Regional Progress Report: Africa

Regional Coordinator: Pietronella van den OeverReport last updated: 10/01/2010Reporting Period: 04/07/2010 - 08/31/2010

Overview of Report

1. Executive Summary2. Ongoing PTF Projects3. Pipeline Projects4. Completed Projects5. Regional Initiatives, observations, and lessons learned6. Annex 1: Conclusions from the Uganda workshop, Project Completion Assessments, and the

Cameroon workshop7. Annex 2: Ongoing Project Status Updates8. Annex 3: Completed Project Status Updates

1. Executive Summary

A newly created group of PTF Advisers in charge of coaching PTF projects in Africa met twice – in May and July - to take stock of ongoing and pipeline activities, share experiences, ask for advice and help from each other, and generally to promote innovative approaches in the Africa portfolio. Workshops with local CSOs, attended by PTF representatives took place in Uganda and Cameroon in August and September 2010 respectively. A PTF Adviser conducted Project Completion Assessments of four projects in Uganda. Lessons learned from the assessments were summarized in a manual. A summary of lessons learned from the workshops and Project Completion Assessments is provided in Annex 1 of this progress report.

There are currently six ongoing PTF projects and eight pipeline projects in the Africa region.

2. Ongoing PTF Projects

During the reporting period five new projects were initiated in Africa – two in Ghana, two in Cameroon, and one in Nigeria. Brief descriptions of each project are in Annex 1 of this progress report.

Table 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

Country CSO &Project title Project Adviser

Date Grant Agrt

Signed

# of months under

impleme-ntation

Funds remaining

to be disbursed

1 CameroonIGI/FITCAM: Replication of the Buea project and leassons learned to the University of

Douala

Christopher Redfern 04.27.10 5 $7,000

Table 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF ProjectsTable 1: Ongoing PTF Projects

Country CSO &Project title Project Adviser

Date Grant Agrt

Signed

# of months under

impleme-ntation

Funds remaining

to be disbursed

2 CameroonASYOUSED: Improving

Communication between the Buea Municipal Council and

the PopulationJane Schubert 07.09.10 2 $7,981

3Ghana

ARE: Participatory Budgeting and Resource Monitoring in

Basic Education Management: A tool for curbing corruption in

education resource management

Willem StrubenWilliam Experton

07.23.10 2 $19,200

4 Ghana

PAWLA: Enhancing transparency and reducing

corruption in the collection and distribution of internally

generated funds (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly

William ExpertonWillem Struben

06.10.10 3 $14,652

5 Nigeria DARC: Procurement risk in

DPPID Cross River StateDante Delos

Angeles, Charles Maguire

07.07.10 2 $20,925

6 UgandaNAFODU III: Fighting Police

Corruption Kathleen WhiteRoger Sullivan

1.23.10 8 $4,547

Total Number of Ongoing ProjectsTotal Number of Ongoing ProjectsTotal Number of Ongoing ProjectsTotal Number of Ongoing ProjectsTotal Number of Ongoing ProjectsTotal Number of Ongoing Projects 6

3. Pipeline Projects

There is a pipeline of projects in Cameroon (3 projects), Kenya (1 project), Liberia (1 project), Malawi (1 project), Sierra Leone (1 project) and Uganda (1 or possibly 2 projects).

Table 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline Projects

Country CSO & Project Title Project Adviser Notes

1 Cameroon International Peace Commission

Cameroon: Focus of proposed project has changed to education

Jane SchubertWillem Struben

Table 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline ProjectsTable 2: Pipeline Projects

Country CSO & Project Title Project Adviser Notes

2 Cameroon I’Organisation Pour I’Environnement et le Développement Durable (OPED)

Jonas Mbwangue

Pietronella van den Oever

3 Cameroon Appui ar suivi participatif post-

exécution des projets du BIP: Cas du secteur de l’éducation dans le dept. de

la Méfou et Afamba

Adriana De Leva

Pietronella van den Oever

4 Kenya IGI Kenya: Public Accountability through Citizens Engagement

Roger SullivanKathleen

White

5 MalawiYoung Advocates for the Advancement

of ICT-related Development Jeff Kass, Jane Schubert

6 Liberia Improving Transparency in District Development Programs

Bjorn Wellenius

Dan Ritchie Follow-up Project

7 Uganda

ULS: Proposal for Promoting Accountability and Transparency in

Uanda (PACT) Kathleen

WhiteRoger Sullivan

8 Sierra Leone Society for Democratic Initiatives: Promoting Freedom of Information

Bjorn Wellenius

Dan Ritchie Follow-up Project

Total PTF Projects in the PipelineTotal PTF Projects in the PipelineTotal PTF Projects in the PipelineTotal PTF Projects in the Pipeline 8

4. Completed Projects

Table 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion ReportsTable 3: Project Completion Reports

Country CSO & Project Project Adviser

Date Grant Agreement

signedDate Project Completed

Months taken to complete

Has a project completion report been

received and accepted?

1 CameroonNetwork for Good Governance: Play

Football, Stop Corruption

Knud Kjaer

Nielsen12.31.08

$3,500 remaining to be disbursed

PCR and financial statement pending

2 LiberiaImproving

Transparency in District Development

Programs

Bjorn Wellenius

Dan Ritchie

11.04.2008 06.25.2010 19 PCR received 06.21.10

3 Sierra Leone

Society for Democratic

Initiatives: Promoting Freedom of Information

Bjorn Wellenius,

Daniel Ritchie

09.01.2008 12.04.2009 15

PCR and financial statement received 08.24.09

4 Uganda

APSEA: Promoting Good Governance

among Professional Societies

Roger SullivanKathleen

White08.25.2008

Project Cancelled

given lack of APSEA’s capacity

NAPTF seeking repayment of unspent funds

5 Uganda

Uganda Law and Society (ULS):

Engaging the Legal Profession to Fight

Corruption

Kathleen White 08.28.2008 02.01.2010 18

PCR and Financial Statement Received

6 Uganda

TI-Uganda: Promoting Citizen

Engagement in Good Governance at the

District Level

Kathleen White 08.28.2008 5.06.2010 25

PCR received on

04/01/2010 accepted

5. Regional Initiatives, observations, and lessons learned

5.1. Shift from individual projects to Country Programs in Cameroon and Uganda,

We are still quite a way from country programs like the one PTF has initiated in India. However, in both Cameroon and Uganda we have observed an increase in the exchange of ideas, experiences, and materials between PTF-funded CSOs. The workshops contributed to this stepped-up collaboration. During the reporting period we have observed notable improvements in project quality in those projects that are building upon earlier initiatives such as, for instance, in NAFODU in Uganda and IGI/FITCAM in Cameroon. Generally, our overall conclusion is that the results of longer-term engagements and coaching of a small number of CSOs are stronger, and most likely longer lasting than when resources are scattered

in multiple countries and projects. In addition we noticed that a field visit by PTF Advisers is vitally important to shed light on what is actually happening on the ground. Furthermore, it encourages and energizes our partner CSOs.

5.2. Status of potential Country Programs in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia

The PTF program has yet to locate viable local partners in these three countries. The best opportunity for a new country program is in Kenya where discussions are ongoing with IGI-Kenya (affiliated with IGI-Cameroon, a PTF recipient) for a possible project. PTF has also had discussions with several other CSOs about possible programs. With the passage of a new Constitution, which promises judicial reform and decentralization, conditions are improving for anti-corruption efforts in Kenya. In Tanzania and Zambia, PTF is still searching for a viable local partner that it could work with to develop a PTF-supported program. 5.3. Emerging partners in Africa: First experiencesAlliances have recently been established between PTF and two new partners in Africa, The first one is with the International Governance Institute, an international NGO, with branches in Cameroon and Kenya, and an international Board of Trustees in London, United Kingdom. PTF provided funding for a highly successful project in Cameroon - improving the University of Buea’s Internal Mechanism for tracking and curbing corruption. A follow-up project with IGI was initiated in April 2010. The initial intent was to replicate the Buea experience to the (state) University of Douala. However, due to a simultaneously occurring corruption scandal at the University of Douala, this initiative seemed difficult to implement at the present time. Therefore, when the (private) University of Siantou in Yaounde expressed interest in a similar project, IGI and PTF decided collectively that a move to Siantou would be indicated. The project in Siantou was initiated in August 2010 with great fanfare, in the presence of five Ministers, and 800 participants including multiple representatives from the national media. The Minister of Higher Education gave a keynote address in which he evoked the devastating consequences of corruption in Cameroonian Universities, and expressed his strong support to the Siantou/IGI anti-corruption initiative, and his support for anti-corruption efforts in higher education overall. To capture the momentum, PTF worked together with IGI Cameroon in the implementation of a workshop for a group of ten local CSOs. During the workshop the discussion focused on the creation of a Cameroon Country program, in which CSOs will exchange experiences, resource persons, and materials. The second alliance is with l’Organisation Pour l’Environnement et le Développement Durable (OPED) in Yaoundé, a local umbrella NGO in Cameroon which specializes in natural resource conservation initiatives. OPED has taken the initiative to assemble like-minded NGOs in Cameroon to provide input into the pending design of new forest legislation in Cameroon. A dialogue is ongoing between PTF and OPED for a potential follow-up project to work with a consortium of CSOs in influencing the content of forestry legislation in Cameroon, and ascertain transparency in its implementation. This initiative could possibly constitute a first step in a larger effort to establish a multi-country “green” anti-corruption program with a focus on forestry governance across the African forest countries.5.4 A strong team of PTF Advisers, and close collaboration between clusters or pairs of Advisers. The “buddy” system in which two or more Advisers work together to coach several projects in one country, and exchange experiences and expertise has shown to be very effective in Africa, particularly in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. New Advisers have been added to the team of PTF Advisers active in African projects, in order to keep up with an increasing number of applications for PTF funding from Africa, and to add variety to the skills of the Advisers, and to strengthen French-speaking capacity.

Annex 1: Conclusions from the Uganda workshop, Project Completion Assessments, and the Cameroon workshop.

Conclusions from the Uganda field visit consist of three parts. First, there is a set of general lessons learned across the board. Second, there are three central themes that together form the backbone of the Handbook that was prepared by the PTF Adviser who conducted the Project Completion Assessments in Uganda. Third, there is a set of reflections and recommendations on project planning and implementation, inspired by field observations.

2.1 Lessons learned from the Uganda field visit and Project Completion Assessments

2.1.1 General Observations

• Each subsequent project is stronger than the previous one. They build upon each other, and CSOs grow and mature, thanks to increased experience, and coaching by the PTF Advisers (NAFODU).

• Sustainable impact - and documenting the evidence - is an issue that needs to be addressed (all projects)

• Partner CSOs tend to significantly strengthen their capacity if they are carefully coached and followed and they acknowledge it (all projects).

• Weaker programs "weed themselves out" automatically (APSEA) • What you see is not always what you get (TI's performance may have been stronger and more

sustainable than we originally thought) • Several projects in one country do not necessarily lend themselves to building up a country

program. That probably requires a more focused, sectoral approach. (According to Roger Sullivan’s earlier effort and analysis)

• Increasing exchange and encouragement between CSOs in one country fighting corruption contributes to creating critical mass. That in turn increases visibility, and perhaps impact in the longer term.

The following three themes are extracted from the Handbook prepared by Kathleen White, inspired by findings from the Project Completion Assessments

2.1.2 About Fighting Corruption

• Corruption is a crime and should be treated as one. Anti-corruption laws need to be written and appropriate penalties enforced. While local community activists have been successful in exposing and, in some cases thwarting corruption, it is disturbing to note that in many cases, the perpetrator is not punished. All of the project teams pointed to incidents where corruption goes unpunished, even after it has been exposed. Corrupt officials are reassigned to different posts, and in some cases made to return the money. However, there are few reports of people losing their jobs or going to prison as the result of their criminal activity. If there is no meaningful penalty for corruption, there is little hope that it will ever stop.

• Corruption is a two-way street. Corruption is now an accepted coping mechanism for many people and it is not uncommon for people to offer bribes to police to “lose” their files, or to pay a head teacher to promote a son or daughter to the next grade. Offering a bribe needs to be treated as a crime as well as demanding one.

• Awareness building is just the first step. Informing people of their rights and providing a mechanism for monitoring and reporting corruption is useful, and can reduce the local incidence of corruption. However, these efforts need to be accompanied by strong commitment to reform from the central government. Reform cannot take place without committed support from the government.

2.1.3 About Project Planning and Implementation

• A good plan. A well-designed plan ensures that project goals are clearly defined, outputs are achievable and measurable and that all required inputs are identified and funded. In addition, a good plan helps to ensure that the scope of the project is appropriate given the time and resources available. Finally, a good project plan allows managers (and funders) to easily track, modify and evaluate the results.

• Involvement and commitment from key stakeholders. A well-designed plan always identifies the key stakeholders who are essential to the project’s success. Without active commitment and support from key partners (e.g. local government, other CSOs, etc.) a project can only have limited impact.

• The Public Sector: In any project aimed at reducing corruption, CSOs will need to work closely with the relevant government authority. The objectives and activities of the project should be discussed, along with the support required from the government. These discussions should be formal and documented – usually in a Memorandum of Understanding. During the life of the project, support can include access to information and government endorsement of the project goals and activities. In addition, there should be an agreement that there will be government action after the project to sustain and enforce reform.

• Other Key Stakeholders: In addition to the public sector, there are other important stakeholders to consider. These include members of the public who will be mobilized to take action as well as individuals who may feel threatened by the project goals. It is prudent to take the time to assess who the stakeholders are, determine if they will be supporters or blockers, and develop a strategy to manage the risk.

• A focus on results. Every project should state what its outcomes will be and how they will be measured. Whenever possible, the project should identify concrete measures of time, quantity and quality (TQQ) and describe where the results will be found.

2.2 Main lessons learned from the Cameroon workshop and field visits

2.2.1. Preaching and practice

The public discourse on corruption is certainly there in Cameroon, from the lowest to the highest level and there is a beginning of policy development and adoption. Each Ministry has its internal representation of the CONAC (Commission Nationale Anti-Corruption), which dutifully prepares the required report(s) by the set deadlines. The CONAC representatives at the Ministry of Secondary Education showed me their reports, and I found that the discourse is really institutionalized. However, talking privately to the workshop attendees, and to a group of Cameroonians with whom I had worked previously on a World Bank project, corruption in education is strongly embedded, and has become a part of the system. Sociologically speaking, the traditional power structure and social stratification, and the system of providing mutual favors are perfectly conducive to letting corruption flourish.

2.2.2. Incentives and disincentives for corruption

However, in some specific cases it is advantageous to avoid occurrences of institutionalized corruption. For instance, at Siantou University, where parents/student have to pay a substantial tuition, the institution has an interest in avoiding corruption, because Cameroonians who are able to pay the tuition will rather send their children abroad if, to enter a local university, they have to invest in bribes and other corrupt practices, instead of scholarship and good education. Therefore the managers of Siantou University have a vested interest in maintaining an impeccable public anti-corruption record. The same is true for the mayor of Buea, who is working with a PTF-funded initiative to improve governance and transparency in spending decentralization funds by the Municipal Council. The mayor has an interest under the new

decentralization law, to improve the performance of his Councillers, in order to get more money and meaningful projects to their consituencies and be re-elected, rather than into the Concillers’ pockets. (In the old system the central government decided on priorities for the Councils. In the new system, the Mayor and Councilors are accountable to the communities).

2.2.3. Enthusiastic, but fragile CSOs

On the one hand, PTF is made for the type of CSOs we encounter in Cameroon. They are usually young, energetic, full of good will and ready to improve the world. They have nowhere else to go and need start-up funding and advice, and they are extremely eager to learn. Both our present grantees IGI and ASYOUSED have repeatedly expressed to their respective PTF Advisers how grateful they are for the patience and sound advice and coaching they are experiencing. However, the institutional environment is very fragile. Especially financial management know-how is very weak across the board. Therefore, if we are to engage in a Cameroon country program, we will need to be in it for the longer term, and accompany the program by a solid capacity building initiative in the basics of CSO management, and project formulation and implementation. Advisers taking on a project in Cameroon will need to be prepared for a long period of dialogue and gradual improvement of the project concept and implementation plan. Nevertheless, two out of the first three PTF-funded projects in Cameroon have turned out to be exceptionally promising. It seems that PTF’s strategy of staying in the background, and supporting local experts who represent the public face of anti-corruption initiatives is very appropriate in the Cameroon context. A representative of the Dutch Embassy in Yaounde in charge of Governance matters expressed his utter amazement at the wide publicity and highest-level endorsement and support IGI had received during the large Siantou launching meeting of the corruption tracking and fighting corruption initiative at the University.

2.2.4. Great interest for sharing and collaboration amongst CSOs

According to PTF experience in Cameroon so far, especially the younger CSOs are very eager to share each other’s experiences, tools and materials. In addition, they are very curious about what is happening in other countries, and are proud of their own accomplishments and eager to share those with the outside world. All in all, it seems that there is fertile ground for a country program in Cameroon, provided the following conditions are fulfilled:

• The Cameroon Country Program needs to be accompanied by a strong capacity building program, with clear targets and outcomes

• Financial management is the priority subject, and continuous close financial monitoring of all projects is a sine qua non

• CSOs continue to share with each other, but remain in contact with their own specific PTF Adviser(s). This means that PTF willl need to boost its French-speaking capacity, in order to properly serve French-speaking applicants in Cameroon

• PTF Advisers working on Cameroon projects form a Country Cluster, and share experiences amongst themselves on a regular basis

• PTF looks for a local point of contact in Cameroon to keep the momentum going, and to follow activities on the ground.

Annex 2: Ongoing Project Status Updates

1. Cameroon: Strengthening the University of Siantou Internal Mechanisms for Tracking and Curbing Corruption (Ongoing)

Adviser: Chris Redfern

Timeline and budget: A grant agreement between PTF and the International Governance Institute’s Focal Integrity Team for Cameroon IGI/FITCAM was signed on April 27, 2010 for a grant amount of $34000. A first tranche of $17,000 was disbursed upon signature. A second disbursement of $13,000 was made on September 21, 2010, after successful completion of the first phase.

Objective and activities: After successful completion of a similar project at the University of Buea, IGI-FITCAM requested the financial support of PTF for a follow-up project at the University of Douala in Cameroon, with the objective of strengthening internal mechanisms of the University of Douala (UNID) for tracking and curbing corruption in order to improve UNID’s institutional performance and to reduce the wastage of Cameroon’s scarce public resources. The project would be named ‘Strengthening University of Douala Internal Mechanisms for Tracking & Curbing Corruption’. The project started officially on May 1st 2010, with preparatory visist by the IGI/FITCAM to the University of Douala.

To remedy the prevailing situation of widespread corruption in Cameroon’s universities, the Government has established at each state-owned university a department of internal control and evaluation. The project supported by PTF was premised on a strategy of strengthening UNID’s internal anti-corruption mechanisms, which are so far relatively untried. One of the goals of the project was to carry out a significant test of the effectiveness of these structures by means of a budget tracking exercise.

Current Status: As mentioned above in section 1.4, a corruption scandal erupted at UNID, just when IGI representatives were conducting exploratory visits to start the budget tracking exercise. Therefore it was decided that it was too risky to continue at the present time. Subsequently, the project was transfered to the private university of Siantou, where it was received with great enthusiasm. The Minister of Higher Education has publicly expressed his strong endorsement for the IGI/PTF initiative. The first phase at Siantou University has been completed. The second phase is scheduled for October-November 2010. The transfer from the project site from Douala to Yaounde implies significantly increased costs for transportation and lodging of the IGI team, since Yaounde is a distance of 6 hours by car, while it took the team only one hour to go from Buea, where they reside, to Douala. No solution has been found as yet to address this unanticipated challenge.

2. Cameroon: Improving Communication between the Buea Municipal Council and the Population (Ongoing)

Adviser: Jane Schubert

Timeline and budget: A grant agreement between PTF and the Assembly of Youths for a Sustainable Environment and Development (ASYOUSED) was signed on July 9, 2010 for a grant amount of $14, 981. A first tranche of $7,000 was disbursed upon signature.

Objective and activities: ASYOUSED proposes to implement a program for Improving Communication between the Buea Municipal Council and the Population in the Fako Division of Buea, South West region, Cameroon. The global objective is to reduce corruption in identifying and implementing council projects by improving communication between the Buea Council and the population, to ensure that 80%

of council projects earmarked for 2011 budgetary year shall come from the Buea public. The specific objectives are to:

• Design a communication plan that shall involve 80% of the Buea population in the process of project identification for the 2011 budgetary year, and

• Mobilize 80% of the population of Buea to effectively take part in the process of project identification for the 2011 budgetary year.

The project will be implemented in two phases: Phase I consists of a three-day workshop, on participation of the population in council project identification process at the end of which participants are expected to design a communication plan to facilitate interaction between councilors and the population for project identification. The workshop would be attended by all Councilors of the Buea Council (40 in total), 8 administrative staff members of the Buea Council, and 7 leaders of commmunity-based associations.

Phase II consists of three parts:

• Monitoring and evaluating community mobilization in all forty constituencies of the Buea Council. Community mobilization shall be done by Councilors, in collaboration with ASYOUSED;

• Monitoring and evaluating administrative staff members with regard to short listing projects for the 2011 budgetary year; and

• Monitoring and evaluating deliberations for the 2011 budgetary session and debates for the adoption of projects to be financed under the 2011 budget

Current status: The project is proceeding according to schedule. The workshop has been implemented. All Councilors and the Mayor of Buea himself attended all three days of the workshop. (This same Mayor came from Buea to Limbe to speak with the participants of the September workshop, in order to encourage them for stepping up their anti-corruption efforts). ASYOUSED has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mayor and Councilors of Buea, and the Council even contributes 10 % of the project costs. Generally, the Mayor and Council consider the ASYOUSED intervention as a valuable learning experience rather than an intrusion. Nevertheless, it took a year of negotiating and interacting on a regular basis with the Mayor and Council of Buea, before the latter acknowledged that ASYOUSED was not out to confront them, but rather to help them improve their performance. The Mayor of Buea, who is at the same time the Chief of 31 Mayors in the Buea Region, has asked ASYOUSED and PTF to replicate similar projects to the other 30 Councils in his Region. We are now waiting for the actual results in the field, which will be observed in phase II. Preliminary results seem to warrant longer-term collaboration with ASYOUSED.

3. Ghana: Enhancing transparency and reducing corruption in the collection and distribution of internally generated funds (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly (Ongoing)

Advisers: William Experton, Willem Struben

Timeline and budget: A grant agreement between PTF and People’s Action to Win Life All-round (PAWLA) was signed on June 10, 2010 for a grant amount of $28,287. A first tranche of $13,635 was disbursed upon signature.

Objective and approach: The project seeks to track the collection and distribution of the internally generated funds (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly (Local Government) of the Upper West Region of Ghana. PAWLA’s focus is to use this project, to bring about systematic improvements that shall help expose and deal with corruption. PAWLA does not seek to catch wrongdoers in this project, but rather to develop local systems and procedures that minimise the risk of future corruption in the collection and distribution of the internally generated funds (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly (Local Government). Through participatory and not confrontational means therefore, PAWLA shall use tracking as an action that shall directly, actually and credibly help minimise corruption, and not just talking about corruption, or measuring it.

Specific Objectives and Activities: The project has three specific objectives:

1. To enhance transparency and reduce or prevent corruption in the collection and distribution of the internally generated funds (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly (Local Government);

2. Strengthen the capacity of citizen organisation (Sissala East District Assembly) to monitor the internally generated fund (IGF);

3. Develop guidelines, build consensus and conduct dialogue among stakeholders to minimise misuse of internally generated fund (IGF) in the Sissala East District Assembly.

4. Pursue strategic local policy advocacy to increase local government commitment to reduce corruption in the collection and management of internally generated fund.

Each objective will be achieved by one of more specific, albeit interrelated activities: 1) Conducting research on capacity of citizen organization to monitor funds; 20 Increasing the capacity of citizen organizations to track and monitor community funds;) Conducting training on monitoring community funds; 4) Preparing guidelines on fund monitoring and dissemination of the guidelines to civil society organizations; 5) Conducting dialogues among stakeholders to formulate solutions on misuse of funds; 6) Conducting local policy advocacy to promote a system for monitoring community funds through a regional seminar; 7) Printing and dissemination of a newsletter on research findings and current issues of community funds management.

Current Status and Next Steps: The PAWLA project is proceeding according to schedule. The first phase is completed. According to correspondence of September 30, 2010, PAWLA sent an electronic request for release of the second tranche to William Experton, the PTF Advisier on this project. Hard copies of the progress report and certified financial statement are in the mail to the PTF office in Washington DC. We are waiting for approval of these documents by the PTF Adviser.

4. Ghana: Promoting Accountable and Transparent Governance in Education (Ongoing)

Advisers: Willem Struben, William Experton

Timeline and budget: A grant agreement between PTF and Action for Rural Education under the umbrella of Promoting Accountable and Transparent Governance in Education (PAGE/ARE) was signed on July 23, 2010 for a grant amount of $34,500. A first tranche of $15,300 was disbursed upon signature.

Background and objectives: Challenge 1: Corruption in text book distribution: A recent study conducted by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition into the allocation, distribution and utilization of textbooks in 160 schools in march 2010 revealed that 29% of english text books get missing between the District Education Office (DEO) and schools, whereas some 16% of science text books also disappear. Several factors contribute to this phenomenon, such as, for instance the lack of a transparent

and participatory system for education resources allocation and distribution (including text and exercise books) and poor record keeping culture in schools and the DEO. These flaws make it easy for corrupt officials to divert education resources from the centre to the schools. Challenge 2: Corruption in using the Captation Grant: In 2005, Ghana abolished all forms of school fees in public basic schools. This resulted in the introduction of basic education grants to schools. The basic school grant is known as the Capitation Grant. Government pays about 3 USD per child each year to fund the schools budget, which is managed by the school head teacher. In 2009, Government disbursed about USD 18 Million as Capitation Grant to public basic schools nationwide. The Capitation Grant is used to finance school development needs like Teaching and Learning Materials, sanitation and sports equipments and minor infrastructural needs and repairs. The Grant is spent according to items in the local schools budget, otherwise called the School Performance Improvement Plan-SPIP (S-PIP). It is the major funding stream into the schools budget.

The project conceptualized the effective participation of SMC/PTA’s in the development, implementation and monitoring of education budgets (S-PIP) and in the allocation and distribution of education resources especially textbooks and exercise books as a means of promoting transparency and accountability in education resource allocation, distribution and utilization. It further conceptualizes that Civil Society has a key role to play in advocating the adoption of participatory processes of textbook and exercise book allocation and distribution (involving SMC/PTA’s and education officials) and the enforcement of record keeping regulations at the stores department of the Ghana Education Service.

The specific objectives are thus as follows:

• Reduced corruption in Capitation Grant management• Reduced corruption in Exercise and Textbook allocation and distribution

Key Activities: 1) Organize project stakeholder consultations and launch; 2) Organize workshop on participatory education resource tracking techniques; 3) Hold community level school budget hearing; 4) Hold monthly Capitation Grant, Text Book and Exercise book tracking exercises with school authorities and engage DEO and school on outcomes; 5) Advocate a participatory text book / exercise book distribution system and enforcement of record keeping guidelines at DEO and school level; 6) Hold participatory exercise and textbook allocation and distribution sessions at DEO; 7) Hold quarterly monitoring and review sessions; 8) Document project outcomes and lessons for sharing at the district and regional level.Current Status: The project is proceeding according to schedule, and informal progress reports are coming in o a regular basis.

5. Nigeria: Improving Transparency & Accountability in Public Procurement in Cross River State of Nigeria (Ongoing)

Adviser: Dante Delos Angeles

Timeline and budget: A grant agreement between PTF and the Development Alternatives Resource Center (DARC) was signed on July 7, 2010 for a grant amount of $33,925. A first tranche of 13,635 was disbursed upon signature.

Project Goal and specific objectives: The goal of this project is to enhance transparency and accountability in public procurement activities in Cross River State. The specific objectives are:

• To define a comprehensive, yet standard, fully documented procurement process that describes the roles and responsibilities of all process participants and outlines their relationships, that sets

out the rules and regulations that govern procurement processes, that details the specific data/information required at each step and sources/users of information, and that illustrates the entire end-to-end procurement cycle

• To familiarize all process participants, especially Procurement Officers, with the procurement cycle, and their roles and responsibilities, through the use of Process Review Workshops

• To build the capacity of Procurement Officers to enforce compliance with due process guidelines and the procurement cycle through hands-on involvement in the definition and documentation of the process, and through structured training to improve their capacity to develop project documents, prepare TORs/SOWs and review and evaluate bids.

• To support the Due Process & Price Intelligence Department (DPPID) in the ongoing development of an organizational web portal that will provide an easy, intuitive and user-customizable web-interface to facilitate access to information and service resources available, from many sources to many users, in an effective manner. The expectation is that a web system will be created; one that provides the functions and features to authenticate and identify users and provide them with a catalogue or organized collections of different and multiple sources of information and service resources for dissemination based on the users’ specific privileges, needs and interest.

Current Status: The project is proceeding according to schedule. A first progress report was sent by DARC to PTF on September 28, 2010. Current practices in the Cross River procurement process have been reviewed. An agenda and implementation plan for the Process Review Workshop to examine current procurement practices and recommend improvements and standardizing of procedures have been established. The workshop is anticipated for October. The workshop is expected to result in updated procurement guidelines that will be enforced in all procurement processes in the State.

6. Uganda: NAFODU III. Community Police Anti-Corruption Project (Ongoing)(Adviser: Roger Sullivan)

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed a grant agreement with the National Foundation for Democracy and Human Rights in Uganda (NAFODU) on December 22, 2009 for US$ 44,547. A first tranche of $20,000 was disbursed immediately afterwards. A partial second tranche release of $10,000 was disbursed on March 26, 2010. The project completion date is set for February 28, 2011. Organization and Project Objectives: The National Foundation for Democracy and Human Rights in Uganda is a civic non-partisan, non-profit NGO, registered under the Non Governmental Organization Registration statute of Uganda (1989). The Foundation was formed in 2000 by a group of youth with the major aim of promoting democracy, human rights and good governance in Uganda. PTF has made two prior grants to NAFODU to develop awareness of corrupt practices among the citizens in southwest Uganda and to use weekly broadcast programs on community radio to mobilize responses that can be taken to district officials. Under the third project, NAFODU has entered into agreements with police officials in five districts of southwest Uganda to undertake activities aimed at improving police community service, reducing corruption and reinforcing police community integrity. The specific objectives of the project are:

(i) To undertake a baseline survey asking people whether they had actually paid police a bribe in the past 6 months or know of any one who paid a bribe;

(ii) To provide information to the public about the police community partnership with NAFODU and the laws governing the conduct of the police through a series of radio broadcasts;

(iii) To improve police understanding of their own codes of conduct, their performance within the police community and to promote justice and fairness in the region through police ethics training; and

(iv) To prevent police abuses and promote citizen outreach, networking of NAFODU Monitors through public information campaign.

Current Status: NAFODU has conducted a baseline survey and documented areas among the citizenry where corruption by the local police is occurring. However, the survey only covered 200 people, which is statistically insignificant, given the size of the population. It has also conducted a one-day meeting of the police commanders in the five districts of southwest Uganda where it is operating. It has set up offices in all five districts and appointed a local coordinator who will interface with the police, the community radio station and the citizenry. It has also purchased airtime on the five district community radio stations and has begun weekly broadcasts (each district has its own community radio, broadcasting in both local languages and English). The radio shows are popular and entertaining and allow people to talk directly to police and air their grievances. Starting in April 2010, NAFODU began its police training programs, sensitizing the police as to the types of local corruption that have been practiced in the past and training them on the police code of ethics, which their commanders are keen on reinforcing and monitoring. One challenge will be for NAFODU to measure the impact of their program over the next few months.

Annex 3: Completed Project Status Updates

1. Cameroon: Play Football, Stop Corruption (Completed. Waiting for Project Completion Report)Adviser: Knud Kjaer Nielsen

Timeline and budget: On January 7, 2009 PTF and the Global Network for Good Governance (GNGG) signed an agreement to fund the above project for an amount of US$ 21,500. Most of the project activities were implemented during 2009. So far $18,000 has been disbursed. The remaining sum of $3,500 will be disbursed upon receipt of the completed toolkit and a satisfactory Project Completion Report and Financial Statement

Objective and Activities: The purpose of the project was to fight corruption in sporting organizations in Cameroon by raising awareness amongst sporting associations/ organizations and the wider CSO/NGO community on the damage that is being done to society by corruption. The main activity was a three-day workshop, which as an output would design an anticorruption toolkit for the use of sporting organizations. The toolkit would 1) identify examples of corrupt practices in sporting organizations, 2) highlight the negative consequences of these practices on sports in Cameroon, and on the society at large, and propose solutions that the organizations can implement to prevent corruption. The toolkit would be distributed through the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education. The project would then culminate in a series of three high-profile launching events with nationally televised football matches between a Francophone and an Anglophone national football team. In addition a TV presentation on the project, presentation of relevant content on a number of billboards, and posting of the project’s results on GNGG’s website would conclude the project.

Expected Results and Measuring Impact: The project’s achievements and impact would be measured by the extent to which the toolkit would be widely disseminated, and the subsequent adoption of the principles of good governance and transparency as advocated in the toolkit by a large proportion of sporting organizations in Cameroon.

Current status: The project has undertaken the activities included in the plan with some delay. The second tranche was transferred upon completion of the first and second phase. Due to adverse weather in the project area during the rainy season, a delay in the implementation of the third and fourth phases was unavoidable. On top of this Cameroon’s participation in the African Games in football further added to the delay of the high profile launching of the tool kit and football matches until March 2010. The tool was finalized as anticipated, and three televised football matches werte held. However, the project got in serious jeopardy when the GNGG representative in charge of the project was taken into custody by police (for an unrelated matter). At that occasion his computer was taken away and the content of the toolkit was partially destroyed. (There was no backup). GNGG is currently in the process of reconstructing the toolkit, and preparing the project completion report.

2. Uganda, APSEA: Promoting Good Governance among Professional Societies (Discontinued since early 2010. Waiting for reimbursement)

Advisers: Roger Sullivan, Kathleen WhitePTF signed a Grant Agreement for $28,000 with the Association of Professional Societies of East Africa (Uganda) on August 26, 2008. A first tranche of $13,000 was disbursed after signing. Since mid-2009 no further project activities occurred due to APSEA’s lack of capacity. The project has been closed. PTF has

requested APSEA to provide an accounting of expenditures under the first tranche and to refund unspent funds (not clear there are any)

3. Uganda, Uganda Ethics Network Outreach (UENO): Enhancing Community Participation in Promoting Transparency and Integrity in Schools (Completed. PCA conducted in August 2010)Adviser: Roger Sullivan

Budget and Timeline: PTF signed a Grant Agreement for $24,000 with the Uganda Ethics Network Outreach (UENO) on August 18, 2008. A first tranche of $12000 was disbursed in August 2008. A second tranche was disbursed as well. A third tranche of $2000 was disbursed in early February 2010 following receipt of a satisfactory Project Completion Report and Financial Statement. Organization and Background: The Uganda Ethics Network Outreach organization was created in 2003 as an association of higher degree students at Makerere University dedicated to improving standards of integrity and promoting ethical behavior in Ugandan society. Working especially at local government level and in schools, UENO has supported policy formulation, research, capacity building, coalition building and citizen mobilization geared to promoting the involvement of civil society in stimulating the demand side of good governance and accountability. Project Objectives and Expected Results: The project’s objective is to promote citizen engagement in monitoring school expenditures at ten schools in the Kampala region, particularly the procurement and implementation of school construction, delivery of services and strengthening the capacity of citizens, including students, in holding the schools and the school system accountable for the efficient use of resources.Project Outcomes: As part of its efforts to assess project outcomes, UENO requested a review of its PTF-funded activities to be undertaken by the Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, Office of the President. This assessment reflected credibly on the project for the amount of awareness that had occurred among students, teachers and parents about construction activities in the schools targeted by the project. The independent evaluation also looked at non-project schools to be able to measure the impact of the UENO interventions. It noted that the UENO-assisted schools had a much higher awareness of corruption issues.

In the Project Completion Report, UENO pointed out several constraints that impacted on the sustainability of project results. One is that it took extra time to develop a school construction monitoring “tool.” The survey-like tool that UENO developed would need to be field tested in more schools to determine its usefulness. It appears to be a much shorter and more concise tool than that reviewed by PTF in April 2009, a positive development. Secondly, the short project period, one year, made it difficult for UENO to stay long enough with the parents and the school committees to make a lasting difference.

More importantly was the reality that the type of approach UENO has piloted was unlikely to be widely replicable or sustainable on its own. Both the UENO and independent evaluation reports noted how difficult it was for parents, teachers and school construction committees to be effective watchdogs over school construction. Too much information remains in the hands of the Head Teachers or the District Authorities. It would appear that UENO itself would need to stay involved as a backstop to the parent/teacher groups. Without that push it is not clear the parents/teachers and school construction committees would remain empowered and effective at addressing corruption in school construction.

The project appeared to achieve results in the schools where it was active (even if these activities may not be continued after the project). There was a higher awareness of what corruption looked like and increased voice given to parent and construction committees. Also notable was the good work UENO did

with its integrity clubs (a PTF-funded activity), which trained students in ethics and the moral qualities needed by future leaders.

4. Uganda, Uganda Law and Society (ULS): Engaging the Legal Profession to Fight Corruption (Completed. PCA conducted in August 2010. Follow-up project under consideration)

Adviser: Roger SullivanBudget and Timeline: The PTF signed a Grant Agreement for $25,000 with the Uganda Law Society on August 28, 2008. A first tranche of $11,250 was disbursed in August 2008, and second tranche was disbursed as well. A third tranche of $2,500 was disbursed in February 2010 after PTF received a satisfactory Project Completion Report and Financial Statement.Organization and Project Objectives: The Uganda Law Society is the National Bar Association in Uganda. Established in 1956, its members are all 1000 lawyers in the country. The society has a full time staff of 60. Five of the six Department Directors are women. It provides a full range of services, including policy and advocacy, legal aid and pro bono services, professional development, a resource center and ICT services. The project had five objectives:

(i) To identify gaps in current anti-corruption laws and regulations and to suggest solutions to inform legislative reform;

(ii) To Identify ways in which the legal profession can promote good governance; (iii) To monitor the proceedings of the new Anti-corruption Court and provide technical assistance

as needed; (iv) To constitute a multi-stakeholder Legal Experts Committee to provide technical legal

assistance to existing anti-corruption initiatives; and (v) To catalogue and document developments within the anti-corruption arena at national,

regional and international forums.

Project Outcomes: The project completion report noted that the project had met its objectives and listed the following major outcomes:

1 Review of the Anti – Corruption laws and Regulations. The Society undertook an independent analysis of the legislative and policy framework for combating corruption in Uganda geared towards informing policy and legal reform. Once the review had been undertaken, the Society submitted comments to the Presidential and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament on the Anti-Corruption Bill. The bill was passed into an Act on the 25th August 2009. The Society also prepared and submitted comments on the Whistle Blower’s Bill No 25 of 2008.

2 Policy Advocacy for Legal Reforms. In a bid to strengthen its efforts to fight corruption in Uganda, the judiciary set up a separate division of the High Court to handle corruption related matters. The court began operations in February 2009.During the project period the Uganda Law Society has monitored the proceedings of selected cases in order to appreciate the operations of the court, identify the gaps and undertake advocacy to address those gaps.

3. Monitor Proceedings of the new Anti-Corruption Court. In a bid to strengthen its efforts to fight corruption in Uganda, the judiciary set up a separate division of the High Court to handle corruption related matters. The court began operations in February 2009. Following the first seventy days of the Anti-Corruption Court, the Uganda Law Society undertook an evaluation of the Court proceedings,

produced a brief highlighting the achievements and challenges so far. To advocate for the reforms to be adopted the Uganda Law Society sought and held a meeting with the Chief Justice, Principal Judge, Judges of the Anti-Corruption Court, the Chief Registrar and Registrar Anti-Corruption Court to discuss the challenges so far and recommendations from the Law Society and Public perspective. Among the proposals made was the need to recruit more officers for the court, and decentralization of bail applications. During the project period the Uganda Law Society has also monitored the proceedings of selected cases in order to appreciate the operations of the court, identify the gaps and undertake advocacy to address those gaps.

4 Creation of a Legal Experts Committee on corruption. In order to have a formal organ that would direct the project activities and provide technical assistance to anti-corruption developments in the country, the Legal Experts Committee was duly constituted with the membership of Directorate of Ethics and Integrity (DEI), the Inspectorate of Government (IG), the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MoJCA), Anti Corruption Court (ACC), the Uganda Police Force, the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda (ACCU) and the Uganda Law Society (ULS). The LEC held six meetings and its recommendations were implemented through out the project period.

5. Documentation and analysis of legal developments in the anti-corruption arena. Under this activity the society continuously documented developments in the anti corruption arena both locally and internationally to provide a reference point for anti-corruption research and information sharing. The society prepared a reference handbook for anti corruption activists in Uganda, and collected in its library newspaper cuttings in reference to anti corruption related issues. The society also organized and held a roundtable discuss ion on fighting corruption in Uganda, which brought together key stakeholders including state and non state actors and the grassroots anti corruption coalitions.

Next Steps: ULS is working with PTF to develop a proposal that continues their work supporting the Anti Corruption Court, and will extend support services to six regional Anti-Corruption Coalitions.

5. Uganda, TI-Uganda: Promoting Citizen Engagement in Good Governance at the District Level (Completed. PCA conducted in August 2010)Adviser: Roger SullivanBudget and Timeline: PTF signed a Grant Agreement for $25,000 with Transparency International Uganda on August 28, 2008. A first tranche of $11250 was disbursed on September 1, 2008. A second tranche of $11,250 was disbursed subsequently. A final tranche of $2,500 is pending, awaiting a Project Completion Report and Financial Report. These are expected in April 2010.Organization and Project Objectives: Transparency International Uganda is a registered non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting consciousness about corruption and its effects on society and espousing value systems and principles of transparency and accountability. It is the national chapter of Transparency International, the leading global organization dedicated to fighting corruption. TI Uganda has implemented similar projects funded by the EU, DANIDA, Canada, GTZ and Austria. The proposed project will promote citizen engagement in combating corruption and promoting good governance in the delivery of public services and infrastructure development in the Rakai District of southern Uganda. Citizens will establish Voluntary Accountability Committees to monitor service delivery, public procurement and project implementation and report cases of corruption in the priority sectors of the national Poverty Eradication Action Plan. The methodology has been tested in other districts of the country and will be refined to fit the circumstances of the area. The principal objectives of the Project are to:

· Increase the number of citizens actively engaged in monitoring and reporting corruption cases in the priority sectors of the Poverty Eradication Action Plan in the Rakai District

· Form and train Voluntary Accountability Committees in social mobilization· Increase the level of civic engagement in decision-making on development plans and programs

Current Status: TI-Uganda completed on 5.06.2010. A PCR was received and accepted on 04/01/2010.