Infrastructure and Livelihoods Development in a Decentralisation
Context (3/3)
Sub-component A-3: Local Institution Building and Community
Empowerment (USD 1.9 million)
Outputs. There are two distinct
but complementary outputs for this sub-component: (i) district
governments have strengthened their institutional capacities
in order to better promote local development, provide cost-effective
and responsive services to citizens and achieve accountable
and transparent management of development resources; and (ii) citizens
participate in the district decision-making process, particularly
with regard to issues dealing with economic and social development
and service delivery, and have access to information on the
use of public resources by the district.
Sub-component
Description.
The district is the institution ultimately
responsible for achieving both the first and second outputs.
The support from the Programme is focused on building up the
management capacity of the districts, improving their ability
to develop functioning partnerships with the communities,
and creating the means to allow the districts to take on the
responsibilities delegated to them under the government’s
decentralisation policy. The Programme will assist the districts
in seven broad areas, each of which is key to fulfilling their
new mandate and each of which is directly linked to the implementation
of UCRIDP.
· Local Development Planning. Based
on close interaction between district authorities and lower
levels structures, including development planning (both strategic
and investment planning), coordination, land planning, resource
mobilisation.
· Facilitation and Community Capacity
Building. Mobilising communities through their representative
bodies (cells, sectors, SOJ, SOF, grassroots associations…)
and building their capacities so that they can better participate
in local development and in the management of local affairs,
including taking on the responsibility for managing and maintaining
most of the Programme’s investment water, road and other infrastructure.
· Investment Delivery. Districts
will assume full responsibility for the investment cycle,
from Programme planning and design, to monitoring Programme
implementation and setting up operation and maintenance systems.
· Accountable and Transparent Management
of Resources. Adherence to accountable and transparent
financial management procedures (based on MINALOC financial
management manual and CDF guidelines), particularly with regard
to budgeting, accounting, tendering, contracting, auditing,
monitoring and evaluation.
· Equal and Secure Access to Development
Benefits. Processes and systems to ensure that all citizens
have equal access to development benefits, requiring clear
strategies and guidelines with regard to the social and economic
integration of rural poor, gender mainstreaming, the promotion
of a culture of peaceful coexistence, as well as environmental
protection, land tenure and land use planning and management.
· Support to the Rural Economy.
In partnership with development partners (such as farmer/livestock
associations, financial service institutions and private sector
operations), creation of an environment conducive to economic
development by providing advisory services, assisting in the
mobilisation of local stakeholders, preparing strategies for
district economic development, financing supporting infrastructure
and at times provision of targeted incentives.
As a means to allow the Programme to develop
its support for these district functions, a capacity assessment
would be conducted in every district, based on which four-year
capacity building plans would be established. The plans
would outline objectives and outputs, activities, performance
indicators and implementation modalities. Every year, a review
of plan implementation would be carried out with each district
to assess results achieved. The programme will provide support
for the undertaking of capacity assessments and plans, which
will be included in the overall technical assistance provided
to the implementation of component 1 (see Programme Management).
On the basis of the plans developed for
each district, a package of support would be provided including
a district institution-building facility for supporting capacity-strengthening
(through advisory services, training, the provision of guidelines
and reference material). The number and type of part or full
time staff that will be required in each district to implement
programme activities will be determined on the basis of the
annual capacity assessments and plans. Indicative descriptions
of possible functions/positions to be filled out at district
level are proposed hereafter:
· Local Development Adviser/Community
Facilitator, who will assist the district with regard
to: (i) development planning, coordination and mobilisation
of resources, monitoring and evaluation; (ii) the organization
of participatory mechanisms allowing communities to participate
in the district decision-making process, particularly with
regard to investment delivery; (iii) the coordination and
overseeing of investment delivery; and (iv) the integration
of cross-cutting issues to ensure equitable and secure access
of citizens to development benefits.
· Management adviser, who would assist
the districts in: (i) setting up and operating systems for
budgeting, accounting, tendering, contracting; (ii) developing
and implementing a system to ensure that citizens may access
information on the use of district resources.
· Delegate (roving) of the National Commission
for Unity and Reconciliation, who will be responsible
for carrying the responsibilities of NCUR at the district
level, particularly with regard to (i) promoting a culture
of tolerance and justice and the peaceful resolution of conflicts;
(ii) identifying vulnerable/poorer families and groups
and providing appropriate response; and (iii) monitoring
the implementation of national reconciliation policies. An
evaluation of results and performance will be carried out
by the end of the second year of piloting. If successful,
the programme will be expanded to other districts, applying
cost-sharing arrangements to be defined with NCUR. The portion
financed by the Programme should progressively decrease so
that eventually the full cost would be covered by NCUR.
· Water Specialist, who will assist
the district in planning and delivering water investments
and in ensuring that they are operated and maintained in a
sustainable fashion. His/her responsibilities include: (i) coordination
of water investment delivery (with the assistance of the Provincial
Representative for Water and Sanitation and a programme-financed
water engineer for the technical aspects); (ii) assisting
communities in setting up water committees and associations,
(iii) training water users associations in the maintenance
and operation of water systems; (iv) assisting existing
and new water networks to set up management systems and evolve
towards privatisation; (v) promoting sanitation; and (vi) monitoring
and evaluation including reporting on water and sanitation
indicators. Water specialists would be recruited through an
NGO contract.
· Roads Technician, who will assist
districts in: (i) planning of construction and maintenance
activities, (ii) tendering and contracting, (iii) supervision
of construction of maintenance works.
Facilitation and Community Capacity Building.
Particular emphasis will be placed under this sub-component
to promote a partnership between the district and the communities.
In order to ensure that the communities have both the opportunity
and the means to participate on a well informed and equal
basis with the district staff, the Programme would ensure
that communities (including cells, sectors, SOJs, SOF, and
other bodies representing communities) are able to organize
themselves and have the capacity to participate in district
planning and development and in the management of local affairs.
Technical assistance will be provided as required, within
the package of support described above. Special areas of focus
would include: (i) participatory rural appraisal and planning,
(ii) investment project design and implementation, (iii) operation
and maintenance of programme-financed infrastructure, (iv) organisational
development and (v) monitoring and evaluation. The number
of district facilitators will have to be carefully established,
based on detailed profile and terms of reference.
Furthermore, the programme will promote
mechanisms for joint district/community ownership of programme-funded
infrastructure. These will allow communities (groups, cells,
sectors…) to participate in the various steps of investment
planning and delivery, i.e. to co-sign contracts, payment
orders and certificates of completion of works. They would
also enable communities to take charge of programme-financed
infrastructure operation and management.
Operating costs. The programme will
finance an annual allocation to contribute to additional operating
costs generated by the implementation of programme activities
at district level.
Sub-Component
Investments.
Financing would be provided for the sub-component as follows:
· District institution-building facility
(USD 1.7 million): salaries and benefits for permanent
and temporary advisor positions, training, literacy programmes,
operating costs (on a separate budget line).
· District equipment and materials (USD
320 000): an allowance to finance office items as needed
(computer, printer, generator and/or other office equipment);
a vehicle per district.
· Sector offices (USD 429 000): construction of sector
offices.
Activity under Sub-component A-3 : Provincial Institution
Building (USD 441 000)
Output. The province has strengthened
its institutional capacity to provide quality support services
to district governments and to promote economic development.
As the body responsible for providing backstopping
and advice to the districts, the Province has a similar role
to that of the Programme. Both need to ensure that the resources
available from the Programme are used most effectively in
the districts. To-date the major responsibility for providing
this backstopping has been provided by the PCU. Some has also
been provided by the relevant provincial departments – sometimes
together with PCU experts, sometimes in parallel. With the
start of the second phase, the modus operandi will change.
The Programme will progressively transfer responsibility for
supporting the districts’ implementation of Programme activities
to the province. To help facilitate this transition, key technical
support staff in the PCU will work within the provincial structure
– but they will remain members of the PCU and be on the Programme
payroll. The details of the PCU staffing and operations is
presented in the third component, Project Management.
The provinces will assist the districts
in fulfilling their responsibilities, particularly with regard
to programme implementation, local development planning, investment
delivery, accountable and transparent management of resources,
equal and secure access to development benefits, and promotion
of economic and social development. The province also has
the responsibility to promote economic and social development.
This relates to the broad competence as specified in the law
of "coordinating district development activities",
including preparation and monitoring of the provincial development
plan. The province’s support will be developed in consultation
with the districts through the Provincial Coordination Committee,
which includes all district mayors among its membership.
Project funded staff will be provided to
the province to develop its own services and capacities. This
would be a temporary arrangement that either would cease to
exist by the end of the programme or would be consolidated
within permanent structures. This support would be provided
by PCU staff, who would then be located at the province, and
from NGOs or through consultancy services. To help the Programme
and province determine how best such support should be provided,
a capacity assessment will be carried out and a plan prepared.
The plan will outline objectives and outputs, activities,
performance indicators and implementation modalities. Every
year, a review of plan implementation will be made to assess
results achieved and province performance. The programme will
provide support for the undertaking of capacity assessments
and plans, which will be included in the overall technical
assistance provided to the implementation of component 1 (see
Programme Management).
On the basis of the capacity-building plans,
a package of support will be provided including a province
institution-building facility for supporting capacity-strengthening
(through advisory services, training, the provision of guidelines
and reference material…). The number and type of part or full
time staff that will be required in each district to implement
programme activities will be determined on the basis of the
annual capacity assessments and plans. Indicative descriptions
of possible functions/positions to be filled out at district
level are proposed hereafter:
It is expected that the programme will finance the following
assistance at provincial level:
· A road and a water engineer, who will be PCU staff
delegated to the Province Division of Infrastructure;
· Short-term assistance, involving
consultancies or NGO assistance, as guided by the province
capacity assessment and upon the Préfet's request, in areas
such as: province strategic development plan, coordination
of development initiatives and promotion of inter-district
cooperation, monitoring and evaluation, gender promotion.
Operating costs. The programme will
finance an annual allocation to contribute to additional operating
costs generated by the implementation of programme activities
at province level.
Financing would be provided for the sub-component as follows:
· Long-term assistance (USD 89 000),
including a road and a water engineer, who will be PCU staff
delegated to the Province Division of Infrastructure, DSA
for Provincial Representative of Water and Sanitation.
· Province institution-building facility
(USD 260 000): salaries and benefits for permanent and
temporary advisor positions, training, operating costs (on
a separate budget line).
· Province equipment and materials (USD
92 000): an allowance to finance office items as needed
(computer, printer, generator and/or other office equipment);
a vehicle for each engineer; operating costs for engineers'
vehicles; office costs for engineers.
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