Local Economy Support in Humanitarian Assistance

From Relief to Development in a Post-Conflict Environment

Northern Uganda, August 2010

Marina Muenchenbach and Anthony Ojok

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Abstract

The research investigates to what extent Humanitarian Assistance Programs support Local Economy

during the transition phase from emergency to development and how best this support can be

strengthened by forming partnerships with Local Markets

and in coordination with Local Governments. The study

addresses the context of conflict affected environments, in

this case Kitgum District in Northern Uganda which after

over 20 years of violent internal conflict is in the transition

to development.

The author used ‘action research in partnership with concerned actors’ as methodology and conducted

the study with a Ugandan counterpart. The approach builds on the concept of co-generating knowledge

between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ on specific areas of interest. Insiders want to find solutions for practical

problems; outsiders want to generalize conclusions and recommendations.

Local stakeholders selected three areas in which they saw potential gains from an increased involvement

of Local Economy: the lack of agro input dealers in agriculture, the lack of spare parts dealers in rural

water supply and the low quality of construction works in infrastructure projects. Researchers and local

actors conducted sector specific series of workshops, market chain assessments and analysed

information collected through questionnaires.

The three sectors agriculture, rural water supply and construction show significant differences in their

appreciation of Local Economy Support as an objective. Further investigation revealed a distinction

between ‘service delivery’ programs and ‘livelihoods’ or ‘production’ oriented programs.

Food Security and Agricultural Livelihoods Programs define the creation of livelihoods for farmers as their

main objective and respond to the lack of capacity of beneficiaries with increased training (farmer field

schools, seed fairs, partnerships to support small agro input dealers). They have a good conceptual

understanding of market and value chains and use indirect responses (vouchers, provision of credit,

strengthening of market linkages etc) that build capacity of local economy.

Rural water supply programs are supposed to phase out soon after the end of the transition phase. Their

main objective is coverage of services: the water points. Attempts to analyse rural water supply as a

market are rather rare. However, a growing number of implementation programs contain research

elements concerning this issue and development oriented organisations show strong efforts to find

workable solutions for operation and maintenance addressing sustainability of investment.

Construction / Infrastructure does not exist as a Humanitarian Assistance program but is regarded as a

hardware component of service delivery programs - schools for education and clinics for public health. As

LE HA

Common interest

LG

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a consequence, there is limited room to think beyond implementing the required structure and the

potential of construction projects for Local Economy Development is underestimated.

National Recovery and Development Programs show similar tendencies. The Peace, Recovery and

Development Programme (PRDP) as the main funding mechanism for the reconstruction of the North of

Uganda distributes resources to ‘service delivery’ sectors (education, health, roads and water) without the

inclusion of agriculture. On the other extreme, the UNDP ‘District Development Program III’ which aims for

Local Governments ‘to move from service delivery to performing a pivotal role in Local Economy

Development’ defines agriculture as the only viable sector for economic development in Kitgum District.1

The distinction into ‘service delivery’ and ‘production’ overlooks two realities: (1) Service delivery and in

particular reconstruction programs provide significant income and employment opportunities and should

be seen as eligible economic sectors. (2) Reconstruction needs to address production parallel to service

delivery / infrastructure: If we increase the number of roads and boreholes and teacher’s houses or

classrooms, what will the road lead to? We will have a problem with maintenance of these very roads and

boreholes as long as the people don’t have money in their pockets (Interview with District Agricultural

Officer).

The author proposes response options and invites for further reflection in five areas:

(1) Reducing the discrepancy between ‘service delivery’ and ‘production’ programs to allow for both to

contain objectives of Local Economy Support (for example by defining the use of local material, labour

and services as by-objective to the core objective ‘construction and rehabilitation of schools).

(2) In the absence of a shelter cluster, coordinating construction / infrastructure as a specific working

group e.g. in the Early Recovery Cluster.

(3) Applying indirect response options (voucher systems, provision of credit, strengthening market

linkages and partnerships) as they are used in agriculture oriented programs to service delivery oriented

programs.

(4) Adding Action Research elements to ongoing assistance programs. They provide ideal opportunities to

gain practical solutions to current problems and generalized ideas for future policy changes.

(5) Defining program objectives based on constraints that have been identified through market mapping

(e.g. as an addition to a LogFrame). The mapping of market systems in which Humanitarian Assistance

programs operate enhances understanding of complexities and of identifying constraints and formulating

specific interventions in relation to these constraints.

1 According to the Kitgum District Draft LED strategy plan (2010)

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Preface and Acknowledgements

Anthony Ojok was my friend, translator and co-researcher. Without him I would not have done this dissertation. Many thanks.

Kitgum ABC Engineering Works offered us office space and became our mentors and host family.

An infinite number of people in Kitgum, Gulu and Kampala actively participated in this research.

Ana provided a home in Kampala and gave me Yoga lessons and good food.

Maria was the first one to whom I explained the dissertation topic on a cold January morning in Switzerland because I wanted to know if it made sense to somebody with common sense.

SDC and GTZ responded to first emails confirming that my research questions were valuable and motivated me to go ahead.

My small and extended families in Oxford and Switzerland were continuously open to discussions.

Leda Stott was always accessible, always critical, always positive and always supportive and all at the same time. Thank you, Leda.

Ingenious People: What would you do if your shoelac es were too short?

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Table of Contents

Abstract

Preface and Acknowledgements

1 CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1

1.1 WHY THIS DISSERTATION?..................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH........................................................................................................... 2

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT........................................................................................................................... 2

1.4 RESEARCH AIM ..................................................................................................................................... 2

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.......................................................................................................................... 3

1.6 METHODOLOGY, FRAMEWORK AND STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION......................................................... 3

2 CHAPTER TWO – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................ 4

2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS.............................................................................................................................. 4

2.2 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES....................................................................................... 5

2.3 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................................................... 5

2.4 STRUCTURES FOR TRANSPARENCY......................................................................................................... 5

2.5 DISSEMINATION .................................................................................................................................... 5

3 CHAPTER THREE – RELEVANT STRANDS OF LITERATURE ...... ...................................................6

3.1 DEFINITIONS OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE..................................... 6

3.2 SIX MAJOR AREAS OF POLICY AND RESEARCH LITERATURE RELEVANT TO THE DISSERTATION................... 6

3.2.1 Assistance and its impact on conflict affected environments .............................................................. 7

3.2.2 Thinking in systems – Sustainable Livelihoods (SL)........................................................................... 7

3.2.3 Local Economy Development, Local Economy Recovery and the Early Recovery Cluster .................. 9

3.2.4 Direct versus indirect humanitarian response options....................................................................... 9

3.2.5 The poor are poor but they are many – Humanitarian Assistance and the informal sector ............... 10

3.3 PITFALLS OF LOCAL ECONOMY SUPPORT - WAR WINNERS AND SPOILERS............................................. 10

4 CHAPTER FOUR - THE UGANDAN CONTEXT .................................................................................. 11

4.1 COUNTRY PROFILE – THE CONFLICT..................................................................................................... 11

4.1.1 Conflict, displacement and camp life .............................................................................................. 12

4.1.2 Returning, resettlement and development........................................................................................ 12

4.2 HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE IN UGANDA ............................................................. 13

4.2.1 Development Assistance on National Level ..................................................................................... 13

4.2.2 Humanitarian Assistance in Northern Uganda................................................................................ 13

4.3 RESEARCH LOCATION KITGUM DISTRICT ............................................................................................. 14

4.3.1 Kitgum District Local Government - KDLG.................................................................................... 15

4.3.2 PRDP funding and distribution across sectors ................................................................................ 16

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4.3.3 District Development Programme III – a move towards Local Economy Development LED ............ 16

4.3.4 Humanitarian Assistance and Development actors in Kitgum Town ................................................ 18

4.3.5 Local Economy actors in Kitgum Town........................................................................................... 18

5 CHAPTER FIVE – RESEARCH FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS...... ........................................................ 20

5.1 FIELD RESEARCH PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY.................................................................................. 20

5.1.1 Workshop methodology – Market Mapping..................................................................................... 21

5.1.2 Questionnaires............................................................................................................................... 23

5.2 HOW DID THE USE OF ACTION RESEARCH AS METHODOLOGY IMPACT ON RESULTS? ............................... 24

5.3 GENERAL FINDINGS............................................................................................................................. 26

5.4 SECTOR SPECIFIC FINDINGS ................................................................................................................. 30

5.4.1 Agriculture..................................................................................................................................... 30 5.4.1.1 Assessment of Agro Input Market..................................................................................................... 30 5.4.1.2 Workshop Agro Inputs and Market Linkages 28 July ...................................................................... 31

5.4.2 Rural Water Supply........................................................................................................................ 33 5.4.2.1 Workshop ‘Spare Parts for Hand Pumps’ SP4HP 23 June............................................................. 33 5.4.2.2 Assessment of SP4HP Market.......................................................................................................... 34 5.4.2.3 Lessons learnt from others................................................................................................................ 35

5.4.3 Construction .................................................................................................................................. 36 5.4.3.1 Test Group ......................................................................................................................................... 37 5.4.3.2 Analysis of questionnaires ................................................................................................................ 38 5.4.3.3 Workshop 22 July and Windows of Opportunity .............................................................................. 39

6 CHAPTER SIX - CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... .................................................. 41

6.1 CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................................................................... 41

6.1.1 General Conclusions – Thinking in Systems.................................................................................... 41

6.1.2 Sector Specific Conclusions – Agriculture ahead of other sectors.................................................... 43

6.2 PROPOSALS AND QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION...................................................................... 44

6.2.1 Humanitarian Assistance and Donor Community............................................................................ 44

6.2.2 Local Economy Actors.................................................................................................................... 49

6.2.3 Local Government.......................................................................................................................... 49

7 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................... 50

7.1 LIST OF MEETINGS AND INTERVIEWS_STATUS 31 AUGUST 2010............................................................. 50

7.2 SUMMARY OF QUESTIONNAIRE METHODOLOGY.................................................................................... 52

7.3 LIST OF ORIGINAL WORKSHOP REPORTS, ASSESSMENTS AND QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS......................... 53

8 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................................... 54

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List of Boxes BOX 1 DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS (WDR, 2009)......................................................................................... 13

BOX 2 PRDP BUDGET OVERVIEW (USAID, 2010) ........................................................................................ 13

BOX 3 PRDP FUNDING FOR ACHOLI DISTRICTS - FINANCIAL YEAR 2009 / 2010 ............................................ 16

BOX 4 WWW TABLE UGANDA CLUSTER ....................................................................................................... 18

BOX 5 CHRONOLOGICAL FIELD RESEARCH PROCESS..................................................................................... 20

BOX 6 NUMBER OF CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS................................................................................................ 21

BOX 7 RANKED CONSTRAINTS FOR MAIZE MARKET IN LED WORKSHOP ......................................................... 23

BOX 8 RANKING OF CONSTRAINTS IN SUPPORTING LOCAL ECONOMY - HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE............. 27

BOX 9 WHICH BENEFICIARIES? FROM ILO/CWGER GUIDELINES FOR LER .................................................. 27

BOX 10 ILO / CWGER, GUIDELINES FOR LOCAL ECONOMY RECOVERY ........................................................ 28

BOX 11 MEASURES THAT WOULD HELP AGRO INPUT DEALERS TO EXPAND BUSINESS ...................................... 30

BOX 12 SLIDES PROVIDED BY NASEKO SEED COMPANY – CHALLENGES AND MITIGATION MEASURES.............. 31

BOX 13 CONSTRAINTS AND RESPONSE OPTIONS AGRO INPUTS ....................................................................... 32

BOX 14 CONSTRAINTS IN SPARE PARTS SUPPLY CHAIN ................................................................................... 34

BOX 15 PROPOSED SMART RESPONSE OPTIONS FOR A CAPACITY SUPPORT PROJECT .................................. 39

BOX 16 SAMPLE FROM QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HUMANITARIAN ACTORS............................................................ 52

List of Figures FIGURE 1 CONCEPT OF EARLY RECOVERY (UNDP, 2006) ............................................................................. 2

FIGURE 2 CO-GENERATIVE LEARNING (EDEN AND LEVIN) ................................................................................ 4

FIGURE 3 COMPONENTS AND FLOW IN A LIVELIHOOD ....................................................................................... 7

FIGURE 4 SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS CONCEPT ............................................................................................. 8

FIGURE 5 CRUNCH MODEL OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION............................................................................. 8

FIGURE 6 UGANDA IN AFRICA (MAP SOURCE) ................................................................................................ 11

FIGURE 7 INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT MAP (UGANDA CLUSTER, 2009) ............................................................ 12

FIGURE 8 KITGUM DISTRICT .......................................................................................................................... 14

FIGURE 9 KAMPALA – JUBA (RED) AND KITGUM (BLUE) .................................................................................. 14

FIGURE 10 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART KDLG .................................................................................................... 15

FIGURE 11 PRDP SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION KITGUM DISTRICT........................................................................ 16

FIGURE 12 FUNDING ACC TO PRDP ................................................................................................................ 17

FIGURE 13 ANNUAL INCOME OF SERVICE SECTORS (LEBA)............................................................................. 17

FIGURE 14 VALUE CHAIN FOR MAIZE – LED WORKSHOP 19 JUNE 2010 ......................................................... 22

FIGURE 15 IMPORTANCE OVER COMPLEXITY.................................................................................................... 23

FIGURE 16 GOOGLE GROUP SET UP FOR RESEARCH ....................................................................................... 25

FIGURE 17 RANKING OF INDIRECT RESPONSES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL WATER SUPPLY.......................... 26

FIGURE 18 STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS FOR INTENDED LED FORUM................................................................... 29

FIGURE 19 MARKET SUPPLY CHAIN SPARE PARTS FOR HAND PUMPS – 22 JULY 2010 .................................. 33

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FIGURE 20 CONSTRAINTS FOR EXPANDING SP4HP BUSINESS, QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................. 34

FIGURE 21 SUPPORT FOR EXPANDING SP4HP BUSINESS, QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................... 35

FIGURE 22 VALUE CHAIN FOR QUALITY CONSTRUCTION WORKS – TEST GROUP 22 JUNE ............................... 37

FIGURE 23 CONSTRAINTS FOR PRODUCING QUALITY CONSTRUCTION WORKS – QUESTIONNAIRE RESULT ........ 38

FIGURE 24 POPULATION AFFECTED BY DISASTER ............................................................................................ 45

FIGURE 25 DISRUPTION OF MARKET CHAINS ................................................................................................... 45

FIGURE 26 DIRECT RESPONSE TYPE HA ......................................................................................................... 46

FIGURE 27 PROBLEMATIC EXIT STRATEGY ......................................................................................................46

FIGURE 28 INDIRECT RESPONSE TYPE HA ......................................................................................................47

FIGURE 29 RE-BUILDING MARKET CHAIN .......................................................................................................... 47

FIGURE 30 PROPOSED LED FORUM STRUCTURE............................................................................................ 48

List of Pictures

The cover page picture was taken in Kidepo National Park by a former colleague

PICTURE 1 KITGUM MAIN STREET (AUTHOR, 2010) ........................................................................................ 15

PICTURE 2 KITGUM AERIAL MAP...................................................................................................................... 18

PICTURE 3 MAIZE MARKET MAPPING DURING LED WORKSHOP 19 JUNE 2010................................................. 21

PICTURE 4 CONSTRAINTS – LED WORKSHOP.................................................................................................. 22

PICTURE 5 PARTICIPANTS RANKING CONSTRAINTS .......................................................................................... 22

PICTURE 6 MEETING SP4HP 22 JUNE 2010................................................................................................... 24

PICTURE 7 OFFICE LOCATION.......................................................................................................................... 25

PICTURE 8 KITGUM AGRO INPUT DEALER ........................................................................................................ 30

PICTURE 9 AGRO INPUT AND MARKET LINKAGES MEETING 28 JULY ................................................................ 31

PICTURE 10 RESULTS FROM MARKET LINKAGES WORKING GROUP IN AGRO MEETING 28 JULY ..................... 32

PICTURE 11 PRESENTATION OF GROUP RESULTS, SP4HP 22 JULY.............................................................. 34

PICTURE 12 TEST GROUP MAPPING QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION WORKS.................................................... 37

PICTURE 13 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS FORM WORKING GROUP, CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP 22 JULY ..... 39

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Abbreviations and Acronyms

AFD Agence française de développement

ALNAP Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in APSEDEC Acholi Private Sector Development Company Limited.

BMZ Bundesministerium fuer Zusammenarbeit / Federal Ministry for CAO Chief Administrative Officer

CWGER Cluster Working Group on Early Recovery DAO District Agricultural Officer DCED Donor Committee for Enterprise Development

DCO District Commercial Officer DDP District Development Programme

DE District Engineer DLG District Local Government DWO District Water Officer

EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation

FIAS Foreign Investment Advisory Service GoU Government of Uganda.

GTZ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit HA Humanitarian Assistance HDI Human Development Index

HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries HIV/AIDS Human Immune-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome

HSM Holy Spirit Movement ICG International Crisis Group ICG International Crisis Group

IDP Internally Displaced Person INGO International Non-Governmental Organization

IRC International Rescue Committee IRIN OCHA news network KDLG Kitgum District Local Government

LC Local Council LE Local Economy

LEAD Livelihood Enterprises and Agricultural Development LEBA Local Economy Business Assessment

LED Local Economy Development LG Local Government LLDC Land Locked Developing Countries

LRA Lord’s Resistance Army MDG Millennium Development Goal

MoH Ministry of Health MoLG Ministry of Local Government MTN Mobile Telephone network

MTN Mobile Telephone Network NAADS National Agricultural Advisory Services

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NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NRA National Resistance Army NRC Norwegian Refugee Council

NRM National Resistance Movement NUMAT Northern Ugandan Malaria Aids and Tuberculosis Project NUSAF Northern Uganda Social Action Fund

NUTI Northern Ugandan Transition Initiative NUWATER Northern Uganda Water

PEAP Poverty Eradication Action Plan PRDP Peace Recovery and Development Programme

RDC Resident District Commissioner SDC Swiss Department for Cooperation ToR Terms of Reference

UBOS Uganda Bureau of Statistics UGX Uganda Shillings

UN United Nations UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations Children Fund

UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs USAID United States Agency for International Development UTL Uganda Telecom Limited

WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WATSAN Water and Sanitation

WDR World Development Report WFP World Food Programme

WHO World Health Organization

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1 Chapter One - Introduction

1.1 Why this dissertation?

***

“When I pass the courtyard of our compound to go for lunch, our supplier for pipes - Jimmy - lingers unhappily at the gate gazing at me with this look of “Can you talk to me – I have a problem”. I am not in the mood but I like Jimmy and he is the first one who has supplied us with exactly the material that we needed. He has a friend in Kampala whom he can apparently call and ask to send samples. The samples arrive with the public bus; he picks them up and brings them to the hospital where we are trying to renovate the entire sanitation system. We look at the sample, sometimes try it out practically, decide and give an order.

It is really convenient to have Jimmy, because he is quick and sharp. He has a shop –at the bus park - which he calls HALF PIPE; but I think that it is not a REAL shop yet.

So I go and ask Jimmy what is wrong and it turns out that he is waiting for our administrator who said that he cannot pay Jimmy because he has no bank account and our organisation cannot pay such amounts in cash. His implicit question to me is if – as the project manager for the rehabilitation works in the hospital - I can go and do something about it, talk to the administrator.

I find the administrator whom I also like in his office explaining to me what I knew already: that Jimmy doesn’t have a bank account and that we cannot pay such large sums in cash. What would happen if everybody would do that? What would be the administrative costs and security risks implied?

Although I know that my arguments lie outside our formal administrative and logistical rules and procedures I explain that we need Jimmy if we want to keep our deadlines in implementing the program and if we want to keep up high quality work. That buying through our own logistical channels takes instead of 3 days at least 3 weeks if not 3 months, that we do rarely get what we asked for - leave alone samples - that we had such a good success lately in the hospital, which helped improve the image of our organization in public etc.

Although my talk does not fit into above mentioned logistical rules and procedures it does somehow impress. Jimmy will wait another 3 hours but he will get his money and we will get his pipes – this time. The last sentence of the administrator was that this was THE LAST TIME I am doing this.”

***

This is one out of numerous stories that the author encountered in her decade of work for Humanitarian Assistance in various organisations in various countries, contexts and continents. It is not easy to purchase locally, use local contractors or hire local workers.

The author agrees that sanitation systems, water networks, schools and health clinics have to be built as quickly and cost efficiently as possible. But should it not also be important who builds them and how? Could money and resources that are needed anyhow not at the same time support local economy?

The motivation for this dissertation is to search for potentials for change so that Humanitarian Assistance is designed and implemented in a way that it achieves maximum positive outcomes in both provision of “conventional” humanitarian objectives like safe water and functioning health systems and in parallel provision of “new” objectives like support of local economy towards sustainable profit-oriented development.

What needs to change to make all happy: to help Jimmy to earn money by selling pipes, to allow the administrator to follow rules and procedures, to give the rehabilitation project manager the material she asked for and to provide the hospital with a functional sanitation system?

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1.2 Background to the research

Objectives of Humanitarian Assistance are “to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and in the aftermath of man-made crises and natural disasters, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for the occurrence of such situations” (IPB, 2003). Development Assistance which follows Humanitarian Assistance is more economy-centred.

Coordination of Humanitarian actors was improved by the creation of the UN cluster system in 2005. The Early Recovery Cluster has the specific responsibility for promotion of long-term development (UNDP, 2006)

Despite considerable progress, Humanitarian Assistance and Development Assistance still appear “disjointed” with a sharp change in objectives from the humanitarian to the development phase. By focusing on “humanitarian” objectives actors may run the risk to create prolonged dependency or even hinder independent sustainable development.

Figure 1 Concept of Early Recovery (UNDP, 2006)

1.3 Problem Statement

The importance of Local Economy Support in Humanitarian Assistance - specifically in the context of conflict affected environments – is acknowledged by the Donor community and concerned actors. However, up to date there is a lack of practical concepts that allow efficient implementation of stipulated policies.

1.4 Research Aim

The research aims to investigate to what extent Humanitarian Assistance (HA) Programs during the transition phase from emergency to development currently support Local Economy and how best can this support can be strengthened by forming partnerships with Local Markets and in coordination with Local Governments (LG).

The research specifically addresses the context of conflict affected environments. The author chose Northern Uganda because of her knowledge of location and regional context based on former assignments as Water and Habitat Project Manager for an International Humanitarian Organisation. Northern Uganda after over 20 years of violent internal conflict is in the transition to development and security conditions are favourable to conduct an individual research.

The dissertation compares the three sectors Agriculture, Rural Water Supply and Construction. These sectors were chosen during an initial sourcing of interest by humanitarian actors on site.

LE HA

Common interest

LG

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1.5 Research Questions

Local Economy Support in Humanitarian Assistance

1.6 Methodology, Framework and Structure of Dissert ation

The research was conducted as ‘Action Research in Partnerships’. The author critically analyses pros and cons of the approach. More than a mere methodology, ‘Action research in Partnerships’ moves to the centre of the investigation and the analysis of its applicability becomes a research objective.

The study was carried out with a Ugandan counterpart in order to provide the author - and the study - with a cultural understanding of the context and to make sure that capacity was built and knowledge remained in country. The field research from June to August included individual briefings, interviews, practical brainstorming and workshops and the distribution and analysis of questionnaires. Overall the research was well perceived by local actors. The turn-up for workshops was surprising.

The dissertation is structured into 6 chapters. Chapter one introduces the research. Chapter two describes the methodology in detail. Relevant strands of literature are presented and analysed in chapter 3. Chapter four describes the Ugandan context both nationally and locally. The last chapters present detailed study findings (chapter five) and formulate conclusions, proposals and questions for further reflection (chapter six).

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2 Chapter Two – Research Methodology

Due to the restriction in financial resources and time of an individual dissertation the author chose an exploratory approach which looks in detail into research issues, ‘scooping’ for potential opportunities and proposing areas of further research.

The research was carried out as ‘action research in partnership with concerned actors’. This methodology builds on the Scandinavian model of Participatory Action Research which is based on the concept of co-generating knowledge between insiders and outsiders on a specific topic of interest (Eden and Levin as cited in Reason and Bradbury, 1991).

However, in addition to and by further developing this approach the author chose taking a standpoint towards the various actors in the context of the research as partners as opposed to mere participants. One difference lies in the fact that the term ‘participatory’ is commonly used for an approach in which the researcher controls the research but invites the ‘to be researched’ population to participate.

In her decision to use action research in partnerships, the author attempts to fortify the role of the ‘insiders’ (the people involved in the research) from participants to partners that co-decide about research aim and research question in order to make the expected result of the investigation relevant to their reality.

Consequently, the author travelled to Uganda in April and visited together with her Ugandan counterpart 13 organisations essentially asking them: ‘This is my idea and this is the way I want to do it. Does it interest you? What interests you and how would you make use of it? Do you have any specific issues related to Local Economy that can be investigated with the model of co-generative learning?’ This initial visit confirmed interest of actors and defined three topics that informed the selection of three economic sectors (agriculture, rural water supply and construction).

Figure 2 Co-generative learning (Eden and Levin)

2.1 Research Process

The research process developed in four steps:

Sourcing of interests

An initial sourcing of interests identified issues that fell into three different economic sectors: (1) agro inputs and market linkages (agriculture), (2) supply chain of spare parts for hand pumps (rural water supply) and (3) quality of construction works and capacity of local contractors (construction).

Workshops and Brainstorming Ideas

In June and July, researchers conducted a series of workshop dedicated to sector specific issues (agriculture, rural water supply and construction). Workshop facilitation drew on Value Chain and Market Chain Mapping and Analysis tools to raise awareness for systemic thinking.

Data Collection and Analysis from Questionnaires

Questionnaires specific to actor groups Humanitarian Assistance and Local Economy were developed, piloted and distributed. After analysis of data, results were immediately disseminated to participants.

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Study closure

Researchers developed and formulated conclusions and recommendations.

2.2 Research Limitations and Opportunities

Geographically the research was located only in one location (Kitgum). Kitgum is one of five Acholi districts of Northern Uganda. Results are valid for the specific location and indicative for generalization. Though, issues that came up through this scooping exercise help to identify ‘where to look for’ or are topics for further research.2

The opportunity of the research lies in its practical approach involving existing real actors and its potential to produce applicable concepts and tools that have been developed and agreed by a forum of concerned actors.

The author is aware of the pros and cons of Action Research and has therefore defined the critical analysis of the methodology as a research objective.

2.3 Ethical Considerations

Due to the practical aspect of the research and to the fact that researchers were ‘in the middle of things’, expectations were raised in partners that the research would help their immediate needs. There was an underlying attempt to confuse action research with a funded project. Another question was what would happen after the research.

The majority of actors were extensively briefed with tailor made power point presentations in which researchers specifically underlined the fact that they were not implementing a project.

Mitigation of described threats was attempted through the inclusion of the Ugandan Counterpart (he will remain working in the context) and the continuous inclusion and briefing of the ‘host’ business company (which availed office space to the researchers). Research documentation (reports of workshops, assessments and questionnaire analyses) was disseminated on a continuous basis. Documents crucial to the continuation of initiatives will remain on site with mentioned host company.

2.4 Structures for Transparency

It is the author’s conviction that a research belongs to the people ‘that are being researched’ and not to the researcher herself. It was therefore necessary to define structures for transparency.

The researchers created an open forum with a series of continuous workshops where the decision for critical issues was taken together. Analyses of questionnaire data were continuously disseminated.

All participants were invited to join a google group set up for the research where results were displayed electronically.

2.5 Dissemination

The question of dissemination was given high priority in the research preparation. Dissertation outlines had been sent at initial stages, during early preparation in January 2010 and again in May 2010 to various donors and Humanitarian Organisations in order to ask for their interest and inputs.

Dissemination is therefore planned for two different audiences: to participants involved (because it is their research) and for donors and humanitarian organisations on a European and/or international level.

2 Concerning the regional context of Northern Uganda / Southern Sudan, the research could be expanded across the Acholi and Karamoja regions or across the country border into Sudan.

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3 Chapter Three – Relevant Strands of Literature

Humanitarian Assistance is usually not or not yet associated with Local Economy. For long the inclusion of the private sector has been exclusively reserved for development issues. However, there is a growing amount of literature that indicates a significant move away from this ‘old’ paradigm.

After a brief definition of Humanitarian Assistance and Development Assistance as concepts, the following chapters will outline five major areas of current policy and research relevant to the dissertation.

3.1 Definitions of Humanitarian Assistance and Deve lopment Assistance

Humanitarian Assistance and Development Assistance are associates working towards a common long-term goal but operating under different mandates and in different phases.

Humanitarian Assistance operates in exceptional cases, after man-made crises or after natural disasters. Its mandate is humanitarian in the sense that it provides relief to alleviate suffering of affected populations regardless of their race, religion or nationality. Humanitarian Assistance is a multifaceted body composed of Donors, UN agencies, International NGOs, National NGOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and various other actors (ALNAP, 2010).

Development assistance is a long-term endeavour of donor countries and developing countries to achieve sustainable global economic development and to reach Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2010).

In an attempt to improve development assistance, Ministers of developed and developing countries and heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions, agreed in Paris on principles that should increase assistance effectiveness (OECD, 2005). The ‘Paris Declaration’ underlines the partnership aspect between developing countries and donor countries. It postulates ownership of partner countries exercising effective leadership over their development policies, alignment of donor support on partner countries’ national development strategies and harmonisation of donors’ actions.

3.2 Six major areas of policy and research literatu re relevant to the dissertation

The research builds in many ways on a variety of existing policy and research literature. The author grouped them into five categories according to their relation to the research.

1 Assistance and its impact on conflict affected environments

2 Thinking in systems – Sustainable Livelihoods 3 LED, LER, LES and the Early Recovery Cluster

4 Direct versus indirect response – voucher systems 5 The poor are poor but they are many The following paragraphs critically analyse available literature and describe their connection and relevance to the dissertation.

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3.2.1 Assistance and its impact on conflict affecte d environments

When international assistance is given in the context of violent conflict, it becomes a part of that context and thus also of the conflict. (Anderson M.B, 1999)

One of the first groundbreaking scholars in this field was Mary B. Anderson. Her well known volume Do No Harm – How Aid can support peace or war summarizes findings and conclusions from the Local Capacities for Peace Project. Based on intensive field research from Tajikistan, Lebanon, Burundi, India and Somalia she convincingly demonstrates that assistance given during conflict cannot remain separate from the conflict it operates in.

Recent years have seen emerging consensus within the donor community on the importance of Private Sector Development in fragile and conflict-affected states. The Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) stipulates the emergence of a new paradigm of early engagement with the private sector as opposed to the ‘old’ paradigm where the private sector was only considered in the development phase after humanitarian aid and reconstruction (DCED, 2008).

The SEEP network published a compilation of solicited case studies from market development practitioners working in crisis environments. Market Development in Crisis-Affected Environments: describes 13 case studies submitted from areas affected around the globe (SEEP, 2007). Based on the research, SEEP stipulates that it is possible—and recommended—to engage in market development almost immediately after a crisis.

Although agencies seek to be neutral, their aid can unwillingly either reinforce conflict or help reduce tensions. This is specifically true for economic impacts resulting from assistance. For an IDP population like the one in Northern Uganda, which has been deprived for decades of their livelihoods and sources of income, it is of utmost importance if they perceive financial resources to remain within their local area or if they perceive donor money to be spent elsewhere in the country or across country borders.

Anderson and SEEP challenge one of the ‘myths’ in humanitarian assistance: that organisations cannot engage in local economy support due to reasons of impartiality. In fact by – wrongly – assuming that the organisation remains impartial by not engaging with local economy, the opposite may be true.

3.2.2 Thinking in systems – Sustainable Livelihoods (SL)

The evolution of the Sustainable Livelihoods concept constituted another major paradigm shift in Humanitarian Assistance.

Chambers and Conway (1991) define the concept of Sustainable Livelihood.

A livelihood comprises people, their capabilities and their means of living…A livelihood is environmentally sustainable, when it maintains or enhances local or global assets on which livelihood depends. It is socially sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, and provide for future generations.

An objective as it would typically be formulated in a WASH program (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) reads ‘Improve access to safe, reliable and affordable water supply’. This often results in defining outputs instead of outcomes: 50 water collection points established, 30 boreholes drilled etc.

Figure 3 Components and flow in a livelihood

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A ‘Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods’ program would for example define an objective like ‘Protect and/or restore endangered livelihoods, and promote restoration of the local economy through local purchases’3 Because the term ‘livelihood’ signifies a ‘system’ composed of various elements, the concept is more conducive to formulating outcomes (self-sustainability increased) and not outputs (100 MT of maize seeds distributed).

Another aspect of the Sustainable Livelihoods concept was the notion vulnerability or social sustainability (coping with stresses and shocks).

Figure 4 Sustainable Livelihoods concept

Understanding vulnerabilities provided the key for the formulation of current Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policies. Recent policy defines risk as proportional to the product of hazard and vulnerability and inversely proportional to the capacity to cope: R = (H * V) / C

Whereas former disaster risk reduction was technology-centred and focused on mitigation of hazards, the new model calls for reducing vulnerability by strengthening livelihoods (Tearfund, 2005).

The problem with the SL concept lies in the fact that it is often reserved for agriculture and food security related programs and that it focuses on rural areas. In fact there is no reason why programs of other sectors or of urban based problems should not be understood as related to livelihoods.

The concept was explained in detail because it will play a role in explaining sector differences between agriculture, water supply and construction.

Figure 5 Crunch Model of Disaster Risk Reduction

3 Original quotes form the mid term evaluation of the Consolidated Appeal 2010 for occupied Palestinian Territories.

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3.2.3 Local Economy Development, Local Economy Reco very and the Early Recovery Cluster

Like Private Sector Development (PSD), the term Local Economy Development (LED) is used by development actors and appears rarely in the humanitarian sector. However, the creation of the Early Recovery Cluster in the UN cluster system with the specific task to ‘promote early steps that enable long-term development’ signifies a significant shift in thinking within the humanitarian assistance community.

The Cluster Working Group of Early Recovery (CWGER) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have developed Guidelines for Local Economy Recovery (2010), where LER can be understood as an early contribution of the Humanitarian Assistance community towards Local Economy Development.

The use of the term Local Economy Support in the dissertation acknowledges the fact that Humanitarian Assistance can sometimes only support Local Economy without having the opportunity to enter into development of LE.

The World Bank (WB) defines LED as:

The purpose of local economic development (LED) is to build up the economic capacity of a local area to improve its economic future and the quality of life for all. It is a process by which public, business and non-governmental sector partners work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and employment generation (Swinburn, 2006)

LED initiatives seemed to be positively perceived by the African community. LEDNA as the Local Economy Development Network for Africa acts as an active and important hub for various types of LED initiatives.

From an economic perspective, Local Economic Development (LED) attempts to build on the relative economic advantage or the competitive economic advantage of a specific area. In the context of decentralisation is signifies economic development in districts led by local governments as opposed to central governments.

The author suggests that LED can be regarded as a potential methodology to provide (cautiously planned) support for specific localities or local economies as positive drivers for alleviation of tensions or conflicts between different regions, as this would be the case in Uganda between the North and South.

3.2.4 Direct versus indirect humanitarian response options

When a crisis reduces the purchasing power of households but not the supply of commodities, practitioners are experimenting with “demand” subsidies, as opposed to “supply” subsidies. This usually implies providing cash or vouchers to crisis-affected populations in order to re-establish demand due to lost income, hence re-linking supply chains, rather than proving in-kind relief supplies.

The SEEP network suggests that in above described manner, Market-Integrated Relief (MIR) is beginning to narrow the gap between relief and development activities in the area of commodity provision (SEEP, 2007).

Tools like Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis (EMMA), launched in March 2010 and widely used e.g. in Myanmar, Haiti and currently Pakistan (Flooding) is a system of mapping and analysing market chains in order to propose indirect humanitarian response options based on identified constraints (Albu, 2010). Indirect response options attempt to repair damaged linkages and clear bottlenecks and by so doing strengthen and re-build systems of Sustainable Livelihoods.

In the food and agricultural sector, the donor community formulates the use of modern approaches of vouchers and cash injections. The recent European Commission (EC) Communication on Humanitarian Food Assistance advocates innovative responses such as using cash transfers and vouchers instead of in-kind assistance.

Indeed, we believe that in many cases, when food is available in the region, cash transfers work better than direct food distribution because they link the fight against today’s hunger with support for long-term food security. (Unpublished EC assessment document received through private email)

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3.2.5 The poor are poor but they are many – Humanit arian Assistance and the informal sector

When asked why they do not engage more with local economic actors, Humanitarian Assistance organisations often claim that these are not capable to function efficiently in the delivery process of relief operations. Constraint often refer to informality of actors e.g. non existing bank accounts.

However, if local ‘poor’ and informal economic actors were regarded as part of the target population then including them into relief delivery processes and thereby enhancing their livelihoods would already be part of achieving program objectives.

Prahalad and Hart (2001) argue that the perception that the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) does not contain viable market participants fails to see the growing importance of the informal economy among the poor (estimated to account for 40 to 60 percent of economic activity in developing countries).

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have highlighted that ‘promoting pro-poor growth’ is one of their core objectives. The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) developed the guideline for ‘Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P)’. The Growing Sustainable Business (GSB) initiative coordinated by UNDP grew out of the 2002 Global Compact Policy Dialogue on Business and Sustainable Development. (UNDP, 2010)

Interestingly, above quoted documents do not propose described policies to the humanitarian assistance community. However and although non-profit, Humanitarian Assistance has a huge impact on the economy, is often one of the first possibilities to earn a living and can be a main driver for economic recovery.

3.3 Pitfalls of Local Economy Support - War Winners and Spoilers

Local Economy Support has so far been described as a positive endeavour for poor people worthwhile to be supported. However supporting Local Economy has many pitfalls and can create potential conflict situations. It is undisputed that the contracting of local services has a conflict -sensitive and even dangerous side. Due to lack of knowledge about the local context the support can easily be directed towards a specific religious, tribal, regional, political group. (Killik et al, 2005)

From her own experience the author remembers many situations where corruption or tensions between different groups created critical situations. HA organisations do have a responsibility to make detailed stakeholder assessments and follow a conflict-sensitive approach in their operations.

However, it is not a solution to ignore local economic actors. Assistance will always have an impact on economy. So much money is suddenly available that assistance - through its sheer presence - is prone to create conflicts. One of the latest cases of massive Humanitarian Assistance is unfolding in Haiti after an earthquake on 12 January. The total Consolidated Appeal (CAP) of the Humanitarian Community for 2010 added up to 1.4 Billion USD. This is 20% of Haiti’s GDP.

The author proposes to actively support local economy in the sense of building livelihoods but to be aware of the pitfalls and dangers to this attempt. There is a variety of literature that can be referred to while attempting to mitigate risks through cautions stakeholder assessments. (Ramsbotham et al, 2005).

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4 Chapter Four - The Ugandan Context

Figure 6 Uganda in Africa (Map source)

4.1 Country Profile – the Conflict

Uganda belongs to the group of Land Locked Developing Countries LLDC. The UN has recognized this group as among the most disadvantaged countries facing severe challenges to growth and development. (UNCTAD, 2010). It is also in the middle of a conflict-ridden region bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.

Uganda gained independence from Great Britain in 1962. Several decades of political unrest and widespread violence followed (IRIN, 2007)4. The Northern part of Uganda has experienced intermittent insecurity since the coup led by Idi Amin Dada in 1970, which toppled the first post independence government.

In 1986, President Yoweri Museveni wrested power through a military coup after a five-year guerrilla war. He abolished political parties, blaming them for the country's decades of turmoil. After 10 years of military rule in a non-party system, he was elected in 1996 following the formation of a new constitution. In 2005, the government held a referendum in which the public voted overwhelmingly to return the country to a multiparty system. Museveni remains Uganda's leader for the last 24 years, having won a controversial third term in office in February 2006 and running for a fourth term in the coming election due in February 2011.

4 Mamdani (1976) offers an analysis of Politics and Class Formation in Uganda, underlining the importance of the colony for the British Metropole as a supplier of agricultural produce, cotton in particular.

I am directed by the Governor to state that…Natives to be informed that three courses are open, cotton, labour for Government, labour for planters. Only one thing that cannot be permitted (is) to...be of no use to themselves or the country. (Telegram of Chief Secretary to the P.C. Western Province, 1924; in report of the Ormsby-Gore commission, 1925)

Mamdani claims that specifically the northern part of Uganda was perceived as a labour reservoir for the cash crop economy of the South which in turn represented a raw material reserve for the British government. The impoverishment of the North became a precondition for the relative development of the South.

Field research in the framework of the dissertation indicates that agriculture is partly over-emphasized as the sole sector for economic development. This may correlate to the fact that Uganda was per definition declared ‘agricultural produce supplier’ in its early history.

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4.1.1 Conflict, displacement and camp life

Since 1987, the year after the Museveni government came to power, Northern Uganda has been the scene of a violent conflict. A rebel insurgency started as the Holy Spirit Movement by Alice Lakwena and was later taken over by Joseph Kony with his infamous Lord’s Resistance Army.

According to IRIN, the Humanitarian News and Analysis project of UN-OCHA, the conflict in Northern Uganda has forced some 1.7 million people - close to 90 percent of the region's population - to leave their homes to ‘the relative safety’ of about 200 camps for internally displaced persons. (IRIN, 2007).

The majority of the population of Northern Uganda holds the view that the government forced them into camps, giving the entire population - most notably the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader – the ultimatum to leave their homes to provide room for counterinsurgency operations against rebels in 2001.

Figure 7 Internal displacement map (Uganda Cluster, 2009)

The displaced population claims that the camps did not provide means for survival and lacked the possibility of farming, resulting in severe malnutrition and making the population entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.

The Utrecht University Centre for Conflict Studies in collaboration with Makerere University and Gulu University conducted an analysis of Communities’ and Humanitarian Actors’ Perspectives on Socio-Cultural Dynamics in the Acholi and Lango Entry Points (2009).

It was the day after I was abducted that the government told people to return back to the camps and that they gave them an ultimatum of 24 hours, after which they started to shell the village. This was somewhere around September 2001. (Interview with a youth member and formerly abducted; code G-interview 6).

The majority of the Northern population maintained or increased their hostility against the government – despite suffering caused by the cruel behaviour of the LRA including abduction of a high number of children to become child soldiers.

4.1.2 Returning, resettlement and development

In 2006, the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) signed a formal cessation of hostilities agreement during Juba peace talks under the auspices of the South Sudan government (ICG, 2006). With the return of some calm, people started returning home to their original villages and resuming subsistence farming for meeting their consumption needs and small scale economic activities5.

Since 2009 and as the population attempts to resettle, humanitarian organizations began scaling down operations in Northern Uganda.

5 As of June 2020, an estimated 90% of the population has returned home.

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4.2 Humanitarian and Development Assistance in Ugan da

4.2.1 Development Assistance on National Level

With a Human Development Index of 0.514 Uganda ranks 157 out of 182 countries. The Human Development Index (HDI) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. In comparison the HDI of the UK is 0.947 (World Bank, 2009).

The Government of Uganda (GoU) launched the Poverty Eradication Action Plan PEAP as the country’s development framework in 1997 and revised it in 2000 and 2004. It is grouped under five ‘pillars’: (1) Economic management, (2) Production, competitiveness and incomes (3) Security, conflict-resolution and disaster-management (4) Good governance and (5) Human development. (GoU, 2004)

Uganda has always received high amounts of Development Assistance. It also was the first country to qualify for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative in 1998.

Box 1 Development Indicators (WDR, 2009)

4.2.2 Humanitarian Assistance in Northern Uganda

Since 2007, Humanitarian Assistance in Northern Uganda is provided under the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP). The PRDP is a program agreed to by the Government of Uganda and the Donor community specifically meant to stabilise and promote recovery of conflict affected districts during a three years period.

All stakeholders are expected to align their programmes to this framework. Development partners supporting recovery and development should contribute to the implementation of the PRDP. The overall cost is estimated to be near $600 million USD. 30 % should be provided by GoU through sectoral and line Ministry allocations.

Many Humanitarian Assistance actors have been and still are present in Northern Uganda. At the time of writing, Development Assistance like USAID and the EU implement a significant amount of programs.

The World Bank has pledged 100 Million US $ for the second Northern Ugandan Social Action Fund (NUSAF2) program. Box 2 PRDP budget overview (USAID, 2010)

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4.3 Research Location Kitgum District

Figure 8 Kitgum District

Since the relative peace and start of the reconstruction phase in Southern Sudan, the North of Uganda, so far disadvantaged due its geographical distance from the South has attained an advantaged position due to its closeness to Sudan. A new tarmac road leads from Kampala via Gulu to Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. From Gulu to Kitgum it is 3 hours of dirt roads. Kitgum would receive an enormous economic boost if it received a tarmac road leading into Sudan. Kitgum district has a population of 365’000. 67.7 % of Households are employed in the agricultural sector, 40% earn their income from commercial agriculture, 16.8% sell labour; 14.8% are employed in the Civil / Public service. (LEBA, 2010)

In 2002, Kitgum was one of three Acholi Districts: Kitgum, Pader and Gulu. Since 2009 Kitgum (initially consisting of Lamwo and Chua counties) has been divided into Kitgum and Lamwo districts. Following most program and funding figures the research refers to the old Kitgum district encompassing both Lamwo and Chua.

Figure 9 Kampala – Juba (red) and Kitgum (blue)

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Picture 1 Kitgum Main Street (Author, 2010)

4.3.1 Kitgum District Local Government - KDLG

District Local Governments in Uganda are arranged in an administrative and a political part. The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) heads the administrative part, the Chairman Local Councillor Level 5 (LC5)6 the political part. On arrival for field research in June 2010, the researchers presented the study in tailor made presentations to Vice Chairman LC5, assistant CAO, District Commercial Officer, District Agricultural Officer, District Engineer and District Water Officer.

DAO, DCO and DWO later became very active and main participants in the brainstorming and workshops part of the research for their respective sectors (agriculture, rural water supply). This was less the case for the District Engineer (construction).

Figure 10 Organizational chart KDLG

6 Administrative levels are district (LC5), county, sub-county (LC3), parish and village (LC1).

Chief Administrative Officer CAO

Distric Agricultural

Officer

District Commercial

Officer

Works District Engineer

Assistant CAO

District Health Officer

District Education Officer

others

Roads, Mechanics etc

Water and Sanitation DWO

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4.3.2 PRDP funding and distribution across sectors

The PRDP is the main vehicle for the reconstruction of the North. According to official figures (Daily monitor, June 2010), Kitgum received 5.1% and Acholi region 21.1 % of the total PRDP amount.

PRDP Financial Year 2009 / 2010

District Allocations in 1000 UGS

Education Health Roads Water Total % of PRDP

Amuru 1'592'735 1'068'219 345'059 39'400 3'045'413 4.00%

Gulu 1'801'780 1'568'908 446'957 930'565 4'748'210 6.20%

Kitgum 1'609'744 591'819 1'325'009 376'519 3'903'091 5.10%

Pader 2'172'338 1'381'939 368'878 463'167 4'386'322 5.70%

PRDP total Acholi Region 7'176'597 4'610'885 2'485'903 1'809'651 16'083'036 21.10%

PRDP total 28'711'691 23'188'917 16'533'859 7'934'685 76'369'153 100%

Box 3 PRDP funding for Acholi Districts - financial year 2009 / 2010

PRDP positions refer to four sectors: Education (35%), Health (16%), Roads (40%) and Water (9%) (Percentages for Kitgum). The striking element of Box 4 is the fact that agriculture (production) is not represented in the PRDP although information gained through field research gives the impression as if the main thrust of assistance were directed towards agriculture. Researchers asked this question to Government Officials and will refer to the issue under findings in chapter five.

In Uganda, District Local Governments have to out-contract services above 1 Mill UGX (500 USD). Therefore PRDP projects are tendered i.e. will be implemented by the private sector. In a selection process, a service commission avails contracts to service providers / contractors who predominantly are Local Economic Actors.

Based on the official list of contracts, infrastructure components in the respective departments, e.g. construction of schools in Education, construction of clinics in Health make up 84% of the total budget.

Figure 11 PRDP sectoral distribution Kitgum Distric t

4.3.3 District Development Programme III – a move t owards Local Economy Development LED

Parallel and in addition to the PRDP, Kitgum is one of five districts currently piloting best practises for Local Economy Development under the District Development Programme DDP III, which is funded by UNDP and UNCDF to be implemented by the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG) in 15 Districts.

The intended output of the program is “clarifying and strengthening the role of Local Governments for LED promotion through coordination of the actions of other LED promotion actors and intervening in a focused manner towards enhancing the local business environment through the provision of economic infrastructure and streamlining the regulatory environment”. (UNDP, 2008)

As a first step, MoLG conducted a Local Economy Business Assessment. The LEBA report is based on data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) census 2002 updated with statistical data from

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Humanitarian Assistance and original market surveys. LEBA looks at Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Services7. The assessment recommends the agricultural sector for Local Economy Development. Kitgum’s Draft Strategy Plan for Local Economy Development contains the mission statement: ‘To stimulate local economic development in Agriculture, Agro processing and service sector by facilitating Private Public Partnerships’. (LED team KDLG, 2010)

Although agriculture undoubtedly presents the main livelihood potential it is surprising that LEBA and the Draft Strategy Plan consider only the agricultural sector for Local Economy Development. Here we have the opposite of the picture presented by the PRDP sector distribution:

Components of total PRDP

non-infrastruc

ture16%

infrastructure84%

Annual income per sector according to LEBA

Trade13%

Industry31%

Construction0%

Services56%

Figure 12 Funding acc to PRDP Figure 13 Annual income of service sectors (LEBA)

The Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP) provides funding only to ‘services’ (schools, roads, clinics, water points) not to production (agriculture). And, 84% of this funding is spent on construction / infrastructure projects. On the other hand the UNDP / UNCTAD District Development Program evaluate the construction sector as virtually non-existent and assess only agriculture (production) as a viable sector for Local Economy Development.

In an interview with the Ministry of Local Government on 12 July 2010, the DDPIII Program Coordinator told the researchers that he ‘could never bring himself to look at construction or manufacturing as sector … for me they are not ends in itself but just for supporting agriculture and can therefore not be regarded as sectors’.

These results presented a riddle to the researchers and posed below formulated questions which the researchers posed to District Officials of the Local Government. Answers will be analysed as findings in chapter 5.

Why is agriculture not included in the PRDP? Do we have the right information?

Why – if 67% of the population receive their income through agriculture - is the sector not represented?

Why – if 84% of the PRDP money flows into infrastructure / construction is this sector not regarded as a viable sector for economic development?

7 For construction which falls under services the report states that ‘there was no updated data on construction in the district’. The District Engineer in a short interview on 30 June 2010 confirmed that he did not possess data. This may be due to the fact that construction was not included in the cluster system and the humanitarian community could therefore not contribute statistical data.

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4.3.4 Humanitarian Assistance and Development actor s in Kitgum Town

The Uganda Cluster website lists 39 Humanitarian organisations working in Kitgum District grouped into six clusters in August 2009. The cluster system has since been abolished and has been replaced by sectoral meetings headed and organised by the Kitgum District Local Government.

At the time of the research, some HA had scaled down operations or closed.

USAID was present with sub-offices of Northern Ugandan Transition Initiative (NUTI), Northern Ugandan Malaria Aids and Tuberculosis Project (NUMAT), Northern Uganda Water (NUWATER) and Livelihoods and Enterprises for Agricultural Development (LEAD).

Box 4 WWW table Uganda Cluster

4.3.5 Local Economy actors in Kitgum Town

Picture 2 Kitgum Aerial Map

47% of all business enterprises sampled by LEBA are located in urban areas, 16% in peri-urban areas and only 37% in rural areas. (LEBA Assessment 2010). Kitgum town has a relatively small Local Economy environment. In the framework of the dissertation, researchers were in contact with agro input dealers, construction contractors, timber and metal fabrication workshops and hardware shops (who also sell spare parts for hand pumps).

The district has four radio stations and three Mobile telephone operators are MTN, Zain, UTL and Orange and one post office. Financial institutions in Kitgum town comprise four commercial banks and one Micro Finance Institution.

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‘TLA free zone’ 8: Monica and Collin want to start a bakery ***

***

8 PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS MEETING IS AN ACRONYM FREE ZONE - SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR TLA'S *(THREE LETTER ABBREVIATIONS) AT THE DOOR !! From an invitation for the Haiti Logistics Civil Military Coordination Meeting Friday 7 May 2010 sent by haiti.logs-bounces@logcluster.org on behalf of uncmcoordhaiti

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5 Chapter Five – Research Findings and Analysis

The following chapters serve two purposes. Firstly, they describe per sector the process of workshops and assessments in relation to what ‘insiders’ or local actors had wanted to know: How can we improve with SMART9 response options identified issues of lack of agro input dealers, lack of Sp4HP and lack of quality of construction works?

Secondly, researchers - as ‘outsiders’ - interpret processes and results in search of answers to questions in the framework of the research: Local Economy Support in Humanitarian Assistance: Where are we now? How can we improve? How did the use of Action Research as methodology impact on results?

For the sake of the dissertation the author chose to present findings in the following sequence: (1) Action Research as methodology, (2) general findings related to Local Economy Support and (3) sector related findings to Local Economy Support. ‘Insiders’ may be more interested in sector related chapters. The learning process of researchers developed iteratively. For the reader the first chapters may appear as summaries of findings that are detailed in following chapters. For better orientation, Chapter 5.1 gives an overview over the field research process.

5.1 Field Research Process and Methodology

‘Insiders’ or local actors had chosen three issues of interest: agro input and market linkages (agriculture), supply chain of spare parts for hand pumps - SP4HP (rural water supply) and quality of construction works - QoCW (construction). This provided the framework to the field research from June to August 2010.

Box 5 Chronological field research process

9 Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound

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Researchers and local actors conducted series of workshops separately for each of the three sectors. During workshops participants mapped the system in which they were operating in the form of a market supply chain or a value chain10. Based on the mapping they identified constraints pertaining to the system and formulated potential response options. For further clarification, researchers conducted two detailed assessments of agro input dealers and SP4HP dealers and suppliers.

During the last three weeks of field work and after the “brainstorming and workshops” part of the research, actor groups HA and LE were given questionnaires in which they could formulate their positions, interests, constraints and recommendations regarding LES in HA. Local Government actors were interviewed.

Researchers conducted 49 formal and numerous informal meetings / interviews: 22 with HA actors (6 meetings with donors), 11 with the Kitgum District Local Government (KDLG) and one with the Ministry of Local Government. Meetings with Local Economy actors were often informal.

Box 6 Number of conducted interviews

5.1.1 Workshop methodology – Market Mapping

In a public meeting on 18 June the District LED team presented the draft LED strategy plan for Kitgum District to external actors (humanitarian assistance, financial institutions, agro processing associations etc). Researchers were asked to outline their research in form of a power point presentation. The presentation contained slides explaining the use of market mapping. Subsequently, the LED team requested the researchers to carry out a workshop on the use of the tool taking the maize market as an example.

The following paragraphs explain the methodology of market mapping as it was used in the research with the help of a.m. workshop as an example. The logic remained the same throughout the research process although the tool was continuously adapted according to sector specific contents.

Participants formed two groups and were given the following task and lead question:

(1) Task: Map the market for maize that describes demand and supply and identify bottlenecks. Brainstorm for improving the existing situation: List and rank bottlenecks and formulate potential response options based on identified constraints. (2) Lead Question: How to promote the development of the maize market from subsistence into commercial for economic growth?

Picture 3 Maize market mapping during LED workshop 19 June 2010

10 A supply chain links commodities from their point of origin to their point of consumption. In a value chain a product passes through various activities that all add value to the product. Following these definitions the author uses the term market supply chain if a consumer needs a good and the term value chain if a producer wants to sell a good. In this regard, quality of construction works is a value chain problematic. Agro inputs and spare parts are treated as supply chains, consumers are in need to be supplied.

Type of Actor Count of Organisation

Donor 6

HA 16

KDLG 11

LE 11

LED 3

MoLG 1

Training school 1

Grand Total 49

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Groups received colour coded cards representing value chain actors (yellow), support services (green) and regulatory environment (red). As a first step they should define actors in the chain by writing their names on cards and then linking them. In a second step they should add support services and key infrastructure and in a third step map the regulatory environment.

Subsequently each individual of the group was asked to identify his or her perceived biggest bottleneck / problem / constraint in the system by putting a red X on it. The group then wrote all identified constraints on a flip chart paper.

After groups had presented their results to each other, they ranked identified constraints.

Picture 4 Constraints – LED workshop

Picture 5 Participants ranking constraints

Groups had identified the following market system:

Figure 14 Value Chain for maize – LED workshop 19 June 2010

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Ranking identified a list of main constraints

Ranking Constraint

1 Absence of a seed agency or Agro Input Retailer (seeds, tools, chemicals, fertilizers) 2 Poor trunk road network 3 Certification 4 Processors 5 Warehousing

Box 7 Ranked constraints for maize market in LED wo rkshop

After the ranking, actors were asked to identify three constraints on which they wanted to focus for finding SMART response options. The guidance was to pick first issues that were important but achievable in terms of complexity (see Figure 15).

The process up to this point should make participants aware of the system in which they operate in order to understand constraints in their complexity. Ultimately it prepared the ground for formulating response options to identified issues.

Participants understood the tool quickly. Using it created animated and participatory discussion. Participants commented that now they could ‘see the problem clearly’.

Interestingly, in this first workshop participants stopped when it came to formulating response options and instead started a discussion if it really was maize that should be supported as a crop. The key question had not been sufficiently defined and agreed as a common interest in order to allow participants to agree on potential response interventions. A good example for the researches to think well about the questions that they would formulate in their research related workshops to follow!

Figure 15 Importance over complexity

5.1.2 Questionnaires

Towards the end of the study researchers distributed questionnaires to HA organisations and LE actors. A questionnaire had also been designed for the Local Government. In contrast to the other two groups Local Government partners felt more comfortable in interviews.

Appendix 2 contains a detailed summary of questionnaire methodology.

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5.2 How did the use of Action Research as methodolo gy impact on results?

Actors responded strongly to the methodology of the research.

A Demand responsiveness : It was a real problem for NGOs that their exit strategy lacked the existence of a viable private market for provision of much needed spare parts for hand pumps. They had trained pump mechanics, handed over tool boxes and given capacity building to Water User Committees but any hand pump repair would need spare parts. Workshops addressing this issue touched Humanitarian Assistance’s immediate daily problem.

The same applied to the Kitgum District Water Officer. He came to the meeting not because he was interested in the research. His perception would have been that he did not have the time for that. He came

because he needed to solve a problem and because he knew that others would be there he needed to talk to - about an issue that was of urgent and common interest.

B Workshops dealt with specific issues and increased probability to find solutions. Monthly sector meetings were usually overcrowded and did not give time to go into details.

C Researchers as facilitators constituted a neutral ground . This gave actor groups the opportunity to concentrate on a problem and feel like equal participants conducting a task.

Picture 6 Meeting SP4HP 22 June 2010.

D The inclusion of all three actor groups minimized the habit of putting blame on one scapegoat. The presence of Local Economy actors provided immediate answers to questions like price and availability. Local Economy actors had not been invited to such type of meetings before; they were specifically grateful for the experience and expressed their appreciation11. It also gave the possibility to reach agreements .

E The use of market mapping made contexts visual. Often participants commented that they had better understood their own problem. It also had the advantage to cut a big issue into small sub-issues that seemed more easily digestible. The mapping created an analytical atmosphere that was conducive to logical arguments and left less space for politicising and lamenting. Whereas workshops at the beginning started very formal, participants behaved like a team in working groups.

F ‘Brainstorming ideas and workshops’ became the most exciting part of the research. The willingness of the researchers to get involved with problems on the ground created trust in their genuineness and competence. Later on - when it came to filling questionnaires - partners showed a sense of responsibility to ‘now give researchers what they needed’. It had a ‘washing hands’ aspect of: ‘Okay, you helped us to solve our problems, now we also have to help you to gain more generic data’.

11 At the end of the agricultural meeting on 28 July, the researchers asked for general comments about the meeting from somebody who had not spoken yet. After several seconds one young guy form an agro input retailer shop got up and said: It is the first time that we are coming together at one table with the Local government and humanitarian actors. It is now 2.30 pm and usually you would be very tired. But I feel completely fresh as if I had just come in’

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G The location and type of office was crucial to the way the research evolved. Availed by a business company it was one room without gate, guard, car or phone, centrally located in town. This had an impact specifically on local economy actors who periodically stepped in to see what was going on which provided interesting informal discussions.

H Lessons learnt and formulated into recommendations were based on actual experiences and had proven at least once to be workable.

Picture 7 Office Location

Some intended parts of the methodology did not work; others produced research results that have to be treated with care.

I Researchers had initially planned to form research groups and agree on written research aims . Local actors made it clear that there was no time and no interest. The issue was so apparent that the researchers never asked the question.

Figure 16 Google group set up for research

J Researchers invited participants to join a google group where results would be displayed. After four weeks, 14 out of 40 partners had joined the group but none had posted discussions. Various local actors and in particular local government officials also did not have regular access to internet. Eventually the researchers stopped using it. In hindsight a website would have been more appropriate.

K As a natural selection process, local actors participating in the research tended to be those ones that were interested to improve the existing situation. Results of workshops and answers in questionnaires therefore were in their majority positive towards Local Economy Support. Their objective was rather finding out how this could be achieved. Intrinsically, actors who agree to participate in action research are potential change agents, not a representative selection of actors.

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5.3 General Findings

A Current Situation

Organisations spend 75% of their expenses for agricultural programs locally and 25% nationally; for Rural Water Supply the figures are 76% locally, 23% nationally and 1% internationally. No figures were availed for construction. Humanitarian assistance actors of all three sectors regarded the inclusion of Local Economy in workshops as valuable and potentially providing solutions to identified problems.

Local Economy Support in Humanitarian Assistance Programs is very vital yet it has not been taken care of before … My position is that awareness of the need to support local economy should be raised initially … by the time Humanitarian Organizations implement the programs, so that when they leave,

the local communities would …own the projects for their sustainability. (Quote from HA questionnaire).

B Sector Comparison

Sectors showed significant differences regarding organizational awareness and therefore opportunities within their administrative systems and procurement procedures to support Local Economy.

Agricultural related Humanitarian Assistance programs use for example a variety of ‘indirect responses’ . and rank them as ‘very important activity’. These include: (1) voucher systems, (2) provision of training, (3) local purchase for required resources, (4) strengthening of market linkages in software and hardware, (5) provision of credit and creation of partnerships and (6) increasing synergy effects through coordination (business leaders’ forum, chamber of commerce) 12.

Rural water supply and construction use only two: training and purchase of local resources (material, labour and services).

Figure 17 Ranking of indirect responses in agricul ture and rural water supply

12 A direct response would be to give seeds; an indirect one is to give a voucher which the beneficiary has to exchange her or himself against the required seed from a local dealer.

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Rural water supply and construction affirm nine potential issues proposed by the researchers as constraints . They specifically rank non-availability of goods, lack of quality of goods, non-reliability of local economic actors and the lack of awareness for the importance of local economy support as the four most serious constraints. In contrast, interviewees for the agricultural sector only rank three points as constraints.

Constraint Ranking

Agriculture Rural Water

Supply construction certain goods and services are not available 4 9 9 Local Economy actors are not reliable 0 7 9 lack of awareness for importance of local economy support 0 8 9 the quality of goods and services is not sufficient 4 9 6 We don't know the local market enough 0 4 6 this not part of our mandate 0 5 5 unfavourable internal administrative rules and procedures 4 5 5 the local prices are too high 0 4 4

Our field offices lack the manpower to handle activities that support Local Economy 0 2 0

Box 8 Ranking of constraints in supporting Local Ec onomy - Humanitarian Assistance

Agriculture oriented programs respond to the lack of awareness and capacity of beneficiaries with increased training (farmer field schools, seed fairs, partnerships to support small agro input dealers), whereas this is much less the case in rural water supply and construction. Why is that?

One explanation could be that the concept of livelihoods - as used in the agricultural sector – provides the opportunity to regard a variety of actors as part of the ‘target population’. If the farmer group does not have the capacity to build a warehouse, it still remains ‘the beneficiary’ and money spent on building a warehouse is spent on the ‘target population’.

In contrast, if a small dealer of spare parts for hand pumps does not have the capacity to increase his or her stock in order to deliver most needed items, he or she cannot be considered as ‘target population’ or ‘beneficiary’. These would be the communities to whom the water points belong. In this case the lack of complexity of the system underlying the program constrains the range of potential response options.

The ILO / CWGER documentation Guidelines to Local Economy Recovery specifically address the question of who is the target population:

Box 9 Which beneficiaries? from ILO/CWGER Guideline s for LER

C The position of Local Economy

Local Economy actors usually do not actively advertise themselves. They rarely participate in meetings and often lack knowledge about the wider context. Being invited to workshops was a new experience which led to increased awareness.

Local Economy actors stated the lack of start up capital, a low demand for commodities due to low purchasing power of the population and lack of capacity building support as main constraints in expanding their businesses. Construction contractors raised issues of corruption, low quality of material and lack of access to credit as main constraints.

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One of the main financial institutions stressed the potential of the construction sector: This is about the velocity of money circulating within one area, i.e. the circulation of money flow. For example the government pays contractors, who buy from Apo Wegi (local hardware store) who buys fuel from the fuel station which also processes their money through the bank. Once the fuel station has money they spend it in lodging or build a house. That is how the cycle should be. (Interview 21 July).

The Acholi Private Sector Development Centre, which started as a UNDP program in 1999 and registered as a private company Ltd. in 2004 informed that so far training for business development had concentrated on Micro Enterprises but that it would make complete sense to integrate the secondary sector and SME development (interview 2 July).

D The role of Local Government – service delivery and production

In their attempt to compare sectors, researchers came across the differentiation between ‘service delivery’ and ‘production’. Chapter 4.3.2 and 4.3.3 explain that the Peace and Reconstruction Development Program only provides funding to education, health, roads and water. Researchers interviewed District Officials and asked: Why is agriculture not included in the PRDP? Do we have the right information? Why on the other hand does LED only regard agriculture as a viable sector for Local Economy Development?

Researchers were informed that the PRDP invested in ‘service delivery’ sectors. Local Economy Development in contrast (in Kitgum) focused on agriculture / ‘production’.

Yes that is the right information. I don’t know why agriculture is not included. But if you read through the aim and objectives, agriculture is included, the directive we have is that in the first years we concentrate on support and not production. (Interview with PRDP Focal Person13 on 31 August)

Yes as a sector agriculture is not represented. I have raised the issue several times... The explanation I am given is that the district planning unit does needs assessments in villages and the population rank agriculture least in their list of priorities. The population will always answer in accordance with how you ask your questions... If we increase the number of roads and boreholes and teacher’s houses or classrooms, what will the road lead to? We will have a problem with maintenance of these very roads and boreholes as long as the people don’t have money in their pockets. Agriculture is currently one of the most under funded sector’. (Interview with District Agricultural Officer 31 August).

Service delivery and ‘production’ appear as separate issues although both are intrinsically connected. The explanation given by the DAO clarifies and reflects the impasse in Humanitarian Assistance programs. Rural water supply and construction are regarded as service delivery commodities without consideration for their potential to provide employment.

ILO / CWGER stress the importance of post-conflict reconstruction and in particular of the construction sector for Local Economy Recovery (ILO, 2010).

Box 10 ILO / CWGER, Guidelines for Local Economy Re covery

13 Interviewee is Personnel Officer, NUSAF2 Focal person and PRDP focal person

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E Stimulation for greater involvement of Local Ec onomy

Humanitarian organisations were asked what would enable them to increase LES (questionnaire). A considerable amount of answers address necessary internal changes: (1) prior budgetary planning, (2) understanding the steps / what we can do to support local economy, (3) administrative & logistic regulation enable us to do so.

They recommend to Local Economy Actors the following actions that would make them more attractive: (1) Increase your capacity! (2) Take part in and support Humanitarian Assistance! (3) Prove your good intention! (4) Advertise yourselves! (5) Partner! Have corporate connections with more well known companies in Kampala to be used as subcontractors, (6) Get advocacy support from Local Government!

F The Forum

In particular agricultural oriented programs lament the lack of coordination 14. The LED program carried many elements of an adequate forum. One of the main strategies of the LED program was for Local Governments ‘to move from service delivery to performing a pivotal promotional role in Local Economic Development’. Researchers therefore performed a stakeholder mapping of the LED set-up.

Figure 18 Stakeholder Analysis for intended LED For um

Figure 18 displays Private Sector (red), Local Government (blue) and Humanitarian Assistance (green) as three main actor groups. The cluster system had provided coordination between Humanitarian Assistance and the Government headed by OCHA. After the ending of the cluster phase, UNDP was supposed to take over coordination between the two actor groups.

Agriculture had been managed by the former Food Security and Agricultural Livelihoods Cluster (FSAL) and had transformed into the Production and Marketing Sector but still contained the same members. Similarly the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) cluster had transformed into a Sector meeting headed by the District Water Officer. Only construction had not been presented as a cluster and had no continuation as a sector meeting. All these formations only contained HA and KDLG but not the Private Sector / Local Economy.

The intended LED forum could become a champion for the agriculture sector; the question remained who could play this role for the other sectors or if there should be a forum encompassing all sectors.

14 Q: What would help to increase support? A: Proper coordination structure on board that would make it easy to follow up on a number of issues. Once there is a forum these matters can be handled rather than dealing with individuals who are scattered. (Quote from agriculture section of questionnaire)

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5.4 Sector Specific Findings

5.4.1 Agriculture

5.4.1.1 Assessment of Agro Input Market

Kitgum District primarily produces food crops (maize, beans, rice, millet or groundnuts). The LED meeting had confirmed that the absence of a seed agency or of agro input retailers made it very difficult for farmers to improve on quantity and quality of their produce15.

The number of agro input dealers is small; Kitgum has three retailers or ‘stockists’. The biggest one also sells newspapers and magazines. Researchers interviewed all dealers in Kitgum, one of three in Gulu and one of four Seed Companies in Kampala.

Small retailers in Kitgum commented that they wanted to expand their business if given the opportunity: (1) by increasing stock equally for all items, (2) by increasing available storage place, (3) by opening of outlets at Sub County (S/C) level and/or (4) by investing in processing (maize mill, sunflower press). The latter would help to level out the seasonality of business16.

Retailers proposed what they felt would support them. The list of external and internal measures also reflects main constraints that hinder expansion of businesses. Picture 8 Kitgum Agro Input Dealer

External measures Internal measures

Get loans, finance, start up capital Start with what you have, don't wait Guaranteed demand (then I would go for a loan) Diversify, do something else for dry season Government to buy through district retailers Market yourself Support farmers for increased demand Do business with ethics Partnering (NGO as guarantor)

Box 11 Measures that would help agro input dealers to expand business

Partnering seems to be a particularly viable approach to improve the existing situation.

WFP Kitgum (Referring to Kitgum Farm Supplies, a local seed dealer in Kitgum): “Even for a small purchase of a million shillings we have to go back the next week because she does not have that much

stock” - Kitgum Farm Supplies: Seed dealer in Kitgum (talking about her limited capacity): “I don’t have enough capital to purchase in bulk and limited storage” - Naseko seed company (Referring to possibilities of offering credit): “We can give seeds on credit if there is a written contract”

The three seemingly out of touch parties enter into a partnership agreement: The HA actor could have a written agreement with the local seed dealer that this one uses to get seeds on credit from the

supplier who is paid after the local seed dealer has been paid by the HA actor. This option was later on detailed in a workshop conducted in Kitgum.

15 ‘Agro inputs’ encompass apart from seeds tools, fertilizers and chemicals. As a first step, researchers assessed the market for agro input providers. 16 People buy agro inputs only during six months of the year, during planting season

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Willingness of seed companies or wholesalers exists due to their interest in the Northern Ugandan market. My perception of Acholi region is of an emerging market for Agro-inputs as farming is the largest source of livelihood. Farmers will go in for agricultural technologies (Improved seeds) to increase their yields. (Quote form Kampala Seed Company Sales Manager)

5.4.1.2 Workshop Agro Inputs and Market Linkages 28 July

In order to present findings from the assessment, researchers organized a workshop on 28 of July. The objective was to bring together the actor groups Local Economy (Private Sector), Humanitarian Assistance and Local Government and discuss agro inputs and market linkages. The second point had been added on request of partners. The research aim was to observe which impact the merging of the three actor groups would have on producing SMART response options for addressing these two identified constraints.

Picture 9 Agro Input and Market Linkages meeting 28 July

This workshop became one of the most successful ones with 20 participants from all actor groups: (HA) WFP, FAO, DED, IRC, Africa Network Uganda, AVSI, (Local NGOs and Farmers Groups) Farmer Field School LAFANE, Kitgum Farmers Association KIDFA, (KDLG) District Commercial Officer, District Agricultural Officer, (LE) Tee-Tee Agro farm supplies, NASECO Seed Co, St. Bakhita Grace Land farm.

Eight organisations presented their perspectives and constraints: Naseko: agro input supply, KDLG: market linkages and agro input as seen from the District, IRC: market linkages and agro input as seen from HA, APSEDEC, KIDFA & WFP: market linkages, WFP Q&A Purchase 4 Progress, St. Bakhita farm, APSEDEC – LED program. Naseko for example presented an internal analysis of challenges (see slides).

Box 12 Slides provided by Naseko Seed Company – cha llenges and mitigation measures

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This time participants were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of actors involved in agro inputs (Seed Supplier, Seed Retailer, FAO), Group 2 consisted of actors involved in market linkages (KIDFA, APSEDEC, WFP). The rest of the participants were randomly distributed.

Both Groups were asked to: (1) Identify bottlenecks /problems / constraints in their respective system and rank them by importance, (2) Brainstorm response possibilities, (3) Agree on workable solutions/response options and (4) Explain their findings to the other group in a plenum.

Group 1 agreed on four SMART solutions: (1) increase awareness through sensitisation, (2) Increase household income, (3) provide training on business skills and (4) open up roads. They also concretised proposed partnership models to increase stockists’ capacity in Kitgum District.

Box 13 constraints and response options Agro Inputs

Group 2 did not succeed in agreeing on SMART response options. As already seen in the LED maize workshop, the topic had not been sufficiently prepared. The Group however expressed interest to coordinate actors that were all working on collection of data.

Picture 10 Results from market linkages working gro up in Agro Meeting 28 July

Participants unanimously agreed that the meeting had been helpful and that the methodology of bringing actor groups together was a workable solution to achieve outputs. The main problem of the agricultural sectors lies in its complexity and the question who should initiate, lead and facilitate meetings of this kind.

For the immediate future in Kitgum, participants concurred that the LED Program (Local Economy Development as focus of DDP III) was the natural actor to take on this role and that LED should include the approach into the program implementation process.

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5.4.2 Rural Water Supply

5.4.2.1 Workshop ‘Spare Parts for Hand Pumps’ SP4HP 23 June

The workshop was attended by 13 participants: (KDLG) District Water Officer, 2 Pump Mechanics, Intern, Health Inspector and Assistant Health Inspector, (LE) three shop owners and (HA) ICRC, Mercy Corps, Oxfam. All participants first presented the current situation as seen from their perspective:

Humanitarian Assistance organisations wanted to discuss to whom they could hand over existing stock of spare parts and how it would be replenished. At present the plan was to hand over to the DWO, due to lack of other possibilities.

The Kitgum Local Government reported that the system had worked before the conflict, that KDLG has drafted an Operation and Maintenance Plan for water sources as a guideline for Water User Committees (WUC) but that they faced constraints regarding lack of transport, storage, high prices of material and low financial capacity of communities. They were taking over responsibility but could not stay and did not plan to stay in the business forever. They had plans to give way for private sector operators.

Local Economy stated that they were interested and that in the absence of NGOs and DWO the business would be lucrative but still needed start up capital to buy expensive pump parts and an increase of purchasing power of communities.

Participants produced a market map with three timelines: current, to start with and ideal:

Figure 19 Market Supply Chain Spare Parts for Hand Pumps – 22 July 2010

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Constraints in expanding SP4HP business

2019

1211 11

10

0

5

10

15

20

25

start up capital expensive to buy management ortechnical skills

demand advertising transport

Two groups identified the following list of ranked constraints (in brackets points for ranking):

Identified Constraints Group 1 Group 2 Water fee collection / Ownership / Affordability (5 points) Water user fee collection (7) Funding / Pull out of organizations (4 points) Awareness creation (6) Government Policy on Spareparts (3) Transport to consumers (WUC) (6) Pump Mechanics not on payroll (3) Storage for the stock at S/C (1) DWO transport and staff (3) Start-up capital (1)

Box 14 Constraints in spare parts supply chain

Groups formulated response options but did not agree or decide which potential option to follow. Researchers offered to develop an assessment to complement the market map with specific data i.e. number of shops providing spare parts, specifications and prices.

In contrast to the agricultural sector, this meeting displayed that the approach was new to participants who were cautiously interested but not ready to take action. As a consequence to the workshop, two HA organisations concurred to meet the DWO in order to formulate a tri-partite response.

Some actors commented that this was a good thing (to include Local Economy) and the ‘only way out’. Whereas in agriculture actors used workshops to get to decisions, in Rural Water Supply meetings seemed to have a role of awareness-raising.

Local Economy actors were satisfied to ‘have leaned something’. Two of them used the meeting to create bilateral links to the DWO.

Picture 11 Presentation of group results, SP4HP 22 July

5.4.2.2 Assessment of SP4HP Market

The number of SP4HP dealers in Kitgum and Gulu Districts is small. There are 3 retailers in Kitgum and 3 retailers in Gulu. For all retailer shops, SP4HP constitute only a small percentage of their core business which is either hardware or plumbing.

Retailers cite lack of start up capital and that spare parts are expensive to buy as main constraints.

Figure 20 Constraints for expanding SP4HP business, questionnaire

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Q10 What would help in expanding SP4HP market?

3 3

2

1

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

NGO and DLG to buylocally

capital / loan partnering increased demand

Response options that would support their business consist of (1) NGOs and the District to buy locally, (2) purchase on credit from suppliers or access to loans, (3) partnership-type agreements and (4) measures to increase demand of communities.

There is a definite need for repair of hand pumps. A base line water source assessment showed 14% non-functional water points out of 1113 existing boreholes in Kitgum District (June 2009). Figure 21 Support for expanding SP4HP business, que stionnaire

Indirect approaches of voucher systems - as they are used in the agricultural sector - could be one response in a transition to change. Giving vouchers to communities could enable them to get spare parts from dealers coupled with supporting these dealers to expand the SP4HP component of their businesses.

One supplier in Kampala showed significant interest in developing the Northern Uganda market: ‘It is a very big market, like 40% nationwide. The government is running a lot of programs up North…we had a shop in Gulu for 2 years but we had to close it again. Many organizations went on buying here in Kampala instead of buying up there, maybe because they had to procure through their head office’.

On average, prices out of Kampala are 37% higher. This figure equals an increase of 20% for transport and 17% for profit. Provided Humanitarian organizations take into account their internal transport cost, prices are comparable and prices should not be the reason not to buy locally.

5.4.2.3 Lessons learnt from others

During the SP4HP assessment, interviewees made researchers aware of two Water and Sanitation programs that contained research elements addressing the issue of spare part supply chains.

A program implemented by Medair had defined ‘Spare parts store supported and maintained by local businessman’ as an indicator and achieved some success in Pader district in the Acholi region. For a similar attempt in Karamoja, an internal Medair document states that ‘the cost of spare parts for the major U2 pump parts are out of reach for most communities’. In addition Medair lists high repair costs, corroded pipes due to high salt content of groundwater, low water level, poor quality material in the market and high costs of original parts (monopoly of importer?).

GOAL Uganda added a research component to an implementation project in Abim District (Karamoja). The research objective is to review existing repair networks in Uganda and East Africa and to propose a network of Pump Repair and Spare Parts Providers. In an interview, the Project Manager summarized some preliminary findings: (1) Stockists (spare part dealers) need a catchment area of 1500 to 2000 hand pumps for a commercially viable business. (2) The repair of hand pumps can be coupled with hardware supply or plumbing services like in Kenya where hand pump repair is part of vocational training schools’ curricula for plumbers. (3) As there is more demand for new installations, pump mechanics should form a cooperative and participate in the tendering process of districts for hand pump installation.

Agencies engaged in research on sustainability of Rural Water Supply underline that operation and maintenance is in no way a straightforward subject. Current literature (1) questions if communities will ever be able to afford spare parts, (2) stresses that the involvement of the private sector is a supportive element but at the same time only one aspect of a multi-faceted problem. (Koestler, 2009; RWSN, 2010).

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5.4.3 Construction

The construction sector in many ways produced the most unexpected results. During the initial April visit, quality of construction work had been mentioned as an issue of interest. However, when the field research in Kitgum started in June, the reaction was very hesitant. Whereas at least half of humanitarian assistance organisations working in the agriculture and water supply sector spontaneously wanted to meet and talk about their respective topics (agro inputs, SP4HP), the construction sector did not possess any champion or provide any crystallization point to kick-start a discussion forum.

The author suggests that this is related to the fact that construction never existed as a cluster. In agriculture, FAO who had the cluster lead for FS and AL and the DAO were natural leading and coordinating figures. In the rural water supply sector it was the District Water Officer who had taken over responsibility from the former WASH cluster. Actors in these areas knew each other and possessed a certain common road map and common language that had developed over years of former cluster meetings and joint operations.

This had never existed for the construction sector. The District Engineer held only sporadic contact with Humanitarian Assistance organisations and if so only on a bilateral basis. NGOs that had mentioned quality of construction works as a constraint had developed individual ways of dealing with the issue. Organisations did not possess a shared database of knowledge and the idea to meet for discussing a common constraint was altogether new, specifically for the District Engineer.

The problem in the construction sector was also different in the sense that agriculture and water supply complained about a lack of quantity (agro input dealers and spare part dealers) whereas for construction they complained about a lack of quality. Humanitarian Assistance organisations predominantly did use local contractors to implement projects. It was insufficient quality that threatened sustainability of infrastructure projects.

Four weeks into the study, researchers considered to drop the issue as a wrong lead and due to lack of interest. However, construction contractors now started pushing for a common discussion forum. This was partly triggered by two study elements: a meeting with a test group which had mapped out constraints for construction contractors during project implementation and a questionnaire that had been disseminated.

The test group relayed results of their mapping exercise to the provisional Kitgum Contractors Association KCA, which was in the process of legal formation. KTC stated that they expected the meeting to give them a better understanding of their situation.

Sustained by the interest of KCA a meeting took place on 22 July with all actor groups. The meeting later led to the idea of a capacity support project where a donor would support KTA in the three areas of (1) quality of local material, (2) financial and management training courses and (3) a cooperative for machines and equipment.

FROM: KCA DRAFT CONSTITUTION

1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

(i) To create mutual understanding among contractors and other business communities. (ii) To foster oneness among contractors nationally and internationally. (iii) To strengthen and promote good relationship among Contractors, Employers, Employees and the Local Communities. (iv) To empower Contractors to obtain sustainable life. (v) To protect Contractors welfare in time of their execution. (vi) To create harmony among Contractors and their Employers. (vii) To promote good workmanship and achieve quality products. (viii) To sensitize Contractors on procurement and Contract Management. (ix) To create opportunities to Contractors to attain short term courses. (x) To foster unity among members even in times of calamity e.g Death, Earthquake, Landslide and any other disaster that may befall someone (xi) To set standard payment rates for labourers namely: (a) Skilled (b) Semi-Skilled (c) Unskilled The rate for unskilled shall be half that of the skilled whereas the Semi skilled shall be determined by the Employer.

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5.4.3.1 Test Group

The objective of a test group exercise on 22nd

of June was to find out if the use of value chain mapping was applicable to generating ideas for improvement of construction quality.

The test group was given flip chart paper and colour coded cards. The otherwise empty flip chart paper had defined “High Quality Construction” as a goal to be achieved. The task for the test group was to formulate all elements required to reach this goal and to link it as chain elements. The test group mapped the system as represented below.

Picture 12 Test Group mapping Quality of Construction Works

A list of identified main constraints contained (1) Corruption- (6 points), (2) Lack of control of local materials (4 points), (3) Bad roads (3 points) and (4) Lack of standards on manufacturers (2 points).

When asked to formulate adequate response options, the test group decided not to address the biggest constraint (corruption). However, an animated discussion arose around material quality testing, continuous interaction with local government, training, road repair and construction, change of technology from bricks to blocks, selling processed or sieved aggregates and the formation of an Association of contactors for self-disciplinary purposes.17

Figure 22 Value Chain for quality construction wor ks – Test Group 22 June

17 Corruption can have the following impacts on quality of construction works: A contract sum of a tender is based on a Bill of Quantity (amount of material ‘times’ assumed price). A District Officials demands a certain amount of the total contract sum. If this is agreed, the amount is now missing as the calculated income and the contractor tries to lower costs by buying cheaper material with lower quality. In addition the official will not adequately control the work on site or has to be paid to move to the site. These incidences occur often and their results have been witnessed by the author. Of course there are also cases of internal corruption and incapacities within construction companies. Each actor group has its specific problem. It was therefore an objective to bring all actor groups together at one table.

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5.4.3.2 Analysis of questionnaires

Government represents contractors’ biggest client with 51%, followed by HA with 38% and Private Sector with 11%. Distribution in 2010 is LG 59%, HA 32% and PS 9%. This trend resonates with the reduction in scale of humanitarian activities that started in 2009 continuing into 2010.

Contractors state that in 2009, 37% of construction works fell into the education sector, 19% into health, 2% into agriculture and 23% were others.

The five biggest constraints for improving quality are corruption, quality control, poor roads, lack of standards for manufacturers and lack of access to credit.

When asked what initiatives would help improve quality of construction works, respondents suggested necessary changes from the side of the client and the contractor.

• Do professional work - don't under cost.

• Contractors should employ professional people on site

• Honesty on side of contractors in paying their workers so that they don't sell materials.

• Access to modern equipment • Constant site supervision,

clients should facilitate their engineers / inspectors.

• Adherence to specifications

Figure 23 Constraints for producing quality constr uction works – questionnaire result

All respondents support the idea of a local business organisation to cater for the interests of the sector and agree that if their quality improved they would be able to win more jobs.

Weighing of proposed constraints

3330

2623 23

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Corruption Quality control Poor roads Lack of evenstandard of

manufacturers

Lack of credit

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5.4.3.3 Workshop 22 July and Windows of Opportunity

17 individuals participated in a meeting on 22 July composed of 10 Local Economy Actors, 6 Development Assistance actors and one Local Government Official.

One NGO that had not been able to participate availed a power point presentation with a list of proposed constraints and response options.

The objective was to convene a forum to brainstorm how to develop the sector and agree on workable ideas for improving the quality of construction works. Participants should choose three workable (SMART)18 solutions.

Picture 13 Presentation of results form working gr oup, construction workshop 22 July

The meeting was interactive and generated a well designed list of response options.

This led to the formulation of a project for capacity building of local construction contractors. Researchers supported the ‘Kitgum Contractors Association’ to formulate the project proposal (see box 15) and helped linking the Association to a potential donor for the project.

Box 15 Proposed SMART response options for a capacity support project

18 Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, time bound

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‘TLA free Zone’: Construction during insurgency

***

***

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6 Chapter Six - Conclusions and Recommendations

6.1 Conclusions

Conclusions refer to the general research aim of investigating to what extent Humanitarian Assistance (HA) Programs during the transition phase from emergency to development currently support Local Economy and how best can this support can be strengthened by forming partnerships with Local Markets and in coordination with Local Governments (LG).

The author does not present conclusions for sector specific topics (agro inputs, spare parts for hand pumps and quality of construction works). It would be an overestimation of the significance of produced results. They were chosen by local actors to find local solutions. On a global level they are extensively investigated in specific research programs.

6.1.1 General Conclusions – Thinking in Systems

Government of Uganda with Donor Support through the Peace Recovery and Development Programme PRDP for Northern Uganda focus on service delivery in form of schools, clinics, roads and water points. In contrast, the new District Development Program DDPIII focuses on Local Economy Development for agriculture as a production sector. Humanitarian Assistance Programs mirror the same distinction between service delivery (Health, Education and WASH) and Production (Food Security & Agricultural Livelihoods). Production oriented programs regard Local Economy Support as part of their mandate whereas service delivery programs do not. The distinction ignores the fact that agriculture is not the only sector that contributes to Local Economy Development. Reconstruction programs provide significant income and employment opportunities for the affected population. Service delivery programs like Rural Water Supply need the private sector for operation and maintenance and for sustainability of invested capital.

The selection of ‘issues of interest’ in the form of Agro Inputs, Spare Parts for Hand Pumps and Quality of Construction Work from the side of local actors was symptomatic in the sense that all three issues constitute bottlenecks in critical markets.

In agriculture, Humanitarian Assistance programs primarily attempt to increase self sufficiency and income of the target population, in Northern Uganda mainly through food crop production. Market systems of maize or beans need the private sector delivering agro inputs for increased quality and production. In rural water supply, Humanitarian Assistance programs attempt to provide safe water and sanitation to the target population in order to improve Public Health indicators. But to guarantee sustainability of investment, communities need to be able to buy spare parts for repair of hand pumps from a local market. The same principle applies to construction where sustainability of investment needs sufficient quality of end product.

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Populations contain very poor, poor and relatively well off individuals. The ones better off commonly support their family and extended family members.

The term ‘target population’ or ‘beneficiaries’ as used in Humanitarian Assistance by and large encompasses the poor and affected. Stronger members like the construction companies, agro input dealers and hard ware shops who participated in the research are not seen as part of the target population. In consequence, to support them would fall out of the humanitarian mandate.

Without doubt, humanitarian assistance should help the vulnerable and affected, respect humanitarian principles and refrain from gaining economic profit (and from allowing war winners to gain profit). However, widening the system by including the better off population would allow these to cater for their weaker members. Wealthier individuals are part of the target population; they have suffered the same problems and prove that people can be powerful and resilient.

Capacity building of secondary sectors like construction, trade, and manufacturing supports individuals with higher levels of education, who use modern technologies and thereby contribute to the growth of support services like financial institutions, transport and communication. In this sense they act as ‘drivers for change’.

Stakeholders in general and agricultural programs in particular agree that for Local Economy Support / Recovery / Development there is need for a forum. But how should it look like? The cluster system has become an established framework for provision of Humanitarian Assistance. But what comes after the cluster system?

The Early Recovery Cluster with the UNDP or ‘UN Program for Development’ as lead agency would seem the ideal candidate. By definition the role of the cluster is to bridge the gap from humanitarian assistance to recovery. Unfortunately, the ER Cluster has not settled well into its role within the cluster system. This may be due to the fact that Early Recovery should rather be mainstreamed as a concept. As a cluster it sometimes seems to search ‘for what to do’.

The well written ILO/CWGER guidelines - often quoted in the dissertation - seem an ideal document for implementation. The question is ‘who will apply the guidelines?’.

Actors participating in action research tend to be the ones interested in improving an existing situation. Based on dissertation findings the author confirms that ‘Action research focuses on problems in order to solve them and, in the process, leads to the development of practical knowledge’ (Selener, 1998).

In particular, the fact that local actors were offered the opportunity to identify ‘issues of interest’ substantially informed the research process. Comparing the three sectors agriculture, rural water supply and construction led to an understanding of the discrepancy between ‘service delivery’ and ‘production’ programs with its implications for Local Economy Support. At the same time action research does not give a representative selection of actors. If the research objective were to identify attitudes regarding LES across a representative range of actors, the researcher had to choose a different methodology. Market mapping helps local stakeholders to analyse their problems and in consequence to do something about it. In workshops, mapping creates an analytical atmosphere that is conducive to logical arguments and reduces politicising and lamenting.

The methodology of identifying constraints based on a graphically represented system can help defining program objectives in the form of specific response options

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6.1.2 Sector Specific Conclusions – Agriculture ahe ad of other sectors

Agriculture – Food Security and Agricultural Liveli hoods

Agriculture as an economic sector is well supported by HA organisations. Food Security and Agricultural Livelihoods (FSAL) Programs define the creation of livelihoods for farmers as their main objective. They have a good conceptual understanding of market and value chains and have aimed at using indirect responses (vouchers, seeds fairs etc) that build capacity of local economy throughout all recovery phases.

Organisations like WFP and programs like Purchase for Progress (WFP) and Livelihoods and Enterprises for Agricultural Development LEAD (USAID) extend their support from farmers to support services in the value chain (construction of warehouses and roads, Business Development Services etc). These types of programs, at least in the current state in Northern Uganda, naturally develop from relief into development. The main problem of agriculture oriented Humanitarian Assistance currently lies in the lack of an appropriate forum to coordinate the sum of valuable and interesting programs.

Rural Water Supply (RWS) – WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene)

In contrast to agriculture oriented HA programs, rural water supply or WASH programs are phasing out soon after the end of the humanitarian phase. The objective of those programs was to provide services: the water point. Commonly, they do not look at rural water supply as a market and do not use indirect response options19. However, in their ‘exit strategy’, operation and maintenance of water supply points becomes an important factor where donors want to see sustainability of investment. At this point, RWS programs touch Local Economy and the Private Sector. Development of rural water supply as an economic sector is not defined as a mandate or an objective, which makes it difficult to argue for further funding. Current developments show a shift of policy. Organisations are adding research elements to their programs attempting to build market systems of competitive pump mechanics and spare part retailer shops. Agencies engaged in research on sustainability of Rural Water Supply however underline that operation and maintenance is in no way a straightforward subject and that the involvement of the private sector is a supportive element but only one aspect of a multi-faceted problem

Infrastructure / construction

Infrastructure does not exist as a Humanitarian Assistance program but is regarded as hardware component of service delivery programs such as schools for education and clinics for health. As a consequence, there is limited room to think beyond implementing the required structure (as would be required for operation and maintenance) and support for quality improvement of construction projects is not defined as an objective. There are exceptions to the rule. They often stem from initiatives of individuals or organizations with long-term experience. Good practice examples show that programs possess liberties that allow them to include capacity building components into infrastructure implementation.

Although a significant amount of financial resources was invested in infrastructure, construction projects were not handled in a separate cluster20. Consequently, there has been no exposure of the District Engineering Department to cluster meetings and no follow-up in form of ‘public works’ sector meetings. Programs like Northern Uganda Transition Initiative (USAID) invest 70% of their funding as support to the Local Government in the form of infrastructure; however, the program does not contain capacity building of actors in the value chain (support to contractors, hardware shops or creating market linkages)21. Infrastructure programs, at least in the current state in Northern Uganda, have no extension e.g. into development of Small and Medium Enterprise Development.

19 although they provide training and start up kits in the form of repair tools or bicycles 20 It usually falls into the shelter cluster 21 According to USAID, NUDEIL (Northern Uganda Development of Enhanced Local Governance Infrastructure and Livelihoods) as the follow up program to NUTI will address this issue

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6.2 Proposals and Questions for Further Reflection

The following paragraphs list proposals from researchers and local stakeholders that evolved during the research process. Most of all they invite for further reflection.

6.2.1 Humanitarian Assistance and Donor Community

How can the discrepancy between ‘service delivery’ and ‘production’ programs be reduced in order for both to include Local Economy Support objectives? Proposals:

(1) Stipulate Support of Local Economy as by-objective to core objectives like provision of water supply points, construction and rehabilitation of clinics and schools22.

� This will automatically influence procurement rules and administrative and logistical procedures

(2) Indicate specific indicator for monitoring and evaluation, e.g. percentage of program money spent on local level. The indicator should practically be a column of an administrative accounting sheet.

(3) Include economists in humanitarian programs to provide economic perspectives

How can construction / infrastructure be handled as a specific topic in the absence of a shelter cluster? Could this be done by the Early Recovery Cluster?

Proposals:

(1) A technical working group coordinates hardware components from clusters like education (schools), health (clinics), agriculture (roads and storage)

� NGOs demand agreed quality of construction works from contractors in coordination with District Engineer. This will enhance capacity of contractors and improve problem of corruption.

(2) The ER cluster ensures that the potential of infrastructure is used for early recovery objectives.

� This will lead to coordination of approaches and enhance quality of infrastructure. It will integrate the District Engineer into the cluster system and

ease transformation from cluster into ‘public works’ sector meetings.

How can indirect response options - as they are fre quently used in agriculture / production oriented programs - be applied to servic e delivery oriented programs like water supply and construction?

The following graphs explain the difference between both options: A country is affected by a disaster. Households as end consumers loose purchasing power and capacity which causes partial or complete interruption of supply and value chains.

Direct response options are fast and easy to control. They allow the exclusive use of internal resources. They carry the risk of a renewed disruption on exit of agencies. Indirect response options are slower and more complex. They include a variety of external actors and require coordination. They build on existing capacities and attempt to re-build market systems seeking to improve chances for sustainability.

22 In addition this can be extended to internal program expenses incurred by administration and logistics.

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Figure 24 Population affected by disaster

A supply chain is disrupted by a natural or man-made disaster due e.g. to loss of HH purchasing power.

Figure 25 Disruption of Market Chains

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Figure 26 Direct Response type HA

Direct response options replace the initial market system but do not rebuild it

Figure 27 Problematic Exit Strategy

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Figure 28 Indirect Response type HA

Indirect response options rebuild the chain through delivery of vouchers to HH and credit to retailer shops.

Figure 29 Re-building market chain

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Which forum is best suited to support Local Economy and later promote Local Economy Development? Who should play the role of th e initiator, the lead and the facilitator? Proposal: Stakeholders acknowledge the importance of this issue. They meet, discuss and agree together on a way forward, much the same way the cluster system was agreed nearly a decade ago. Stakeholders agree on a required structure and define permanent Terms of Reference (ToRs) for certain positions. Varying agencies fill positions according to specific context.

An initiator can or cannot join the Forum. A lead agency or a stakeholder can or cannot be a partner or local actor.

Figure 30 Proposed LED Forum Structure

How can Action Research principles be included into program implementation?

Adding research elements to ongoing assistance programs provides ideal opportunities for action research approaches that both deliver practical solutions to current problems and generalized ideas for future policy changes.

Can the market mapping tool in conjunction with a L ogFrame be used as a tool for defining program objectives?

� The mapping of market systems in which HA programs operate enhances understanding of complexities and of identifying constraints and formulating specific interventions in relation to these constraints.

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6.2.2 Local Economy Actors

How can Local Economy actors widen their horizon re garding ongoing assistance programs in order to gain knowledge for informed de cisions?

� Actively seek involvement in Local Government sector meetings

� Participate in programs like DDP III / LED

What can Local Economy actors do to advocate for th eir support and inclusion?

� Create associations or groups of interests and/ or join chambers of commerce in order to formulate interests and demands

� Advertise and market yourself (Business directory, flyers etc)

6.2.3 Local Government

How can the two concepts of service delivery and pr oduction be merged for improved efficiency?

Service delivery and production are twin sisters or two sides of the same coin. � Regard all sectors as integral to Local Economy Development and include all

sector heads into a respective discussion

� Act as a cohesive group not as a collection of individuals (for example by institutional development training).

How can Local Government engage the Humanitarian as sistance community for maximized support to local economy?

� Condition Humanitarian Organisations for local service provision � Provision of statistical data is paramount. If no data is presented, a sector can

disappear from the map like construction in the example of the LEBA exercise.

� The District Engineering department to actively seek contact with the Humanitarian Assistance community

Prologue There is definite interest of local stakeholders in including the private sector and supporting Local Economy. More than anything else this was proven by participation in workshops. Stakeholders showed their interest by coming. People are very innovative if they are being asked and given a forum to act.

The dissertation claims that including Local Economy can help affected populations to recover. The author is however well aware that Local Economy Support is only one element in the complex system of Humanitarian Assistance and that presented conclusions by no means apply to all contexts.

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7 Appendices

7.1 List of meetings and interviews_status 31 Augus t 2010

Date Org Loc-1 What Contact Person

09. Apr ICRC KAM Interest sourcing Olivier Bernard

09. Apr Oxfam KAM Interest sourcing Ben Pickering

10. Apr ICRC KAM Interest sourcing Janet Angelei

12. Apr ABC Eng KIM Interest sourcing Markson Odongkara

13. Apr Oxfam KIM Interest sourcing Paul Log and Francis Kyobe

13. Apr IRC KIM Interest sourcing Mike Opio ERD and Sam Arop

13. Apr Apo Wegi KIM Interest sourcing Ocaya Geoffrey

14. Apr AVSI KIM Interest sourcing Fabio Beltra

14. Apr WFP KIM Interest sourcing Martin Malinga

15. Apr USAID GUU Interest sourcing John Gattorn, Alimo Florence, Sophia Apio Olanya

15. Apr ICU GUU Interest sourcing Patrick, James de le Vingne

16. Apr OXFAM KAM Interest sourcing David Barnett&Ben Pickering

16. Apr GTZ KAM Interest sourcing Franziska Roetzer

16. Apr Swiss Contact KAM Interest sourcing Ralp Rothe, Bachu Mubarak

04. Jun ICRC KAM meeting, interview Olivier Bernard

07. Jun USAID GUU meeting, interview John Gattorn-Olaa Ambrose

10. Jun KDLG KIM Intoduction meeting Hon Ochola Bosco-Vice chairman LCV

10. Jun KDLG KIM Introduction meeting Ocen Livingstone- District Commercial Officer.

11. Jun KDLG KIM Introduction meeting Omony Stephen-Sub-county Chief Kitgum Matidi/ Assistant CAO

14. Jun District Water Officer KIM Introduction meeting Willy Picho-District water Officer

15. Jun Vocational training school. KIM meeting, interview school management.

16. Jun UNDP KIM meeting, interview Alfred Mutanda-UNDP Head of office.

16. Jun FAO KIM meeting, interview Brenda Piloya-FAO Head of Office

17. Jun WFP KIM Interview Martin Malinga-Head of Office.

17. Jun Mercy Corps KIM Interview Patrick Okello

18. Jun ICRC KIM meeting Drilling team, Olivier Bernard

18. Jun NRC KIM Introduction, meeting Astrid Van Rooij

19. Jun Apowegi KIM meeting Ocaya Geoffrey, Apowegi

21. Jun AMREF KIM meeting Oboni Bosco Olanya-WASH officer.

22. Jun AVSI KIM Interview Fabio Beltramini

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23. Jun NRC KIM Intoduction meeting, interview Julius-Head of office

28. Jun Mercy Corps KIM Intoduction meeting, interview Henry Huka Duba

28. Jun NUTI KIM

Introduction of study and handing sample report.

Caroline Exile Apio, Caroline Joan Oyella

29. Jun KDLG KIM meeting, interview District Eng-Bongomin

30. Jun KDLG KIM meeting, interview DAO

30. Jun KTC-Town Eng. KIM meeting, interview Town Engineer-Owen Ochaya

30. Jun FAO KIM meeting, interview Brenda Piloya

01. Jul WFP KIM meeting, questionnaire Martin Malinga

02. Jul Acholi Private sector KIM meeting

Susan Lakwonyero, Patrick Opobo, Ogwang LED-focal person.

02. Jul Kitgum ABC Eng works KIM Questionnaire Markson Odongkara, Charles Ochan

02. Jul North Cross constructions KIM Questionnaire Okeny Geoffrey

03. Jul Agro input dealer KIM meeting, questionnaire Caroline Lamon

05. Jul Lugore traders GUU Questionnaire sales-Odokonyero Joseph

05. Jul Got Apwoyo traders GUU Questionnaire Management, sales

05. Jul Mak Kweri GUU meeting, questionnaire Director-Donald Lokwiya

06. Jul ICU GUU meeting,preliminary findings

James de le Vingne, Christo Balmoyi, Patrick Munduga

12. Jul MoLG KAM meeting, findings Abubaker Lwaga, Eng. Paul Kasule-Mukasa.

13. Jul Naseco seed co. Ltd KAM

meeting, questionnaire Centurio, Godfrey Kawere

13. Jul AT Uganda KAM meeting, questionnaire Happy Richard

13. Jul Gentex KAM meeting, pump maintenace Director

17. Jul Victoria pumps KAM meeting Irene-marketing manager

19. Jul USAID/NUTI GUU meeting John Gattorn

21. Jul NUTI KIM meeting, invitation Invitation to construction workshop

30. Jul NRC KIM meeting/workshop report briefing Eric Obwoya, Okeny Godfrey

01. Aug USAID LEAD KIM meeting Kidega Patrick

31. Aug NUSAF/PRDP Focal person. KIM meeting Stella

31. Aug DAO KIM meeting Peter Abal

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7.2 Summary of questionnaire methodology

The questionnaire for Humanitarian Assistance comprised of eleven questions (6 general and 5 sector-specific). It was distributed to 12 organisations of which 7 responded. All organisations had been personally briefed about the objective of the research. The majority had been participating in workshops and in the action research part of the study.

The following 12 organisations were contacted: Africa Network 2000 (supported by ACDI/VOCA), AVSI, FAO, ICRC, Invisible Children Uganda, IRC, Mercycorps, NRC, Oxfam, UNICEF, USAID NUTI, and WFP23. These represent approximately 75% of all organizations that at present (July 2010) have programs concerning the a.m. three sectors agriculture, rural water supply and construction in Kitgum and Lamwo Districts24. The amount of seven organizations that responded therefore makes up approximately half of the Humanitarian Assistance community in Kitgum.

Organisations were asked to which extent they supported Local Economy, what was their general attitude towards Local Economy Support (LES) and what local Economy actors could do to be more attractive to Humanitarian Assistance (HA) programs (3 questions).

Box 16 Sample from Questionnaire for Humanitarian A ctors

Four organisations implemented programs in the agricultural sector, three in the rural water supply sector and seven have programs that concern the construction sector. Five out of seven organisations said that it is their mandate to support Local Economy; two said it is not their mandate. Specific questions for agriculture, rural water supply and construction were filled by three organisations respectively.

The questionnaires distributed to Construction Contractors comprised of twenty questions (structured, semi-structured and open questions). 9 from 13 contractors responded. In comparison: contracts funded under PRDP were awarded to 38 companies. During assessments for agro input and spare part dealers, researchers interviewed 12 shop owners and filled questionnaires during interviews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Stanbic Bank, one of the main Kitgum Financial Institutions and APSEDEC, the Acholi Private Sector Development Centre.

Researchers conducted 11 interviews with Kitgum District Local Government Officials, most importantly the District Agricultural Officer, the District Commercial Officer, the District Water Officer and the District Engineer.

23 Invisible Children Uganda is based in Gulu and does not have programs in Kitgum and Lamwo Districts. They were included due to their specific focus on capacity building of contractors in construction of schools. 24 Kitgum District split into Kitgum and Lamwo Districts in 2010. We hereafter refer to both as Kitgum District. This is due to the fact that a considerable part of donor and governmental resources are still earmarked for the ‘old’ Kitgum district including Lamwo.

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7.3 List of original workshop reports, assessments and questionnaire analysis

The following 12 reports from workshops, assessments and questionnaire analysis were distributed to research partners and can be availed by researchers on request.

They are also available form the google group: http://groups.google.com/group/kitgum-market-integrated-assistance-2010. Please request membership. It is planned to transform the google group into a website.

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