Project description

Title: Supporting the Office of the Prime Minister in implementing the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for northern Uganda
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Uganda
Lead executing agency: Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)
Overall term: 2008 to 2012

Context

The conflict in northern Uganda, which lasted for more than 20 years, left appalling damage in its wake. The region became the poorest in the country. According to official statistics, in 2010 it was home to two thirds of all Ugandans who lived in poverty. In order to narrow the development gap between the north and the south, in 2007 the Government of Uganda introduced the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP), which provides a structure for the reconstruction effort that also applies to donors and civil society.

In 2002, the government had already introduced the regional Karamoja Integrated Development Plan in response to outbreaks of violent conflict between the tribes of Karamoja in the north-east. This plan was integrated into the PRDP.

Charged with implementing the development plan, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) was overstretched by the complexity of the management tasks involved. There was also a paucity of relevant expertise in the districts for the effective implementation of the reconstruction plan. Few decisions were made on the basis of strategic planning. Public services, such as health and education, were delayed and fragmentary in reaching their target groups. This hampered the reconstruction effort in the north.

Objective

The Office of the Prime Minister is able to manage the reconstruction plan for northern Uganda effectively. In selected districts, planning takes place transparently and with the participation of the local people.

Approach

Since 2008, the project has been providing training for the staff of OPM, strengthening their capacity to coordinate reconstruction activities and monitor progress, both nationally and at the local level. The staff of district authorities have learned new competences for the planning, budgeting and evaluation of development measures.

In particular, the project supports the following measures:

• Results orientation of the PRDP monitoring system
• Coordination of the key actors
• Transparent communication regarding the use of PRDP funds
• Delivery of guidelines for the PRDP districts on the expedient use of funds and to reinforce their responsibility and accountability.
• Development of well balanced plans and realistic budgets in the districts
• Assessment of all planned activities for conflict, environment and gender issues

Results achieved so far

Base-line data for the PRDP districts have been gathered and processed in a new data centre. This makes it possible to conduct a systematic evaluation of the progress of reconstruction. More than one third of the districts now use a standardised procedure for reporting on the implementation of the PRPD.

Individual districts and small towns have devised more than 60 work plans for the implementation of the PRDP. With these, they are able to apply for additional funding for poverty reduction measures.

In the space of three years, a part of the infrastructure has been rehabilitated. Some 2,345 classrooms, 263 health centres and 40,000 km of road have been built, and 1,252 wells have been renovated. These achievements are a major contribution to poverty reduction and the levelling of the developmental imbalance between northern and southern Uganda.

Further information

• Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda (OPM)
  www.opm.go.ug