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07Nov

Job Opportunity: Finance and Grants Manager

Author CIPESA Writer Posted on

Announcement |

We are searching for a Finance and Grants Manager who will be responsible for overseeing financial transactions, maintaining accurate financial records, and ensuring compliance with financial policies and regulations. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis.

Job Title/ Position: Finance and Grants Manager

Type: Full Time National Staff

Location: Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Executive Director

Contract Length: 3 years (renewable)

Start Date: November/December 2023 (To be shortlisted on rolling basis)

Job Summary

The Finance and Grants Manager is responsible for overseeing financial transactions, maintaining accurate financial records, and ensuring compliance with financial policies and regulations of the USAID funds. This role plays a vital part in the organisation’s financial management and supports decision-making processes by providing accurate and timely financial information. Furthermore, the Manager will support the CIPESA management in donor compliance, timely reporting, project document filing, and project management.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Key Result #1 – Financial Planning and Budgeting (20%)

Key Result #2 – Grant Management (20%)

Key Result #3 – Financial Compliance and Risk Management (20%)

Key Result #4 – Financial Reporting and Analysis (20%)

Key Result #5 – Grants and Funding Strategy (10%)

Key Result #6 – Representation and External Relations (10%)

Education and Experience

  • Degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field (a Masters degree is beneficial)
  • Significant experience in managing and implementing programs in the non-governmental sector, with at least five years in a management position
  • Professional certification (e.g. CPA, CFA) is a plus.
  • Proven experience with USAID regulations and general donor relationships
  • Proven budget management experience coupled with experience in implementing and working in accordance with corporate structures, policies and practices.
  • Experience in proposal-writing, budgeting and financial management.
  • Demonstrated experience with participatory approaches, including capacity building of local institutions
  • Knowledge and experience working with other cultures and sensitive to the cross-cultural issues

Language Skills

  • Proficiency in spoken and written English. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, partners, in English.

NOTE:

The Complete Job Description is available here.

Employment with CIPESA offers an attractive package which includes; a good salary commensurate to one’s role, a good medical insurance package for staff and dependents, provident fund, GPA and provision for other statutory requirements.

CIPESA is an equal opportunity employer. All suitably qualified candidates are encouraged to apply by clearly stating the position applied for in the Subject line and submitting only electronic copies in one pdf file not more than 25MB of an application letter, a detailed CV, contact telephone numbers, copies of relevant testimonials/certificates, names/contact details of three referees, addressed to: Human Resource Manager, CIPESA Email: [email protected] not later than Friday, November 17, 2023 (N.B. Extended to November 21, 2023), at 5:00pm. Consider your application unsuccessful if you don’t hear from us by December 22, 2023.

 Standards of Professional Conduct:

CIPESA strives to provide an environment free from Sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment and Fraud. CIPESA holds a zero-tolerance policy against Sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment and Fraud. CIPESA expects its employees and partners to maintain high ethical standards, protect organizational integrity and reputation, and ensure that CIPESA’s work is carried out in honest and fair methods, in alignment with the CIPESA’s anti-fraud, Safeguarding and associated policies. Violations to stated policies will be subject to corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

Note: All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and may be subject to appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with CIPESA Safeguarding, Anti-Fraud & HR policy. In line with this we will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of fraud, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

06Nov

Addressing The Gender Dynamics of Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in Africa

Author CIPESA Posted on

By Juliet Nanfuka |

November 2 marked the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, a  United Nations (UN) recognised day observed annually that serves to draw attention to the level of impunity for crimes against journalists. While impunity for crimes against journalists is high and is a global reality, there is a concerning and continued gender-biased undercurrent that shapes and informs the media landscape in many African countries. As such, some cases of crimes especially against women journalists go unrecognised. The safety of African women journalists is therefore an urgent concern and a key cornerstone of press freedom..

As such, the Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has embarked on a multi-country project centred on implementing some of the recommendations of the 2022 report on the State of Media Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Africa. 

According to the report, while both men and women journalists in Africa are likely to experience trolling, more women have been sexually harassed and threatened. Further, online attacks against women journalists appear to be increasing exponentially and have also moved offline – with potentially deadly consequences. Yet women journalists who experience abuse online rarely seek justice and often struggle to have their complaints taken seriously and properly investigated. 

Illustrative cases include some from Kenya, where in 2018, several women in the media were the target of smear campaigns on social media platforms, through hashtags, photos, and video-edited graphics depicting nude characters. In 2019, a  female journalist’s phone number was publicly shared on Twitter by Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) political party in South Africa, which resulted in “an avalanche of racialised and sexist abuse, including rape and death threats.” Although the EFF was sued, and the court found that the party had violated the electoral code by failing to “instruct and take reasonable steps to ensure that their supporters do not harass, intimidate, threaten or abuse journalists and especially women”, the case is a microcosm of what women journalists across the continent experience particularly when reporting on politics.    

More broadly, the media landscape in Africa has become rife with arbitrary censorship, especially on the internet, arrests of journalists on the grounds of combating cybercrime, fake news or terrorism, and acts of violence against media personnel that usually go completely unpunished. Although media plurality has improved dramatically on the continent, the gender dynamics remain ever-present, such as few women holding executive positions in media companies. Meanwhile, the increased reliance on technology has seen the affronts experienced by female journalists transferred online with a bigger impact on the profession, which is forcing some out entirely, silencing others from reporting on critical concerns or encouraging a culture of self-censorship. 

Accordingly, the CIPESA/UNESCO collaboration seeks to create avenues of engagement on these concerns and how they undermine the practice of journalism by women. These will be pursued by a series of inperson meetings revolving around recommendations that emerged from the documentation of media freedom and journalist’s safety in Africa. 

This work builds on earlier interventions by CIPESA including the 2020 Women At Web Uganda (#WomenAtWebUg) Masterclass and Reporting Grant which served to increase the visibility of the dynamics faced by Ugandan women online and improve balance, quality and regularity of reporting. Through the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF), CIPESA supported the Women In Media Initiative Somalia (WIMISOM) in building the digital security skills and knowledge of women journalists (print, broadcast and online) and women-led media organisations in Puntland, Somalia and Somaliland as a means of combating threats against female journalists and their sources. 

In 2022, CIPESA joined the Uganda Media Sector Working Group (UMSWG) in the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day where the theme “Journalism Under Digital Siege” was the focus of deliberation. Discussion at the UMSWF meeting resonated with insights that emerged from research in Namibia. In 2022, the ADRF provided support to the Internet Society – Namibia Chapter to develop a country situational assessment on the state of online violence against girls and women in Namibia. The assessment reaffirmed the experiences of Namibian journalists as similar to those worldwide. It noted that, “where online attacks against women journalists have political motives, where political

actors, extremist networks and partisan media are identified as instigators and amplifiers of online violence against women journalists.”

In May 2023, in recognition of International Women’s Day (IWD), CIPESA hosted a regional webinar titled “Tech4Equality: Advocating for Gender Inclusive ICT Policy and governance” that assembled gender experts from a host of countries including Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. This was complemented by efforts in Cameroon where CIPESA alongside Civic Watch and DefyHateNow engaged women journalists at a workshop on the opportunities for embracing technology while also being alive to the challenges inherent to journalism in the digital space. 

Meanwhile, gender inequalities, bias and the media have been key points of deliberation at the annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) which this year marked a decade. It entailed a workshop in which partners including the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), Pollicy, AfricTivistes, and Internews presented insights from their work and recommended multi-stakeholder interventions to address online violence against women.

As more women in the media operate in environments rifled with gender-based challenges and threats that stem from deeply ingrained societal norms, collaborative efforts are required for more impactful responses to be reached. This is fundamental as the role of women journalists in shaping narratives and advancing social progress in Africa should be prioritised.

03Nov

African Perspectives on Operationalising UNESCO’s Guidelines for Regulating Digital Platforms

Author CIPESA Posted on

By Juliet Nanfuka |

Across the world, governments are introducing laws to regulate online content. Many of these laws contain provisions that may lead to the increasing removal of legitimate expression as opposed to harmful and illegal content. In turn, the global community continues to grapple with the question of how harmful online content should best be moderated in a manner that does not undermine citizens’ right of access to information and freedom of expression.

On September 28, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) held a high-level panel discussion on unpacking African perspectives on the operationalisation of UNESCO’s Guidelines for regulating digital platforms. The session was among the discussions held at the 2023 edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) which assembled organisations from across Africa and beyond to deliberate on reigning concerns in the internet governance and digital rights landscape.

The UNESCO Guidelines (in full referred to as Guidelines for regulating digital platforms: a multistakeholder approach to safeguarding freedom of expression and access to information) aim to safeguard  freedom  of  expression,  access  to information,  and  other  human  rights in the context of the development and implementation of digital platform regulatory  processes. The guidelines outline rights-respecting regulatory processes and promote risk   and system-based processes for content moderation and curation. Following a series of multistakeholder consultations and contributions that started in September 2022 the guidelines have been under review with a launch of the final document yet to be announced. 

The panel featured at FIFAfrica comprised John Bosco Mayiga, Programme Specialist at UNESCO, who moderated the discussion, Hon. Neema Lugangira, Chairperson of the African Parliamentary Network on Internet Governance (APNIG), Grace Githaiga, Convenor of the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), Dr. Simon-Peter Kafui Aheto from the University of Ghana, and Samira Danburam, New Media and Security Manager at the Nigerian Communications Commission.

Mayiga noted that there are growing shared concerns by many actors in the digital society on how to better harness the benefits of information platforms while also addressing the challenges that come with it. “There is much to gain with digital transformation. However, amidst hate speech and disinformation, there is also much to lose,” he said.  “How do we move forward leveraging the advantages of the platforms, but also take care of the excesses that happen to be part and parcel of platforms?”

Githaiga noted that there are no fast and easy answers in dealing with the current challenges of content moderation. She further noted that the guidelines will be invaluable in serving as a basis for individual countries, especially as different countries are at different levels of digital regulation while socio-cultural contexts also vary across borders. 

Indeed, various countries, particularly in Africa, are still grappling with navigating issues such as hate speech, disinformation, protecting legitimate online freedom of expression, content moderation, and data privacy. Dr. Kafui-Aheto added that the Internet Universality Indicators (IUI’s) are a great complementary tool to the guidelines. He also stressed that digital literacy, including on regulatory frameworks, is fundamental in the realisation and utilisation of the indicators and the UNESCO guidelines by more stakeholders. 

The speakers discussed the potential paths that the operationalisation of the guidelines in Africa could take. There was consensus amongst panelists on the need to create regional and national multi-stakeholder networks that enable the active participation of diverse groups in the implementation of digital platform regulation. This consensus was reached as the challenge of ensuring that online platforms serve as places where individuals can seek factual information but without fear was a recurring theme across FIFAfrica. 

Ultimately, the session stressed that the creation of an internet of trust cannot be the preserve of any particular group however specialised they are; it should be a collaborative effort that includes all stake-holders.

The guidelines are designed to inform regulatory processes under development or review for digital platforms, in a manner that is consistent with international human rights standards. According to UNESCO, the Guidelines may serve as a resource for policymakers in identifying legitimate objectives, human rights principles, and inclusive and participatory processes that could be considered in policymaking. The guidelines could also inform the policies and practices of digital platforms; and provide an advocacy and accountability tool for civil society.

02Nov

A Call for Cryptocurrencies to Be Regulated in Uganda

Author CIPESA Posted on

By Edrine Wanyama |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has called for the regulation of regulation of cryptocurrencies in Uganda. Through a policy brief which was published in October 2023, CIPESA outlines the potential risks and threats that civil society organisations (CSOs), individuals, companies, financial institutions, media and academia including students potentially face if operations of cryptocurrencies are not checked. 

Uganda’s legislative frameworks though specific including the, Capital Market Authority Act, Cap. 84 Anti-Money Laundering Act (as amended by the Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment of Second Schedule) Instrument, No. 136 of 2020), Foreign Exchange Act of 2004, Electronic Transactions Act, No. 8 of 2011, Electronic Signatures Act, No. 7 of 2011, Computer Misuse Act, No. 2 of 2011 and the National Payment Systems Act, 15 of 2020 recognise the presence and application of cryptocurrencies. However, they appear to be in contradiction with legal developments in the country.

A ruling by Justice Ssekaana Musa in the case of  Silver Kayondo versus Bank of Uganda, Miscellaneous Cause No. 109 of 2022 declared that cryptocurrencies, under the current National Payment System Act, are illegal or unlawful and are not accepted as a general payment instrument; and that the Bank of Uganda had the mandate to issue directives to the licensees under the National Payment System. He added that: “… The current regulatory framework was not designed with cryptocurrencies in mind…”. Although this ruling gives clarity on Uganda’s current position on cryptocurrencies, it leaves further ambiguity over the extent to which other regulations other than the National Payment Systems Act, 2020, can be relied upon in the utilization of cryptocurrencies.

The brief highlights potential strength of cryptocurrencies as including the elimination of middlemen, decentralized usage as well as enhanced security of the consumer. Similarly, the available opportunities include the unique and private nature of transactions between parties and the potential to create more job opportunities in the tech world. However, the associated weaknesses include the unsecure nature of cryptocurrencies, possibility of erroneous transfers and the possible erosion of capital flow measures. Furthermore, the risks associated with use of cryptocurrencies include the near impossible monitoring and track down of illegal activities by governments, possibility of getting locked out of transactions accounts once a private key is lost and the general threat to the effectiveness of monetary policies especially where firms and households prefer to save and invest in crypto assets that are not pegged to domestic fiat currency.

While drawing impetus from other jurisdictions and application of cryptocurrencies, the brief makes reference to Kenya where cryptocurrency companies can only legally operate after acquiring a license from Kenyan authorities to offer transmission services within Kenya; South Africa where the plans to plans to start licensing crypto trading companies to prevent theft, money laundering and undermining of the monetary policy are in high gears; Central African Republic where Bitcoin was regulated in April 2022 but shortly reversed shortly thereafter after intervention from the regional body, the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC); the United States of America where Individuals and businesses that store or exchange any kind of crypto currency have to obtain a cryptocurrency license as operators of Money Service Business (MSB); and in El Salvador which is in full regulation of cryptocurrencies since 2021. 

Meanwhile, CIPESA on September 27, 2023 held an advocacy engagement on strengthening digital rights protection including the potential impacts of cryptocurrencies on CSOs in Uganda. The meeting which attracted more than 60 participants from CSOs, Members of Parliament (MPs), telecommunication companies (telcos), Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and national human rights institutions deliberated ways to strengthen the stakeholder platform for digital rights protection including in access, affordability and realization of rights and livelihoods and the potential impacts of cryptocurrencies on CSOs’ and citizens operations in Uganda.

Cryptocurrencies are portrayed in the policy brief as facilitating digital technologies and with to improve efficiency in trade as they bypass middlemen and all the inconveniences that go with financial transactions in the ordinary business sense. They cannot be disregarded as they are inevitable yet associated with risks and threats which require strategies for mitigation as well as enhancing accountability. 

It is important that Uganda exploits the various approaches for the adoption and application of cryptocurrencies so as guaranty safety and minimize potential risks and threats to consumers. The brief specifically fronts the following recommendations.

Recommendations

  1. Government MDAs, particularly Bank of Uganda, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda Revenue Authority and Finance Intelligence Authority, should clearly define the legal status of cryptocurrencies and avoid the ambiguity under the current regulations for e-transactions so as to be able to enforce them on all inflows and outflows in business and personal accounts. This includes redesigning capital controls to include flows channeled through cryptocurrencies. In the same vein, well-structured regulation on cryptocurrencies would remove uncertainties for other stakeholders in the private sector and thus encourage their engagement in digital transactions involving crypto assets.
  2. The regulatory regime can never be able to effectively catch up or be at the same pace as the technical evolution of cryptocurrencies. As such, Uganda should work with regional and international partners in the establishment and implementation of a global or regional cryptocurrency regulatory treaty that considers the needs and challenges of developing countries. This includes, among others, technological transfer and capacity development; addressing the risks involved in cross border cryptocurrency transactions inclusive of money laundering and jurisdictional issues.
  3. Apart from embracing a regional or international treaty, regional or international economic corporation or collaboration is also necessary due to the cross-border nature in the operation of cryptocurrencies. Uganda and partner States should engage in the sharing of a comprehensive system of information on cryptocurrency development and trading systems. Such information sharing would be beneficial for capacity development, strengthening joint enforcement measures as well as address evasion of capital controls and enforcement of taxes.
  4. As opposed to the general perception that crypto assets fall under the interpretation of securities under the Capital Markets Authority Act, so as to warrant their regulation under that law, clarity is required in this regard. The Capital Markets Authority should develop guiding principles as to how security tokens can be utilized to mitigate any risks due to a confusion in this regard.

See the full brief here

01Nov

CIPESA Conducts Digital Rights Training for Ethiopian Human Rights Commission Staff

Author CIPESA Posted on

By CIPESA Writer |

The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) has conducted a digital rights training for staff of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in a programme that benefitted 22 experts from various departments of the statutory entity. 

The training was a response to the desire by the commission to build its organisational capacity in understanding and defending digital rights and CIPESA’s vision to grow the ability of African national human rights institutions (NHRIs) to monitor, protect and promote digital freedoms.

Conducted in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on October 11-12, 2023, the programme aimed to build the EHRC staff’s understanding of digital rights issues and the link with traditional rights. Participants went on to brainstorm how the EHRC should strengthen human rights protection in the digital space and through the use of technology.

Dr. Abdi Jibril, the Commissioner for Civil and Political and Socio-Economic Rights at the EHRC, noted that the proliferation of digital technology has contributed positively to human rights protection. It was therefore necessary to maximise the benefits of digital technology and to expand its usage for the promotion and enforcement of human rights.

The importance of growing the capacity of NHRIs was underscored by Line Gamrath Rasmussen, Senior Adviser, Human Rights, Tech and Business at the Danish Institute for Human Rights and CIPESA Executive Director Dr. Wairagala Wakabi. African NHRIs are not always well versed with the opportunities and challenges which technology presents, which creates a need for capacity development and developing partnerships with stakeholders such as civil society. 

As legislation governing the technology domain is fast-evolving, NHRIs in many countries are playing catch up. As such, these institutions need to constantly keep updating themselves on new legislation and implications of these laws on human rights in the digital domain. The NHRIs need to  enhance their capacity to document, investigate and report on digital rights. 

The NHRIs also need to pay specific attention to the vices such as hate speech, disinformation, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF GBV), that are being perpetuated with the aid of technology.

Dr. Daniel Bekele, the Chief Commissioner at EHRC, stated that social media companies and messaging platforms are not doing enough to moderate harmful content in Africa yet in other geographical regions they have invested more resources and efforts in content moderation. He said African countries need to work together in order to build a strong force against the powerful platforms. The official proposed that the African Union (AU), working with relevant governments and other stakeholders, should spearhead the development of regulations which African countries can jointly use in their engagements with the tech giants on issues such as content moderation. 

 The two-day training discussed the positive and negative effects of digital technology on human rights and how the commission’s work to enforce human rights can be strengthened through the use of digital technology.

Among other topics, the training also addressed the human rights, governance and technology landscape in Sub-Saharan Africa; public and private sector digitalisation and challenges for human rights; the link between online and offline rights; transparency and accountability of the private sector in upholding human rights; and opportunities for NHRIs to advance online rights at national, regional and international levels. It also featured deep dives into key digital rights concerns such as surveillance, online violence against women, disinformation, and network disruptions. 

At the end of the training, the EHRC staff identified key actions the commission could integrate in its annual work plans, such as digital rights monitoring, advocacy for enabling laws to be enacted, and developing tools for follow up on implementation of recommendations on digital rights by treaty bodies and the Human Rights Council. Others were collaborations with local and regional actors including media, fact-checkers, civil society organisations, and platforms; working with the police and other national mechanisms to tackle hate speech and disinformation while protecting human rights; and conducting digital literacy.

Trainers in the programme were drawn from CIPESA, the Centre for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), Inform Africa, and the Kenya National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC).

Meanwhile, after the aforementioned training, CIPESA teamed up with Ethiopian civil society partners to conduct a training on disinformation and hate speech for journalists, bloggers and digital rights activists. Like many African countries, Ethiopia is grappling with a significant and alarming rise in hate speech and disinformation, particularly on social media platforms. This surge in disinformation is undermining social cohesion, promoting conflict, and leading to a concerning number of threats against journalists and human rights defenders.

The proliferation of disinformation is to citizens’ fundamental rights as studies have shown that many Ethiopians feel their right to freedom of expression is compromised. The prevalence of disinformation also means that many Ethiopians lack access to impartial and diverse information.

Disinformation has been directly fueling conflict in several regions of Ethiopia. According to workshop participants and reports, both pro-government and anti-government actors have perpetuated this vice, whose real-world consequences are severe, including the loss of life and large-scale violent events.

Whereas Ethiopia in 2020 enacted legislation to curb hate speech and disinformation, the effectiveness of this law has been called into question. Some critics argue that it has not been effectively implemented and could be used to undermine citizens’ rights.

The training equipped 21 journalists, bloggers and activists with knowledge to navigate this law and with skills to call out and fight disinformation and hate speech. The efforts of the trained journalists, and those which the human rights commission could implement, are expected to boost the fight against online harms and contribute to the advancement of digital rights in Ethiopia.

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