Cities Alliance Project Output

Scaling Up STDM 2014: Putting Uganda’s Informal Settlements on the Map

Addressing the Land Information Requirements of the Urban Poor – Phase 2: Scaling Up the Use and Application of the Social

Tenure Domain Model (STDM)

P126966

This project output was created with Cities Alliance grant funding.

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SCALING UP STDM 2014; PUTTING UGANDA’S INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS ON

THE MAP

The UN-HABITAT and Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) has been supporting Uganda to

appreciate the open source software package; Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM) to address

the land tenure relations in the slums and informal settlements alike. Since its pilot in mid-2011,

in Mbale, Eastern Uganda as a joint activity between Slum/ Shack Dwellers International (SDI)

and GLTN/UN Habitat and supported by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban

Development (MLHUD) the STDM tool has registered significant success through the

relationship it has built with different stakeholders especially between governments at the local

and central levels and local communities .The truth the process has unearthed in the informal

settlements and slums through the collection of critical community data in some kind of appraisal

where they get to check the services in their neighborhood and the gaps that might exist has been

tremendous. Reality in the slums and informal settlements has generated a discussion around

what can be done about the situation and in this way empowered communities to approach local

governments, begin negotiations and lobbying using their newly acquired data , form

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partnerships and eventually become authors of their own development. STDM has made it

possible for local experience and insight to guide development and inform development by

exploring the complexities of slums. The tool’s ability to capture a continuum of rights aside

from land such as water, sanitation, education gaps among others existing in the slums makes it

unique and popular to the many regionally and nationally federated communities under the

National Slum Dwellers of Uganda.

STDM borrowed heavily from the government led Transforming Settlements of the Urban Poor

in Uganda (TSUPU) program launched in 2010 and complimented the programs objectives. Both

programs have empowered communities living in the informal settlements by ensuring

communities are at the driving seat on interventions affecting them, guide towards orderly

planning in the settlements/slums and initiate multi-stakeholders forums which bring together all

persons with a stake in the settlement, town, and city .

Between the 3rd

and 5th

of February.2014, an STDM workshop was held in Mbale to look into

the expansion of the program to 4 additional municipalities in Uganda; Tororo,Masaka,Entebbe

and the entire Mbale municipality where the tool was first piloted in the context of profiling and

mapping informal settlements in the aforementioned municipalities using the tool .Soon after, the

aforementioned cities were profiled and mapped by local communities within these towns using

the STDM questionnaire .Data centres were opened up in these municipalities and equipped with

a computer and a photocopying machine. Data analysis and management was also done and

information disseminated to communities and their local governments by August 2014.

As a follow up to these activities, a workshop was held between the 7th

and 12th

of September

2014 to look into the consolidation of lessons and experiences of the pilot work thus far and how

the municipalities were performing .The workshop was also expected to discuss the technical

needs existing in these municipalities and what was required to sustain the ongoing activities

with a possibility of expanding the program to cover 14 municipalities in Uganda.

The five day learning event was held at Entebbe Resort Hotel and had attendees from the

Ministry of Lands ,Housing and Urban Development ,technocrats from the three STDM current

benefiting municipalities (Masaka,Tororo,Entebbe),community members from Mbale where the

tool was first piloted ,representatives from the Institute of survey and Land Management based in

Entebbe, ACTogether Uganda staff, UN HABITAT/GLNT facilitators, SDI coordinator Jack

Makau as well as Kampala federators from 2 Kampala municipalities under the National Slum

Dwellers Federation of Uganda.

The learning event was structured in two phases; phase 1 was carried out in the field where

delegates visited two municipalities –Masaka and Tororo to interact with technocrats and

communities from these municipalities and share on experiences of STDM process there while

visiting their data centres which have been capacitated with equipment to ensure the community

keeps updating their work. In the field, the team was to understand how communities are using

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the data centres and establish whether the information gathered is having an impact on the

municipalities’ on-going projects and programs.

VISIT TO TORORO

On the 8th

of September, delegates visited Tororo municipality, approximately 246.2Km from

Entebbe. On arrival the team was welcomed by the Mayor of Tororo, His Worship Geoffrey

Opua Emokol and other municipal technocrats who included the physical planner Nakiyimba

Goretti, federation leader in Tororo Mr. John Ocharo and several Executive Municipal

Development Forum leaders. In a brief meeting at the mayor’s chambers, His Worship said he

was pleased for Tororo to have been selected to take part in the STDM program because the

process initiates a journey towards addressing community needs. He said his municipality will

use the community generated data to inform planning in Tororo settlements.

Kasooli slum settlement before and after slum upgrading Photo credit/New Vision

He appreciated the data centre set up at the municipal offices with support from UN

Habitat/GLTN where communities entered their information during profiles and where they will

constantly keep updating the same information to ensure they are current with statistics in the

grassroots. His Worship shared that until recently, the data office was in the office of the

Community Development Officer which limited use of the premises by the communities .They

could only access it if the officer was present but through continued lobbying of an office space,

the local community members were granted an office of their own a few weeks back in the

municipal building. This meant that they had a key to the office with a federation member

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assigned the role of managing it. His worship added that his municipality was ready to work with

everyone for the benefit of his people citing the ongoing project at Kasoli funded by the

government of Uganda, UN- Habitat, DFCU bank, Tororo municipal council and Kasoli Savings

and credit cooperative organization.

He regretted the fact that land is still a very contentious issue in Tororo but added that solutions

will always be found if a project is for the benefit of all in Tororo. Nakiyimba Goretti, the

physical planner said the communities are now aware of how many slums exist in Tororo .She

said that since some of the federation members are municipal development forum members she

had no doubt that Tororo was on its way to great transformation because issues within the

informal settlements will be brought to the fore in forum meetings .The team were then ushered

to the data centre where they met federation members who were articulate in explaining how

they entered and managed data collected from the communities .Thereafter ,the team from the

municipal council and that from Entebbe had lunch and later left for Entebbe in preparation for

the next field day in Masaka.

VISIT TO MASAKA MUNICIPALITY

On the 9th

of September, delegates left Entebbe for Masaka municipality for a similar exercise

like what they had had in Tororo. On arrival they were welcomed by federation members of

Masaka and Municipal Development Forum (MDF) representatives who ushered them to the

Mayor’s chambers to pay a courtesy call and have a brief sharing on the purpose of their visit to

Masaka. In the Mayor’s chambers, the team had a meeting chaired by the President MDF

Masaka municipality Luberenga Paul.

Mr. Luberenga welcomed the visiting team to Masaka and said he was very happy to interact

with people who had the development of Masaka as priority .He said that the greatest asset a city

or a town can have is its people noting the central role of the Municipal Development Forum in

mobilizing this asset in Masaka for the purpose of developing their municipality. He thanked the

mayor’s office in Masaka for allowing the MDF to peacefully co-exist in Masaka, to play in the

space that is ideally not gazetted by law.

He praised the STDM program for helping to identify the key principle aspect of Masaka

municipality, the slum dwellers and informal settlement residents. According to the president

MDF, 85 % of Masaka residents live in informal settlements and slums and therefore to develop

Masaka, this percentage has to be involvement. Mr. Luberenga went on to add that STDM

allowed for a people focused development approach because the process allowed communities to

take charge from the onset by ensuring they administer the appraisal collecting the critical data

after fully mobilizing locals from their settlements. He concluded by summing up achievements

in Masaka on STDM; Masaka divisions had been profiled, the data was entered and a data centre

was in place at the Community Development Officer (CDO) office.

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Mr. Jack Makau, SDI representative in the delegation from Entebbe was next to speak. He

briefly shared on the alliance (ACTogether and NSDFU) focus on STDM and how it has

performed thus far .He said different challenges in communities are solved through dialogues

and that STDM uniqueness is the fact that it allows for this dialogue, starting a process that

enables communities build trust between them and their governments to the point where such

information is addressing sensitive issues such as land tenure and what it entails. He was pleased

of the progress registered in Masaka and urged the stakeholders involved to keep focused to

achieve great results in their town.

Danilo Antonio from GLNT said he takes pride in this tool which is giving very good and

encouraging reports from the communities where it has been employed. He was also happy to

learn of the forums which have been introduced in different municipalities and how they interact

with this information helping communities’ articulate issues and as such complimenting the

STDM process.

Olet Sarafino, the physical planner in Masaka said communities embraced the program and what

was needed was the constant updating of this information so that it can be used to inform gaps

that might exist in the towns’ development plans.

The Mayor of Masaka, His Worship Kayemba Afaayo then addressed the meeting .He began by

welcoming all the delegates to Masaka and for going to the town to witness what the STDM had

achieved so far. He said the monitoring element was commendable- when initiators go back to

establish progress .According to him, Uganda is urbanizing day in, day out and there is need to

plan for this urbanization. Land has continued to be a contentious issue in many parts of Uganda

adding that Masaka municipality has not been difficult to administrate on land. On a light note,

His Worship referred to Nyendo division as a ‘super slum’ despite being a home to many people,

some working at the municipal council. He called for immediate address on the situation there

and said that transformation was indeed overdue in Masaka. His Worship identified the STDM

tool as being people centered and one that appreciates people should own their own

development.

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Photo 1: The Mayor of Mbarara ,His Worship Wilson Tumwine and the visiting delegates

The team then went to the data centre where they met federation youth members who were

passionate in explaining how the tool works. As observed by Danilo Antonio from GLTN, ‘a

new generation of STDM professors’ had emerged. Thereafter, the team from the municipal

council and that from Entebbe had lunch and later visited the Masaka Zonal Land Registry office

recently launched by Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) under the

National Land Information Development Project which aims at minimizing cases of false land

titles and fraudulent land transaction through computerized land information systems. The office

also deals with registration of land titles, lease and free holds, caveats and mortgages among

others. While at the registry office, the team took a tour in the well appointed office led by an

official from the registry office and Mr. Olet Serafino the physical planner of Masaka.

The team then left Masaka for Entebbe in preparation for the two day workshop.

PHASE TWO-WORKSHOP IN ENTEBBE

On the 10th

of September, the delegates who had travelled to Tororo and Masaka were joined by

more representation from the aforementioned towns with an additional member from the

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Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) the legal entity responsible for the operations of

the capital city of Kampala in Uganda.

The moderator for the workshop was Lutwama Medie the programmes coordinator ACTogether

Uganda who kept the discussed lively and focused for the two days.

Prior to commencing the days business, members participated in an exercise in which they were

made to realize that the participation in the workshop was balanced .There was participation of

the civil society ,communities ,local NGO’s ,International NGO’s ,learning institutions and the

government . The moderator then gave a recap of the field activities in Masaka and Tororo for

the benefit of those who had joined the workshop and later shared the program, (See Annex 1).

He communicated that the STDM software had been recently updated creating a simpler version

that could be used by communities at different levels. He also informed the meeting that a

representative of KCCA was present in the workshop and was expected to give the Authority’s

perspective of the tool and how it can be used in capturing land rights in Kampala, the nation’s

capital city.

A volunteer from Entebbe led the meeting into a prayer to bless the deliberations for the day.

REMARKS FROM THE DEPUTY MAYOR ENTEBBE

Simon Kimanye, the deputy mayor of Entebbe municipality welcomed all delegates in Entebbe

and on a light note cautioned the delegates against littering Entebbe town, once declared one of

the cleanest towns in Uganda .He said he had participated in many successful government led

programs and was pleased to have been part of yet another program with a heart for the people; a

program that wants to improve lives of those in the grassroots and who are in most cases

forgotten. Referring to STDM as an enabling tool, the mayor said communities mobilized in

Entebbe have embraced it as a tool that can be used for city planning .He added that having data

per se is not enough because data must be for a particular purpose. He regretted that challenges

had been experienced while conducting the profiles in Entebbe but said learning comes with

challenges. ‘‘Stronger community information centres have been created and the pace has been

set in our town, it is now upon us to drive the process further ’’ he said. .He thanked the SDI

alliance in Uganda for empowering communities with skills and making them aware of what

their communities have and lack. He added that urban challenges will continue to exist and it

was high time for the workshop participants to critically look at number of interventions that can

be employed to combat these challenges of urbanization starting with fully incorporating the

STDM process in their information gathering systems in all municipalities. The mayor then

declared the workshop officially open.

Medie thanked the mayor for his communication and informed members that the ultimate

objective of those driving the STDM process should be to create change to transform their

settlements .He shared that positive reports on works of STDM have been seen to come from

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Mbale where the tool was first piloted, where service gaps have been addressed as a result of

information collected by this tool. He also commended the communities of Mbale for embracing

the tool and as such giving Uganda more opportunities to benefit from the dialogue the tool had

created.

Jack Makau ,Slum Dwellers International coordinator representative then addressed the session

and explained the rationale of the interaction between the governments, communities and the

STDM process .He said the tool has been a dream that has become a reality .-.He informed that

SDI has collected information in about 338 cities in the world and that the data base had created

strong empowered communities and led to success of these communities especially on how they

interact with the city governments to lobby and negotiate for services in their localities .The tool

developed to initiate a conversation on land rights among other rights gives great pride to the

pioneers who now see the maturity of this conversation .He added that all the 8 profiled

settlements of Mbale where STDM was piloted have projects aimed at making people’s

livelihoods better urging Entebbe to follow suit and work towards the good practices being

replicated to bring positive changes in their respective cities.

Antonio Danilo from GLTN shared that the tool has become a champion in facilitating

negotiations and discussions between communities and governments. Experiences from Mbale

have and continue to bring out the catalytic nature of the tool where it has attracted funding from

the Central government through the TSUPU program to enable communities have both capital

and livelihood projects .He added that Uganda is a model not only in Africa but also in the Asia

Pacific in as far as successes of the tool are concerned.

A representative from the NSDFU Lubega Idris and a national leader who has been at the centre

of collecting this information and teaching communities in the new four municipalities gave his

views on the tool .According to him, the STDM process has been smooth save from some

incidents of resistance in some sections of the communities especially those who felt threatened

because of the data the tool collects on land and tenure relations. Different communities have

reacted in different ways; with some participating because they expect the tool to provide a land

title and with some refusing to participate because they believe information given will lead to

their eviction .To clear this misunderstandings, constant and aggressive sensitization has had to

be done and with time communities have come to appreciate that the tool is a process that is to

drive such talk and not one to deliver the land title to them.

The National leader NSDFU added that data centers created in the four municipalities have made

communities assume a role of managers and drivers of their own development .The centres mean

communities are also in position to interact with this information whenever they want. Lubega

commended Community Development Officers and other technocrats who have worked very

closely with communities in these municipalities.

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Dan Woniala from Mbale, where the tool was first piloted talked of the initial steps of the STDM

process as being painful with some communities chasing the profilers with machetes because

they did not understand the process .With time however ,the same communities have come to

appreciate what the information collected has been able to do for Mbale informal settlements.

‘‘Presently, we have several taps, several sanitation units, water harvesting projects and more is

coming for the people of Mbale. We even have one of the largest community data centre with

computers and photocopying machine’’, he said .Through the negotiations and dialogue created

by this information ,communities have enabled the aspect of community contracting where

organized groups of Mbale were granted monies as large as 9M to put up sanitation units,

something that was unheard of in the past! .

Entebbe MDF president Mr. Kasaija appreciated the work STDM has been able to accomplish in

Mbale, the cradle of STDM in Uganda .He was also pleased to have used the tool in Entebbe

during the city profiles in June 2014 .He took the opportunity to commend his team –the Entebbe

Municipal Development Forum for the work done to mobilize communities during the profiles

adding that the profiles popularized the MDF in Entebbe as a space that can generate solutions

for their city if information collected can be discussed for common interest .

James Ochwor, a federation leader from Tororo shared that the norm in his municipality has been

for the political leaders organizing meetings to campaign over certain political seats but that this

has changed because communities’ confidence has been built as a result of the STDM process.

Communities now call meetings to discuss issues identified after analyzing the data. ‘‘It is now

information from the grassroots that is finding its way to the municipal level and into the budget

conferences to plan for Tororo’’ he said. Ochwor also shared that he was very happy to be in the

workshop so as to know what was next for Tororo in as far as STDM is concerned .He lamented

on a case that happened last year 2013, where by funds meant for Tororo’s development had to

be taken back to the Central government because they had not been spent; the municipality did

not know where to sink the funds. The council took time to decide where to use the funds and

between the decision making and the stiff Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets

(PPDA) systems, time was up for Tororo, financial period came to a close forcing the council to

surrender the funds. He said that such incidents will never happen because STDM will help them

to keep updating what they require for the settlements of Tororo.

The Community Development Officer of Masaka, Kizza Wilson shared experiences of Masaka

while collecting data using the tool. He said there had been fruitful deliberations in Masaka when

the profiles were taking place because of the massive mobilization undertaken prior to the

activity and the involvement of all stakeholders. The information collected had been entered and

disseminated to the people of Masaka during the launch of the settlement forums .He added that

there was need to ensure practicability of the collected information which led to three divisional

chairpersons leading the federation in Masaka becoming members of the Municipal

Development Forum where issues identified in the profiles are openly discussed to see what

solutions can be arrived at for people in that settlement.

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An interesting case was the interaction between the settlers on road reserves an example being

the Yellow Knife road and the Masaka council in talks led by the Masaka Municipal

Development Forum members. Peaceful negotiations transpired which resulted to the settlers

vacating the road. He said the forum as a space can complement the STDM process to bring

great results for a community. The political will is present in Masaka and there is a favorable

climate to have their municipality develop as a result of using this tool in conducting information

gathering and updating the same to keep it current. Sixty seven (67) groups have been mobilized

under the NSDFU in Masaka.

Mr. Douglas Muwonge, the Community Development Officer Entebbe municipality praised the

STDM tool and said that the process of profiling and use of STDM enlightens those in the

urban fraternity .He said urban dwellers and slums are here to stay and that the proliferation of

slums is a global phenomenon .Mr. Muwonge was of the view that the STDM process enables

slum dwellers to seek out for what they should be having as a right in their settlements .It helps

them recognize the situation they are in and need for change. Speaking of the USMID program,

the officer said there was need to guard against distorted development. ‘‘Even as Entebbe is a

USMID benefiting municipality, infrastructural development should not take place at the

expense of social development ;you might have roads but nobody will use them if the people are

sick and unfit .Physical planning must be accompanied by social and economic planning’’ he

said. He added that the STDM process will guide towards holistic development the social,

infrastructural and economic .According to him, a mental adjustment similar to positive living

with the HIV/AIDS virus is needed towards the transformation of these slums .He also said that

the Entebbe municipality is updating its website and furnishing it with the recent collected

information which is going to be open source and used by all for the development of Entebbe

and Uganda in general.

Delegates were then taken into a session where they were to identify capacity gaps in as far as

STDM is concerned .Jack Makau guided the group into thinking in the lines of placing STDM

data and national data or census .He wanted them to answer the following questions; what are the

similarities between national census and community generated data? , which one is more

thorough? , can they complement each other?

Group 1; ACTogether, MLHUD, LAND SURVEY INSTITUTE, GNLT

This group noted the limitations of a national census like the one Uganda had in August this year

and the gaps it might have because of the minimal time allocated to carry out this activity and the

weather conditions alike .In areas such as Kampala where profiles have just been completed,

information from the slums can be used by the Uganda Bureau of Statics (UBOS) to fill up some

gaps. The profiles however will not provide household data to UBOS but rather settlement data.

Only household enumerations can capture household data.

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National census was noted to have one major problem; delay in analysis of the data which at

times takes a minimum of 1 year .Community profiles were at an advantage here because data

collected is analyzed and given back to communities to verify. It is later disseminated to

communities and local governments to inform planning. All this can be done in three months, a

very short period compared to national census.

Questions of authenticity, ratification and adoption of data collected by communities as opposed

to that collected by UBOS personnel can be answered by involvement of UBOS staff in

subsequent community data collection .The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development

can help in linking the SDI Uganda Alliance to the officials at UBOS where such talks can take

shape. Here the parties can agree on parameters of UBOS and how this data is to be collected.

Community confidence created while carrying out these activities was noted as a major

achievement by this group. Partnerships also continue to add weight to the work of the alliance

and they (alliance) should strive to do this such as the recent formed partnership between

ACTogether and KCCA where the alliance is a member of the Urban Renewal Committee

The strength of STDM tool was noted as seen with the continuous updating of community data

which process keeps the information alive .For instance, Uganda’s last census was in 2002 .Data

from the communities can be used to fill gaps seen in the last 14 years or used to compliment any

other arrangement put by UBOS in collecting information for instance on projected population

data among others.

It was noted that not a single entity of government can update community information with

accuracy and hence the need for concerted efforts. Members noted the need for continuous

support to the created data centers located in the municipalities to ensure that the physical

planners can access information fast and in this way use it and forward it to national offices

whenever there is need to and as such continue placing STDM at a national level.

Bureaucracy in accessing information to be used for planning was noted as an issue of concern.

Ready satellite imagery is available in Uganda but the agencies having it do not want to share it

with others because they consider it sensitive information. ACTogether representatives said they

shared similar sentiments having experienced such issues while profiling in Kampala. A way

forward towards this bureaucracy is to advocate for different professionals complimenting each

other’s work but the question remains on loyalty to the organization where such professionals are

employed.

GROUP TWO

The four municipalities were tasked with the responsibility of identifying what they had

managed to accomplish in the collection of profile data, priorities identified and what the profile

data was currently doing in their cities.

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TORORO

Community profiles identified 8 settlements in Tororo.

Settlements were mobilized and sensitized on NSDFU rituals.

The following were identified as priorities in Tororo municipality

The need for public sanitation units

The need for health facilities

Need for improved housing in the slums; some people are living with their livestock

Data has been disseminated to municipal council to inform planning

Exiting Gaps

Projects have not yet been implemented since we are still in the initial stages but this

need to be done fast.

Prioritization of the community priorities in the five year plan has not been done to

reflect what the Tororo community hold as priority.

Massive mobilization needs to be done to get a buy in from the MDF members so that

they can cooperate with the federation and the council on developing Tororo. Such

sensitization will make the MDF see the need in allocating some funds to the data centre

to ensure it is in good shape to provide necessary information to plan for Tororo.

MASAKA

In Masaka 67 groups have been mobilized and three groups have adopted the federation

ritual of conducting daily saving.

Community profiles were done in all the divisions of Masaka identified as informal

settlement and slums.

The data centre is in place and functional. It is managed by Masaka youth who have

mastered the STDM tool and who can constantly update data from the communities.

There is political will to drive the program in Masaka project; the political leaders

support the program.

Slum dwellers chairpersons frequently interact with the Community Developing Officers

and recently three representatives of settlement forums sit on the Municipal Development

Forum meetings

ENTEBBE

In Entebbe, saving groups have been formed and saving is ongoing.

Community profiles were conducted and data disseminated to people during the

settlement forums launch.

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Information collected is now being used to plan for service delivery .A very interesting

scenario is that National Water Sewerage Company water coverage data/map showing

that Kigungu is well supplied with water yet going by the recent community profiles,

the area is in dire need of water.

The STDM data centre in Entebbe has been set up but the members are sharing with the

office with the Community Developing Officer which limits access.

Existing Gaps

There is need to continuously train the community profilers.

There is also need to equip the office more; probably with the provision of a camera, a

scanner and a GPS machine.

There is need to continuously update the data; for instance a new health centre in Katabi

zone has been completed .This was however not reflected in the June profiles.

MBALE

Mbale was the first municipality to profile two settlements; Mission and Bufumbo using

the STDM tool. The wider Mbale has however have not yet been profiled using the tool

The Mbale representatives said they needed a GPS machine so that they can regularly

update their data.

Projects such as water harvesting, sanitation units, stone peached drainages have been

implemented by communities through community contracting.

Mbale has a large data centre which the community lobbied from the municipal council.

The centre attracts officials from the government and the academia in Mbale.

Reflections on presentations from the four municipalities

Representatives from the Institute of Land and Survey wanted Masaka to explain why there is

political will in Masaka yet history has shown Masaka as a volatile place when it comes to

politics.

The CDO Mr.Kiiza Wilson responded by saying that the secret to this political will and

collaboration is that there has been involvement of leaders right from the onset ,from the

commencement of the program. He went on to explain how things are done in Masaka as

follows; All leaders of Local Council members, municipal technocrats and city agents and now

the Municipal Development Forum members are called into a meeting to introduce any new

project/program for the town of Masaka .The mayor of Masaka gets the first letter to attend any

particular meeting and he always makes time for the people of Masaka .The Resident District

Commissioner is also invited in all meetings and he receives similar letter as that of the Mayor.

Local Council members are not left behind; chairpersons from the different divisions are also

called into the meeting and this ensures there is no opposition at the grassroots and gives room

for peaceful deliberations.

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He added that municipal officials have also been made to understand the role of MDF, a role to

complement their efforts and not to compete with officials at the council.

Keying Data and Management of Data

Frederick Mugisa from ACTogether made a presentation on how data is entered and managed

using the STDM tool

Reaction the Presentation

A representative from the institute of Land and Survey in Entebbe said the session has been very

interesting and one that can provide a different direction on how students are taught at the

institute .He went on to say that the institute has been using SPSS while teaching students on

management of data .According to him, the STDM software was simple and easy to learn and

interpret data too.

Remarks from Bogere Stephen-Senior Sociologist MLHUD

Mr. Bogere thanked the organizers of the workshop and colleagues from the four municipalities

for their participation He said, Uganda is making positive steps from the last interaction that

members had in Mbale in February where the expansion of the STDM program was discussed

and later implemented in Tororo, Masaka and Entebbe. He observed that Mbale residents have

used the data to inform the service gaps they had and that now they have both capital and

livelihood projects that have answered many of the community needs there. He added that

information per se can do nothing unless when used for the right reasons .He urged community

development officers to work within the data provided to put tangible infrastructure in the

settlements because this data comes from the very people these service gaps affect and is

thorough to provide gaps in all sectors-health ,social and livelihood improvement.

Mr. Bogere was of the view that learning institutions should be engaged in the process of

gathering this data to the point of including the tool in their curriculum. According to him,

students from the Institute of survey and Land Management in Entebbe, Makerere University and

many other local universities where information is collected would greatly gain by actively

participating in the process of STDM adding that research is usually challenged by scarcity of

data- and not data per se but reliable data.

The senior sociologist also observed that the Uganda Bureau of Statistics should be part of the

STDM process so as to appreciate efforts made by communities and institutions focused in the

urban agenda in general .According to him, the UBOS personnel have a statistics mind set but

they might not have the beautiful skills that local communities posses so as to generate the rich

data that the STDM tool is able to collect .He called for collaborative efforts and quote ,‘‘We in

the centre of this process must find ways of fine tuning methodologies that can help to generate a

15

buy in from many partners. The Private sector needs to be engaged to inform the transformation

we need-.In the different municipalities, five year development plans have been made but this

does not rule out the need to conduct an assessment .We should not end up with data but data for

what?’’

Mr. Bogere cautioned communities against getting comfortable with the situation at present and

forgetting where they came from by ensuring they keep documenting these engagements and

striving to keep a working relationship with their local governments alive .He said the interaction

should be clearly documented so that the lessons can be taken elsewhere .For instance, Mbale

city where the STDM process has had a significant effect should have documented the process;

Where are we now? What has been done so far? , what has been done to gaps identified? What

were the gaps in 2011 and where are we in 2014?

Next to speak was Danilo Antonio from GLTN who reflected on the first day of the workshop by

summarizing the following issues.

STDM has kept the dialogue between communities and their municipalities alive and

transformation of these settlements is set to happen as these partnerships keep growing stronger.

Looking at the future, players should see to it how it can inform national priorities. At individual

level, we should all ask ourselves, what can I do, what can the tool do and what can an institution

do? .Danilo added that for the capacity gaps existing at the data centres, should not incapacitate

communities to continuing the STDM process but instead begin a conversation on how

communities can lobby for what they lack .He said he takes great pride on the new emerging

STDM ‘professors’ like those he interacted with in Masaka and Tororo municipalities.

The Mayor of Entebbe thanked participants for the active engagement and adjourned the session

to meet the following day.

Day 2

The second workshop day began with a recap of the first day which was done by Daniel

Woniala, a community mobilizer from Mbale. Later , members viewed two STDM videos; one

showing the global impact of STDM and one showing its impact in Uganda and specifically the

four municipalities of Masaka, Mbale, Entebbe and Tororo.

Reactions from the videos

Members noted that traditional methods of recognizing land are expensive and STDM can

provide a solution for this because it recognizes multiple owners of land including women who

are in many cases oppressed on matters of land ownership and rights to land. STDM also has an

element of empowering governments to also promote inclusive development if well

comprehended by governments and its people.

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Daniel from Mbale informed the meeting that the video on municipal profiles in Mbale, Entebbe,

Masaka and Tororo summarizes what has been happening in the four municipalities but quickly

added that it should not make other municipalities fear because the process has not been as

smooth as shown in the video. According to him, the process has been a learning process, with

challenges that have been overcome and created a buy in between communities and their local

governments to bring about visible fruits (projects) in the informal settlements.

James Lwanga from KCCA said the video taken in Mbale ,Entebbe, Tororo and Masaka showed

great confidence in the communities participating in the process .He also said that the kind of

relationship they had with their governments was also commendable .The tool’s ability to

increase networking between government and communities and other stakeholders was

tremendous.

Mr. Lwanga added that KCCA has a program to improve slums in Kampala (slum upgrading)

teaming up with the Physical Planning Directorate .He said information captured by this tool

would be greatly appreciated and used to inform the directorate at KCCA.

Next in session was a presentation of the work of the Institute of Land and Survey Institute and

their views on STDM.

Mr. Bosco, a lecturer at the institute said a review of the school’s curriculum was imminent so

as to integrate the software into their system .He said the institute is looking to partner with

others to popularize the tool and why it is well suited in collecting data in the settlements .

Members in the workshop gave their views in as far as the presentation was concerned. Mr.

Bogere MLHUD said it is high time that local universities in the nine municipalities get involved

in the process .Municipalities must strive to make STDM a living tool by continuously updating

their information and integrating it with their community information systems. The Government

through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development should tag the tool to all its

programs so as to popularize it and make use of it. The sociologist also informed the session that

under the USMID program, there is a requirement to have an updated physical plan and that the

tool can do this sufficiently and satisfactorily to enrich the process because it involves the

community and leaves them with a sense of ownership; once they own the process, they own the

product too.

James Lwanga from KCCA briefly shared on how he sees the tool featuring in their work in

Kampala. He said the tool offered ready information to plan for informal settlements in

Kampala .He said the recent profiles conducted by the SDI alliance showed that 72% or so in

Kampala consist of slum dwellers which means to develop Kampala, channels have to be created

that will enable KCCA and other players reach out to the 72%. He commended the work of

ACTogether in pushing for the institutionalization of the Municipal Development forums which

can be used to address the aforesaid 72% adding that the information gathering reinforces the

MDF, it makes the debate in the MDF rich because it is based on information .He also spoke of

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the continuous updating of the community information to ensure it is reliable and relevant to the

times. He concluded by saying partnerships were very critical to taking the STDM good

practices to another level citing the newly formed partnership between KCCA and the SDI

alliance who are now members in the urban renewal.

Medie from ACTogether shared that the STDM tool should not appear as one that glorifies slums

but one that acknowledge slums are there and one that can start a process where they can be

formalized and recognized by the state .He challenged the members to think of a situation where

the government knows how many people exist in a certain informal settlement ,where the

same government recognizes that the people therein are in need of certain services and as such

goes ahead to plan for its upgrading .According to him, doing this will mean that the STDM tool

and the process that comes with it will have achieved by 100% in Uganda!

Mr. Danilo then opened another session on the concretizing of action plans for the next phase of

STDM in Uganda .He communicated that Global Land Tools Network is going to support

Uganda to scale up the STDM process further .This support will be in the form of;

Strengthening the expansion of STDM; taking the STDM to all the nine municipalities

under the USMID program

Supporting the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on the Land Policy

implementation

Supporting the Rural Development part of STDM-security of tenure for farmers which

will be done through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Supporting the Uganda Land Alliance an organization focusing on tenure for women and

also the legal aspect for the poor in as far as land tenure is concerned.-

Providing ways in which Uganda can mobilize more support by acting as a catalyst ,for

the support given to Uganda acting as a catalyst for more funding from other players.

Mr. Danilo said he will be pleased to see Uganda becoming one of the countries that can use the

STDM to map out settlements and use the information to improve their localities.

Participants then sat in groups as per their municipalities to prepare informed work plans on how

they plan to take on the STDM process in this second phase. (See Annex II).

The session was graced to have Mr. Mabala, the commissioner Urban Development who joined

the day’s proceedings that afternoon. He briefly shared that his ministry has been playing on the

STDM program in Uganda. He said he has been present right on the onset of STDM in Uganda

and has witnessed its ability to bring meaningful lasting solutions to communities needs through

the partnerships it has created between local communicates and their governments. He said he

had seen communities getting empowered and voicing out issues through the process .The

commissioner was of the view that STDM coupled with SDI methods of collecting data helps

improve on recognition of slums and informal settlements which would probably not happen

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were it not for this software. ‘‘It is common

knowledge that where slums exist ,there is no

identification but this tool has the ability to do

just that .By the number the enumerators write

on a door while collecting the information,

you get an address and by the profile

information ,the settlement gets recognized ’’

he said

The commissioner communicated that his

Ministry is exploring the possibility of scaling

up what was done in Mbale and rolling out

STDM in all the 14 municipalities .According

to him, planning is not an office affair but

participatory where different stakeholder’s

voices count. He called on physical planners

to make use of interns on industrial training to

familiarize them with the tool because that is

the where technology is taking us. Mr. Mabala was of the view that slums today are a result of

failure to plan fifty years ago and hence the need to keep planning and updating the data base

constantly to know what service has been provided, where and what has not and in the same way

plan on providing for the missing services in due time .

The commissioner spoke of the complicated tenure systems which complicate the whole

equation of orderly planning .He praised the STDM tool for allowing for the recognition of

different form of land ownership which can assist in land regularization .He noted that STDM

had greatly borrowed on the Transforming Settlements of the Urban Poor in Uganda (TSUPU)

program best practices which program has a component of Municipal Development Forums ,an

aspect that can complement the STDM process by making sure data gathered is disseminated in

community platforms to create a bigger impact to benefit the society rather than individual

interests.

On the sustainability of the process and generally projects led by the government to empower

communities such as Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID)

,TSUPU and STDM, the commissioner pushed for communities using vehicles created by these

programs such as Settlement Development Forums (SDF) and Municipal Development Forums

(MDF) to advocate for collective action to develop their localities .He said informal settlers

should spend less and save more and know there is power in one organized voice. He added that

it is high time communities move from informality to engaging in something for the outside

economy, to produce for the markets and to becoming investors of tomorrow, to forming housing

cooperatives and becoming landlords of tomorrow.

Photo 2: Commissioner Urban Development Mr. Samuel Mabala

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He also appreciated the work of KCCA which is now on board referring to a recent partnership

between the SDI alliance in Uganda and KCCA. He said there was need for a paradigm shift on

how the authority relates to slum dwellers. The authority must engage slum dwellers and other

informal settlers because if they know they have a stake for the city, they will protect it.

In his concluding remarks, the Commissioner appreciated the support from UN

HABITAT/GLTN and urged fellow Ugandans in the session to share knowledge implement the

action plans and remain committed to these work plans .He cautioned them against

procrastination which will always lag them behind.

He concluded with the following and quote, ‘‘we can decide to fail the process or make it

succeed .We must take the wheel and get on the driving seat. The direction is now known, let us

choose to drive’’.

The two day workshop then came to an official close after closing remarks from the deputy

mayor of Entebbe .The mayor said he was pleased to have been host to such a rich class of

delegates and was confident of the coming future based on what members had deliberated. He

added that the solution to the problems of slums is not chasing them from the city but rather

devising means of making them part of the cities .He warned of political bickering which will

fail projects and programs meant to change and transform informal settlements right before they

commence .He said he had learnt quite a lot on the STDM tool and would look out to see how

information will feed in the coming budget for Entebbe town .He bid journey mercies to the

delegates and declared the workshop closed.

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Annex 1 PROGRAM

NO. ITEM TIME WHO

1. a) Prayers and Introductions 8.30-9am

b) Official opening 9-9.10am Mayor-Entebbe

c) Program sharing 9.10-9.20 Hellen

d) Workshop objectives and Video

on STDM experience in the 4

municipalities; Entebbe, Mbale,

Masaka and Tororo towns.

9.20-

10.10am

GLTN/Medie

TEA BREAK

2. a) STDM Experience sharing by

the MoLHUD and

Municipalities on role of STDM

in the planning and

implementation of the on-going

municipal upgrading projects in

Masaka, Mbale, Tororo and

Entebbe (e.g. TSUPU, USMID

etc.)

10.30-1pm Municipal representative and

MOLHUD

LUNCH

3. a) Consolidating STDM

capacity gaps per

Municipality (group

work)

2pm-2.30 GLTN/ ACT

4. a) Data preparations and

management

2.30pm-

3pm

GLTN/Freddie

5 b) Data management with updated

STDM version

3pm-5pm GLTN/Freddie

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DAY TWO

NO. ITEM TIME WHO

1. a) Recap of Day 1

b) Profiling data analysis and

reporting

8.30-

8.50am

8.50-10am

Medie/Hellen

Freddie/GLTN

BREAKFAST

2. a) Mapping and Map data

overview in various formats

10.20am-

1pm

GLTN and Freddie

LUNCH

3. a) Action plans for empowering

the 4 municipalities as STDM

learning centres. (Group work)

b) Action plans for scaling up

STDM to the 14 municipalities

with support from MOLHUD

2pm-

3.30pm

3-4pm

Hellen/Medie

Bogere (MLHUD)

4. a) Workshop RUP up and

Concluding remarks

GLTN/ACTogether/NSDFU

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Annex III Participants

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