The Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Programme (NUREP)

The Grant Manager of NUREP, Richard Sewajje, left the programme on the 1st November 2009, for a new position with USAID. Richard has been working with NUREP for 2.5 years and was responsible for the successful launch of 2 calls for proposals, and the management of in total 48 grant contracts, with a value of € 10.3 million. In the period he worked for NUREP Richard fully internalised the complex rules and regulation fo the EU that govern grants management, and has been a great help to guide the grantees through the regulatory maze. During his farewell drink on 30 October, many grantees lauded Richard's patience and coolheadedness, and his prompt responses to the many queries he got on a daily basis.

Although Richard was an important factor in the successful grant management of NUREP, the grantees are still in the safe hands of Beatrice Arach and Jimmy Ochien, who will take care of them during the last 8 months of implementation. We wish Richard all the best in his new job.  

Northern Uganda Rehabilitation has undergone a Mid Term Review (MTR). The MTR which commenced on 25th May 2009 was completed in August 2009. The MTR is a requirement of the Financing Agreement (FA) to assess the Programme’s performance based on the objectives and indicators laid down in the logical framework. On the whole, the findings showed that the Programme is progressing well towards its overall objective and purpose.

The consultants visited 12 out of the 18 Programme operational districts in the four regions. They also engaged with key stakeholders namely the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the National Authorising Office (NAO), the European Commission (EC), local government officials, local NGOs and the beneficiary communities. They commended the Project Management Unit (PMU) for working efficiently despite the delays encountered at the beginning of the Programme.

The Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Programme has scooped fourth position in the first ever European Union Communication Awards for EU funded projects and programmes in Uganda. The overall winner was the Sawlog Production Grants Scheme (SPGS), with Civil Society Capacity Building Programme (CSCBP) and Human Rights and Good Governance Programme (HRGGP) second and third runners up, respectively.

Presiding over the Awards ceremony, the Head of the EU Delegation in Uganda, Ambassador Vincent de Visscher, thanked all the programmes for their hard work in 2008. "This competition is a small reminder that what we do is for the people of Uganda", he said.

NUREP submitted for the competition their redesigned brochure, Newsletter and the website.

In his remarks, the Programme Manager, NUREP outlined  a series of new communication initiatives for 2009.

Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Programme (NUREP) has awarded a Human Rights Based and Conflict Sensitive Approaches (HRBA) consultancy to the International Law Institute. The contract was signed on 5^th December 2008 at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

The consultancy on HRBA capacity building supports the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) initiatives in Northern Uganda. The intervention will strengthen the application of a human rights based approach (HRBA), Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPMR) and Conflict Sensitivity Approaches (CSA) amongst NUREP partners and local governments in Northern Uganda. It will also ensure that the principles of HRBA, CPMR and CSA and their values as advocacy and implantation tools are understood and applied by NUREP’s implementation partners and stakeholders in the execution of their contacts and their daily work.and local governments in Northern Uganda.