Women's Democracy Network-Uganda Chapter

When knowledge and skills are used by leaders to impact the communities that they serve, we celebrate the leaders. WDN-U is proud of Hon. Dorothy Nakanwagi a councilor in Makindye Ssabagabo and caucus chairperson of the youth, women and PWDs in the division, Hon. Ericu Walter the caucus chairperson of Lira city youth leaders caucus and Hon. Joseph the LC III chairperson of Laperebyong sub-county in Agago district. WDN-U and KIC in Sep 2024 conducted training for women and youth councilors on how to form and use caucuses to address the issues that affect the two interest groups. In November and December 2024, WDN-U and KIC Omer Khan Noor worked with the caucuses in Agago district, Lira city and Makindye Ssabagabo to train the members of the respective caucuses and identify issues that they can address together to impact their communities. The three councilors have provided exceptional leadership to their respective caucuses and the latter have achieved the following: Hon. Nakanwagi has led her team to address the issue of garbage management which the caucus identified as a concern. On 27/11/2024, the caucus members conducted door to door sensitization on waste management in the communities of Masajja B and Ndejje divisions. The caucus developed flyers which it distributed to residents to educate them on proper waste disposal practices prior to the cleaning exercise. On 7/12/2024, the caucus spearheaded a community cleaning exercise in the neighborhoods of?Masajja B in Busabala cell in Wakiso district and collected over 100 bags of trash. The clean up exercise was used to demonstrate to residents how they can work with their council to keep their community clean. On 17/1/2025 the caucus held a meeting with the municipality's sanitation department to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies for enhanced waste management. The caucus has also continued to educate the youth about their roles in leadership and encouraged them to aspire for leadership. In Lira city, Hon, Ericu spearheaded interventions to address the issue of substance abuse and teenage pregnancies in Lira city. The caucus has collaborated with the city leadership including the police, probation office, RCC's office and local leaders to hold community meetings with the affected youth and their parents, guardians and residents in Lango central ward. The leaders resolved to continue educating the youth about the dangers of substance abuse and teenage pregnancies. The councilors will also identify gaps in the laws to propose bylaws to address the issues identified. In Agago district, the caucus identified the lack of delivery beds for expectant mothers with disabilities as an issue. The caucus has conducted an assessment of the magnitude of the problem and presented its report to the District Health Office. The women's caucus will advocate for prioritization of budget allocation to purchase delivery beds for expectant mothers with disabilities Annika Reyes Rig? Perry Aritua

On January 16 2025, the market women of Laropi market in the Moyo district proved that with the right knowledge and skills, organized women associations like their market women's association can compete for and win tenders. A year ago, WDN-U and its Community Based Organization partner West Nile Women for Advocacy and Development (WEWAP) in the Moyo district encouraged the Laropi market women to form an association. The two organizations provided technical support to the women to develop a Constitution that would guide their association and enable them to compete for economic opportunities within and outside the district. It was therefore exciting when WDN-U and WEWAP received the news of the tender award to Laropi Tamama market vendors association Ltd by Moyo district to construct market stalls in Erialo market in Mt. Otce sub-county. Economic empowerment enables women to make decisions to improve their lives, that of their families and communities. It is an important facet for enabling women to enjoy their rights as full human beings. WDN-U and WEWAP celebrate the Laropi Tamama Market Vendors Association Ltd. WDN-U is grateful to National Endowment for Democracy for enabling it and WEWAP to support women groups to amplify their voices and use their agency to advocate for themselves. The market women of Laropi are now advocating for access to clean water and better toilet facilities to improve their work environment in the market. Allison Reinhardt Perry Aritua

Allison Reinhardt Allison Reinhardt Madison Peak Valerie Dowling National Democratic Institute (NDI) National Endowment for DemocracyUganda National NGO Forum Women's Democracy Network Africa International Republican Institute Francis K Rogers LILLIAN DRIWARU RadioOne FM Uganda Women's Network (UWONET)

On November 15, 18 and 26 2024 respectively, WDN-U conducted follow up visits and training in Wakiso, Buikwe and Sironko districts for the newly established local councilors women and youth caucuses across political party lines and provided training to enhance them. The visits resulted from the training that the organization and Christian Democratic International Center [KIC] conducted for selected youth and women councilors from 25 districts/cities in Uganda in September 2024. One of the major actions that the youth and women councilors agreed to take following the training was to establish youth or women councilors caucuses or combined youth and women councilors caucuses to collectively advocate for their interest groups. WDN-U's teams worked with the newly established caucuses to assess their progress in identifying the issues that the caucuses will promote, setting up an executive committee to run the caucus, fundraising, visibility for the caucus, conflict resolution, constitution making for the caucus and action planning for the next one year. WDN-U found out that most councilors had not been trained on their roles and conducted a session on the roles of councilors. Further, the councilors do not have copies of the Local Government Act and the Standard Rules of Procedure. This affects them during the execution of their mandate. The councilors whom WDN-U and KIC trained appreciated the two organizations for enabling them to instigate the establishment of caucuses and to be more focused on what they can do to execute their mandate. WDN-U and KIC will continue to provide technical support to the caucuses as they implement their action plans over the next one year. Perry Aritua Keri Zolman Omer Khan Noor

Over the past two weeks, WDN-U and KIC have provided a platform for district/city planners in Mbale city, Buikwe and Sironko districts respectively to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] and their localization. The participants included district/city councilors, media, NGOs and CBOs and representatives of the private sector. Most participants were hearing about the SDGs for the first time. The district/city planners simplified the SDGs which informed the discussions that ensued. The concerns of the participants revolved around service delivery in the health and education sector, gender equality in decision making, climate change and limited opportunities for economic empowerment and exploitation of workers in factories in Buikwe district. One of the key outstanding issues in regard to economic empowerment is lack of knowledge on value addition to agricultural products. In Sironko district for instance, Irish potatoes and bananas both green and yellow are plenty during harvest season. However, due to no value addition, food insecurity becomes a problem after the harvest season. Exploitation of local farmers by middle men and women who buy the agricultural products at low prices is common. Further, some farmers are resistant to new ideas and want to farm the same products that they have grown over the years even when market prices are low. Poor road infrastructure also affects markets. Some of the major factors affecting service delivery are limited resources to local governments due to recentralization of funds and corruption. Civic education and engagement is low in the areas WDN-U visited and public information on plans and budgets is not readily available. This affects monitoring by local councilors and transparency and accountability to the tax payer-citizen. Coupled with limited training for local councilors in these areas, majority do not know their roles and are afraid to exercise their mandate. In order to attain the district/city development plans, National Development Plan and ultimately the SDGs, local councilors, technocrats, private sector, media, NGOs/CBOs and citizens must know the plans, budgets, targets of the district, national and global plans and get involved in the development of their communities. Perry Aritua Omer Khan Noor Women's Democracy Network Africa Allison Reinhardt Valerie Dowling

Perry Aritua Women's Democracy Network Africa Allison Reinhardt

The importance of caucusing accross political party lines in local councilors cannot be over emphasized especially, if the issues identified are clear with action plans to realize results for youth and women through the mandate of local councilors.