Launch of Second Phase of Democratic Governance Facility
On March 28, the second phase of the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) was launched at an event at Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala. This new phase of the DGF brings together seven Development Partners (Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Union) to support democratic governance initiatives in Uganda with a total amount of approximately 355 billion UGX. Apart from this collaboration between Development Partners, the DGF arrangement is unique in the sense that it brings together Government
Institutions and Civil Society in Uganda, all with their different identities, mandates, roles, responsibilities, backgrounds, missions, capacities and resources.
In his speech, the Chair of the DGF Board, the Netherlands’ Ambassador Henk Jan Bakker, elaborated on the achievements of DGF I that started in 2011. He mentioned that supporting engagement of civil society and government with democratic governance initiatives had resulted in more responsiveness on both sides. And he added: “The core business of DGF is democratic governance, which at the end of the day is all about strengthening the social contract between the State and its citizens”.
DGF’s second phase is designed to build on the achievements and lessons learned of the first phase. In line with the national priorities under the National Development Plan and the National Action Plan for Human Rights, DGF’s vision statement is: “A Uganda where citizens are empowered to engage in democratic governance and the state upholds citizens’ rights”. DGF will continue to place the citizen at the centre of the initiative with a strong focus on the relationship between the citizen and the state.
DGF’s programme in this second phase is built around three broad and interconnected spheres namely:
- Democratic processes that build citizen-state relationships;
- Citizen empowerment, engagement and accountability;
- Protection of human rights, access to justice and gender equality.
The launch marks the beginning of another intensive engagement with government and civil society. Ambassador Henk Jan Bakker phrased it as follows: “The Ugandan citizens will benefit from the positive changes that will emerge from constructive dialogue and partnership between and among government institutions and civil society organizations. DGF is ready to take up the challenges for the coming years. We as DGF are confident that that mutual respect for diversity of opinions will allow DGF to continue supporting the democratic governance agenda of Uganda”.