DGF Hires Poll Expert ahead of 2021 as CSOs, Facility Clash in Leaked Email

By Francis Otucu

The Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) has hired an election expert ahead of 2021 General Polls, this news site exclusively reports.

Well-placed sources say Marco De Swart was hired late last year and started work, formally, as Programme and Learning Manager Democratic Processes, in January 2020.

His employer declined to comment on his recruitment.

However, in an interview by phone, De Swart confirmed our story.

“I am new to DGF, having joined in January,” he said.

His hiring comes barely a year to Uganda’s 2021 polls, an exercise expected early next year.

At a cocktail hosted by the Netherlands Embassy on February 27, 2020 his recruitment and presence in Uganda was described by his nobles as timely.

DGF, CSOs CLASH

Inside sources say De Swart’s coming in followed a sharp disagreement between the facility and Civil Society Organizations.

This, insiders say, should explain his hiring given his demonstrated history of working on civil society, conflict, justice and development issues.

De Swart is also said to be armed with professional skills in Nonprofit Organizations, Security Management, Sustainable Development, Capacity Development, Humanitarian, Conflict, and Violent Extremism & Radicalization.

Sometime last year, the DGF came up with tough measures versus their partners.

However, some of this measures remain a top secret yet with some sources suggesting that these ‘measures’ are damaging.

The said measures attracted protests from the CSOs.

As a result, irrefutable sources say, Richard Ssewakiryanga, the Executive Director, Uganda National NGO Forum summoned a meeting.

The invitation was sent by email and the meeting held between 11am and 1pm of February 21, 2020 at NGO Forum offices, Kampala.

Key on the agenda was ‘domestic observation for the 2021 General Elections’

Given DGF’s ‘tough conditions’, sources say, CSOs had to sit down and strategize on what of kind of partnerships to carry on with the facility.

This, can be correlated by a leaked email, a copy we have seen.

THE EMAIL

“Dear Colleagues:

Apologies for the delay in reverting on this matter.  

Please find attached the short communique that we agreed to share with you after our meeting on Friday 21 Feb.  This has come out late because we were seeking additional clarifications on the nature of partnership that we should have around this facility with DGF.  

UNNGOF has now concluded the discussion with DGF and we have determined that UNNGOF will not be able to play any role in this facility – this includes – hosting and political leadership or any other active participation role.

We would therefore request members come together and discuss on a modality that would work to take this process forward.

Our decision was occasioned by our disagreement with the conditionalities set by DGF which we think will not allow us to play an effective role. 

Kind Regards 

Richard” Ssewakiryanga’s email to 17 top CSO bosses on March 2, 2020, reads.

Ssewakiryanga did not respond to our repeated phone calls.

By text message, he asked that we send him a text.

However, he is yet to return our WhatsApp message, despite reading it.

According to De Swart, the CSOs had sometime last year raised concerns they were not happy about.

However, he did not divulge details into these concerns.

He pledged, though, that the issues raised by the CSOs had been noted and will be take care of.

“I know that there was a party conference last year. That conference addressed a number of issues but partners were not so happy. We aware of some of those concerns,” he said underscoring the need for partnerships.

“In a partnership, you always have to develop the relationship. Their concerns have been noted and will be taken care of,” he said adding, “We have not had any calls for proposals. Not any funding promise made available to any of the partners.”

Worth noting is that the DGF is funded by seven of Uganda,s International Development Partners (Austria, Denmark, European Union, Ireland, the Netherlands Norway and Sweden).

This, to provide harmonized and coordinated support to state and non-state partners to strengthen democracy, protect human rights, improve access to justice and enhance accountability in Uganda.