a basis upon which Government can take steps to re-dress discrimination and disparate impact and suggests for law reform and practice change at the policy implementation level. Arguably, I will not blame the lack of enforce-ment for the continuous land dis-putes but will state that a contribut-ing factor is lack of knowledge of the citizenry regarding their land rights.A recent report titled ‘Spousal Con-sent Section in the Land Act in safe-guarding women land rights; case study of Hoima district’ reveals that 75% of the 100 respondents are not aware of their land rights. It reports that one of the key problems relat-ing to women and land rights is the lack of knowledge, especially on their statutory rights. The report further reiterates a key issue previ-ously raised by scholars; that wom-en for ages have been denied rights to access, utilize and own land. They have been disenfranchised by the

existing patrilineal system and pre-vailing male chauvinism regarding land ownership. This ideology that land belongs to men has played a significant role in disenfranchising women from owning, accessing and utilizing land and hence has nega-tively impacted on women land rights. It is also evident that commu-nal tenure is slowly fading and rich and unscrupulous persons have also capitalised on the ignorance of land rights in these areas to either grab land or buy it cheaply. Most efforts geared to solve this injustice how-ever seem to have hit a dead end!In all sense of aphorism and axiom-atic assertion, giving women accessto land will be a commanding means to battle poverty and hun-ger. So; whereas it would be pru-dent to commend the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Devel-opment for trying to address the land issues, there should be a col-lective effort among all actors in-cluding parliament, if Uganda is to realize this long post dream! Often, there is a level of autonomy and empowerment and security that comes with knowing your rights and being able to act accordingly!

Ms. Ongode is the Program As-sistant-Extractive Industries Governance at Transparency International-Uganda. (bongode@tiu-ganda.org/akinyiongode@gmail.com

Is Women land rights a denied justice in Uganda?

By Beatrice Ongode