WHEN THE WELL IS DRY, THEY KNOW THE WORTH OF WATER; PROVIDE IT

They were told that hope had finally come, and that in a few months their mourning would be turned into dancing. The women and girls clapped their hands with excitement, while the men sighed with relief for the burden would soon be lifted off their sisters’, wives’, and mothers’ shoulders.

Anxiously they waited till the final bang! The water project is complete; you can finally access water from just within your neighborhood. At the cock’s crow the next day, every homestead was alive with the cleaning and collection of water containers and off they rushed to the nearest tap stands with excitement to fetch the long awaited safe and clean water. Not surprising that the lines at almost every tap stand were averagely long.

But alas! After one, two, three, ten, twenty people had filled their containers, the taps went to “sleep”…..confident that it was a new project, the women and girls chose to wait for the taps to “wake up”... with no signs of water by evening, someone….some where needed to explain this short lived offer.  As hours and days went by, it became clearer to them that the flow was to be at most irregular and at worst non available.

The women cursed and jeered while the girls and children never gave up on lining up at the tap stands for water each day hoping against hope that somehow things will work out. Perturbed by their wives', daughters' and mothers' frustration, the men sought for an explanation from the leaders and CSOs, while others moved up to the source to establish the cause for the sudden change of events.

This move was the beginning of discovery after discovery about the water project; first, the community learnt that the water project was offered by Amaizi Marungi based in Mbarara, that the project cost approximately 35billion  shillings, and is expected to have 436 connection points with a reserve tank at Bwera hospital. I n addition to this the scheme is expected to serve 35352 people. Unfortunately, this project just like other unsupervised public/government projects was at the verge of hitting a snag.

With continued pressure and plea from the community for water, KALI, RIC-NET, RWECO-CU and BIC undertook serious monitoring and follow up of this project; two field visits to the water source were conducted in November 2011 and January 2012. Several interviews were also conducted with the water user community, the leaders and even the water source attendants. And from these monitoring and follow up activities several findings/anomalies about the water project were established. These ranged  from, illegal connections, non treatment of water due to non functional/utilization of water system treatment plant, non-payment of user fees by the community due to the inconsistence in the user fees charged at water Kiosks, use of small water pipes- accordingly, the original design of the water source pipe (in-let) was supposed to be 12 inches but the team found out that a 6 inch pipe size is what was used instead, lack of  maintenance of the scheme i.e the two stone filtration tanks collecting to the main tank were blocked and filled with mud and as thus water could not easily go through to the rest of the tanks, poor monitoring of the scheme by the leaders and Scheme authorities  to , non and or delayed payment of water source attendants for over two years, to mention but a few.

Aware that development and improved service delivery require joint efforts, KALI and BIC/RICNET with support from E-motive through RWECO organized a stakeholders’ dialogue meeting on 29.02.12 at Bwera Sub County to share the monitoring findings and also jointly identify lasting solutions to them. In attendance, this day, were Political and Civil servants, CSOs, and members of the community. Key among these leaders were the Deputy RDC Kasese Mr. Muhindo Aminadabu, Bwera Town Clerk, Mrs Biira Eve, the O.C Bwera Police Station Mr Mwesige Vicent and the Superintendent Bwera Hospital Dr. Gatare S. Alphonse among others. Approximately 100 people attended this stakeholder’s dialogue meeting.

On behalf of the Community, one Muhesi Nicholas of KALI presented the monitoring report findings that sparked off a hot dialogue between the community and her leaders.

Responding to the raised issues, the Town Clerk refuted most of the raised issues as only allegations. She explained that the water project is currently benefiting over 80000 people in the area and that the water is routinely treated and safe for consumption. She however cited the continued challenge of non-payment of user fees by the community and the different rates charged at water Kiosks by the private vendors.

Adding to this, the Superintendent, regretted to inform the participants on the impact/effects of the poor water that was being consumed by the community. He said the rampant and prevailing cholera in the area that had claimed many lives was largely due to consumption of dirty water and poor sanitation by the community-use of dirty water containers. Dr. Gatare also revealed that, the same water is responsible for the increased cases of intestine perforation which he said was a very bad disease that can only be treated by operating on the victim’s intestines.

The Superintendent revealed that Bwera Hospital in the recent past had registered many cases of intestine perforation. Intestine perforation, he said is common along the hilly areas and reportedly high in Busongora North, Bukonzo East and West Constituencies. He appealed to CSOs and Government to ensure that safe and clean water is extended to the community and that the community is intensively sensitized on proper sanitation practices.

Wrapping up the dialogue, several recommendations that included recalling the contractor to correct the raised anomalies, Police intervention to block illegal connections, institute organized and functional water user committees, strengthening monitoring and supervision of public projects by local leaders, and extending the hospital’s social services to the people were made.

Closing the meeting, the Deputy RDC thanked KALI, BIC/RIC-NET and E-motive for bringing out these issues to the leaders’ attention. He also expressed condolence to the families of those who lost their loved ones in the recent cholera outbreak in the constituency. He appealed to the community to learn to be more serious on issues of sanitation and timely treatment, saying this is the only way they can keep cholera and other diseases under check.

The RDC revealed that Government is still committed to the provision of safe and clean water to the community and as thus, they will work closely with Amaizi Marungi and Mpondwe –Lhubiriha Town Council to ensure that the raised complaints are addressed.

With all this said and done, I extend my gratitude to the people of Bwera for their vigilance and bravery in raising their voices about this project. I say bravo, your efforts have saved 35billion shillings public funds from going to waste.

HOW THE WEB BLOG TRANSFORMED CHARLES’S ORGANIZATION

Rwenzori Rural Health Services (RRHS) is a community based organization (CBO) whose vision is to see every house hold having all the health amenities, acceptable health records and reduced morbidity and mortality rates in the community. In the bid to boost its capacity, skills and knowledge on community service, RRHS networks with several likeminded organizations.

In the same vein, Mr. Charles Kiima the RRHS Director reached out to Rwenzori Information Centres Network (RIC-NET) to support them in the development and use of on-line platforms and other social media. The purpose of which was to acquire skills in the same to allow for a wider and faster sharing of information about RRHS activities with the outside world, and, to also match with the current IT trends, aka dot.com society. “I desperately wanted to have a website for my CBO and to learn how it operates. I pestered the RIC-NET Director Mr. John Silco to orient me in this because I had previously seen him working on the Website for Kasese District. John later invited me to the E-Resource  Centre at Kasese  District Head quarters and introduced me to one ICT Officer Samuel Mukamba to me teach me what I needed to learn”, explains Mr. Charles Kiima.

While at the E-Society Centre Charles learnt how to develop and use a web blog. “ I actually started with developing one for RRHS; http://rrhkasese.blogspot.com and also uploaded relevant organizational information and activity photos on it. Little did I know that this was the beginning of great visibility and growth for RRHS. It was our turning point as an organization” he asserts. Immediately International friends and organizations started contacting them. They thanked them for their interventions, and expressed interest in supporting RRHS.  For starters RRHS got a lot of on-line technical guidance from one Jim Chapman a project consultant based in the USA.  Jim’s guidance helped RRHS in refocusing and improving their interventions for the better. They later received 363,000shilllings from Mithai Avondestonet in the USA for community rural medication free supply Program. With this RRHS was able to extend free medical services to a bigger number in the community. As usual results were documented and shared on the blog.  From their routine sharing another partner supported RRHS with 3,500.000 shillings for renovation of water springs in the community. This was aimed at improving access to safe and clean water by the community.

The constructed Rural Maternity Centre

The pace had been set, many more institutions and persons that accessed the RRHS blog reached out to it and supported their different community interventions; Volunteers without boundaries in the USA donated 10,000,000 shillings for starting a mini gravity flow scheme to run approximately 4.5 kilometers in Nyakabingo Village, Rukoki Sub County; meanwhile another partner donated approximately 12,000,000 million shillings for constructing a water reservoir tank to feed into the gravity flow scheme. In Oct 2011 the Dutch Organization too donated 14,000,000 million shillings to construct a rural maternity centre.

Other support was received from SNV. This offers capacity building to RHS in its advocacy for clean and safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene in ten primary schools in Kasese District. With excitement Charles indicates how grateful he is to RIC-NET for the training; “I am grateful to RIC-NET for equipping me with the knowledge and skills in the use of on-line platforms and social media that have enabled me to share our work and also attract support from all the above partners and more”.

RRHS is equally grateful to all its partners and funders for their interest in it and support given, without which it would not have been able to cause positive impact in the community, and also register the various achievements. Among others RRHS is particularly grateful to the Foundation for Community Development and Empowerment (FCDE) in USA for awarding it a Certificate of acknowledgement for its good performance in community work. 

Apart from attracting funders, RRHS has also been instrumental in passing on these skills and knowledge to other institutions for instance it guided Miriam Medical Centre to develop and regularly update its weblog; http://miriammedicalcentre.blogspot.com/; which accordingly has in return enhanced the centre’s visibility on the services offered. Mr. Charles appeals to everyone to dedicate their efforts to community service and to value regular sharing of information using ICTs because the world seems to have moved in this direction as opposed to the traditional methods.

SERVICE DELIVERY OR SORROWS DELIVERY

Apparently the status of services in the country has steadily kept going from bad to worse instead of good to better or even best..hahaaa okay I know the former is a longshot. Well from observation nothing seems to work and no one seems to care anymore.

Poor road network both in the city and upcountry, potholes as big as graves have been left open in the roads to claim lives, and also fill to look like crater lakes when it rains, poor drainage systems, poor housing conditions, limited access to safe and clean water, lack of markets for produce and market information, inadequate land for tilling, increasing commodity and transport prices, increased taxes on even the smallest things- inflation

The continued frequent drug stock outs, disbursement of close to expiry drugs, inadequate PHC, UPE, and USE releases causing a stall in most of Health Centre and school operations, inadequate staffing everywhere, poor sanitation, inadequate and delayed payment of salaries of civil servants leading to neglect of duty, poor or lack of supervision by superiors, increased maternal and infant mortality rates, increasing number of school drop outs, shoddy construction works- leaving behind, cracked and or incomplete buildings that can’t stand for even half a decade.

Non functional systems and introduction of unrealistic programs (NAADS, UPE, USE, Youth fund, entandikwa scheme, etc) coupled with corruption. Oh God! Ugandans continue to experience and or witness increased patronage, unemployment (approximately 80 of every 100 graduates are unemployed), payment for civil service jobs – and now the vice has caught up with the private sector and civil society too, embezzlement, diversion and misuse of public funds without remorse and punishment of the perpetrators.

Continued abuse of parliament and the judicial system, abrogation of the constitution, electoral malpractice, involvement of army in civil conflicts and politics, selective application of the law, abuse of human rights; unlawful detention of suspects, detention without trial, torture of suspects in prisons and safe houses, denial of justice, closure of media houses, increased intimidation, suppression and oppression of the masses and opposition political parties or protestors to these unruly systems, increased expenditure on arms at the expense of the citizens and other pertinent sectors like health, education and agriculture, increased use of toxic tear gas and other chemicals on the protestors and innocent civilians who raise up to fight for their rights.

Can somebody tell me what still works in this Country…. All I continue to see and hear of are increasing paid ghosts everywhere; ghost services, ghost teachers, ghost health workers, ghost soldiers, ghost schools, ghost health workers, ghost NAADs beneficiaries, ghost pupils and students, ghost reports and accountabilities, ghost this, ghost that, ghost, ghost, ghost…wow. All  these are created by insensitive, self seeking, greedy opportunists who want to create room for more and more “eating” call it cheating and amassing wealth at the expense of the tax payer; who can hardly afford three descent meals a day for him and his family, or even send his children to good schools let alone giving them average medical care. Signs of a dead country, regime or state my friends call it.

It is unfortunate to note that a small portion of Ugandans actually a few families are living their lives the way they want them and controlling the majority. The dynamics of society! The gap between the rich and poor gets wider everyday…well the rich get richer as the poor get poorer!  It is clear that regime survival as opposed to the welfare of the citizens is evidently priority number one. This is evidenced in the current turn of events; appointment of army officers to fill political positions, twisting the Constitution to suite personal interests, appointment of retired persons to fill sensitive positions, heavy expenditure on the defense ministry, total control of all departments, persons, activities, budgets, projects name them…..eeeeh!

Clearly the President is the state and the state is the president. You oppose and deny offers and orders at your own risk. For my friends in the military, anyone who opposes qualifies himself for “katebe”.

With all things falling apart, even the duty bearers, do not feel obliged anymore to hold anything in place or deliver, while the citizens to do not care about anything no more…community support and ownership of projects, programs, and services is now a thing of the past. Everyone cares about themselves. Precisely survival for the best fit is becoming the only way of life and rule of living today.

Well just wondering, where to from this worse stage..i am sure your guess is as good as mine! And what is likely to happen when the masses get tired of being served sorrows…..sure u do not want me to tell you…JUST WATCH YOUR BACK MR. SERVICE PROVIDER!

CONSTITUTIONALISM: Simply unacceptable!

“We restored constitutionalism and the rule of law. That is why judges can rule like this against the government. There were times when if a judge made such a ruling, he would not live to see tomorrow. The ruling will not work. It is simply unacceptable!” thus asserted His Excellency the President of Uganda on 27 June 2000, in response to the constitutional court ruling that nullified the 2000 referendum.

Constitutionalism is a concept in political theory that explains that a government does not derive its power from itself, but gains its power as the result of there being a set of written laws that give the governing body certain powers. Zahara Nampewo in her piece Constitutionalism in Uganda: Challenges in Observance, defines Constitutionalism to mean an idea that government can, and should, be legally limited in its powers, and that its authority depends on observance of these limitations. This means that Government officials, whether elected or not, cannot act against their own constitutions if they see fit. Actually in cases where a government is entitled to change the very terms of its constitutional limitations at its discretion, it is questionable whether there would, in reality, be any constitutional safeguards for the public.

In constituting and specifying these limits or lack of them, each state must have three  basic arms/forms of government power: legislative power (making laws), executive power (implementing laws) and judicial power (adjudicating disputes under laws). And these arms are expected to serve as independent institutions.

The level of independence and adherence to the specified limitations however are a story for another day in Uganda; call it farfetched.  Several reports both media and research indicate that huge constitutional challenges have confronted the Ugandan government since 2004. It is evident that the NRM government has faced a crisis of legitimacy and credibility on a number of issues arising from court judgments and its army’s involvement in conflict as well as politics.  The gross human rights violation in northern Uganda by the army, unlawful detentions, unfair trials and torture  and the continued  expenditure of government on arms while its people  continue to live and suffer extreme poverty and social injustice, are all evidence of the huge constitutional challenges.

Although the NRM government has relatively endeavored to discipline and professionalize the army, its continued role in elections, presence in parliament and appointment to fill political positions will always raise questions. The recent appointment of Gen. Aronda Nyakairima as Min. of Internal affairs inspite of the fact that he is still serving in the army, according to most right thinking Ugandans served as the last nail in the coffin/Uganda’s Constitution.

One writer is quoted to have written thus; “If murdering one’s father is referred to as fratricide, and one’s mother as matricide, what would best describe the act, omission or attempt of killing a timeless document whose writing and birth one participated in? It would have to be a variant/modification of infanticide, or, to try an absurd conjugation, “Constitucide”!

As if this is not enough, the Defence Minister, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, in response to people’s concerns on the army’s increased involvement in non security departments in the July 23^rd Daily monitor is quoted to have said “there is a possibility that the military will step back into political control if politicians continue ‘not showing seriousness that they can solve the problems facing the country”. Logically a call for a military takeover of government contravenes the Constitution. It is therefore evident that the law and constitutional procedures as stipulated in the 1995 Constitution and agreed upon by the people of Uganda through elected representatives for purposes of national interests, have been negated. (http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/Constitutionalism-and-landmark/-/689364/1676820/-/1dnc2wz/-/index.html)

Cases of failed constitutionalism in Uganda apparently appear to be endless. The continued interference in judicial processes by the Executive. This has been witnessed in several forms; the President’s refuting of court rulings, re-appointment of over age Court Judges (current appointment of the 70 year old Justice Benjamin Odoki), influence of court rulings, denial of justice to some suspects, and the famous attack of the High court by the black Mambas in 2005.

In addition to this is the unrealistic review of the constitution in 2004 by the Constitution review commission (CRC) and the bribing of some MPs with 5million shillings each to support the No Term Limits project. To the president dispensing term limits was a strategy to give him further opportunities for remaining in power. Although this idea of lifting term limits was widely protested by most Ugandans it was upheld anyway through force and oppression. It goes without saying that this matter has had far reaching repercussions on the state of constitutionalism and observance of rights in Uganda.

Closure of media houses, arrest of journalists, the existence of the death penalty plus the continued allegiance of public officials to the president rather than to the state; all point to a “raped” constitutional system. Whereas it is true that these officers are appointed with the approval of the President, it is also doubted if the same servants can question the actions of the President that are not in the national interest.

I regret to note that the Ugandan Constitution has been rape, murdered and or abrogated. It doesn’t matter if part of its contents have been upheld. Like Justice Kanyeihamba puts it, “our Constitution doesn’t say that if you break the Constitution in one area and it is not the whole Constitution, then that is okay.”

Wholesomely at this rate, one would not be wrong to think of Uganda as a state without a constitution.  God bless our Leaders, God bless Uganda. For God and my Country!

INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVE YOUR WORTH

The experience of relating and supervising internship students over the years has taught me that a lot more is needed in this area if we are to have a more productive human resource with practical touch from the university. Rwenzori Information Centres Network offers an average of 10 internship placements annually for students in tertiary institutions and university both at local and international levels. Over the years, students have come from universities in the Netherlands, Uganda and Fort-portal town noting that there are two universities (UPU & MMU) where majority of   internship applications are received.   

RIC-NET Information Officer supporting a student on internship

An internship placement is an opportunity where a student can prove her/his worth in the organization and also be able to acquire several skills. I still believe it goes back to the student’s interest to learn. One can never stop wondering if students know that once you are searching for a placement it’s as good as saying here are my skills, abilities and knowledge for which I should be taken on, in reality an intern application is as relevant as a job application and thus adequate preparation and critical choice in terms of the institution to your placement should be done.   I believe the students can go beyond the limits by:

KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR PLACEMENT

1.    Preparing in advance: this takes into consideration the course a student is pursuing and the aspirations attached to it, the related institutions and departments. It’s important to find out from the NGOs around and outside the university that the student desires to work for, and if at all there are opportunities for placements. For some organizations, an excellent intern can pave way for a job placement especially when the student has proved to add value to the organization.

2.  Writing a good application: Even though the universities write to the possible organizations requesting internship placements for their students, a student’s application is a must to clearly bring out the abilities of the student and the desired areas of learning. 

3. Take note of the competition: Due to the limited resources, opportunities are also limited. It is important to know that organizations have limits on the number of intakes. So the earlier the student applies for their placement and the smarter/cleverer they are in doing it, the better for them. I have seen students seeking for placement midway the recommended time, or come in groups to seek placement while some have gone ahead to send their parents and friends to find them placements verbally. This is not good.

4.    Follow the regulations/ existing policies: Every organization has regulations that guide their daily business. Every intern must take note of this and strive to abide by them even though the student does not get a salary; there are definitely other benefits that they stand to get at the end of the day like future recommendation for a job. It is important for the intern student to know that their supervisors take note of all the good and bad things that they do per day.  To the students who miss out some days of work without genuine reasons it should be known that if in future you require a recommendation from any organization you have worked in, the supervisor will recommend based on your previous conduct.

5.  Have a target and always share it: Before you report for your placement always have a clear list of the things you intend or would like to learn from that institution and in line with your course. And as you report to the organization take the time to share what you would like to learn BUT do not be rigid, use that time to learn other useful things as well like how other departments work and how they can relate or impact on your field of work because one day you will be required to work with more than one department.

6. Make use of all the available opportunities: Make the best of every new day to learn a new thing or understand something better or to offer something. When given an assignment never look at it as a test but as an opportunity to learn, and where you do not understand ask for guidance. I’ve seen some interns fail to interact freely on official matters with their supervisors and other staff members which is not good as it limits interpersonal skills yet it’s a key skill in aspects of life.

7. Write and share a report: Having been awarded a placement care to always write a report of what you did, what you learnt and think about the organization in terms of it’s future interventions. Find it within your interest to do this to also appreciate that organization for that placement opportunity. Who knows your report could inform management on their unknown weaknesses and strengths or guide their future interventions and maybe act as a point of future reference or interaction because people always meet.