On June 4-7, GPOBA hosted joint meetings in Kampala, Uganda with three other global programs: Cities Alliance, the Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), and the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). This joint conference was an opportunity to improve synergies between development partners and programs and to share knowledge among partners active in the region.
The conference began with a workshop on the challenges of urbanization in Uganda and on how the four global programs could strengthen their collaboration to support the Government of Uganda. Keynote speakers included the Honorable Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, and the Honorable Daudi Migereko, Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development.
Later in the afternoon, a site visit was organized by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to the GPOBA-funded project "Kampala Water Connections for the Poor Project". The visit was an opportunity for participants to see up close how outputs installed, how service is provided and paid (public yard tap, metered public water point). Participants were also able to directly interact with community representatives, beneficiaries, and project implementers.
On June 5, another site visit took participants to Jinja, 80km outside Kampala. The mayor of Jinja organized a forum on “managing secondary cities”. Mayors and municipal officials from four towns spoke directly with the national government about challenges they are facing in their municipalities, and discussed the activities supported by Cities Alliance’s “Transforming the Settlements of the Urban Poor: A Secondary Cities Support Program”. In the afternoon, PPIAF organized a site visit to a new potable water treatment facility at Lake Victoria. Another site visit by Cities Alliance included visits to poor neighborhoods to meet with local women conducting income-generating activities, and a new-managed community toilet.
On June 7, 2012, GPOBA held its 8th annual Program Council Meeting, attended by donors including AusAid, Sida, DFID, IFC and DGIS.
Photos were provided courtesy of Cities Alliance
