Foreword

Dear Reader,

Africa is currently experiencing the world's fastest urbanization rate at 3.5% annually -placing increasing pressure on resource-constrained local governments to maintain and improve livability standards of their cities. But simultaneously, an 'Information and Communication Technologies' (ICT) revolution has swept across the continent -as evidenced by vastly improved telecommunications and internet infrastructure, leapfrogging mobile communications penetration rates, and emergence of a successful homegrown IT applications industry. Successful e-initiatives in South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and other regions have demonstrated that harnessing of ICT can enable a range of activities when integrated into the urban development agenda, such as strengthened financial management systems, social accountability initiatives capturing citizens' feedback and so forth. In this context, this report seeks to explore similar strategies for transforming capabilities of urban agencies in the Africa Region through the power of ICT.

In view of the World Bank Group's (WBG) commitment towards promoting sustainable urban development, the objective of this analytical report is to support the strategic direction, focus, and action plan in governance reform by implementing ICT within the urban development framework of the Africa Region. With a focus on replicating successful ICT-Urban Governance strategies in Africa, this report aims to (i) synthesize the role currently played by ICT towards improved governance, management and accountability of urban service providers in Africa as well as other Regions, (ii) explore current ICT initiatives that are relevant to the World Bank's thematic concerns, (iii) reconcile existing deficiencies/barriers towards potential for replication, and (iv) develop a roadmap to render easy strategy implementation by project teams.

Section I outlines evolving trends in urban governance and presents ICT as a potential tool in the environment of modern governance. Section II discusses the role of ICT in some of the Bank's core areas of urban focus, namely: Local Governance & Economic Development; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations & Municipal Finance; Urban Poverty & Slum Upgrading; Urban Planning, Land & Housing; Urban Environment & Climate Change; and Water & Sanitation Service Delivery. An analysis of fundamental ICT methodologies employed is discussed in Section III. Section IV, in conclusion, suggests an action-plan for enhancing ICT initiatives as a component of the Bank's lending activities.

But essentially, this report is a work in progress -and requires your inputs to finish! We encourage you to join in the discussion and help shape the World Bank's roadmap towards applying ICT for urban improvement. Are you aware of any interesting ICT application or methodology that could transform Africa's cities? Do you have feedback or suggestions on what the World Bank's next steps should be in this direction? Or simply have questions or need clarifications on the material already presented in this report? Then do let us know! Your views will be incorporated (with accreditation to your name if permitted) in Section IV, building upon some of the ideas already contributed by Bank staff. Thoughts, suggestions, and comments can be conveyed to us using the online feedback form or by emailing grelhan@ifc.org. If you are on Facebook, post your suggestions to the World Bank Africa page. On Twitter, reply to @WorldBankAfrica

Hope to hear from you soon. Happy Reading!

Best Wishes,
Gaurav Relhan

The World Bank invites comments from African social accountability practitioners on a draft handbook examining the role of ICT in promoting good governance practices. Entitled Good Urban Governance through ICT: issues, analysis and strategies, the handbook examines a wide range of issues in which ICT can play a key role in promoting accountability and service delivery. The handbook was compiled by the WB's Africa Urban and Water Sector Unit. Gaurav Relhan, one of the compilers, says technology helps well-informed citizens collaborate, exchange ideas and participate in real-time with their elected officials. Voters can have their voices heard and officials can incorporate this feedback in their decisions. For instance, through mobile phones and the Internet, a Facebook page or post, a Tweet or a YouTube video, a citizen now has the power to participate at his fingertips to improve outcomes and trap corruption. Examples include tracing expenditures to see if there is sufficient spending by region or sector; tracking procurement results to see if vendors seem to be getting too much business or charging too much; and on-the-ground pictures to show whether projects were actually completed.

As governments prepare to spend up to US$100 billion annually by 2020 to limit climate change and prepare for its impact, Transparency International (TI) warns of the corruption risks of climate finance flowing through new, untested channels and recommends strengthening governance systems to tackle them.

The Global Corruption Report: Climate Change sets out practical guidelines to prevent corruption undermining climate change measures and calls on governments, international organisations, businesses and civil society to ensure good governance in climate policy.

"The urgent need to respond to climate change needs to be enhanced by transparency and accountability. Oversight must be built into all climate-related initiatives from the start," said Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International. "Good governance now will help ensure the success of the impact of climate change policy and funding."

"Bangladesh is at the frontline in the battle to combat climate change. How Bangladesh manages climate governance and ensures transparency and accountability in the use of climate change funds can provide lessons for governments and civil society around the world. The recommendations in the report come at a critical time," says Iftekhar Zaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh.

Under global climate agreements, substantial new funding from governments and multilateral agencies will be made available to finance mitigation of climate change, such as renewable energy projects like wind farms or solar power plants, and adaptation to it, such as constructions of sea walls, irrigations systems and disaster-ready housing.

None of the 20 countries expected to be most affected by climate change – where much of this money will be spent - scores higher than 3.6 on the TI's Corruption Perceptions Index, in which 0 indicates perception of extremely corrupt and 10 is very clean. Governments must ensure transparent oversight of how climate change funds are spent, which can be enhanced by civil society monitoring.

The report combines analysis from more than 50 leading climate change experts from 20 countries tackling a wide range of issues including:

• the politics of climate change and accountability of funding institutions
• the role of the private sector
• the integrity of carbon markets
• the response to climate change impacts in developing countries (climate-proofing infrastructure, preparing for climate migration and improving disaster management)
• Forestry governance

Public participation and transparent oversight
The report recommends greater public participation, access to information and accountability to make climate governance more effective. This would limit the potential for conflicts of interest in decision-making and the negative effects that lobbying and special interests can play in setting climate policy.

The report warns of the risk of a green resource curse. New technologies needed to replace fossil fuels, such as solar panels, require different natural resources. It is important that the mining industry that exploits these resources is transparent and publicly discloses payments to governments so that citizens can ensure the proceeds are used for their benefits.

Similarly, governments that sell land for bio-fuel cultivation, estimated to be 10 per cent of transport fuels in many of the world's leading economies by 2030, must allow for public participation and oversight so that local communities' land rights are respected.

Keeping forests clean and green
US$28 billion of climate financing is expected to flow annually to countries with large tropical forests to discourage deforestation and preserve this form of natural carbon storage. Illegal logging, worth more than US$10 billion a year, is already fuelled by corruption of customs and land management authorities. The report highlights that some governments have already claimed credits for fictitious forest plantation projects.

Case studies from Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Columbia, Kenya, Philippines, Spain, and the United States illustrate the global dimension of the climate change challenges facing the planet.

"Corruption holds nothing sacred, not even our planet’s future. Failure to properly govern climate change measures now will not only lead to misallocated resources and fraudulent projects today, but also hurts future generations," said Labelle.

Download the Executive Summary

• English
• Español
• Français
• Рortuguês
• Bengali
• Arabic

As Americans remember the tragic events of the BP oil spill one year ago, international humanitarian organization Oxfam America urges Africa's newest oil producer to avoid the same mistakes other oil producing countries have made. A new report by the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, a coalition of more than 100 non-governmental groups in Ghana supported by Oxfam, calls on the international community to take further steps to prevent the West African nation from falling victim to the resource curse.

Ghana could earn more than $1 billion a year in early years of production from the "Jubilee" offshore oil field -called one of the largest recent oil finds in Africa. The increase in revenues could, if spent wisely, put Ghana on a path to meet the Millennium Development Goals, a set of human development benchmarks, by 2015.

"While Ghana is considered one of the most peaceful and relatively prosperous countries in West Africa, the onset of oil production, if not properly managed, carries the risk of it tipping in the opposite direction," said Richard Hato-Kuevor, extractive industries program officer for Oxfam America in Ghana. "With all eyes on Ghana to get it right, it's extremely important the oil boom doesn't undermine the important gains that have been made."

According to the report - Ghana's Oil Boom: A Readiness Report Card -government agencies, donor partners, oil and gas companies and civil society have made some gains since the Jubilee discovery in 2007, but significant challenges remain for the country. For example, on a scale of A to E (A standing for Excellent and E for Fail), each institution receives an overall grade of C (Fair). The grades are measured against recommendations made in a communique from a "citizens summit on oil and gas" held last June and Ghana's Big Test: Oil's Challenge to Democratic Development -- a 2009 report by the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) and Oxfam America.

The report also notes that Ghana's donor partners, such as the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the United States, as well as oil companies themselves, could do more to encourage oil revenue transparency and accountability before investing hundreds of millions dollars to develop the Jubilee field. This was the case when the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), approved $215 million in financing to oil companies for investing in the project, pre-empting local environmental approval processes.

While the IFC did enforce its policy on transparency of payments from oil, gas and mining companies to host governments, UK-based Tullow is the only oil company to disclose some early payments to the government and signal willingness to disclose contracts if the government agrees. Other oil companies operating in Ghana, such as Texas-based Anadarko and Kosmos, have not made similar moves.

"The track record shows that Ghana's development partners have provided some useful support, but major transparency gaps remain," said Mohammed Amin Adam, convener of the Oil and Gas Civil Society Platform. "In the Jubilee area, communities are growing suspicious of the good intentions made by companies to make social investments, respond to livelihood concerns and share use of the sea. Without transparency, competition and conflict could erupt, eroding Ghana's enviable track record of economic, social and democratic development over the last 20 years."

A new US law will help promote transparency in Ghana, according to Oxfam. As part of the Wall Street Reform Act of 2010, all oil, gas and mining companies reporting to the US Securities and Exchange Commission are now required to publish annually how much they pay foreign governments for extracting oil, gas, and minerals. Anadarko, Hess, and several mining companies in Ghana will in fact be covered by the law.

While this law will help increase the capacity of Ghana's government and civil society groups to check abuses, oil consuming countries in Europe and elsewhere, can play their part to promote the wise use of oil revenues in Ghana and other resource-rich countries by passing similar legislation. So far, the United Kingdom, France and Germany have signaled their support for a European Commission regulation in line with the US law.

"The only way to hold government accountable is to arm citizens, not with weapons, but with information," said Ian Gary, senior policy manager for extractive industries with Oxfam America in Washington, D.C. "Strong transparency laws in Ghana, as well as oil consuming countries will send the right diplomatic signals to oil, gas and mining companies and help prevent the same tragedy of squandered oil wealth seen in countries such as Nigeria and Chad."

Background notes:

* Ghana started production of significant quantities of oil in December 2010. By June, Ghana is expected to produce 120,000 barrels per day from the Jubilee field. The Jubilee field is owned by a consortium of companies including Tullow Oil, Anadarko Petroleum (US) and Kosmos Energy. The World Bank's International Finance Corporation provided $215 million to Tullow and Kosmos to develop the field. Further discoveries in 2010 and 2011 have raised expectations of further production, with Tullow estimating that Ghana could produce 250,000 barrels per day by 2014.

* The Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas in Ghana is a coalition formed in 2010 comprising over 110 civil society groups, individuals and academics. The platform is a forum for civil society to share knowledge about oil and gas exploitation and governance, strengthen civil society voices and forge a common strategy for engaging with other stakeholders, such as the government of Ghana, petroleum companies and frontline oil communities. The Platform receives support from Oxfam America, IBIS Denmark, Revenue Watch Institute and the World Bank.

In 2008 Rwanda's Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (Minecofin) embarked on a gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) programme. This document describes the development of the programme to date. It describes the first, preparatory phase as well as the second phase of implementation. It explains why particular approaches were adopted, achievements, as well as challenges. The document is intended for both internal and external audiences.

Minecofin hopes that inside the country those who are already involved in the GRB programme will gain a better understanding of the initiative, while those who are not yet but could be involved will be encouraged to participate. For external readers Minecofin hopes that Rwanda's experience will help encourage actors in other countries to move forward with GRB initiatives that are tailored to their particular circumstances. Such circumstances include both the situation of women, men, boys and girls in the country, and the way that planning and budgeting happens.

Although Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in Rwanda has progressed well, the programme has faced and continues to face challenges. The first and second challenges help explain the limited progress on the third objective of the first phase of the project, namely the objective of establishing a gender disaggregated data collection and monitoring system at national level that planning officers might use. The first challenge is that MINECOFIN is not the lead agency, and does not, in fact, itself produce data relevant to delivery or situation analysis.

The key agency responsible for production of situation analysis and outcome data is the NISR, while service delivery agencies are responsible for administrative data. The GMO has, among its responsibilities, the task of ensuring that gender-relevant data exist. The second challenge is that some of the materials produced during the first phase were developed before the strategy for GRB in Rwanda had been agreed and thus are not specifically tailored to assist with the gender budget statements. For example, the indicators document focused on "outcomes" rather than "outputs". It can thus serve as an aspirational document in two senses. Firstly it is aspirational in the range of indicators it hopes to see produced in Rwanda.

Secondly it is aspirational in that outcomes represent what one hopes to achieve in the medium-term, while the main focus of budget documents is on what will be achieved in a particular year.

A third more general challenge for the GRB programme is that the budget reforms are still ongoing. So the GRB programme is being implemented in a situation when officials are still learning how to do the new form of planning and budgeting and find difficulties even before the extra challenge of "gender" is added. With this third challenge, MINECOFIN feels that the GRB aspect can actually help rather than be an extra burden because the gender budget statement requires that officials think more carefully about activities and outputs and how these can be measured through indicators.

A fourth challenge relates to the high turnover among staff in ministries and districts. This creates difficulties as often those who are trained move out of the positions where they have responsibility for tasks such as development of gender budget statements.

As already mentioned GRB project has achieved substantial results in both phases. However, more remain to be done to reach sustained degree of Gender Responsive Budgeting mainstreamed at both central and local level.

Although several trainings have been conducted for pilot sectors, there is still need for more in-depth trainings to impart more skills to the planning, budget officers and chief budget officers of all ministries to allow them produce GBS for the budget year 2011/2012. The same trainings will also need to be done at the district level due to the high staff turnover that has been registered.

The other important activity that remains to be done is the establishment of BS monitoring system to track the progress each year. GRB project will also need to review and harmonise the existing training materials, methodologies and manuals to reflect gender in the whole processes of planning and budgeting.

Alongside this document, there is an ongoing activity intended to video document the GRB achievements since its inception to date. It is also against this background that GRB portal on the MINECOFIN website is being constructed as one way of raising awareness and sharing experience and good practices with the wider public.

Last but not least, GRB team and the whole national budget directorate team will need further trainings to increase their knowledge and skills in gender issues in general and GRB in particular to allow them provide hands-on and mentorship support to all budget agencies.

Conclusion: This document records good progress on GRB in Rwanda. But there is still much more to be done. Plans already exist for further activities at district level, including workshops for district councils similar to the earlier workshop for parliamentarians, and analysis and feedback to district officials on the gender budget statements produced. At central level, 2011/12 will see gender budget statements become mandatory for all ministries, rather than only the four pilot ministries. As noted above, ideas have also been developed as to how a midyear evaluation of implementation of the sub-programmes highlighted in the gender budget statements could feed into the joint sector reviews which constitute an important step in the planning and budgeting process for each year.

La Commission économique pour l'Afrique (CEA) a conduit les efforts visant au renforcement du rôle de la société civile dans le processus de développement en Afrique. En 1990, la Conférence internationale sur la participation populaire dans le processus de redressement et de développement de l'Afrique, tenue sous l'égide de la CEA a abouti à l’adoption de la Charte africaine de la participation populaire. Cela constituait une réponse directe à l'appel lancé par les organisations non gouvernementales au Comité ad hoc plénier de l’Assemblée générale concernant l’examen et l’évaluation à mi-parcours de la mise en œuvre du Programme d’action des Nations Unies pour le redressement économique et le développement de l’Afrique, en raison du non aboutissement dudit Programme. Il s’agissait là de l’entame du débat sur le rôle de la société civile dans le processus du développement de l’Afrique et celui joué par la CEA dans la promotion de la participation de la société civile au processus de développement.

Dans le cadre de ses efforts soutenus visant à promouvoir la participation de la société civile au développement en Afrique, la CEA s’est employée à renforcer les organisations de la société civile, afin de leur permettre de jouer un rôle plus important en ce domaine. La Commission, a, entre autres initiatives, entrepris de concevoir des programmes destinés à :

• Promouvoir la visibilité et la compréhension de la participation de la société civile au processus de développement et de gouvernance ;
• Promouvoir des moyens nouveaux et novateurs de faciliter les échanges entre gouvernements et organisations de la société civile et entre ces dernières ;
• Créer un environnement propre à faciliter la participation des organisations de la société civile ; et
• Trouver les moyens d’institutionnaliser le processus participatif.

Réussir le développement participatif est fortement tributaire de l'efficacité et du dynamisme des organisations de la société civile, ainsi que de l'interaction et du partenariat entre les acteurs de développement. À cet égard, le cadre nécessaire au renforcement des relations entre la CEA et les organisations de la société civile s'inscrit dans un effort plus large visant à promouvoir la participation de la société civile dans le processus de développement et de gouvernance en Afrique et à mettre en place les capacités nécessaires pour aider ces organisations à devenir des partenaires efficaces.

Overview

1. This is the second budget options paper prepared by the Parliamentary Budget Office to provide alternative insights and policy options on what the government should do in order to achieve the various objectives of the vision 2030 of transforming Kenya into a newly industrialized, "middle-income country" providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030.
2. The analysis attempts to gauge the progress made with regard to the Governments effort in addressing the current economic challenges and extent to which the various mitigation measures have been put in place amid post election violence hangover and the global economic crisis. The report will provide a critical analysis on the progress made on the Government's commitment of aligning public resources with national strategic objectives under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Vision 2030.
3. The focus of this year's budget options paper is to give alternative insights for sustainable economic growth, which seeks to address the issue of unemployment, which is almost reaching crisis level. Indeed, creating jobs for the millions of currently unemployed Kenyans especially the youth is most urgent than any other time in the economic history. The key issues the paper seeks to discuss are highlighted below:
   
   • The provisions of the Chapter 12 of the New Constitution have significantly altered the Public Financial Management (PFM) landscape. In particular, management of public resources is now based on key principles of transparency or openness, accountability and public participation. Equally, the constitution provides that public resouces be managed to an extent that it promotes equitable resource distribution in society, in addition to fair taxation of tax burden. This therefore calls for a realignment and change of culture among all players in the Public Finance Management (PFM) institutions.
   • Public debate on economic and social policly options has been given greater impetus in Kenya owing to the post election violence as well as financial market crisis and the severity of the resulting downturn. More interestingly, many economists and policy makers have had divergent views on the various policy prescriptions and the adequacy of financial regulation. Overall, questions have been posed with regard the mix between the role of Government due to market failure and the issue of over-regulation by the same government, which often stifles the growth of the financial sector. On a global front, there are unresolved imbalances in global trade and declining capital flows have had a negative effect on international financial coordination efforts. All the aforementioned have a bearing on demand management strategies on the Kenyan economy.
   • The policy debate extends beyond macroeconomic and financial stability issues to climate change and renewable energy and other environmental strategies have permeated economic debate. Issues of pension reforms to cater for the huge civil service whose payments largely relies on the exchequer presents serious budgetary adjustments and therefore need for a fresh relook. In addition, the report on achievement of MDGs presents mixed results.
   • Policy debate in Kenya is also focussed on our own specific transformation challenges amid the passage of the new constitution. Obviously, the adoption of the new constitution has altered the public finance landscape. Specifically, it brings in new aspects of fiscal decentralization and also introduces a paradigm shift in terms of institutional arrangement within the public finance arena. More importantly, to meet Kenya's development needs, a new path has to be forged across all organs of Government (Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary). The new dispensation spells out clear roles of each of the aforementioned arms of government.
   • It is important to note that putting clear and coherent policies is one thing; successful implementation is another. The executive must be held to account since jobs, growth and development are not abstractions: they play out every day in industries, factories, offices and permeates in all the sectors of the economy. In addition, there is considerable complexity in the organization of public services, in the structure and regulation of markets, and in the coordination of public policy and industrial development.

We are talking about the media and journalists. In the history of humankind, and no less so in South Africa’s turbulent history of colonialism, apartheid and the struggle for democracy, the media has played a key role in shaping and recording events and public opinion. In its various forms, it has provided a voice for the powerful and for the oppressed and voiceless.

In South Africa, we faced the challenge of deepening a post-apartheid democratic order ushered in by our 1994 national and provincial elections. Key components of strengthening our democracy are entrenching free, fair and regular elections, and maintaining a diverse, independent, ethical and professional media that reinforces access to information and freedom of expression.

The role of our mainstream media has shifted dramatically from a formerly traditional ‘uninvolved observer’ role to a more active ‘civic journalism’ role. With the advent of the on-line media and increasing access to information, journalists are no longer the gatekeepers to information that few others could reach. The evolving role of being a civic journalist in the print, broadcast or on-line media challenges us, for example, to:

• Seek out rather than tell the news.
• Promote discussion of public issues.
• Inform people on their civil, political, social and economic rights.
• Encourage people to organise and find solutions to pressing issues.

A good example of civic journalism has been the community radio sector. It has developed into an important voice for many communities in reaching areas and touching issues that other media often do not reach. Community radio stations made a vital contribution in our various post-1994 elections. They served communities where many people do not read or do not have access to newspapers, or have no access to a variety of political party campaign media.

In 2007, 152 of South Africa’s 191 radio stations were community radio stations.

The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) concluded that most of our media has tended to focus on the events of elections – like rallies, meetings and court cases – but often ignored issues like housing, services and the economy. Community radio stations were generally seen to pay more attention to these issues than the public broadcaster and commercial media:

"Community stations faced the challenge of reporting the elections with their communities’ interests and the democratic process as their primary concern. Election coverage by community stations was not only about fairness and diversity, but about developing a democratic culture and learning to participate in a democracy."

In our 2009 elections and beyond, the media has a pivotal information, analysis, debate, discussion and watchdog role. As journalists covering the elections, you bear the responsibility of promoting the values underpinning our Constitution, such as equality, non-discrimination, human dignity, tolerance and a respect for diversity.

In the public, commercial or community sector where you may be active as journalists, you all have a responsibility to take on this broader, complex role that challenges you to:

• Be an independent, critical and non-partisan voice during the election period.
• Represent the views and concerns of voters in the lead-up to elections.
• Inform, motivate and educate communities around the elections.
• Present information and debate on political party policies and current issues.

Once again, the media has an historic responsibility to continue to play an active role before, during and after the 2009 national and provincial elections:

• How do you play an ongoing independent role around the elections and in deepening our democracy in a changing political landscape?
• How do you assist with continuing voter education on voter registration, how to vote and other voting rights like protection from intimidation?
• How do you help voters to make an informed choice about whether to vote and which party to vote for?
• How do you encourage people to get actively involved in taking up and participating in local and national issues after elections?

As South Africans, we have entered an unprecedented pre-election period faced with a wider range of choices and an exciting, yet politically volatile climate. An experienced journalist, Zubeida Jaffer, captures what this moment means for us:

"The media will have to navigate the changing political terrain artfully. Its responses can either encourage the worst inclinations among all of us or help to bring out the best. In the interests of building a respected and solid media practice, it will need to be seen as fair, conducting itself without fear or favour. We are poised on the cusp of a great opportunity that will test our ability to respond with great maturity as never before."

Cape Times, 8 January 2009

The European Union awarded NIDPRODEV a 10-month grant in June 2010 to conduct Citizen Report Card surveys in 120 Niger Delta communities in the three southern geopolitical zones. The purpose of a Citizen Report Card is to provide public officials, as well as international donors, with the information they need to address the inadequacies of community life that contribute to sustained poverty.

A Citizen Report Card provides information about communities’ perceptions of government performance in the areas of (1) public services (including health, education, drinking water, sewage, communication, security, and credit), (2) good governance, and (3) infrastructure development, in particular, abandoned or incomplete projects.

By the end of December 2010, NIDPRODEV completed the input of data obtained through a 16-page survey administered through focus group discussions and key informant interviews in the 120 communities. Community demographics included 55 rural communities, 40 riverine/rural communities, and 25 peri-urban or urban communities. Forty-two (42) of the communities are oil-producing. Four hundred seventy-eight (478) focus groups, composed of 9,018 participants and representing 10 different tribal or clan identities, were organized into groups of Older Men, Older Women, Younger Men, and Younger Women. Among the 4,794 men and 4,224 women who participated in the focus group discussions, 58% farm, 36% fish, 54% can read well, 3% use a mosquito net, 80% know the causes of HIV/AIDS, and 90% believe that the relationship between their community and the federal government is poor.

NIDPRODEV programme officers will return to the 120 communities from February through April to deliver the findings to community members, along with information relating to citizen’s rights and responsibilities and the upcoming elections. Journalists to whom NIDPRODEV provided training for writing about the Niger Delta from a human rights perspective also will accompany NIDPRODEV programme officers on a number of community visits. The Citizen Report Card will be here on the NIDPRODEV website, be emailed to diverse stakeholders, and be the subject matter for stakeholder dialogue in a conference to be held in each of the three geopolitical zones in April and May 2011.

• Executive Summary
• Basic Demographics of Surveyed Communities
• Public Services -
  • Health
  • Education
  • Electricity, Drinking Water, and Sewage
• Good Governance Section
• Infrastructure/Development Projects

1.1 This is the report of a Gender Audit of the Ministerial Policy Statements of key sectors of the economy for FY 2010/11. The purpose of the audit was to generate proposals and recommendations for effective integration of gender and equity issues in sector activities as a measure to promote efficient application of budget resources. The study make proposals to inform the various sectors on how to comply with the Government's Budget Call Circular (BCC) which requires explicit measures of integrating crosscutting issues (such as gender and equity) in their implementation strategies. Furthermore, it contributes to strengthening the advocacy role of stakeholders in the budget process, and evaluating the gender compliance and its impact on service delivery in the sector.

The report is sub-divided into thirteen chapters as follows:- Chapter One includes the Executive Summary, which highlights the key findings in each of the sectors that was analysed.

1.2 Chapter Two is the Introduction which outlines the purpose of the study and its scope. The aim of the study is to provide the analysis necessary for informing the sectors on how to integrate gender and equity issues in their sector strategies. The study is initially focusing on policy statements of key sectors of Finance and Planning, Justice and constitutional Affairs, Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Tourism, Trade and Industry, Education, Health, Water and sanitation, Energy and Minerals, Public Service and Works and Transport.

1.3 Chapter Three deals with the gender analysis of the Finance and Planning Sector. It which highlights gender concerns in the sector and the Ministry's efforts to address them. While efforts are generally acceptable, suggestions have been made on how the critical gender issues in the sector can be addressed. The key gender issues in the sector that have an impact on gender include:-

• Improving revenue collection with the focus on progressive taxation,
• Relaxing the inflation target beyond 5%,
• Limiting supplementary expenditures,
• Making responsible use of external resources to boost productive capacity to generate capacity to repay,
• Strengthening government's role in price management,
• Improving financial management and control,
• Strengthening incentives for private sector growth and export promotion

1.4 Chapter Four deals with the gender audit of the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Sector.

It identifies critical gender issues in the sector that are the greatest impediment to accessing justice for vulnerable members of society most of whom are women and children.

These include:

• physical inaccessibility,
• financial constraints,
• Technical complexities involving many trips and complex legal language used in courts and police.

Other critical issues in the sector include but are not limited to:-

• Corruption in the system,
• Lack of access to the justice infrastructure, courts and lawyers,
• Poor quality representation of Government and loss of public resources in court awards,
• Inapplicable and/or obsolete laws,
• Poor records and management systems especially in the Administrator Generals Department.

1.5 Chapter Five analysed the Agriculture Sector. It identifies Agriculture as a sector with the largest employment potential, but a sector that is faced with the following critical concerns:-

• poor agriculture marketing and processing infrastructure
• poor quality seeds and planting material
• high disease and pest infestation
• deteriorating soil fertility
• perennial shortage of water for production
• lack of investment capital/credit and largely subsistence production
• shortage of extension and outreach
• heavy reliance on rain fed agriculture
• poor fishing gears leading to stock depletion

Agriculture is important to women's livelihoods as it is a major source of employment, is relied on for provision of essential food for the family and is also source of income from food crop and cash crop sales. Investment in the sector requires that funding is directed to these areas stated above.

1.6 Chapter Six concerns the Tourism, Trade and Industry Sector. The Sector's mandate is to provide trade facilitation services such as provision of market access and other services such as SACCOS and promotion of Cooperative movements. The Tourism, Trade and Industry sector is mainly dominated by the private sector, with the Government only playing a regulatory and facilitative role. There is very good potential of employment in this sector especially for women.

The key issues in the Sector include:-

• Exploitation of farmers by middlemen,
• Collapsed marketing institutions and cooperatives,
• Lack of value addition and poor storage facilities,
• Underdeveloped SACCOs with an inadequate legal and institutional framework.

1.7 Chapter Seven is concerned with the gender audit of the Education Sector. It was noted that the critical gender issues in the sector include:-

• high dropout rates especially of girls in the UPE and USE sections
• poor pay and facilitation of teachers
• congestion in classrooms
• shortage of funding for Science laboratories and exams
• absenteeism of teachers and pupils
• non-attendance of school by potential students due to various reasons such as house work and lack of compelling legislation
• Poor access to education i.e distance from schools and provision of complementary facilities e.g uniforms, books, food, etc.
• lack of fees for higher education

1.8 Chapter Eight deals with the gender issues in the Health Sector.There has been significant improvement in provision of health services in both rural and urban areas but a number of challenges in the sector still exist such as:-

• Poor pay for medical workers,
• Inadequate funding for reproductive health, drugs and medical equipment,
• Inadequate investment in non communicable diseases,
• Inadequate regulation of both private and public health provision.
• High maternal and infant mortality rates.

The health sector has to a large extent attempted to address gender issues but is constrained by underinvestment in the sector.

1.9 Chapter Nine deals with gender issuesin the Water and Sanitation sector. There has been significant improvement in the provision of clean water in both rural and urban areas but there are still a number of challenges in the sector.

• There is still lack of funds for water stressed areas
• Water remains unaffordable as a result of its cost of production and heavy debt overhang in the sector
• Poor water and environment management strategies coupled with lack of facilities for water conservation and exploitation
• Shortage of clean and reliable water sources

The water and sanitation sector has tended to concentrate on water leaving the sanitation sub sector unattended to the extent that it does not have a clear supervisory department.

1.10 Chapter Ten deals with the gender issues in the Energy and Mineral sector. This is a sector where minimal attention has been paid to gender and equity issues yet it is a very critical. Critical challenges in the sector include:-

• High energy tariffs,
• Lack of clean energy for the majority of the population,
• Poor distribution of energy,
• Dangerous power connections and poor safety management in mining,
• High costs of power generation
• Poor compensation of land owners and complex procedures for land acquisition.
• Inadequate framework for mining especially for Petroleum
• Lack of local capacity in the petroleum and mining industry

1.11 Chapter Eleven deals with the Public Service Sector where several gender and equity issues are prevalent and remain prominent despite attempts to address them. These include among others:

• Inequitable chances for training and employment opportunities and promotions for both women and men.
• Short duration of maternity and paternity leave
• Lack of resources to set up day-care centers for breast feeding mothers at the workplace,
• Lack of transparency in the execution of job transfers in relation to unique gender concerns;
• Weak enforcement of HIV/AIDS workplace policy;
• Lack of a minimum wage policy with informal employees heavily exploited by employers.

1.12 Chapter Twelve addresses the Works and Transport Sector The sector has made some progress in addressing gender and equity issues but there are still some gaps. These include among others:

• Lack of appreciation of the fact that women face more trade-offs than men and transport restricts their economic choices and increases their poverty;
• Institutions, structures and interventions largely prioritize men's needs and view points;
• Bias towards constructing the main trunk roads (national roads) as opposed to district roads and community access roads (DUCAR) which address gender concerns such as access to markets and medical services;
• Highly inadequate modes of transportation in the country.
• Traffic congestion and high transport fares.

1.13 Chapter Thirteen has Conclusions and recommendations that would contribute to enabling sectors attain the objective of strengthening the integration of gender concerns in sector strategies, in compliance with the Government directive contained in the Budget Call Circular of 2010/11. All policy makers including Cabinet and Parliament and Civil Society should rally behind the gender budget cause, as a means of making budgets equitable and improving service delivery.

This book is about the threats to education quality in the developing world that cannot be explained by lack of resources. It reviews the observed phenomenon of service delivery failures in public education: cases where programs and policies increase the inputs to education but do not produce effective services where it counts - in schools and classrooms. It documents what we know about the extent and costs of such failures across low and middle-income countries. And it further develops the conceptual model posited in the World Development Report 2004: that a root cause of low-quality and inequitable public services - not only in education-is the weak accountability of providers to both their supervisors and clients.

The central focus of the book, however, is a new story. It is that developing countries are increasingly adopting innovative strategies to attack these problems. Drawing on new evidence from 22 rigorous impact evaluations across 11 developing countries, this book examines how three key strategies to strengthen accountability relationships in developing country school systems have affected school enrollment, completion and student learning.

The book reviews the motivation and global context for education reforms aimed at strengthening provider accountability. It provides the rationally and synthesizes the evidence on the impacts of three key lines of reform: (1) policies that use the power of information to strengthen the ability of clients of education services (students and their parents) to hold providers accountable for results; (2) policies that promote school-based management-that is increase schools' autonomy to make key decisions and control resources, often empowering parents to play a larger role; (3) teacher incentives reforms that specifically aim at making teachers more accountable for results, either by making contract tenure dependent on performance, or offering performance-linked pay.

The book summarizes the lessons learned, draws cautious conclusions about possible complementarities across different types of accountability-focused reforms if they are implemented in tandem, considers issues related to scaling up reform efforts and the political economy of reform, and suggests directions for future work.

* Making Schools Work: New Evidence on Accountability Reforms; by Barbara Bruns, Deon Filmer, Harry Anthony Patrino. Published by the World Bank, 2011. 

* The book may be purchased here. It may be read online, but not downloaded. Access the online version, here

This handbook constitutes one of the battles being fought by civil society organisations to promote and protect the rights of communities living adjacent to mining areas against the operations of extractive industries, the state and other individuals who violate their Environmental, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (EESCR). Its objective is to assist legislators to further appreciate and build their knowledge on the key issues that they should focus on in carrying out their representative, oversight and legislative role in the extractive sector. The handbook seeks to explain some key concepts in the extractive sector and give policy and legal solutions within the context of recent developments in the sector in Zimbabwe. The main thrust is to promote and protect the EESCR rights of mining communities.

The handbook has a diverse foundational base from which the information was drawn by the authors. Firstly, it is anchored on the results of a research on the impact of extractive industries on the EESCR of communities in Marange and Mutoko where diamond and black granite mining operations are taking place respectively. The research was undertaken by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) in 2009. Secondly, the book is based on lessons learnt by the authors in implementing a project initiated by ZELA to build the capacity of legislators to effectively play their representative, legislative and oversight role in the extractive sector. Thirdly, the authors drew a lot of information from formal and informal discussions with government officials, lawyers, industry officials, bankers, community representatives and donor agencies over the past three years. These discussions were invaluable in gaining insight into the subject of community rights, revenue transparency, corporate social responsibility and environmental justice. Some of the thoughts and discussion points there from are included in this book. Fourthly, the handbook drew some lessons as well from the public interest litigation work of ZELA which has seen the organisation assisting communities affected by the operations of mining companies and state actions by taking legal action seeking for redress. Fifthly, the handbook draws a lot of information from extensive literature on the extractive sector.

The research that was undertaken by ZELA in Mutoko and Marange was meant to provide a platform for civil society to better understand the trials and tribulations of the poor women, men and youths in these resource rich areas caused by mining companies and government action. The research also established the level of legislative representation of EESCR of mining communities by the respective members of parliament. Mutoko has the world renowned black granite that is being extracted mainly for export by 11 local and foreign mining companies. In Marange, diamond mining by state owned companies and foreign investors since 2006 has resulted in a lot of human rights violations. In both cases one of the key research questions was whether the local communities are deriving any tangible economic benefits from mining and what has been the impact of mining activities on community livelihoods from an environmental, economic, social and cultural rights perspective. Consequently, in both cases the research identified some of the major impacts of mining on the communities including environmental degradation, loss of land, water pollution, human rights violations and mere plundering of resources without any tangible benefits going to the communities. Instead when mining companies decide at their own volition to give back to the community, it will be donations of a few bags of food, fuel to local politicians or traditional leaders and other items that do not alleviate poverty.

The research was complimented by advocacy work that was aimed at influencing policy decisions in the extractive sector around community participation in mining, revenue generation and distribution, mining taxation, environmental degradation, corporate social responsibility and respect of human rights in mining communities. The target group for the project were legislators in the Mines and Energy Portfolio Committee and the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. The project sought to increase the legislators' knowledge of the impact of mining operations on communities. In essence, it sought to build a platform for engagement between the legislators and the communities. Legislators have a duty to call government and mining companies to account for their impact on the environmental, economic, social and cultural interests of communities living near mining areas. Therefore, within the above context, this handbook is meant to act as a guide to legislators to effectively play their legislative, representative and oversight role over government action and non-action in the extractive sector. It is also meant to demonstrate and expose cases of environmental, economic and social injustice happening in Marange and Mutoko for action by legislators. The hope is that this may then trigger legislative, political and community action to protect and promote the rights of communities living adjacent to other mining areas in Zimbabwe as the problems in Mutoko and Marange are a lens of the problems obtaining in the whole mining sector.

Drawing from the informal and formal discussions with various stakeholders, literature review and the public interest litigation cases, it is important to note that EESCR have continued to be relegated to the periphery in national discourse, implementation and resource allocation as civil and political rights are a preferred area of intervention in Zimbabwe. This is despite the equality and indivisibility of all human rights. The judiciary for example is not ready to defend the environmental, economic, social and cultural rights of communities as evidenced by the decision of the High Court in a case involving the relocation of Chiadzwa villagers that was dismissed by the court on the grounds that it was not an urgent matter. Further, a number of critical issues in the extractive sector were noted such as lack of transparency and accountability by state institutions in awarding mining contracts, corruption by public officials, a poor and ineffective mining tax regime that has failed to generate enough revenue for the state, absence of a corporate social responsibility framework for mining companies to meaningfully plough back to communities, limited opportunities for community engagement in mining and gross violations of human rights by the state and mining companies especially in Chiadzwa diamond fields. These are issues the legislators should tackle as a matter of urgency if the mining sector is to meaningfully result in community development and national economic growth.

In the above context, the publication of this handbook acts as a strategy that can facilitate more responsible government and private sector actions and deliver justice to poor and vulnerable women, men and youths whose rights are being violated in mining areas. In great part, this is also a contribution to the fight against poverty and vulnerability in the country as it may trigger action for improved enforcement and implementation of environmental, economic, social and cultural rights with the help of legislators. The handbook may also be useful in helping to bring government and other actors to account for their actions. One of the problems this publication seeks to address is the fact that poor and vulnerable women, men and the youths in rural and urban areas, either individually or collectively, often lack adequate knowledge and resources to challenge government actions, decisions or laws as well as private sector actions that contravene their constitutional rights or the country's obligations under international law. Further, when it comes to defending themselves against overreaching government, too many citizens are afraid to call the government and the private companies to account for their actions. Hence the legislator can play a key role in that respect.

In terms of structure, the book is divided into 4 Chapters. The first Chapter outlines the conceptual background of economic, environmental, social and cultural rights and the human rights discourse in the context of the extractive sector. The Chapter positions Economic, Environmental, Social and Cultural Rights (EESCR) as human rights. The contribution of the mining sector to economic development is also outlined in the Chapter. Chapter 2 is a statement of the legal and policy framework on mining taxation, corporate social responsibility, community participation, mining contract negotiation and transparency and accountability and how these concepts interlink with the rights and interests of poor and vulnerable communities living adjacent to mining operations.

Chapter 3 profiles the case studies; the impact of mining operations on Marange and Mutoko communities. It states the major problems faced by these communities especially in the face of operations of extractive industries. More importantly, the Chapter identifies some of the environmental, economic, social and cultural problems being faced by people living in these two mining areas. The Chapter is a demonstration of the problems faced by mining communities across the country and in many other African societies. The relevance of these two case studies is that they can demonstrate to the legislators some of the practical aspects related to corruption, human rights abuses, environmental degradation and inequality in wealth generation and distribution in the mining sector.

Lastly, Chapter 4 states the policy and legal options and recommendations as well as next steps for decision makers especially parliamentarians to focus on. Major policy recommendations and options revolve around the reform of mining laws, promotion of transparency and accountability in the extractive sector, equitable revenue management and distribution and community participation in mining.

The Woreda and City Benchmarking Survey (WCBS) was designed initially as a core monitoring and evaluation tool for the Public Sector Capacity Building Program (PSCAP). But the application of the survey has now expanded to include several reforms and donor supported operations. The survey provides a systematic, empirical and representative assessment of:

• the capacity of local government administrations in terms of management of their financial and human resources;
• involvement of participation of local communities in local government planning, budgeting and review processes; and
• performance for some selected public services.

The survey consists out of several different empirical instruments:

1. Supply-side - a quantitative questionnaire, which addresses local jurisdictions,
2. Demand-side - a quantitative questionnaire based citizen report card (CRC); qualitative Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with selected citizens; and semi-structured Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with selected representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The selection of jurisdictions and households was based on a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure, based on remoteness and food-security as key stratification criteria. Within regions, jurisdictions were selected in proportion to population size, where size is the data of the national census.

The first round of WCBS was conducted in 2005 and covering 48 woredas and 32 municipalities. The second round was conducted in 2008 covering 239 woredas and 52 municipalities while the third round covered 315 woredas and 69 municipalities and city governments. So, after WCBS III there are roughly remaining 100 jurisdictions in the country that have not been incorporated in any round of the WCBS.

The five reports below are related to the third WCBS that was conducted in 2010 compromising 384 jurisdictions, of which 315 are woredas, 69 city governments of which 20 are municipalities, as well as 10,667 households, 70 Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and 175 Key Informant Interviews (KII) with selected CSO representatives. Each of the documents summarizes findings of the different instruments of WCBS III, namely the supply-side survey, the Citizen Report Card (CRC), Focus Group Discussions (FGD), and Key Informant Interviews (KII). In doing so, areas such as institutional capacity (local government finance, tax administration, IT and technical support, human resources), service provision and perceptions (extension services, solid waste, health), as well as accountability and participation (public information and empowerment, council work and accountability) are covered in the reports.

Woreda and City Benchmarking Survey III Reports:

• Synthesis Report
• Benchmarking Scores
• Citizens' Report Card
• Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions Report
• Supply Side Report

Related posts:

• Social accountability and service delivery in Ethiopia: PBS review and documentation

The African Parliamentary Index (API) measures the level of engagement of selected African parliaments with the budget process in their respective countries. The API is a core component of the Africa Parliamentary Strengthening Program (APSP) for Budget Oversight and provides a scientific assessment of the performance of APSP partner parliaments on budget oversight. The Africa Parliamentary Strengthening Program (APSP) for Budget Oversight is working with partner parliaments to strengthen their capacity to carry out their legislative, financial, oversight and representative functions in ways that engender good governance and values of accountability, transparency and participation, especially in the budget process.

Since the PSC meeting in March 2010 the Parliamentary Centre has completed all the key activities as outlined at the PSC meeting. The following activities have been concluded.

• Framework for an African parliamentary index on budget oversight
• Development of the API self assessment tool
• Development of the API self assessment manual, and
• Self assessment in 6 out of 7 APSP partner countries

The framework reviewed relevant literature to inform the development of the assessment tools and the approach to the assessment. The framework for the API expanded the concept paper to provide details on the thematic scope of the API. It provided a basis for discussion on what to include in the index and even the depth of questions on the issues to be included. It also expanded on the methodology and assessment framework, taking into accounts what works and what does not.

The self assessment tool covers 5 core areas - representation, legislation, financial, oversight,  institutional capacity and institutional integrity - related to Parliamentary budget oversight and other core functional areas that directly affect Parliaments' financial and oversight roles. The questions are both qualitative and quantitative, with the latter giving greater clarity of response. Instruments are designed to allow each area of Parliament's responsibility to be assessed separately or in turn. Questions require respondents to make judgement on a four-point scale.

Assessment is done by a select group from parliament, usually members of the budget committee and chairs persons of other related committee. In all country assessment meetings, staffs from the clerk's department and the budget office play a key role in the assessments. They provide members of parliament with reference points from key documents like the standing orders of parliament and the constitution.

Country Assessment Meetings

The assessments have been carried out in 6 (Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Senegal) out of the 7 APSP partner countries.  All the meetings followed the same format; an introduction to the API, done through PowerPoint by the independent assessor, group work session where the actual assessment is done and a plenary where each group presents its assessment to the larger group for validation and also to allow groups to cross fertilize assessments from each group.

The presentation on the API highlighted the purpose and objectives of the project, the broad issues being considered for assessment and how it links to the work of parliament, the indicators and the assessment process. The presentation also explained the group work session to participants and outlined the activities and expectations.

In the group work sessions, participants were randomly selected into four groups. Three groups assess parliament on a number of themes in separate group sessions. A fourth group works on the prioritization matrix. This involves the assignment of weights to determine the relative importance of all the indicators being assessed against each other. The outcome of this session is a system of weights that defines the relative importance of each indicator to a particular Parliament. The weights are used to compute the index.

A plenary session is held where each group presents their assessment to the larger group for discussion. This provides an opportunity for members who were not in particular groups to provide information that may be critical to the assessment. In some cases, the larger group provided detailed information to the group presentation that resulted in a review of their assessment rating of the parliament.

Assessment outcomes

The assessment process has received positive feedback from all the parliaments where it has been implemented. In most cases, members were of the opinion that the process gave them an opportunity to reflect on the work they do in the budget process than ever before. It made them more aware of the responsibilities they have and we believe in most cases will start an agenda for change within these parliaments.

The assessment process is parliament led and driven. The assessment is done by members of parliament; the selection of the independent assessor is done in conjunction with the office of parliament. The Parliamentary Centre only provides the technical advisory needed for the process and the independent assessor provides lead facilitation.

Next Steps

Two validation meetings will be held as a follow-up to the assessment meeting in all the countries. The first would be with the leadership of Parliament. This would provide an opportunity to capture their views in the index. The second one would seek to validate the findings with key stakeholders, i.e. civil societies, who work closely with parliament. The index and individual country reports would be launched simultaneously in all the countries. This would give the index more media coverage and would make it more likely to be captured by the international media houses. The media encounter would engage and coach the media on the use of the indices.

More details on the Africa Parliamentary Strengthening Programme for Budget Oversight (2009-2014) can be obtained here

About the Parliamentary Centre: The Parliamentary Centre is a Canadian not-for-profit, non-partisan organization devoted to improving the effectiveness of representative Legislative assemblies around the world. The Centre has served parliaments and legislatures for more than four decades. Founded in 1968 to strengthen the capacity of Canada's Parliament, the Centre is now a global leader in parliamentary development with projects that support parliaments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.  By far, the Centre's largest programs are in Africa where about 45 projects have been successfully implemented over the last two decades. Read more at: www.parlcent.ca

The Centre's Regional Office for Africa was officially opened in Accra in April 2004.  The Centre had project offices in Dakar, Senegal; Khartoum, Sudan; and Nairobi, Kenya.  Currently, one project office is operational in Kigali, Rwanda.  The decision to locate the Regional Office in Ghana was largely informed by Ghana's democratic credentials and the long-standing relationship between the Centre and the Parliament of Ghana.   Currently, the Centre, through the Africa Programs, works with about 20 Parliaments on the continent; 7 of which have signed MOUs with the Centre.  These are: Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Regional Office also serves as a training facility, with a drop-in Resource Centre for MPs, as well as a contact point for activities of the Africa Parliamentarians Poverty Reduction Network, a Secretariat for the Africa Parliamentary Network Against Corruption (APNAC), which the Centre helped create in 1999, and a host centre for a number of programmes and projects.

The Centre focuses its expertise and institutional capacity building programs in the following areas: strengthening committee oversight and lawmaking; supporting regional inter-parliamentary networks; building the capacity of parliamentary secretariats; supporting legislative development at the state and provincial as well as the national levels; strengthening the role of political parties in the legislature; developing parliamentary performance planning and reporting systems.

Note: The ANSA-Africa website carries a number of important and popular reports on issues of parliamentary oversight and accountability and evaluations of the roles of MPs and parliaments. A number are listed below.

• Tanzania: Did they perform? Assessing five years of Bunge 2005-2010
• Tanzania: Do people prefer active MPs?
• Uganda: The Parliamentary Scorecard 2008 - 2009
• Liberia: Beyond the legislative veil - see your lawmakers at work
• Variation in performance among members of parliament: evidence from Ghana
• Do they work for us? Eight facts about MPs in Tanzania
• The Rwandan Parliament's self-assessment exercise: insights and issues
• Financial oversight function of parliamentarians: tools and mechanisms for optimum government budget analysis
• Parliament, the Budget and Poverty in South Africa: A Shift in Power
• African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption: conference report
• South Africa: Report of the independent panel assessment of Parliament
• A review of parliamentary scorecards in Africa
• Strengthening Parliaments in Africa: Improving support

The last several decades have seen countries around the world decentralizing key services to the local level. Decentralisation has been seen as a way to improve efficiency of state structures, and bring decision-making closer to the people affected by policymakers' decisions. In Ghana, the process of decentralisation began in 1988.

In 1993, the Districts Assemblies' Common Fund was established to give Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies more financial autonomy to actually make decisions at the local level. It has since become an important tool for the achievement of fiscal decentralisation in particular and overall decentralisation in general. To ensure prudent use of the DACF, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, and the Administrator of the DACF set out clear guidelines for the utilisation of the fund by MMDAs to ensure value for money. Some of these guidelines relate to procurement, while others relate to special allocations, such as a 2 percent earmarked to reduce poverty among Persons With Disability and a 7 percent earmark for Members of Parliament to use for development purposes in their constituencies.

While decentralisation has been tried in many countries, the results have not always been satisfactory. Decentralisation has sometimes fallen short of expectations because local governments are given new responsibilities, but insufficient resources to carry them out. Though decentralisation has sometimes been touted as a way to reduce inefficiency and corruption, in some cases, it seems rather to only decentralise corruption and inefficiency to the local level.

The study focused on some of the key elements of the DACF. These include: the extent of community participation in DACF sponsored projects; the level of citizens awareness and access to information on the DACF by communities; the degree to which DACF sponsored projects are awarded in line with National Procurement Law; and finally, the utilisation of 7 percent MPs and PWDs 2 percent share of DACF.

The study was conducted in the second and third quarter of 2010 covering 50 districts across four administrative regions in Ghana. Information for the study was gathered by grassroots civil society actors.

Generally, the findings reveal that there has been non adherence to the guidelines for the utilisation of the DACF funds by MMDAs, particularly the 2 percent share of the fund for PWDs. The use of DACF money is not transparent, and frequently is decided without meaningful community participation. Access to information on and community participation in DACF projects have become very problematic to the extent that responsiveness of MMDAs to the local needs of citizenry has been affected. The main findings of the study are as follows:

1.1 Main Findings

Management and utilization of DACF for PWDs and by MPs

• More than two-thirds of PWDs were aware of their 2 percent share in the DACF.
• Access to the 2 percent-share of the DACF for PWDs from 2003 to 2008 was less than one- third of sampled PWD Associations. Access in the Northern Region was more than 50 percent. However, in the Upper East, Upper West and Greater Accra regions less than one-third of PWDs successfully accessed the funds in 2009. The establishment of the National Council for Persons with Disability could have contributed to the relative high access in 2009.
• About 44 percent of PWDs who successfully accessed the 2 percent share of the DACF between 2003-2009 expended the fund on the celebration of the International Day for the Disabled and attendance of meetings/conferences.
• Contrary to guidelines, about 55 percent of MMDAs sampled do not have the mandated Disability Fund Management Committees in place. Per the new guidelines the existence of these committees is a pre-requisite to accessing the PWD-share of the DACF.
• Nearly two-thirds of MMDAs do not have separate bank accounts for the management of the PWD-share of the DACF. The absence of these bank accounts prevents disbursement of the PWDs' share of the DACF with reference to the new guidelines for the management and disbursement of the DACF.
• Nearly 36 percent of MPs have had conflict(s) with their respective DCEs over the appropriation of MPs Fund since 2005. According to the MPs, this has adversely affected the implementation of projects in the constituencies.

Awareness and Access to information

• More than two-thirds of community leaders have heard of the DACF.
• The study observed that the major source of information on DACF for communities was through the Assembly Members.
  • Radio which in recent times has become an effective channel for communication, particularly with rural populations was the least used by MMDAs.
  • MMDAs are required by Law to prepare Medium Term Development Plans and Budgets to guide the overall development of their areas. MTDPs are means by which citizens needs and aspirations are translated into implementable programmes and projects. Out of the 29 district assemblies that responded to the study more than two-thirds did not provide their MTDPs and supplementary budgets for the period 2005-2009. None of the district assemblies could provide information on DACF expenditure returns.

Community Participation

• The study revealed that about half of community members were involved in the planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the DACF projects as reported by community leaders. For those community members who did not participate in the planning, implementation and monitoring of DACF projects, the key reasons reported by community leaders was lack of access to information on DACF projects; and ineffective communication system employed by the MMDAs.

Disbursement and Utilization of DACF

• The study observed that about 50 percent of community leaders sampled do not believe that, MMDAs have effectively used the DACF to address their development needs. According to these community leaders, their limited involvement in DACF projects has made it difficult for theMMDAs to be responsive to their needs.
• Though 62 percent of MMDAs recognised the importance of cash flows, 45 percent of them actually prepare it.
• More than two-thirds of all procurements by MMDAs are through Competitive Bidding. According to the MMDAs, this method of procurement is used because contracts are within the threshold of the District Tender Committee. Also, it provides opportunity to ensure that there is value for money.

Recommendation

Based on the findings of our study, we make the following recommendation for policy consideration with a view to improving the access and utilisation of the DACF by the poor and the marginalised.

1. As a matter of priority, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development should ensure that all MMDAs comply with the guidelines for the disbursement and utilisation of the DACF for PWDs by establishing District Disability Fund Management Committees and opening separate bank accounts for the fund to enable PWDs access their 2 percent share of the DACF.
2. District Assemblies should pursue innovative measures that ensure access to information on DACF by citizens to elicit their support and participation in the implementation of DACF projects. Currently, communities rely on their Assembly Members for information which is not very effective. MMDAs should therefore explore the option of relying on community radio station for the dissemination of information on the DACF.
3. To ensure sustainability and community ownership of DACF projects, District Assemblies should increase community participation at all stages of the project since communities are currently dissatisfied with their level of participation in DACF projects.
4. In view of the inconsistencies between projected allocations and actual disbursement of DACF, it is strongly suggested that MMDAs prepare cash budgets to ameliorate the effect of the inconsistencies in implementation of projects.

Download the Policy brief

Prior to the onset of the global financial crisis, Africa had made significant progress toward sustainable economic development. It had achieved five years of growth at an annual average of six percent, an indicator of success seen in many nations across the continent, not just in oil-producing and commodity - exporting countries. Structural economic reforms, an increased commitment to fighting inflation, and promotion of a more favorable international business environment contributed to producing measurable results seen in such benchmarks as foreign currency reserve growth and inflation rate drops to single digits.

Countries in Africa made social gains, as well. Though only Tanzania is on track to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mali and Burkina Faso are well positioned to meet several of the goals, and at least ten states are on track to achieve the primary education target.

Projections suggest that Mozambique is likely to achieve the child mortality and infant mortality goals, and Senegal is expected to achieve the eighth goal, which relates to a global partnership for developmentwith a special focus on ensuring that sufficient investment goes into development.

The global recession, rising poverty, the food and fuel crises, and the impact of climate change jeopardize ongoing progress in Africa, which also continues to be threatened by political instability and the risk of conflict. Further success toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable peace in the region will depend in part on the implementation of effective capacity development initiatives that reflect and respond to the particular realities and challenges present in fragile, post-conflict African states.

Effective capacity development must begin, then, with comprehension of the root causes of Africa's fragility and conflict; the lingering impact of a colonial legacy of weak, inappropriate institutions; and the tremendous challenge of creating workable solutions on a continent grappling with such a profound diversity of political, cultural, linguistic, and religious identities.

As many development partners have discovered, failure to understand the aforementioned factors goes hand in hand with failure to understand post-colonial state building efforts in Africa. Too often, state building and capacity development have been carried out as technocratic exercises in which fragile states import and institutionalize inflexible formulae.

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), was founded on February 9, 1991 with a mission to build human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa. ACBF is publishing this inaugural edition of its annual Africa Capacity Indicators Report (ACIR) to further its goal of building sustainable, effective institutions and policies to deliver development results for poverty reduction. This Flagship Publication draws on a combination of ACBF's two decades of work, the results of the Africa Capacity Indicators field studies completed during 2010, and technical background papers.

This Report introduces a unique and unprecedented series of data on the state of capacity in Africa. It also examines key issues and challenges confronting in-country and cross-border capacity development. The ACIR will serve as a major diagnostic tool and guide the development of priority actions by providing practical insights and recommendations where necessary.

To this end, the ACIR will form the basis for advocacy on major capacity development issues and bring to the attention of policy makers and other stakeholders the thematic and sectoral factors that might be affecting state and societal effectiveness in the delivery of specified mandates. It will serve as a tool to galvanize capacity development and poverty reduction actions in Africa by providing research-informed data on capacity development from across the continent.

Download executive summary |    Download full report

Born out of the optimism at the new millennium that Africa's time had come, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a tool designed to promote good governance on the continent, is built on the belief that the continent does not lack ideas to advance its development, but that states have struggled to live up to their principles and implement their policies. The APRM rests on the fundamental belief that good governance is a precondition for taking Africa out of its spiral of conflict, underdevelopment, poverty and increasing marginalisation in a globalised world.

Looking in the rear-view mirror almost a decade after the APRM was first conceived, Grappling with Governance: Perspectives on the African Peer Review Mechanism explores how this complex process has evolved from theory to practice in a variety of contexts. In a combination of case studies and transversal analysis, multiple voices from different African civil society actors - mainly analysts, activists and journalists - examine the process from their specialised perspective. The chapters tease out what can be learned about governance in Africa from these experiences, and the extent to which the APRM has changed the way that governments and civil society groups engage.

This book demonstrates that undergoing review through the APRM - literally, grappling with governance - can be messy, haphazard and full of reversals. Like any tool, the APRM's effectiveness depends on the suitability of its design for the task at hand, the situation in which it is used, and the skill of its user. The different authors reflect on these characteristics as users of this tool. While it is ill-advised to draw universal conclusions, this book nevertheless demonstrates that the APRM has added value, sometimes in unexpected ways.

About the editor

Steven Gruzd is head of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). He joined SAIIA's Nepad and Governance Project in April 2003, serving as research manager, and he was subsequently appointed head in 2008. Previously he worked as a researcher and then research co-ordinator at the Centre for Development and Enterprise. Steven's research interests include the APRM, South Africa's international relations, African affairs, the Middle East, conflict and peace studies, and sport and politics. He holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and an honours and BA degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. He co-authored The African Peer Review Mechanism: Lessons from the Pioneers, the first major study of the APRM with Ross Herbert in 2008.

"A timely and succinct exposition of the challenges of evolving state-society relations in Africa though the APRM… adds to the budding literature on the role of civil society in this uniquely African initiative" – Kojo Busia, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

"Essential reading to understand how civil society has perceived and experienced the APRM, and how their engagement has strengthened this organic African governance initiative" – Gabrial Negatu, DirectorL Governance, Economic and Financial Reform, African Development Bank.

See an interview with Steven Gruzd courtesy of Creamer Media's Polity.org.za.

Contents include:

Introduction
Steven Gruzd

The APRM: Assessing origins, institutional relations and achievements
Steven Gruzd

Civil society participation in Uganda's APRM process
Juliet Nakato Odoi

Assessing South Africa's APRM: An NGO perspective
Nick Hutchings, Mukelani Dimba & Alison Tilley

Making the news: Why the APRM didn't
Brendan Boyle

Do think tanks benefit from APRM work? Kenya's experience
Rosemary Atieno, Mohamud Jama and Joseph Onjala

Using representative opinion surveys in the APRM process
Robert Mattes

APRM's economic governance and management standards: What civil society should look for
Colm Allan and Neil Overy

Addressing the APRM's Programmes of Action
Faten Aggad

Common African political governance issues: Insights from six early APRM Country Review Reports
Yarik Turianskyi

Common African socio-economic issues: Insights from six early APRM Country Review Reports
Terence Corrigan

Conclusion
Steven Gruzd

Download the Introduction [.pdf]

Click here to buy the book.

Ghana has made incredible progress in recent years, both in terms of democratic consolidation and development outcomes. In addition to the achievement of an increasingly competitive political sphere and greater macroeconomic stability, successive governments have made important commitments to spending on key social priorities such as health, education, agriculture and social protection.

By the end of 2010, a major influx of oil revenues should start to flow onto Ghana's budget. These revenues have the potential to help Ghana consolidate its middle-income status, with an evolving welfare state. But, as this paper argues, they also have the potential to become a missed opportunity. Ghana needs to undertake key reforms of its financial management systems to improve the transparency and effectiveness with which it spends public money. Without these reforms, Ghanaians will not benefit from the increased revenues and the unique opportunity presented by the Jubilee field will be squandered.

When a government has access to new revenues, two important questions must be answered. The first question is: on what should this money be spent? As always, governments must make trade-offs between key priorities. In order for those trade-offs to serve the best interests of Ghanaians as a whole, we believe that there should be an open, transparent debate about which priorities the government ought to finance. The Ghana Aid Effectiveness Forum calls on the Government of Ghana to join with us in promoting a National Day of Discussion around budget priorities, where government, citizens and development partners can debate and discuss ways to use the new increment in revenues from oil.

The second question that arises from the realization of new revenues is: how will the new money be spent? Will the expenditure itself be transparent? Will citizens be able to monitor it? Will it actually reach the people it is supposed to reach? Will anyone be held accountable for waste or mismanagement? We believe that Ghana needs to make substantial improvements in its approach to managing public funds to ensure that new money is spent wisely, transparently and effectively. We call on government to begin to undertake the reforms detailed in this report immediately.

This report is a call to immediate action. The Ghana Aid Effectiveness Forum, in conjunction with other partners in civil society, including the CSO Platform on Oil and Gas, the Right to Information Coalition, the International Budget Partnership, and Oxfam America, believe that the time is now to make serious reforms in Ghana's budget process and budget priorities. If Ghana's government is to spend new monies wisely, there is no time to waste. The rest of this paper discusses weaknesses in Ghana's budget process, and then makes concrete suggestions for reform. Over the course of the next year, GAEF will build on this work to produce further research on specific areas of financial management reform, as well as a detailed set of proposals for how to use increased revenues to bolster Ghana's social sector.

The key budget process weaknesses we identify are:

Lack of Transparency: Ghana's budget process has become more open in recent years, but the country still scores only a 54 out of 100 on the Open Budget Index. Government of Ghana provides insufficient information on how it is actually spending public money during the year, once the budget is approved, and inadequate explanations at the end of the year for divergences between economic forecasts and actual outcomes. CSOs frequently complain about the inability to access information on actual expenditures during and after the budget year, and some institutions, like the National Health Insurance Authority, are particularly opaque.

Lack of Adherence to the Budget: The key to a good budget process is that once decisions about how to spend money are taken by government and approved by parliament, the government sticks to these decisions. If these decisions, which are captured in the enacted budget, are not adhered to, then budgeting loses its meaning, and money can be spent in ways that are not transparent and that do not reflect the outcome of public debate. Government of Ghana has struggled to adhere to the enacted budget over the past several years, which has led to certain ministries spending more than they have been allocated. The result has been the growth of expenditure arrears, which is essentially a form of debt that is being contracted without public approval. Lack of adherence to the budget therefore leads to lack of transparency and accountability in public spending.

Limited Oversight: Ghana has made great strides in recent years in creating a more effective external audit office to monitor government spending. Nevertheless, the audit service still lacks sufficient funding to fulfill its mandate. Audit reports are also released more than 6 months after the end of the reporting period, and the auditor provides insufficient information about follow up of audit findings.

* Click to download Executive Summary and Full Report

The Mozambican civil society is still characterized by a large number of informal organizations. On the formal side, the National Institute of Statistic (INE) registered 4853 non for profit institutions in 2003, most of which were religious associations.

In a situation where the state faces huge difficulties in meeting basic social and economic needs, most of the population rely on diverse forms of mutual support as their only welfare mechanism. Informal self-help organizations, growing spontaneously on a needs basis, remaining mostly unknown and surviving without external resources, constitute the major part of the Mozambican Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The experience of implementing the Civil Society Index (CSI) in Mozambique turned out to be an important tool for the analysis of civil society (CS), benefiting donors, government, academics, and of course the CS itself. The implementation was also an important moment of self-assessment for the CS, indicating new alternatives and possibilities for its strengthening.

The impacts of the implementation process – influence in governance programming, the construction of new internal as well as inter-sectoral networks, and the opening of the wider constituency dialogue beyond the usual CSO suspects - were less significant than expected, and there was little follow-up after the release of the index report in April 2008. The underestimation of the national challenges while adapting the work methodology of the CSI, and the lack of a strong implementation agenda, were identified as the main reasons for the reduced impact of the implementation process.

The difficulties in implementing the recommendations of the index after its launch, and the failure to promote its use as a reference for programming and governance, are intrinsically related to the challenges in the country. With this conclusion, it seems clear that future initiatives should take these challenges into account, including a longer period of training and capacity building in the process.

In November 2010, around 100 of the world's leading experts in public financial management (PFM) met in London to debate why more progress is not being made in fragile states. Gathered at the sixth annual CAPE Conference, entitled Accelerating the transition out of fragility, these experts focused on the practical and policy aspects of using finance to support fragile states as they make the transition from fragility to stability, and the implications for Public Financial Management (PFM).

The participants included experts who had travelled to London from Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Tajikistan, Timor Leste, Kosovo, Solomon Islands, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with four Ministers of Finance in attendance. They were joined by practitioners with experience of other countries. Despite years of support for reform in fragile states, there were still differences of opinion on many issues. However, the discussions provided clarity on seven key issues:

1. Donors are not respecting government ownership and are micromanaging aid delivery despite commitments to the Paris aid effectiveness agenda in fragile states. We heard accounts from four Ministers of Finance of the difficulties they have had in managing the donor relationship and were struck by the comment that it was only possible to gain control of the reform process once domestic revenues had reached a high enough level to marginalise the influence of donors.
2. Participants recognised that PFM reform in fragile states requires a major change in management practices and buy in from a wide range of stakeholders in the country, with important administrative and political implications. It is not a technocratic fix. Yet there seem to be few country examples of properly designed and applied change management processes.
3. Current procurement procedures required by the international community are too complex and cumbersome for fragile states. While such processes reflect a valid need for accountability, it seems that the balance between accountability and development progress is insufficiently considered.
4. Inadequate pay levels in the public service in fragile states are having a serious effect on the sustainability of reform. In this regard, the policymakers are faced with a difficult choice between retaining qualified staff and ensuring a sustainable fiscal position, without impeding private sector development.
5. As fragile states move towards more democratic structures the role of Parliaments in the budget process would become more important. While there is no unique model for interfacing with Parliament, more attention needs to be paid to it to enhance budget transparency.
6. Too much time can be spent making legislative changes. Often these are not necessary because administrative regulations will do as well and the implementation capacity often does not exist to back up the legislation.
7. Finally, the conference demonstrated that collectively we are not learning as much as we can from the range of fragile state experience. Bringing together representatives from such a diverse group of countries, all of them struggling with the same problems can be enormously productive.

We, representatives of African women's civil society organisations and African women leaders meeting under the umbrella of "Gender Is My Agenda Campaign" (GIMAC) at the 17th African Women's PreSummit on Gender Mainstreaming in the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from January 24-26 2011, convened by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Union Commission (AUC), International Labour Organization (ILO) and IPAS with the support of the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), Urgent Action Fund, Open Society Initiative (OSI), Nobel Women's Initiative, Agencia Espanola De Cooperacion Internacional, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Norway and Sweden;

Welcoming the decision of the African Heads of State and Governments to devote the 16th ordinary session of the African Union Summit to the theme "Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values";

Appreciating the leadership of the African Union Commission and particularly its Political Affairs Department in ensuring that these important concerns receive the attention of the Heads of State;

Appreciating further the support of our various partners and the presence of Hon. Dr. Olivia Muchena,the Minister of Women's Affairs, Zimbabwe; Hon. Ms Awa Ndiaye, the Senegalese Minister of Gender Affairs, African and International Women's Associations; Hon. Gertrude Mongella former Pan African President; Hon. Mary Robinson, former President of the Republic of Ireland; Hon. Elizabeth Rehn, former Minister of Defence, Finland; and Dr Awa Marie Coll-Seck, Executive Director, Roll Back Malaria Partnership; whose contributions called attention to the urgent need to integrate gender perspectives in key and current issues concerning the African Continent, including the elimination of violence against women, climate justice and women's economic empowerment;

Reiterating the determination and commitment of the African women's movement in keeping women's rights on the African Union's agenda through Pre-summit consultations;

Recalling the commitments of African Heads of State and Government to take all necessary steps to achieve gender equality in Africa;

Recognising the continued desire of the Heads of State and Government in implementing and reporting on the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004) as reflected in the increase of Member States that have reported on it and those that have ratified the Protocol of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and the Rights of Women in Africa (2003);

Commending the African Heads for adopting the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) instrument that promotes shared values of the African Union;

Noting with appreciation the desire of African Heads of State to continue to engage African women and ensure that our voices are heard and our needs effectively taken on board at all times;

Welcoming attempts by the African Union and the United Nations to resolve the conflicts in Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Guinea, Somalia and other parts of the continent;

Reaffirming GIMAC's commitment to monitor, evaluate and report on AU policies on women's rights, especially the implementation of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (SDGEA) (2003) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003);

Recognising the efforts of the African Union in declaring 2010-2020 as the African Women's Decade to further promote gender equality and the advancement of African Women in all spheres of life;

The Long-Term Mitigation Scenarios (LTMS), a government-led South African process, approached the mitigation challenge 'from the bottomup'. It involved a broad range of stakeholders who collectively bolted together both best-practice research and human imagination. The position the South African government took, based on the LTMS, was much hailed, both nationally and internationally. The LTMS is now constantly mentioned, and has had a remarkably lasting impact.

This report explores the process design of the LTMS, its implementation and unfolding story, and the lessons learnt. I look at the LMTS as an experiment in building policy through broad consensus-making. I also see the LTMS approach as a way to shape governance that is built on a foundation of social accountability.

I intend this book for a general audience. If you are interested in the challenges that a high-emitting, developing country faces when confronting the almighty task of managing its development path whilst at the same time reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, this book will, in part at least, show possible ways to approach the problem. I hope too that process facilitators, policy-makers and leaders in general find this account useful in other contexts or countries. Because process professionals often don't know much about the technical issues around Climate Change I have not assumed that readers are highly qualified in this area. On the other hand, I apologise to those who are experts, and acknowledge that my own technical knowledge is not always up to the task.

I recommend that this book be read as a companion piece to Harald Winkler's comprehensive book on the technical outcomes of the LTMS, Taking Action on Climate Change (UCT Press, 2009). which is aimed at those qualified and interested in the complex technical issues with which the research teams grappled.

In South Africa, through the LTMS, we achieved a remarkable consensus. This book is the story of how we got there.

Download document...

Related resources:

• South Africa: National Climate Change Response Green Paper 2010
  Download document...
• Economic Governance Programme (Idasa): Response to National Climate Change Response Green Paper 2010
  Download document...

The Government of Sierra Leone decided to self-assess its capacity to Manage for Development Results (MfDR) using the Capacity Scan (CAP-Scan) methodology to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as to develop an action plan to improve delivery of public goods.

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), more than fifty government officials from seven strategic public sectors – Energy and Water Resources; Transport and Aviation; Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security; Fisheries and Marine Resources; Education, Youth and Sport; MoFED; and Health and Sanitation – contributed to identify the national MfDR capacity using the CAP-Scan measurement framework adapted to the country context for the following five main areas: Leadership, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Planning and Budgeting, Accountability and Partnerships, and Statistics. With an average score of 2 on a 4-point scale, Sierra Leone is starting to implement results-oriented approaches, with a need to be adequately equipped to increase its effectiveness and widen its coverage for increased performance.

The strongest national MfDR capacity exists in the Statistics area, as well as in the Planning and Budgeting domain. Specifically, budget consistency with national priorities was recognized as an effective practice by all sectors and stems from the performance-based budgeting approaches implemented within the Medium Term Expenditure Framework. The Finance Ministry is the only sector capable to conduct statistical strategies and plans, while the Health sector is outstanding on linking administrative performance to results and the Transport sector in applying change management.

The scores are fairly low in both the Leadership and M&E pillars. The most serious weakness, as pointed by almost all sectors, is the capacity to manage human resources. Without clear line of responsibilities and staff geared to results, the ability to deliver results is undermined. Continued training, staff retention and incentive mechanism in the civil service are also scored low. Sectors noted gaps in implementing intra- and inter-sectoral coordination, system for measuring user satisfaction and alignment of partners to national priorities. Few sectors also mentioned the lack of staff in M&E units and pointed inconsistencies in donor alignment to national priorities.

Improvement in the capacity to manage for results could be achieved in the short term. Participants prepared recommendations for their own sectors and a national action plan focusing on low cost quick wins to fully implement in the next 18 months. If improved, these results areas could have great multiplier and reinforcing effects on other areas, thereby improving the overall country capacity to manage for results in the foreseeable future. For example, the improvement of the 0.8 scored Human Resource Management component, within the Leadership pillar, is critical as it hinges on the government-wide capacity to deliver results. For the Monitoring and Evaluation pillar, priorities are given to strengthening capacity for M&E in all sectors and increasing the use of the data obtained for evidence-based decision and policy making. In terms of Accountability and Partnerships, civil servants underlined the need to establish guidelines to improve alignment of partners on national priorities and to ease the public access to results. A focus has also been put on promoting intra-departmental coordination and enhancing implementation of statistics strategy for results. The accomplishment of these actions would largely improve the results of this assessment and capacity to manage for development results in Sierra Leone. With inclusive planning and follow-up, these measures could be introduced in the first quarter of 2011.

The CAP-Scan in Sierra Leone is very timely as the Government is on the verge to assuming stronger control over its development and restructuring its public sector with the end of donor's direct involvement in project implementation units. The findings aim to foster delivery of the national objectives set in the Agenda for Change.

A century after Flexner's report on medical education in North America, the main challenge in the 21^st century for the education of health professions resides in the responsibility of educational institutions for a greater contribution to improving health systems performance and people's health status. This will be achieved not only by tailoring educational programs to priority health problems, but also by a stronger involvement in anticipating health and human resources needs of a nation and in ensuring that graduates are employed where they are most needed delivering the most pressing services. A new paradigm of excellence for academic institutions is needed, as well as new sets of standards and accreditation mechanisms to promote and evaluate their capacity for a greater impact on health.

From 10 to 13 October, 65 delegates from medical educational and accrediting bodies around the world met in East London, South Africa to finalize the Global Consensus on Social Accountability of Medical Schools (GCSA) whose agreement follows. This was the culmination of a twoyear process of engagement with an International Reference Group (IRG) of 130 organizations and individuals seen as leaders in medical education, accreditation and social accountability.

Facilitated by a Steering Committee of 20 international experts, the IRG members participated in a three-stage Delphi process over eight months leading up to the GCSA. Initially, forty-three pages of raw data were gathered responding to three open ended questions:

1. How should a medical school improve its capacity to respond to future health challenges in society?
2. How could this capacity be enhanced, including the use of accreditation systems for selfassessment and peer review?
3. How should progress towards this end be assessed?

Through two further rounds and the facilitated meeting, themes were extracted and consensus reached on ten thematic areas. Each area and its contents was thus derived from a grassroots process that ensured the consensus was built up from the experience and expertise of the IRG members through a process of gradual refinement, negotiation and consensus.

Area 1: Anticipating society's health needs
Area 2: Partnering with the health system and other stakeholders
Area 3: Adapting to the evolving roles of doctors and other health professionals
Area 4: Fostering outcome-based education
Area 5: Creating responsive and responsible governance of the medical school
Area 6: Refining the scope of standards for education, research and service delivery
Area 7: Supporting continuous quality improvement in education, research and service delivery
Area 8: Establishing mandated mechanisms for accreditation
Area 9: Balancing global principles with context specificity
Area 10: Defining the role of society

Since the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) programme started in 2006, Ethiopia has made strong progress to expand and improve the delivery of basic services. This resulted in an increased net primary enrollment rate from 68.5 percent (2005) to 83.5 percent (2009), and an improved child immunization rate from 70 percent (2005) to 81.6 percent (2009). It also increased rural access to potable water.  The nationwide programme works closely with the government, organizing multiple donors to support progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and to build capacity of systems to support local government transparency and accountability. Project reviews from the first phase of the PBS are now available.

At the beginning of the Millennium, Ethiopia's human development indicators were amongst the very lowest in the world. The government has committed to significant progress to reach the Millennium Development Goals, supporting decentralized basic service delivery. Despite good progress towards these goals, the outcome and subsequent social unrest following the 2005 elections strained the relationship between Ethiopia and its donor partners, resulting in the suspension of budget support, and posing a significant risk to the continued roll out of the government's targeted poverty spending program. Focusing on joint commitment to reach the MDGs, the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) Program seeks to ensure uninterrupted support to basic services such as education, health, water, and agriculture while strengthening local government capacity and improving accountability in the management of public resources.

Results

PBS is aimed at increasing access and quality of basic services, while building government systems capacity and supporting the government of Ethiopia's decentralization drive. The project has already shown significant results, including the following:

• Net primary school enrollment rate increased from 68.5 percent (2005) to 83.5 percent (2009), by supporting local governments hiring of an additional 264,000 primary school teachers nationwide;
• Child immunization rate increased from 70 (2005) to 81.6 percent (2009) through placement of 35,000 health extension workers nationwide, so that two trained workers are in every new health post in every community in the country and essential immunization materials are available in each of these health posts;
• Rural access to potable water increased from 46 percent (2005) to 61.5 percent (2009);
• Improved transparency as all regions and 90 percent of local governments posted budgets in public places;
• Strengthened accountability and fiduciary systems, as quarterly audits took place for 95 percent of local governments nationwide (730 out of 770).

Due to the excellent results of PBS 1, a follow-up operation (PBS 2) was approved in 2009, following strengthened procedures to promote policy dialogue, build capacity and monitor results. IDA support for the PBS Program through this operation continues to support decentralized provision of basic services, including education, health, agriculture, water supply and sanitation, with the addition of rural roads. Sustainability of the program is ensured since it is a program owned by the government of Ethiopia and financed in large part by its own resources, and by using the country systems while strengthening capacity for improved public financial management and accountability.

• Evaluation and Design of Social Accountability Component of the Protection of Basic Services Project
  Dr Samuel Taddesse, Biraj Swain, Merga Afeta and Gadissa Bultosa
  Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise Global
  June 2010
  Download document
• PBS II Social Accountability Program: Phase 2 Implementation Plan
  Dr Samuel Taddesse, Biraj Swain, Merga Afeta, Gadissa Bultosa, Dr Renu Khosla and Sidhartha Patnaik
  Infrastructure Professionals Enterprise Global
  October 2010
  Download document
• Social Accountability: the Ethiopian Experiment
  Dr Samuel Taddesse
  Download document
• The Wealth and Gender Distribution of Rural Services in Ethiopia: A Public Expenditure Benefit Incidence Analysis
  Tewodaj Mogues, Carly Petracco and Josee Randriamamonjy
  International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
  January 2011
  Download document

Further reading: Readers might be interested in an ongoing debate between Human Rights Watch and donors active in Ethiopia over the extent to which donor programmes, such as the PBS, are constrained by broader governance and political issues in the country.

• Human Rights Watch: Donor aid supports repression
• DAG statement in response to Human Rights Watch report: statement
• Human Rights Watch: Donors should investigate misuse of aid money
• Development Assistance Group Ethiopia: the DAG website provides additional information on the PBS and other donor programmes.
• The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development: The website includes a PBS page where users can also access the PBS programme manual (266 pages)

This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of an independent evaluation conducted of the PBS I Social Accountability Program which was piloted across Ethiopia between January 2008 and June 2009 following comprehensive knowledge sharing and planning. The evidence gathered from selected woredas, towns and cities where the social accountability program was implemented, show how the activities, facilitated by civil society organizations (CSOs) in cooperation with citizen groups and local government officials, introduced selected tools such as Community Score Cards, Citizens Report Cards and Participatory Budgeting for assessing (a) access and quality of basic services and (b) effectiveness and efficiency of the use of public resources. The Government of Ethiopia recognizes that the program has enhanced the knowledge and understanding of relevant stakeholders regarding social accountability tools, mechanisms, approaches and best practices.

Based on their findings, the evaluators have also concluded that the social accountability activities have enhanced the quality of basic services where they were applied. Their basic premise is that the interface meetings between the service providers and service users that reviewed the status of specific services resulted in joint actions for service quality improvements. They further argue that interface meetings, seen as breakthrough platforms by citizens and service users, resulted in increased citizens’ awareness of their rights, entitlements and responsibilities as well as enhanced understanding among service providers of their accountability to citizens/service users.

However, the positive results of the Pilot Social Accountability Program did not take place in a vacuum: it’s my belief that the program would not have materialized without the Government of Ethiopia’s commitment and wider activities to enhance governance and accountability in the context of devolution and empowerment. These activities created an enabling environment for social accountability.

The evaluators had a challenge attributing the positive results to the exact interventions, with GOE governance reforms, including the public sector capacity building program, civil service reform and democratic institutions program, taking place in parallel with the PBS I social accountability activities. An important lesson to take away for the next phase of the PBS social accountability program, which will be rolled out in the first part of 2011, is therefore the need for a strong M&E component so we can more easily learn what type of accountability measures are effective in our country.

I hope the findings of the evaluation will serve as an inspiration to practitioners and policy-makers interested in effective and accountable service delivery.

Mekonnen Manyazewal
Former State Minister of Finance and Economic Development (now Minister of Industries)
Chairman of the PBS Social Accountability Steering Committee (2006-2010)

This document outlines the design and implementation of the Social Accountability Program under the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) II. The Sub-program C, part 2 (C2) on Social Accountability, hereafter referred to as Phase II - Social Accountability Program (Phase II-SAP), is based on a review of the implementation of and lessons from PBS I Component 4 (C4) that was piloted across Ethiopia between January 2008 and June 2009.

The rationale for scaling up the social accountability program comes from the very successful implementation of the pilot social accountability project that demonstrated how appropriate social accountability mechanisms overlaid on Government of Ethiopia's (GOE's) accountability framework and synergized with its civil service reforms and capacity building efforts, can work in Ethiopia with beneficial outcomes for the actors involved and for improving the quality of basic service delivery. Simple social accountability tools such as Community Score Cards (CSC), Citizen Report Cards (CRC) and Participatory Budgeting in the PBS I social accountability program, have served as powerful instruments of accountability as they are easily understood and capable of being applied by local communities. It has also established that it is possible for citizens groups and service providers to constructively engage in joint reviews of service delivery effectiveness, quality and equity, and to develop plans for addressing service deficiencies. In addition, social accountability can build community ownership and mobilize community contributions and resources such as time and labor for operation, maintenance and upgrading of services; an unprecedented and invaluable change in citizens' attitudes and behavior towards partnering with government institutions.

A second impetus for rolling out the social accountability program comes from the GOE's continued focus on social accountability. Recent changes in the legal framework defining Civil Society Organization (CSO) initiatives notwithstanding, the GOE has positioned social accountability as an important and intended objective within basic services' provisioning framework.

The Design of Phase II - Social Accountability Program

Guiding Principles: As in Phase I, the guiding principles for Phase II-SAP will be:

• Recognition of civil society and government roles, mandates and responsibilities in Social Accountability;
• Government and Social Accountability Implementing Partners (SAIPs) working together with deeper understanding of the Social Accountability framework;
• Commitment from all actors (Government and SAIPs) to make joint efforts in building woreda level capacity;
• Inclusion and engagement of diverse civil society actors and citizen groups, and building partnerships among them;
• Localization of Phase II social accountability activities to the context, where tools and mechanisms are adapted and agreed at the local level;
• Transparency at all levels and from all stakeholders involved and non-partisanship on the part of SAIPs; and
• Focus on the local/woreda level; the core of social services delivery.

Phase II-SAP is designed to deepen and broaden the accountability initiatives under basic services' programs. It targets both men and women, including those living with HIV/AIDS and/or disabilities. It is designed with the objective of "strengthening the use of social accountability tools, approaches and mechanisms by (a) citizens and citizens groups, (b) civil society organizations (CSOs), (c) local government officials, and (d) service providers (SPs) in order to make basic service delivery more effective, efficient, responsive and accountable". Phase II-SAP will ensure the effective implementation of social accountability tools and mechanisms to achieve the following five outcomes for effective, gender-sensitive, inclusive, efficient, responsive and accountable public basic services delivery.

• Outcome 1: Increased awareness of citizens and citizen groups of their rights, responsibilities and entitlements to contribute to and demand better quality public basic services.
• Outcome 2: Increased empowerment and involvement of citizens and citizen groups and communities in the planning, budgeting, implementation and monitoring of the quality of, access to, and quantity of basic public services.
• Outcome 3: Increased capacity of Social Accountability Implementing Partners (SAIPs) to empower citizens and citizen groups on multiple social accountability tools, approaches and mechanisms.
• Outcome 4: Increased capacity of woreda officials and public basic service providers to respond to community and citizens’ needs and preferences and be accountable.
• Outcome 5: Improved quality of basic services in the PBS sectors (i.e., education, health, agriculture, water and sanitation, and rural roads) attributed to the social accountability program.

Zambia's large mineral reserves are its richest natural endowment. Copper mining is the main source of foreign exchange earnings and an essential part of the country's developmental plans. This paper, based on a series of public discussions held in 2010, highlights public concern over how much Zambia really benefits from its copper wealth, and calls for the mining tax regime to be reformed to collect more revenue.

• Zambia's mining tax regime is strongly focused on attracting foreign investment through low rates and an assortment of incentives. But this needs to be balanced with the urgent need to raise more revenue from mining in order to invest in infrastructure and the country's economic development. The optimal balance between these two objectives has not yet been struck. It is time for the Government to devise a strategy for all Zambians to participate in the benefits from their country's mineral reserves.
• The revenue-based windfall tax, repealed in 2009, is a simpler way to tax windfalls than the existing variable profit tax, which has not yet delivered any revenue. Had it remained in force, the windfall tax could have contributed many hundreds of billions of kwacha to government coffers. Given the limited capacity of the Zambian authorities to assess mining companies' claims on profitability levels, the windfall tax should be re-introduced, at least until such a time that Zambia is able to administer a profitsbased tax effectively.
• Mining companies should not be allowed to offset hedging transactions against income. Fixing this loophole would be a simple and effective measure to raise revenue and should be one of Government's first moves.
• It is crucial that those who bear the brunt of mining's social and environmental impacts see a fairer distribution of mineral royalties. Mining operations take a toll on the local infrastructure and fuel rapid urbanization, so the local administrations need specific support to address these challenges.
• Public discontent is fuelled by the secrecy of government relations with mining companies, dating back to the Development Agreements which have never been publicly disclosed. It is imperative that the Government and mining companies subscribe to international best practice in extractive industry transparency.

Ghana's progress in improving delivery of public services, including education, has been consistent with its achievements in consolidating democracy and respect for the rule of law since the restoration of civilian rule in 1992. The strong national focus on education, even during the periods of military rule, was maintained by the Kufuor administration, in office from 2001 to 2008, and enrolment rates at primary and secondary levels have increased at unprecedented rates. Yet Ghana remains behind in fulfilling the right to education, advanced in international treaties and its constitution, and may not achieve the Millennium Development Goal target of universal primary school completion by 2015.

This report examines some of the reasons for those shortfalls in the governance of the public education system in Ghana; the mundane support processes of statistics collection and utilisation, strategic planning and implementation, financial and resources management, human resources management and development and oversight of all these functions. Though two of the primary reasons for Ghana’s failure to achieve the best education delivery result, remains the lack of consistent policy implementation and the lack of funds, especially to provide critical resources and train and reward the staff needed to supply quality teaching. There are indications that much can be done to improve management of education policies and deployment of the funds that do exist. Improving those systems will, in turn, increase the confidence of those who are in a position to support increased budget allocations to the sector.

Even though development partner contributions to the national and discretionary budget remains relatively high, around 20% in recent years, their recorded share of the education budget is much less, declining to around 5.5% in 2007. Evidence in the field, however, points to a higher donor contribution to education, much of which is masked by the fact that many of such assistance to NGOs and CSOs are not planned for, or captured, in official documentation and returns are not publicly filed for analysis.

Perhaps the more valuable contribution by development partners is the extensive expert advice and qualitative inputs made through technical assistance and capacity building of various kinds, which go to enhance national and education sector capabilities on a more sustainable basis, especially from the DFID, UNESCO, and UNICEF. It is obvious that even if donor contributions in loans and grants are discontinued, for any reason, there will always be the need for their expert inputs, indispensable in keeping up the level of Ghana's education to international standards, for purposes of cross-border comparability and transferability of skills and knowledge within the global village.

• Download summary
• Download full version

After a focus group discussion with the evaluation team¹, Ato Lemma, a schoolteacher in Hakim, Hararge asked rhetorically, "What do I want for my family and myself? And what do my friends and neighbors want? What do you want for your family and yourself?" and answered his question by saying, "Isn't it a healthy, happy and prosperous life."

How can this be achieved? To have a healthy, happy and prosperous life one would need to have access to clean water, good basic education, good healthcare, clean air, food, shelter and income generating opportunity. Most of all one needs to have the freedom to choose. This is true regardless of whether one lives in the developed or developing world.

Water, education, healthcare, clean air and land are shared resources and in most countries governments control their provisions and availability. Government's produce and supply or regulate these resources. However, in most developing countries availability, quality and access are constrained by lack of government resources, weak supervision and management of government resources or corruption and indifference.

It is also constraint by citizens' incomplete understanding of their citizenship rights, responsibilities and entitlements to public basic services. Around the world, including Ethiopia, citizens fear public officials and civil servants. Many citizens are afraid to challenge these public officials and public servants regarding their service delivery performance.

Likewise, public officials and civil servants have incomplete understanding of their duties and accountability to citizens. Community involvement in the planning, budgeting and implementation of public basic services delivery is at best limited or absent. Public forums where public officials, public sector service providers and citizens meet tend to be dominated by public officials speech making. No serious and systematic attempted is made to gather data on the problems and priorities of citizens neither do public officials provide useful information that citizens can use to address their service needs.

1. The evaluation of the Pilot Social Accountability Project was carried out by Dr. Samuel Taddesse, Team Leader, Biraj Swain, Social Accountability Expert, Merga Afeta, Project Design, Implementation & Management Expert, Gadissa Bultosa, M&E Expert under contract with IPE International, New Delhi, India and the World Bank, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sihdartha Patnaik provided program management support from New Delhi, India.

Comments on this paper can be sent to the author at

The fifth issue of Anti-Corruption Research News contains  recent insights and activities in anti-corruption research, synthesised for scholars, policy-makers and anti-corruption practitioners. This newsletter is part of the Anti-Corruption Research Network (ACRN), an initiative by Transparency International to build a knowledge community and information service for anti-corruption research.

To inform the writing of the African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011, a number of technical papers on budgeting and related topics were written by ACPF experts and other renowned scholars who are knowledgeable on the subject. This publication entitled "Budgeting for Children in Africa: Concept and Framework for Analysis" is one of such papers.

We believe that this publication, along with the others, will contribute to the body of knowledge and inform the work of researchers, policy makers, as well as governments and non-government organisations that deal with children’s issues in Africa, and elsewhere.

As part of its effort to carry out informed advocacy on the rights and wellbeing of children in Africa, The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) decided to produce a report on a specific theme every other year. The first of these reports was the 2008 African Report on Child Wellbeing that mainly focused on measuring child-friendliness of African governments. This report is a major contribution in promoting good governance and child wellbeing, as well as being an important source of information on children in Africa. It has also informed programmatic development of a number of organisations in Africa and elsewhere.

The second report in the series, The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011 is on the theme 'budgeting for children'. This theme was chosen, inter alia, in appreciation of the fact that childhood – being a stage of vulnerability – always carries with it a sense of urgency which demands immediate and concrete action on the wellbeing and rights fronts, wherein the budget is the linchpin.

"Budgeting for Children in Africa: Concept and Framework for Analysis" reviews pertinent and emerging issues related to budgeting for children from a child rights perspective. The paper also concentrates on the management of practice and the task of putting policy into practice to make a difference in the lives of children in Africa.

It is hoped that this publication will not only fulfill the vital function of providing up to date information, but that it will also enable us, in partnership, to evaluate and coordinate Africa-wide efforts to increase budget allocations to sectors that greatly affect and impact on the rights and wellbeing of children in Africa.

David Mugawe
Executive Director

View the country briefs

Donors and the Government meet in December 2010 for the General Budget Support (GBS) Annual Review. During this review achievements of the past year will be considered and commitments for next year made. If all goes well, donors will pledge hundreds of millions of dollars in budget support to the Treasury. Will this money help Tanzania achieve results?

Several studies released in 2010 suggest that the country made progress in some areas. GDP growth was reported to be around 6 percent, infant and child mortality continue to decline, and mosquito nets are being adopted widely. In other areas progress has eluded Tanzania's citizens. In this brief we focus on two such areas: management of public resources and quality of basic education. There are many important challenges facing Tanzania; we choose to focus on these two because effective public finance management is needed to align resources with results, and better education is essential for developing a capable human resource base.

Regarding public resources, the Open Budget Survey 20101 demonstrates that Tanzania's budget process lacks adequate transparency, leaving citizens in the dark about how tax and donor money are used. Moreover, audit reports from the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) show how the Government has failed to manage public resources well and taken little action to respond to audit queries. Regarding primary education, studies by Uwezo, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the CAG sketch an alarming picture of children learning little, of teachers not showing up at school, and of financial resources not reaching school in accordance with policy.

The Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) for the GBS should take the successes and challenges facing Tanzania into consideration. Similarly newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs) need to take up these issues as part of their oversight role on behalf of citizens. In this brief we ask the Government, MPs and donors to reflect upon the challenges and to take bold steps to address them. At the end of the day the effectiveness of the GBS Annual Review should be judged not by who participated, what was discussed or process indicators achieved, but by how well it triggers public resources to be used better to develop a more capable and confident citizenry.

The secondary schools bursary scheme was introduced by the Government in the 1993/1994 financial year to enhance access, ensure retention and reduce disparities and inequalities in the provision of secondary school education. In particular, the bursaries are targeted at students from poor families, those in slum areas, those living under difficult conditions, those from pockets of poverty in high potential areas, districts in Arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL), orphans and the girl child. In 2008, the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research conducted a pilot survey in 49 public secondary schools in Nairobi province. The results of the pilot survey indicated that only 43 percent of those that applied for the secondary education bursary were able to access bursary funding, with 84 percent of them getting Ksh.5,000 and below and a paltry 0.4 percent receiving the maximum allocation of Ksh. 15,000.

The data collected from schools further revealed that a significantly higher number of beneficiaries, 62 percent got funding from other bursary providers. Further, the Nairobi survey revealed that the students were not assured of continuous funding and that the disbursement of the bursary funds was not aligned to the school curriculum. Also revealed from the Nairobi survey is poor record keeping that resulted in seven percent of the money not reaching the targeted beneficiaries. In 2009, IPAR embarked on a national survey of the remaining 202 constituencies. Findings from 184 constituencies and 189 schools reveal that the bursary is experiencing a number of challenges, notably: inadequate funds disbursed from the Ministry of Education to the constituencies with more than 61.5 percent of the demand unmet; poor use of allocation guidelines resulting in more than 83 percent of the beneficiaries getting the minimum allocation of Ksh. 5,000 and inconsistent support to needy students which disrupts the learning programme. Further the findings indicate that there is poor keeping of records at the constituency level. The survey recommends for allocation of more funds to constituencies and financing of a few beneficiaries adequately to completion; disbursement of funds to constituencies in line with the academic curriculum; and revision of the guidelines to address the application procedures and submission of comprehensive reports, among others.

Social Audit – An introduction

What is social Audit?

Social Audit is an independent and participatory evaluation of the performance of a public agency or a programme or scheme. Social Audit enables the civil society to assess whether an agency lives up to the shared values and objectives it is committed to. Social Audit also helps to rectify the deficiencies in a programme to redesign the objectives, focus and mode of implementation. Social audit has become one of the most popular social accountability tools used across the country.

What are the Objectives of Social Audit?

The key objectives of Social Audit are:

• To ensure proper implementation of the scheme under audit
• To ensure accountability in implementing the scheme
• To ensure participation of all the stakeholders
• To ensure community participation and help them realize their rights and entitlements
• To identify and resolve gaps and mismanagement

Principles of Social Audit

There are three important guiding principles of social audit. They are,

1. People's participation and multi-perspective approach: Social Audit adopts an integrated approach, where the views of the various stakeholders involved are taken into consideration and unified and reflected. In addition to this, all individuals and institutions that are directly or indirectly involved in the process of social change are also involved. Social audit process provides opportunity to individuals and institutions to debate and deliberate, and put forth their ideas and perspectives. Further, stakeholders can also represent and express their views freely on a social audit forum.
2. Regular and recurring activity: Social audit must be a regular and recurring process. Social audits must be planned, scheduled and undertaken regularly. Occasional or sporadic social audits do not yield the required results. Planned and regular implementation of social audits and information sharing can result in both the implementers and the beneficiaries becoming socially accountable.
3. Information Availability: Information is vital in the process of social audit which aims in attaining transparency and accountability. Information pertaining to various projects undertaken under both BSUP & IHSDP programmes recorded in various registers should be made available to the social audit teams for social audit.

What are the Steps involved in a Social Audit Process?

The social audit process involves the following steps.

1. Collecting the information for audit
2. Verifying the information collected and cross-checking it through field visits
3. Collating and consolidating information into simple and understandable formats for public understanding
4. Identifying gaps and discrepancies in the implementation of the process
5. Convening a Public Meeting
6. Follow-up action and resolutions

Need for Social Audit for monitoring BSUP and IHSDP Projects

Considering that the focus of JnNURM is on community participation and developing inclusive cities, it is important to initiate a formal process and mechanism for reviewing/evaluating the social impact of the mission and its relevance from the point of view of the target groups, citizens and the society. Therefore, institutionalizing the social audit process will ensure capturing these social impacts and also ensure collection of feedback from the beneficiaries to regularly monitor and improve the project. The usefulness of integrating social audit to monitor JNNURM projects can be achieved at two levels viz., at the community level and at an organizational (ULBS) level.

1. Usefulness of social audit at community level
   1. Builds peoples’ confidence & trust in the institutions
   2. Ensures participation and involvement of various sections of the society
   3. Provides a forum where people can demand what is rightfully theirs from Government, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)
   4. Creates awareness and spreads accountability
   5. Prevents corruption and curtails misuse of government funds and resources.
2. Usefulness of social audit at organizational level (ULB)
   1. Making organisations popular and credible
   2. Helping in program planning & implementation
   3. Helping in sensitizing Government, CSOs, media and the community
   4. Acting as a novel and innovative tool to assess the performance of BSUP and IHSDP programmes in a cost effective manner
   5. Prevents corruption and curtails misuse of government funds and resources.

The Scope of the Social Audit

The scope of the social audit will focus on obtaining feedback of the beneficiaries and the community on the process of implementation of BSUP and IHSDP projects. The scope primarily covers following three key issues, namely,

1. Quality of the constructed infrastructure
2. Effectiveness of pro-poor basic services provided and
3. Satisfaction of the targeted beneficiaries and the community

As a poor developing country recovering from civil war, Angola relies heavily on revenues from oil which accounts for two-thirds of the government's income. But civil society groups, the International Monetary Fund and other observers have long raised concerns about lack of transparency in the government's management of these revenues.

A well-documented history of severe official corruption in Angola has meant that revenues which could have been used to promote the country's development have been siphoned off or wasted. Global Witness has published a series of reports since 1999 raising concerns about corruption in the oil sector. The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) Angola has long worked for more open and accountable government.

Since 2004, the Angolan government has responded to concerns about its lack of transparency by publishing large amounts of official data about oil production and exports in Angola, and the revenues that flow to the state from oil. The government has taken further steps since signing a three-year, US$1.4 billion loan agreement with the IMF at the end of 2009, notably the publication for the first time of the audited accounts of Sonangol, the powerful state oil company which dominates the public finances of Angola.

This report assesses the extensive official data published by the Angolan government in order to answer the question: do these data provide concerned Angolan citizens with a comprehensive and reliable picture of how much revenue the government earns from oil? Without such a picture, it is impossible for citizens to monitor the flow of revenues and press the Angolan government to use these funds in their long-term interest.

The simple answer is that the official data on oil production, exports, domestic sales, prices and above all, revenues, are not reliable. None of the figures appear to be independently verified (with the partial exception of Sonangol's accounts, which are audited by an international accounting firm). Thus even in cases where different agencies' figures are consistent with each other, there is no external assurance that the figures are accurate.

In fact the figures from different agencies show numerous gaps, discrepancies and anomalies which are hard to explain, based on the available information. This report does not allege that the figures show evidence of corruption and fraud and it is possible that, with independent verification, at least some of them could be confirmed as accurate. But at present, there are too many problems for the official data to be accepted as reliable or comprehensive.

The report examined the most detailed reports produced by Angolan government agencies, which include annual oil sector reports from the Ministry of Petroleum, detailed month-by-month oil export and revenue figures from the Ministry of Finance, an annual statistical bulletin published by the same ministry and the audited financial statements of Sonangol. All the data used were from 2008, the most recent year for which all these sources were available at the time this report was completed in late 2010.

The report also examines a key revenue stream, signature or other bonuses paid by oil companies, for 2006 (because several billion dollars were reportedly paid in bonuses in that year, though the sums since then have been much smaller). The report also cites some external sources, mostly agencies that analyse the international energy market, to compare them to the government's figures.

Global Witness has written to the Angolan Ministries of Finance and Petroleum to ask them how their published figures are constructed, and has written to Sonangol on various occasions seeking comment about oil industry issues in Angola, but has not received a response. OSISA Angola and Global Witness would welcome a public discussion with the Angolan government on the findings of this report.

The main findings of this report are that:

• Angola's official figures for oil production and exports in 2008 are not independently verified. The Ministry of Petroleum's figures are roughly comparable to estimates by external agencies. The Ministry of Finance reports a massive 87 million fewer barrels of oil exports than the Ministry of Petroleum, which is not plausible.
• The government publishes several average prices for oil sales in 2008: the price from the Ministry of Petroleum is close to that of credible external estimates but the Finance Ministry has two average prices, one nearly US$10 a barrel higher than the other.
• Sonangol and the ministries publish different figures for the volumes of oil sold by the state oil company, which is Angola's single biggest source of revenue. There is a massive gap, with a nominal value of US$8.55 billion, between the ministries.
• Sonangol's own export data, by volume and value, imply an average oil sale price in 2008 of less than US$49 a barrel, when other agencies were reporting average prices above US$90 a barrel. Sonangol's exports were worth less than US$12 billion or more than US$22 billion, depending which sale prices and exchange rates are used.
• Signature and other bonuses paid by oil companies to the government appear to be poorly reported in official documents. In 2006, the media reported that Angola earned more than US$3 billion in signature bonuses, but a Finance Ministry report only records “oil bonuses and premiums” of just under US$1 billion.
• Sonangol reported earnings of more than a billion dollars in 2008 from price cap excess fees, which are levied on oil companies in Angola when oil prices are higher than expected. These earnings are not separately recorded in government reports, making them impossible to track.
• There is a gap with a notional value of more than a billion dollars between the reports of the Finance and Petroleum Ministries on oil income tax and gaps with a notional value of several hundred million dollars between the ministries' reports on production and transaction taxes paid by oil companies. These figures appear unaudited in any case.
• Sonangol reports that it paid US$436 million in dividends to its shareholder, the Angolan government, in the 2007/8 fiscal year. Neither ministry reports the receipt of dividends on anything like this scale.
• In some cases, figures for oil revenues are published but the underlying data, which determine the size of these flows, is confidential. For example, the government does not appear to publish the fiscal prices at which oil companies' taxes are calculated, or the findings of its cost and tax audits of oil companies.

Summary recommendations

This report recommends that the Angolan government:

1. Commissions and publishes an independent review of the findings of this report.
2. Ensures much more detailed and comprehensive reports on the oil sector by Angolan government agencies, which are independently verified by third parties.
3. Fosters an atmosphere of public debate about the oil sector in Angola, including greater scrutiny of Sonangol by legislators and the public.
4. Scales back the role of Sonangol, to focus on its core activities of oil production and marketing, and creates an independent regulator for the Angolan oil sector.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are approaching their deadline of 2015 but progress to date has been insufficient. Public expenditure on health – both domestic and official development assistance – have increased over the past few years in most low-income countries but results have been slow. As the public health system remains the backbone of national health policy and the main beneficiary of international aid, it is most likely part of the problem. In too many countries, the public health system does not meet user needs and demands. It is inefficient due to resource leakage and worker absenteeism. Equity, in terms of utilization and contribution, is unsatisfactory and public spending often benefits richer groups disproportionately. Ministries of health and their international advocates often cite insufficient funding as the underlying cause of low performance. Others argue that it also stems from a lack of accountability within public health systems. Although many observers and users likely share this view, few proposals for reform have been put forward. Our opinion is that performance-based financing, as it is being developed in several sub-Saharan African countries, is a strategy that could help address the structural problems plaguing health systems.

Performance-based financing can be defined as a mechanism by which health providers are, at least partially, funded on the basis on their performance. Performancebased financing can be contrasted with the line-item approach, which finances a health facility through the provision of inputs (e.g. drugs, personnel). Haiti is the first lowincome country in which health service providers (national nongovernmental organizations) were contracted and remunerated according to their performance (which was measured by the attainment of some coverage rates). In Cambodia, performancebased financing was applied to the public sector. However, despite promising results, it did not materialize into a national policy. This breakthrough did, however, take place in Rwanda. Several pilots initiated in 2002 allowed for a better understanding of major issues, then the country rapidly adopted performance-based financing as its national policy and scaled up the approach to the entire country in 2005.

The Rwandan experience has attracted a lot of attention. It has rapidly inspired neighbouring countries like Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has consolidated an interest in performance-based financing at regional and global level. Today, more than 20 countries are in the process of introducing or scaling up performance-based financing in Africa. Performance-based financing also fits into the Millennium Development Goals aid paradigm and global efforts for rapid progress on a few key indicators. Yet several authors have expressed concerns about this wave of enthusiasm. Our assessment is, however, that their critique reflects a view of performance-based financing as solely a provider payment mechanism and overlooks the potential of performance-based financing to reform health systems. These critiques can't see the forest for the trees.

Related article/s:

• Efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditure in Uganda: Evidence from a public expenditure tracking study in the health sector

Introduction
ACODE is undertaking a Public Expenditure Tracking Study (PETS) in the health sector, with the objective of enhancing sound public expenditure management system in Uganda. The PETS is tracing the flow of budgetary resources from the Ministry of Health (MoH) to a sample of health centers for the last three financial years (2006/07, 2007/08 , 2008/09 & 2009/10) and will collect information on sources of income for the facilities, expenditures on basic services, and the practices of accountability at various levels. The study involves interviewing the administrators and facility heads to be able to capture the problems they face, how these problems may be resolved, and the quality of primary health care services and impact of the delivery of public services.

The PETS is not be an audit of the public financial management systems but rather focuses on identifying areas of improvements in the efficiency of the administrative system. Similar studies have been carried out in other countries and they seem to have created an impact on the way public funds are used. Therefore, assessing whether the amount of funds appropriated actually reached intended beneficiaries will be as important as the objective of finding out whether the system in place consistently allowed for this amount to reach facilities in a predictable and timely manner, and was accounted for.

The survey will be undertaken from June – September 2010. The sampling details are discussed under the methodology.

Background and rationale
It is increasingly being acknowledged that there are weak links in the chain from public spending to actually making basic services available to poor people especially in countries with poor accountability and weak institutions (Dehn, Reinikka and Svensson. 2003). Simply increasing budget allocations to essential services such as health and education is not enough to ensure that quality services are indeed delivered (Gupta, Gauri and Khemani. 2004). Reasons being that: government may spend on the wrong goods or the wrong people. Even when government spends on the right goods or the right people, the money may fail to reach the frontline service provider. Even when the money reaches the frontline service provider (i.e. primary school or health clinic), the incentives to provide the service may be weak. Even if the services are effectively provided, households may not take advantage of them (Dehn, Reinikka and Svensson, 2003).

Empirical evidence (that the impact of public spending on basic health depends upon the overall governance environment) provides an important explanation for the observed weak relationship between public spending and outcomes (Gupta, Gauri and Khemani. 2004). The role of institutions and incentives in the public sector to translate budgeted resources into actual outcomes is therefore vital. These issues are particularly important for the public delivery of basic health services in Uganda.

Despite government commitment to improving health outcomes, health expenditure as a proportion of government’s discretionary expenditure has stagnated at around 9.6% during the last ten years, yet the population increase and health care needs have been increasing, hence outstripping the per capita expenditure7. Such funding is inadequate to provide the Uganda National Minimum Health Care Package (UNMHC) in all facilities as envisaged: the per capita cost was estimated at USD 41.2 in 2008/09 and will be rising to USD 47.9 in 2011/12; yet budget allocations in the medium term estimation was at USD 12.5 in 2008/09, demonstrating a shortfall of almost USD 29. This trend has important implications for service delivery of health care in Uganda (MoH, 2009).

The challenge of investing in the promotion of people’s health will require the commitment of more public resources to the health sectors but more importantly, progress will depend largely on the efficiency in regards to the way resources are mobilized, allocated and used. For instance, the MoH headquarters continues to command a big chuck (over 50%), of the entire health sector budget, which is bigger than the entire allocation to decentralized services under Local Governments who are the key implementers of most programmes where the majority of the poor live. In addition, funding for national and regional referral hospitals remains inadequate and has remained fairly constant [at less than 20 percent of the entire health sector budget] for the last six years. With meager resources, most health institutions are increasingly finding it difficult to provide reasonable primary healthcare services. The situation is worsened by the weak capacity and corruption at local government levels to implement primary health care services.

There is still doubt whether institutions and incentives in the health sector in Uganda can actually allow large spending programs to effectively deliver basic services to the people. Key questions still persist regarding: what actual outcomes in service delivery can be achieved with the current public spending? Are public resources actually reaching their intended destinations? And how accountable are public service providers to their expected beneficiaries? This study will provide some answers to these questions through the analysis of extensive data on health care expenditures and service delivery processes and outcomes that will be collected through a survey including the central government, local governments and public primary health care facilities in Uganda.

By use of micro-level survey tools (especially the PETS) we shall be able to do a deeper investigation of actual outcomes in service delivery at the frontline and the impact of broader institutions of governance and financing arrangements on these outcomes beyond the aggregative tools of public expenditure analysis.

This PETS exercise will build on previous similar studies that have been undertaken in Uganda to assess the efficiency of public spending flows (see Reinikka and Svensson, 2001; Reinikka and Svensson, 2003; Reinikka and Svensson, 2004). In their 2001 study, Reinikka and Svensson found that on average during 1991-95 schools received only 13 percent of the central government's allocation for the schools' nonwage expenditures. There was considerable variation in grants received across schools that was determined more by the political economy than by efficiency and equity considerations. Larger schools and schools with wealthier parents received a larger share of the intended funds (per student), while schools with a higher share of unqualified teachers received less. These survey findings had a direct impact on policy in Uganda. As evidence on the degree of leakage became public knowledge, the central government enacted a number of changes: It began publishing monthly transfers of public funds to the districts in newspapers, broadcasting them on radio, and requiring schools to post information on inflow of funds. Consequently, when a similar study was conducted again by the same researchers in 2003, they found that on average schools received 82% of central government spending.

Objectives
There are six objectives of this study. These are:

1. Examine the estimates and actual flow of public funds in health and establish to what extent they reach the primary health care facilities.
2. Assessing whether there are delays and leakages in budget transfers within the health sector
3. Assessing the level of utilization (absorption capacity) and accountability (financial) of the budget transfers at the health care facility
4. Understanding the service provider attitudes and incentives in the provision of public health care services.
5. Examining the role of key actors and the accountability mechanisms at different levels (at national, local government and community level) in ensuring effective delivery of public health care services.
6. Assessing the level of community / citizen participation in demanding for effective delivery of public health care services.
7. Increase awareness and civic consciousness about the budget and public expenditure

Given these objectives the study will exclusively focus on the performance of public health facilities, focusing both on the supply and demand side determinants of actual outcomes (improved health indicators). It is important to note that the study is neither designed to address issues of public-private partnership in delivering basic services nor issues of household demand and responsiveness to public initiatives.


Contact details
Daniel Lukwago is a Research Fellow at ACODE. He has more than 7 years working experience with Civil Society Organisations as a Policy Analyst. He has reviewed and analysed Uganda's economic and development policies (especially macro and fiscal policies) from a pro-poor perspective. He has produced and peer reviewed over 15 papers on key public policy issues on development, poverty, governance, macroeconomic and fiscal policies. He has also done research assignments with the World Bank in Washington D.C and NGOs in Uganda. Daniel holds a Master of Public Administration (Programme in Economic Policy Management) degree from the School of International and Public Affairs; Columbia University in the City of New York, USA and a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Daniel is committed to working to improve human development through research and advocacy to ensure that public policies are pro-poor.

• Readers can contact Daniel Lukwago for further details on the project and its progress at: 

Related article/s:

• Performance-based financing: just a donor fad or a catalyst towards comprehensive health-care reform?

Kenyan citizens feel so strongly that they have not been involved in the procurement processes at Local Authorities (LA's) as per applicable laws, a new survey report commissioned by Kara and supported by Usaid/PactKenya now reveals.

Majority (76%) of members of the public in all LA's sampled had not seen a copy of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005 and Regulations of 2001/2006.

The study conducted in Nairobi, Machakos, Mombasa and Nakuru further discovered that 90% of the respondents believe that LA’s are not transparent on procurement and disposal issues.

94% of the respondents indicated that their respective LA's have not taken time to educate them on the reformed public procurement system.On the other hand, 89% of those interviewed indicated that they are not involved by their respective LA’s in procurement activities.

84.8% of the respondents think that corrupt practices regarding public procurement and disposal are still rampant at the Local Authorities. The Kara research spearheaded by a seasoned governance scholar, Prof. Peter Lewa, was conducted as part of the activities under a program supported by Usaid through PactKenya.

The program seeks to enhance procurement and disposal service delivery at the LA’s by identifying gaps relating to public participation and oversight role in the existing public procurement and disposal procedures. It also aims at ensuring that citizens are more effectively monitoring and holding the LA’s accountable with regard to public procurement and disposal services.

The purpose of the research was to understand the extent of involvement of citizens in the public procurement processes in Local Authorities (LA).

This study was carried out by ActionAid International-Kenya (AAIK) whose key role in the People's Participation towards Equity (PPE) program is to enhance community participation in p verty reduction efforts. At the sub-national levels, there is a special focus on ensuring the participation of marginalized groups such as, persons with disabilities, women, children the youth and indigenous peoples towards poverty eradication.

The findings show that there has been an increase in the funds allocated to communities through the CDF, LATF and line ministry budgets. Also, the allocation of the funds has not translated into improved wellbeing of intended communities particularly in ensuring food security and availability of essential services such as infrastructure, electricity, water and healthcare...

Objectives of the study
The three objectives of this public expenditure review were to:

1. Ascertain the rationale in allocating the decentralized funds at National and Subnational levels.
2. Establish the absorptive capacities of districts, constituencies and counties.
3. Identify the impact(s) of the identified allocative rationale and absorptive capacities on eradicating poverty and inequality.

The study assesses the allocative rationale by looking at the basis of allocation of funds. It explains how CDF, LATF and line ministry budgets are apportioned to various development projects from the national to the local level. Utilization is explained in the use, form, manner or expenditure of the funds while absorptive capacities are expressed as ratios or percentages of amounts used on particular projects over the total allocations. The percentages or ratios have been used to do comparisons and assessments in this study. Analysis of allocative rationality and absorptive capacity are based on the existing government regulations and priority sectors in the Vision 2030. Analysis of the impact of devolved funds on the livelihoods of communities at the sub national level, has been done to establish their observable and non-visible effects on the beneficiaries at the sub-national level, conducted in eight sampled districts where ActionAid Kenya operates. They included Kuria (Kehancha), Busia (Budalangi), Mandera West (Takaba), Ijara (Masalani), Narok South (Ololunga), East Baringo (Tangulubei), Malindi (Lango Mbaya), and Tana River (Wenje) districts.

Methodology
The study was designed to gather information at two levels of observation: the national and sub-national level. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through personal interviews with various key informants (District Commissioners, District Accountant, District development Officers, District Education Officers, District Agriculture/Livestock Officers, District Gender/ Women Official, District Procurement Officers, District Youth Officers, District Medical Officers and Local Authority representatives) and focused group discussions in 8 districts.

Field work activities involved a survey to collect information on allocation and utilization/absorptive capacities of line ministry budgets, Constituency Development Fund (CDF), local authorities Transfer fund (LATF) and establish the amount of money returned to Treasury annually. In addition to evaluate the impacts on poor and excluded people, local equity, service delivery and poor development trends.

Additional data from financial reports was used to complement and validate the findings. Secondary data was used to complement the survey data for the districts, constituencies and counties. While quantitative data was used for statistical analysis, every attempt was made to gather and incorporate qualitative data to complement the analysis of the allocation, absorptive capacities/utilization and the impacts of these funds in the community.

Informed consent was obtained from all respondents before being interviewed. Comparisons were made across the districts. In order to examine the impacts the study assessed awareness of funds, public participation in funds, accountability and transparency issues, operationalization of the funds, and challenges. In order to ascertain allocative rationality, utilization/absorptive capacity ratios, percentages, tables and figures were used. The ratios derived as percentages of utilization are the measures of absorptive capacities.

However, obtaining adequate financial data at the district level was challenging and calls for policy changes in information sharing on public funds especially in the line ministries. Most of the District Officials declined to give the information on financial aspects of the study. Therefore, the study used information from Government Budget estimates for analysis on development expenditures because they give a clear picture on line ministry priorities in the selected districts.

Key Findings and recommendations
The study assessed the allocative rationality and absorptive capacities in regard to line ministry budgets and devolved funds. It also examined the impacts of these funds on the livelihoods of communities at the sub national level. This was possible through literature review and primary data obtained from key informants and focused group discussions in the respective districts.

Though the devolved funds are strategic and are supposed to be effective in improving the national response to poverty, inequitable resource distribution and general livelihoods of Kenyans, the number of people living below the poverty line has increased. The findings of this review indicate that there was a 30% increase of people living below the poverty line despite CDF and LATF funds. According to the Kenya Integrated Household Baseline Survey (KIHBS) 2005/06, Malindi had 65% of the people living below the poverty line in 2009 compared to 61% in 2006, while 83% of people in Galole were living below the poverty line in 2009 compared to 42% in 2006. In Mandera 90% of people were living below the poverty line in 2009 compared to 60% in 2006.There was, however, a marginal reduction in Budalangi from 70% in 2006 to 69% in 2009.

The increased poverty levels can be attributed to persistent challenges, such as lack of effective participation of local communities in selecting,prioritizing and implementing development projects, poor public finance management at national and sub-national levels, lack of institutional monitoring and evaluation mechanisms particularly those that involve the participation of Civil Society Organizations, and the fact that budget monitoring remains a bureaucratic process. These challenges can be addressed through capacity building at all levels of government; community empowerment in budget monitoring and evaluation, stipulation of adequate safeguards for local government funds, rigorous implementation of fiscal responsibility, public procurement and other strategic policies to strengthen economic management.

Allocative rationality/efficiency
This study examined the extent to which the allocation of decentralized funds is consistent with policy priorities of the Vision 2030, and the key economic, social and political policies of priority to the Government.

The Government increased CDF allocations by 67% from 2003 to 2008, while LATF allocations increased by 60.6% from 1999 to 2009. The recurrent expenditure in the ministries of education, health and agriculture increased by 46%, 40% and 97% respectively. Development expenditure allocations increased by 209%, 153% and 380% in the respective ministries, which shows that the government is committed to achieve its development objectives through these funds.

The government expenditure estimates on social services has increased over the years from Kshs. 128.9115 million in 2005/2006 fiscal year to 216.13057 million in 2008/2009. Expenditure on education increased tremendously by 57% from Ksh. 96,027.43 million in the year 2005/06 to Ksh. 151,676.85 million in 2008/2009. This is attributed to communities' demand for improved education access through school infrastructure support by the government to achieve the MDG objectives.

At the sub-national level, budgetary allocations made during the review period were consistent with national priorities in terms of allocative efficiency. The allocation criterion was designed to ensure that funds are allocated in a predictable, transparent and fair manner as defined in the rules and regulations of the CDF and LATF Acts. The line ministries allocation criterion relies on district committees, which comprise of all stakeholders in respective sectors generating Annual District Work plans that outline the priority areas and the budgets which are sent to ministry headquarters for funding.

This study has established that there is unequal sectoral allocation. For example, key sectors like agriculture, water, health, roads and environment had low allocations in the CDF, with 2.9%, 10.4%, 10.3%, 6.4% and 0.3% respectively while education was allocated 44% of the total CDF funds in the sampled districts. A balance between health, education, and food security is vital for development. For a child to perform better in school he/she should be in good health, and have proper nutrition. The sectors that affect women such as agriculture, health and water received low allocations.

In the line ministries, sectoral allocations were erratic in that some sector programmes such as agricultural extension services were allocated 100% of the funds verses 0% in the management of food security . Poor prioritization in fund allocation has negative implications on food security and health services, and contribute to unequal sectoral development which subsequently reduces the pace of achieving the Vision 2030 and MDG objectives.

From the study 63% of the respondents said that CDF projects were initiated by the community members, 22.2% felt that the projects are initiated by area Members of Parliament, while 14.8%, credited their councilors for initiating CDF projects. Also, 45.4%, 31.8%, 18.2% and 4.5% of the respondents credited community members, local councilors, local authority officials and district officials respectively for initiating LATF projects. Further still, 38.5%, 7.7%, 7.7%, 7.7%, 30.8% and 7.7% stated that educational projects are initiated by community members, MPs, local councilors, local authority officials, district officials and the government respectively. This indicates low levels of community involvement in project prioritization. CDF scores higher in allocative efficiency due to its bottom-up approach in its project cycle management (identification, prioritization, implementation and community ownership). These components lack in the line ministry projects where the approach is top-down.

Policy Recommendations

1. To improve allocative efficiency in the line ministries, the adoption of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) that links policy, planning and budgeting and the adoption of Programme-Based Budgeting (PBB) are recommended. Community awareness and participation in the line ministry projects at the sub-national level should be encouraged with a bottom-up approach in project management adopted.
2. Continuous capacity building for fund managers and the community social audit groups should be done on planning and priority setting, budgeting, administration, effective supervision, monitoring and evaluation. These should be set up at the district level to train communities in fundraising to supplement Government budgets.
3. To encourage efficiency in project identification, financial reporting, project planning, evaluation and supervision, standardization of designs, technical and financial parameters, and cost indicators for the frequently requested projects should be done. This will simplify documentation requirements to reduce bureaucratic procedures in the line ministries and LAs. Standardized annual work plans for infrastructure and procurement such as model plans for hospitals built by CDF funds should be used country wide for efficient control of budgets, absorption, and monitoring, and this will curb fraudulent project costing.
4. There should be a transparent and merit-based criteria for selecting funds committee members. Committee members should be competent, have integrity, ethics, good governance practices, accountability and strategic leadership skills. Regular audits in liaison with community audit teams should be done to increase transparency in the use of project funds, and audit findings made public.
5. All devolved funds including those of line ministries, districts and constituencies should be consolidated for consistency and harmony in projects implementation, to avoid duplication and double funding.
6. Increased budgetary allocations should be proportionate with the poverty levels, population size and geographical location. This will ensure availability of critical inputs like materials and equipment at the district level. The delays in disbursing funds and AIEs to the districts should also be addressed to ensure prompt disbursement of funds the district level. Allocations should be based on budgets prepared at the district level. Work plans should be generated from the grassroots level and provisional project plans validated before implementation to prevent inflated budgets.
7. Simple performance indicators for monitoring and evaluation should be developed to define and measure progress in achieving developmental goals and assess the effectiveness of the decentralized funds. The indicators could include public awareness and participation, frequency of public board committee meetings, supervisory and monitoring meetings, collection and banking as a percentage of collection, among other indicators. These should be published and reviewed periodically to compare inter district and sectoral performance.

Utilization and absorptive capacity
In this study, absorptive capacity is defined as the extent to which line ministries, CDF and LATF managers can utilize the decentralized funds, in an effective and efficient manner.

Absorptive capacity has two connotations:

1. Financial absorptive capacity, is the ability to co-finance programs and projects supported by line ministries, CDF and LATF, to plan and guarantee these national contributions in multi-annual budgets, and to collect contributions from the partners involved in various programs and projects.
2. Administrative capacity is the ability and qualifications of central and local authorities to prepare appropriate and timely programs and projects, fund and monitor their implementation, ensure coordination of partners involved, comply with administrative and reporting requirements.

Utilization of CDF
The study shows that 81.2% of the fund managers were satisfied by the way CDF is utilized, with 18.7% partially concurring, which is a good performance. While those interviewed on LATF only 23% felt the funds were utilized to their objectives, 38.5% failed to agree and 38.5% agreed partially which is a poor performance.

The education sector absorbed the largest share of total sectoral expenditure with an average of 44% followed by water (10.36%), health 10.25%, roads/ bridges 6.39% and others 7.73%. There are, however, challenges in the use of the devolved funds:

1. The absorptive capacity at the sub-national level is low and the effect is that the funds allocated do not positively impact in the short-term.
2. There is low public awareness and participation.
3. Inadequate technical capacity of local project committees for managing the funds and their activities.
4. Inadequate funding, delays in disbursement of funds, and weak legal and institutional framework for accounting of funds and resources. Accounting is done manually by locals who lack prerequisite accounting skills. This has encouraged misappropriation of funds and embezzlements.
5. Higher levels of corruption in revenue collection in the LAs has affected service delivery.
6. Political interference in committee appointments, are other challenges experienced.
7. Conflicting policies- for instance, the criteria followed in awarding CDF bursaries is different from that of ministry bursaries. Also, procurement procedures are flawed and there are difficulties in identifying priority.
8. There is also over-dependency by communities on CDF whose attitude is that CDF is free money from the government.

Utilization of line ministry funds
The study found out that an average 44.5% of the fund managers were satisfied with line ministries fund utilization. In health/medical services, 44.4% felt the utilization was partial and the other 11.1% did not agree on the manner in which the funds have been utilized. In Agriculture/Livestock/Fisheries, 50% felt the funds were utilized well, 14.3% did not agree and 35.7% partially agreed on how the funds have been used. In education, 50% agreed that the funds were utilized to their objectives and the other 50% partially agreed.

According to the fund managers there were problems with budget execution. These include:

• Cash flow bottlenecks such as inadequate funding and delays in disbursement of funds and A.I.Es and slow procurement which comes in the way of utilization of the funds.
• Under-staffing and inadequate technical capacity for managing the funds and their activities.
• Weak institutional frameworks for accounting for the funds.
• Lack of mechanisms to sanction decisions against the funds' mandate. Hence line ministries development spending was lower than budgeted for, partly because the funds available to promote growth and poverty reduction were underutilized.
• Poor prioritization at the ministry level. Furthermore much of the funds are not utilized in the acquisition of non-financial assets in the line ministries. For example, in the Ministry of Agriculture, agricultural extension programmes utilized 100% of the allocations in Ijara, Tana River, Malindi, Busia, Baringo and Kuria and did not utilize any amount in promoting food security, among thefood-poor districts.

Policy Recommendations
To improve on the absorption capacity of line ministry budgets, LATF and CDF, the government should take the following measures:

1. Strengthen administrative capacity of personnel in line ministries and devolved fund agencies.
2. Ensure greater transparency in fund management by providing comprehensive information of public interest, and eliminating excessive bureaucracy and corruption in awarding financing for projects.
3. Standardize the rules governing access to decentralized funds, particularly application requirements to hasten the approval process.
4. Ensure completion of audit reports on the implementation of Operational Programs by the Sector Work Groups (SWG), so that they can be approved by the Exchequer by the end of each financial year, as a condition for starting the reimbursements.
5. To increase the rate of decentralized funds absorption, the Central Government and Fund Management authorities should reduce the period for evaluating, selecting, contracting and approving funds for projects.

Also, the legislative oversight on Ministry Development Agencies (MDAs) budgets is weak. Similarly, the civil society is weak in researching and scrutinizing government fiscal operations and related budgetary matters. The capability of the government and civil society in monitoring public finance needs to be enhanced.

The absorptive capacity at the sub-national level is low that the funds allocated do not impact positively in the short term. From the findings education on average utilizes 44% of the total CDF allocations in the sampled districts. On average it takes 17 years or more to educate a child from primary level to tertiary level for him/her to be ready for employment.

The impacts of the funds
All the funds show an increase in the amount allocated over time, which cumulatively should have a positive impact in the fight against poverty and inequality. In the financial records, allocation regulations have been followed, although the implementation of these budgets is not satisfactory. For example, there are anomalies in procurement procedures (such as in Galole CDF health center) with fraudulent cost variations, construction of sub-standard structures, alleged bribery in procurement of materials and contractors, unequal sectoral percentage allocations and poor prioritization.

The study established that 64% of the respondents were in agreement that infrastructure has notably improved through LATF funds. For example, markets are better equipped with sanitation facilities, slaughterhouses, health facilities and water projects. 6% attributed the clearance of council debts and timeliness in paying staff salaries to the existence of the fund. Another 6% of the respondents were convinced that there is better public participation in decision making especially with the use of public meetings (barazas) in discussing community projects while a further 6% credits LATF for creating employment opportunities to the local community. 18% of the respondents felt little or no impact because they lack information regarding the funds.

In addition, 25% of the respondents acknowledged that health services have improved, due to the construction of health centers in previously neglected areas and acquisition of ambulances. 17.5% recognized increased enrolment, retention and completion of school by students due to construction of classrooms, laboratories, desks, as well as supporting and equipping youth polytechnics. 25% noted an improvement in service delivery where with communities benefiting from access to water and irrigation projects by CDF especially in ASAL. There is, however, concern over prioritization of projects in that some regions and sectors are still neglected.

The study also established that 78% of the respondents acknowledged better health facilities and services compared to previous years, while 11% felt there has been positive change in terms of restructuring and infrastructure development in health and sanitation. 46% of the respondents felt that there has been an improvement in the socio-economic status of communities through agriculture/livestock funding in the districts while 18% felt that there has been diversification of the agricultural sector activities to incorporate crop and livestock farming and increased community participation in farming and livestock production. 6% noted that the funds assisted in restocking livestock after drought, and the remaining 6% noted no impact. Conversely, 11% felt that there has been no impact to be noted.

Policy Recommendations
Based on the study findings the following interventions that target line ministry budgets, CDF, LATF and CBF are recommended:

1. Establishing efficient and adequate communication channels to enlighten local communities on the objectives of each fund. District and constituency information centers should be set-up where information on projects and funding details can be disseminated and shared. The district and constituency information offices should be principal in providing information on devolved funds and line ministry budgets. Websites highlighting district project development should be established to enable the public to follow up project progress.
2. Continuous capacity building for community social audit groups and other members, on planning and priority setting, budgeting, administration and effective supervision, monitoring and evaluation should be set up at the community level. Also, communities should be trained on fundraising to supplement government budgets.
3. Equity in fund allocation and participation of stakeholders in identifying projects at the local level should be done to integrate interests, activities and strategies of donor, private sector and NGOs within the district. This calls for restructuring the district fund committees to allow joint planning, budgeting, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the district development projects. The recent initiative in the health sector of the district stakeholders' forum in Kuria district and the Narok County Council is a move in the right direction as it allows stakeholder participation.
4. There should be transparent criteria for selecting funds committee members. This should be merit-based with minimum qualifications being first degree or equivalent. Committee members should demonstrate competence, integrity, ethics, governance and accountability skills, and strategic leadership. Project funds should be audited frequently in liaison with community social audit teams, and the audit findings made public.
5. A single unit of development should be established at the local level to handle all the budgets. All devolved funds plus line ministry funds for the districts/constituencies should be consolidated to ensure consistency and harmony in the project implementation.
6. The district fund offices should be equipped and properly staffed to improve their capacity to deliver quality services.
7. The structuring of fund utilization should factor in cultural/ traditional practices such as nomadic lifestyles to ensure that men and women have equally participate in the project implementation.

Financing from official development assistance and national budgets is clearly not sufficient to close the financing gap in the water and sanitation sector, the African Development Bank (AfDB) says, on the eve of the 3^rd Africa Water Week, calling for more innovative sources of funding. As evidenced by an update carried out by the AfDB on the costs for achieving the Africa Water Vision, there are still significant gaps in water financing, a fact corroborated by the results of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic Study.

An estimated USD 45-60 billion is required annually to meet Africa's water infrastructure requirements, of which drinking water supply and sanitation represents some USD 11 billion.

In order to promote more innovative approaches in tapping non-traditional sources of funding, the African Development Bank is leading a thematic session on "Financing Investments in Water for Growth and Development", during the 3^rd Africa Water Week (November 2010).

The AfDB will also launch two major reports. The "Water sector governance in Africa report during the 3^rd Africa Water week" finds that poor governance has been a major reason for the poor record of sustainability of water and sanitation services affecting millions of Africans.

The "Guidelines for User Fees and Cost Recovery for urban and rural water and sanitation" touches on a very critical issue for all water sector investments: how to ensure that water and sanitation services are financially viable, in addition to being environmentally and socially sustainable? A side event will be dedicated to sharing the findings from the country status overviews from 32 African countries. The reports track sector performance and constraints, clearly identifying barriers along the service delivery pathway, to inform relevant policy actions for sector reform and accelerate progress of the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals. The AfDB has supported the process in 4 countries – Chad, Gambia, Zambia and Nigeria (3 States).

The 3^rd Africa Water Week will be held on the theme "Implementing the Africa Water Vision and the MDG target: Challenges and opportunities in water and sanitation".

The Africa Water Week has become an annual event in the regional water and sanitation agenda.

The AfDB successfully hosted the 1^st African Water Week in Tunis in March 2008 which resulted in the Tunis Ministerial Declaration, a key input for the Sharm-El Sheikh Commitments on Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals made by Africa's Heads of States Summit held that year. The 2nd African Water Week was hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg in November 2009, where the AfDB lead the thematic session on "Financing Water and Sanitation Infrastructure".

The Tunis Declaration on Accelerating Water Security for Africa's Socio-Economic Development foresees AfDB and WSP undertake the second generation of country status overviews on water and sanitation to expose bottlenecks and compare country progress in achieving the MDG targets. The Sharm El-Sheikh Summit of Heads of State requested AMCOW to annually report on progress made in the implementation of commitments on water and sanitation, a task which AMCOW requested the AfDB to support it to implement.

The AfDB's role, during and beyond these events has brought together sector professionals, technocrats and civil society to define actions to address the challenges governments face in pursuing their water security agenda, and make available its knowledge resources to support them.

A key contribution of the Bank to the agenda has been the preparation of the Action Plan and Framework for Reporting Actions to the African Union, which is a guide for countries to report their water security actions.

• Volume 1: Theory and Practice
• Volume 2: Assessment Guidelines

* The full suite of reports can be accessed from the African Development Bank's website

The World Bank is inviting comments on its newly released draft strategy for Africa, Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s Role in it, aimed at steering its policies and operations in the Sub Saharan region for the next five years.

The draft strategy lays out three, interdependent themes: (i) competitiveness and employment, (ii) vulnerability and resilience; and (iii) governance and public-sector capacity, and the challenges and opportunities that exist within each. The Bank’s intervention in each country will be guided by these themes as a framework but certainly not limited by it.

The competitiveness and employment theme, as presented, captures the various inputs from stakeholders that Africa be seen as a destination for business; and a growth pole with development assistance as catalyzing investment. Harnessing private sector opportunities for wealth creation within this framework has implications for agricultural productivity, the empowerment of women, innovative approaches to improving the business climate and infrastructure development. They remain key drivers for facilitation of Africa’s growth and competitiveness in a manner that leads to job creation.

“Since it is the most often-cited constraint, improving infrastructure services is the highest priority,” the strategy reads. “The infrastructure financing gap (estimated at $48 billion a year for the continent) can only be filled by a combination of domestic, public and private funding. To attract private funding and to improve services more generally, there needs to be reform of infrastructure policies and institutions.”

The vulnerability and resilience focus of the strategy acknowledges the inevitable shocks that often have immediate impacts on living standards. Among them: macroeconomic shocks; idiosyncratic shocks, such as those related to individuals’ health (AIDS, malaria, maternal mortality, road accidents); natural disasters; and conflict and political violence. A major policy option promoted in the strategy is the adoption of social safety nets as a remedial measure for dealing with macroeconomic and certain idiosyncratic shocks; public health interventions for health and disease related shocks; climate adaptation policies to address natural disasters associated with climate change; and, to prevent conflict and political violence, peace and institution building initiatives.

Across the continent, strong views were expressed about governance as a major constraint to development outcomes; and the need to strengthen accountability at all levels of society. The strategy attempts to capture these sentiments by positioning Governance and Public Sector Capacity as a foundation on which the preceding two pillars must be built. This focus will leverage the growing political openness across Africa and civil society’s increased involvement in demand-side governance. “The use of CSOs upstream in monitoring government processes will be promoted and evaluated. Greater attention will be given to building the capacity of the legislative and judicial branches of government, as well as sub-national governments,” according to the strategy.

To implement its Africa strategy, the World Bank will rely on traditional implementation instruments - finance, knowledge and partnerships - but proposes to reverse the order. “The main instrument of implementation will be partnerships - with African society and with other development actors. We will mobilize the development community to support a “Marshall Plan for Africa,” aimed at relaxing the financing constraint to reach the MDGs (and beyond).”

The Bank will use knowledge to contribute an evidence - based approach to debates about Africa’s development; and flexible and innovative financing to support countries’ financial needs. “In the new strategy, the goal will be to leverage the Bank’s financing to crowd-in other sources of financing,” the strategy reads.

“We heard from a diverse range of people from all walks of life in many different countries, who all have a stake in Africa’s development,” said Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa. “We carefully reviewed their inputs and produced what we think is a strong draft of a plan that will help carry the Bank forward as it supports Africa’s unprecedented transformation and growth.”

The World Bank is seeking feedback on its draft strategy. Stakeholders, including those who may already have contributed online or in-person during phase 1 of the consultation process, are encouraged to use the Online Feedback Form to offer fresh opinions. Views will impact the final strategy due for publication in March 2011.

To receive e-mail updates about the World Bank Africa Strategy Consultations, please click here

Background

Corruption remains an impediment to development and a barrier to poverty reduction in Uganda and in many other African countries. This study has defined corruption as “abuse of office for private gain” and recent surveys, coupled with nationally produced data, indicate that corruption in Uganda is a problem, both at national and local government levels. Corruption manifests itself as bribery, financial leakages, conflict of interest, embezzlement, false accounting, fraud, influence peddling, nepotism, theft of public funds or theft of public assets. With the discovery of oil and the prospect of substantial windfall oil revenues coming on stream in the relatively near future, Uganda is bound to face major challenges with regard to the problem of corruption.

The Data Tracking Mechanism

The Data Tracking Mechanism was launched in 2009 to address a growing concern about the lack of credible tools and methods to track corruption. The initiative aimed to develop a tool, the DTM, to monitor corruption trends in Uganda on an annual basis. The current study provides a baseline for tracking progress over time. Altogether, the DTM comprises 71 indicators which are used to track corruption.

Data Collection

The choice of the 71 indicators was agreed in a workshop of 7 April 2010 in Kampala. The EPRC was designated the DTM Manager and EPRC collected and analyzed data associated with the 71 indicators. Some of the data sources were from Uganda including the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the Office of Auditor General, the Inspectorate of Government, Budget Monitoring and Analysis, Procurement Performance Management System, and Uganda Police Force. The rest of the data was sourced from international organizations that collected and compiled data from Uganda, including Global Integrity and Transparency International.

Findings and Recommendations

1. A Large Implementation Gap. Uganda has made great efforts at establishing systems to fight corruption. By 1970, the Prevention of Corruption Act (1970) had been enacted; then the Inspector General of Government Statute (1988), the Anti-Corruption Act (2009) and the Enforcement of the Leadership Code of Conduct Act (2002) were also put in place. However, the implementation of corruption prevention and detection and of anti-corruption enforcement has been particularly weak. In a recent study of 114 countries, Uganda was found to have had the largest implementation gap, in which it was scored very highly (99%) on having a very good legal framework but was awarded 45% for having weak implementation record, giving an implementation gap of 54% (Global Integrity Report, 2009). Further evidence of the existence of this implementation gap is given in the subsequent sections of the Report.
   
   Recommendation: To tackle the challenge posed by anti-corruption enforcement, the Government of Uganda should consider adoption and implementation of good enforcement practices similar to those of other countries which have made a serious commitment in this area: Bangladesh has adopted a 60-day timeline for handling corruption prosecution in Bangladesh; Ghana has established a “fast-track” court for corruption cases in Ghana; and use of speedy and effective prosecutorial methods, including the protection of whistleblowers in Singapore. We would recommend that government study these examples and adopt at least one of the mechanisms as a way to accelerate prosecutions.


2. Weak Performance related to Enforcement of Political Financing Disclosure. On Regulations governing Political Financing of Parties and Individual candidates, Uganda rates “very weak” in critical areas of political financing which include; (i) Regulatory effectiveness related to political governance, and (ii) Citizen access to information for financing of political parties and individual candidates campaigns. However, regulation of conflict of interest appears more promising and this can be seen against Uganda’s “strong” track record for establishing laws and regulations. But as further evidence will reveal, Uganda has been less successful in implementing its laws and regulations and this has given the country the distinction of having the largest implementation gap in the world.
   
   Recommendation: Enforcement of Political Financing Disclosure – Although no modern state has eliminated corruption from its party and campaign finances, the Government of Uganda could seek to reduce the scope for corruption by strengthening the enforcement of disclosure laws and regulations. There is need to ensure that disclosure laws include clear enforcement guidelines and penalties for non-compliance. In addition, within three months, the Electoral Commission should take the steps necessary to enforce disclosure of financial records of individual candidates and political parties as stipulated by law, and such information should be made publicly available.


3. Substantial Improvement needed to ensure a Safe and Open Climate for Reporting on Corruption. There are two notable findings related to the role of media in combating corruption.
   • On censorship of corruption-related Journalism, two elements are assessed to determine if media are able to report on corruption: (i) Whether the government or media owners/distribution groups encourage self-censorship of corruption related stories, and (ii) The extent to which there is no prior government restraint (pre-publication censoring) on publishing corruption-related stories. On the first element, Uganda was “strong” in 2007 but dropped to a “very weak” rating in 2009. On refraining from censoring publication of corruption-related stories, Uganda’s rating fell from “very strong” in 2006 to “very weak” in 2008 but improved marginally to “weak” in 2009.
   • On Imprisonment of journalists investigating corruption, Uganda had a poor record between 2007 and 2009. On physical harm to journalists investigating corruption, Uganda’s record was good during the four assessment years 2006-2009. On killing of journalists investigating corruption, Uganda’s record was consistently clean.


4. Bribery Continues to be a Factor of Citizen Interactions with Government Officials: The Afrobarometer data chosen for DTM on the extent to which households had to pay a bribe, give a gift, or do a favor to government officials in respect of obtaining permits, getting water or sanitation and avoiding problems with the police show that bribery in the three areas cuts across sectors and functions equally, affecting one out four households in the country.
   
   Recommendation: The Prime Minister’s Office should direct individual MDA’s responsible for the administrative procedures identified in this report to initiate business process reviews with the aim of reforming functional processes that are subject to bribery and corruption which impact citizens and enterprises. The Prime Minister’s Office would monitor progress on the reviews and reforms. The functional processes might include starting a business, securing a construction permit, registering a property, making tax payments, enforcing contracts, securing a driver’s license, obtaining an educational certificate, securing a land title, and connection and disconnection of utilities.


5. Auditing can be Improved, Particularly as it relates to Involving Citizens. Uganda is doing well In terms of auditing annual expenditures in a timely manner, but there is still room for improvement. Secondly, there is a positive trend in the release of public audits of extra-budgetary funds – and this could indicate a willingness to improve; however, areas that reflect poor and sometimes very poor performances exist and they increase opportunities for corruption to take hold and continue. These areas include: actions related to the auditing of actual outcomes, maintaining formal mechanisms of communication with the public, reporting to the public on actions taken to address audit recommendations, releasing public audits of extra-budgetary funds and public reporting related to tracking of executive actions to remedy audit recommendations. Nearly all these areas of weakness refer to communication with the public; so Uganda has got to improve on giving and receiving information from the public in budget matters.
   
   Recommendation: Institutionalize Citizen Participation, especially with Auditing – As has been proven in Indonesia, combining auditing with citizen participation can be an important means of strengthening anti-corruption efforts. We recommend that the Auditor General commence a regular process of announcing audits of public infrastructure projects to national and local communities, and hold community-level town meetings to discuss audit findings upon completion of infrastructure projects. Over the next year, we recommend that the Auditor General conducts 20 audits which include the citizen participation approach described above. Results of the audits should be announced in the papers in the relevant district, and this information should be posted at the District’s notice board.


6. Need for Improvement in Quality of Budget Information Provided to Public, and More Citizen Consultation. Open Budget Initiative’s budget-related indicators attempt to evaluate the quantity of information available to the public in Uganda’s budget documents; the opportunities for public participation in the budget process; as well as the ability of key oversight institutions of Government to hold the Executive accountable. The analysis reveals that there is substantial room for improvement for the government of Uganda to make available high quality, user-friendly relevant budget reports to the public of Uganda, and to consult its citizens in the budget process.
   
   Recommendation: Based on the evaluation results we recommend as follows: (a) There is substantial room for improvement to make available high quality budget reports to the public and (b) The Uganda Government should do more by way of consulting its citizens in the budget process.


7. Improvement of Parliamentary Scrutiny of External Audit Reports, yet Need for Executive Follow Through. Legislative scrutiny of external audit report includes three areas of assessment: (i) Timeliness of examination of audit reports by the legislature (for reports received within the last year); (ii) Extent of hearings on key findings undertaken by legislature; and (iii) Issuance of recommended actions by the legislature and implementation by the executive. The results from Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) covering 2005 to 2008 showed consistent poor performance in respect of (i), steady improved performance in respect of (ii) and decline in performance in respect of (iii). However, since 2008 the PAC of Parliament has made notable progress. It has reviewed and adopted recommendations for Central Government reports from 2001/02 to 2006/07, and for Local Governments from 2001/02 to 2004/05. The Public Accounts Committee should be commended for addressing this backlog.
   
   Recommendation: Currently, there is need for MOFPED to issue Treasury Memorandum to implement these findings of the CAG and Parliament. We recommend a target of no more than six months for the issuance of this memorandum.


8. Lack of Available Data to Assess Anti-Corruption Efforts in Procurement. PPDA was asked to provide information related to the following two procurement indicators (from the PPMS system) which relate to corruption in this area: % of sampled contracts subject to open competition, and % of procurements with disclosed evaluation criteria actually applied. These two criteria are critical components of fighting corruption in procurement. Unfortunately, the data provided was not responsive to this request.
   
   Recommendation: Bolster Competitive Procurement Efforts – PPDA should continue to ensure that procurement processes are transparent and competitive by publishing regular reports to the public at least annually on the status of contractual activity in the government using the PPMS system. Reports should be posted on the PPDA website to ensure accessibility to the public. This reporting should address the extent to which procurements are open and competitive, and the level of procurements which include evaluation criteria. Normally, these practices help reduce corrupt practices and increase the chances of obtaining value for money in public spending. In addition, PPMS should provide to the public and the press a list of all contractors awarded a contract in a given period, the amount of the contract, and the contract purpose. This information should be provided on a quarterly basis.


9. Budget Monitoring Data can be improved to assess Corruption in Roads and other Public Works Projects. For this report we selected two roads projects from the Budget Monitoring and Analysis Unit (BMAU) Reports of 2008/9 and 2009/10. These were the Kampala Northern By-Pass and the Soroti-Dokolo roads projects. At the time of reporting on them, both had a weighted physical progress of 90% or more. The data showed that the Northern By-Pass was 22 months 11 days beyond the initially agreed completion time of 30 months. It developed cracks along the shoulder and a dispute also arose which led to works stoppage. The projected overrun was 30% of the original price of UGX 83.9 billion (excluding VAT). The Soroti-Dokolo road was ahead of schedule with 26.1% of the contract time remaining to finish 10% of the remaining road works. By that time 90.6% of the revised contract price of UGX73.9 billion had been paid. The original contract price had been revised from UGX 70.6 billion to UGX73.9 billion; and then another revision from UGX73.9 billion to UGX96.1 billion was made; this latter revision was excessive in the light of the good progress made already. Information like this on roads construction did not necessarily point to a specific practice of corruption; however, cost overruns and high per unit costs are flags for the possibilities of corruption and merit special attention.
   
   Recommendation: Curb Corruption in Public Works – A first step for improving data in this area is for BMAU to start immediately to collect data associated with the following indicators for all of its infrastructure project evaluations (including roads, hospitals and other public works): (i) unit prices for construction components at entry (based on the amount at the contract signing) and exit (exit costs include variation of quantities and amendments of contract, etc); and (ii) project costs and the unit costs estimates included in detailed engineering studies (DES).


10. Need for More Data Assessing Corruption in Key Sectors such as Agriculture, Health, Education, and Transport. Numerous sector indicators reveal notable problems with corruption in education, health, the business environment, as well as with sub-county and local council institutions.
    • Education, Health, Sub-county and Local Council II Institutions
      Uganda Bureau of Statistics (NSDS 2008) provided valuable baseline data related to; (i) Misuse of funds in targeted public institutions; results showed that 8.4 % of sub-counties had been involved in misuse of public funds and in 23.1% of those involved no action taken on the culprits; (ii) Enforcement actions related to misuse of funds in these public institutions and facilities; the health sector showed the highest percentage of institutions that were involved in misuse but where no action was taken.
    • Health – Sale of Drugs
      Uganda Bureau of Statistics (NSDS 2008) assessed the extent to which patients in government health facilities paid for drugs; the results showed that 15.5% of patients at government health facilities paid for drugs. This information serves as a useful baseline for tracking corruption in the health sector.
    • Business Environment –Enterprise Bribery
      Ugandan Data from Doing Business suggests there is substantial room for improvement to eliminate bribery in doing business; streamlining processes and reducing them would minimize opportunities for bribery. In particular, the number of procedures associated with starting a business and registering a property in Uganda far exceed the neighbors’ and sub-Saharan averages.


11. Public Data related to Reporting and Enforcement of Administrative Corruption is Weak and Fragmented. Anti-corruption efforts reveal that substantial improvements can be made as reflected in the comments below.
    • The National Integrity Survey (NIS)
      The National Integrity Survey (NIS) of 2008 provides data on: (i) Number of corruption cases reported in governmental organizations over last four years; the data showed an increase; 16.1% in 2004 and 28.1% in 2007 indicated one or more cases of corruption were reported in their organization; (ii) Number of corruption cases that resulted in suspension or dismissal; data also showed an increase; 22.5% in 2004 and 33.4% in 2007; (iii) Number of reported cases of corruption taken to courts of law which resulted in conviction of culprits; 7.1% in 2004 and 14.3% in 2007.
      
      The success of the anti-corruption campaign will depend on the number of corruption cases comprehended and on which action is taken. However, NIS data does not give actual numbers on reported cases, suspensions, dismissals or convictions. It is therefore recommended that Government designates an appropriate entity to manage the collection of this information across government institutions, so that DTM can track actual cases.
    
    
    • Inspectorate of Government (IG)
      The IG provides data on corruption to parliament twice a year. However, the reporting from IG needs to be revised to show more clearly the number of cases that were brought forward and the length of time a case has spent at the IG; it is also not clear from the IG data whether there is a system to track the outcome of IG cases that are referred to other institutions. The high proportion of cases “still going on” suggests that the IG needs to do more to clear these cases on a biannual basis.
      
      Recommendation: Generate Accurate Data on the Outcomes and Duration of Anti-Corruption Cases – The IG has made great strides to report routinely on its activities related to investigating and prosecuting of corruption cases. Nevertheless, the efforts of the IG could be improved. The IG Reports to Parliament would benefit from improving data accuracy, rigor, and integrity. Additional information which focuses on the outcome of corruption cases over time would be beneficial. This type of focus would assess how long it takes (on average) for corruption cases to be resolved, and the likelihood of a culprit to be sanctioned, administratively or judicially. Determining the outcome of cases over time is of particular importance because many corruption cases unfold over a multi-year period.
    
    
    • Uganda Police Report: The 2008 and 2009 Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Reports show data on (i) Number of corruption cases that were reported to the police; results showed these doubled from 46 cases in 2008 to 95 in 2009; (ii) The percentage of corruption cases reported to police and taken to court - 87% of the reported cases in 2008 were taken to court, but the percentage in 2009 dropped substantially to 38%. More information would be needed – for example to explain the decrease in reported cases that were taken to court; whether it was due to a lower commitment to enforcement or lack of capacity to handle increased workload; or whether it was because of a shift in the type of corruption cases, or another factor. Recommendation: Strengthen Efforts to Collect and Make Available Corruption Data - Numerous governmental entities generate information which is useful to the DTM. These entities include the IG, the Auditor General, BMAU (MOFPED), the Police (including the Criminal Investigations Division), DPP, Anti-Corruption Division in the High Court, DEI, Public Service Commission, Local Government Commission, Inspectorate of Courts, and UBOS. The data helps citizens understand the nature of governmental efforts to combat corruption, and the areas where corruption is greatest. These entities should be more proactive to collect consistent and frequent data related to corruption, and they should make available their reports or surveys on the Internet for a ten-year period. A specific example of how government can be more pro-active in this area would be for UBOS to collect data on stock-outs in health facilities, a problem which appears to have a linkage to corruption (in addition to other factors) in the health sector.


12. Information related to Outcomes and Duration of Anti-Corruption Cases is Poor, partially due to Weak Coordination amongst Anti-Corruption Entities. This study has established that there are multiple government agencies involved in the collection of corruption-related data. However, their efforts are not well coordinated, limiting our ability to understand the effectiveness of government anti-corruption efforts, particularly related to public sector corruption.
    
    Recommendation: Ensure all Anti-Corruption Entities Provide Useful Information on Public Sector Corruption – The government should support efforts to ensure that all anti-corruption entities in the government are generating regular and comprehensive reports to the public related to outcomes and performance associated with public sector anti-corruption activities. Activities (or cases) involving public sector officials or resources should be distinguished from strictly private sector corruption activities. The reports should be based upon consistent and frequent data collection. If the entity is involved with anti-corruption cases (such as the IG, CID, DPP, and the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Courts), its reports should emphasize data which reveals the outcome of cases and the average length of time associated with resolution of a corruption case. If the entity is involved in broader efforts to combat corruption (such as DEI, PSC, the Local Government Commission, and the Inspectorate of Courts), data should focus on anti-corruption outcomes. If not already being conducted, annual reports should be developed and posted on the Internet for public dissemination. Reports should remain available on-line for a ten year period, in order to track progress over time. The IG and DEI should conduct specialized broadcasts to disseminate report highlights to rural areas.

Absence of a formula based approach to budget allocation at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation has led to large inequities for water access in Kenya, with the poor paying more compared to the rich, and millions going without adequate access everyday. This finding is contained in a new analytical brief released by Twaweza titled "It's Our Water Too! Bringing Greater Equity in Access to Water in Kenya." Uwazi analysts have aggregated facts from a range of credible sources that demonstrate that persistent inequalities in access to water services in Kenya can be quickly reduced if an approach that links investments and resource allocation to needs rather than political weight is adopted and implemented. Fortunately, key data for such a formula are now available from the 2009 population census and the national poverty maps. Click here for more details.

Without information about budget allocations and execution, citizens are left clueless on how their tax money is spent. Public scrutiny of the budget process is an important element of any system of checks and balances. How do countries in East Africa fare in this regard?

To assess how accessible or 'open' budget processes are to citizens, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) has implemented the Open Budget Survey (OBS) for several years now. This survey follows a rigorous methodology of measuring budget practices and presents the only available independent and comparative measure of government budget processes. The survey comprises two sets of questions, totaling 123 altogether. The first set (92 questions) assesses the transparency of a country's budget to citizens and collects information about the availability, timeliness and comprehensiveness of budget reports. The remaining set of questions assesses the strength and effectiveness of institutions that oversee the budget process, the Legislatures (Parliaments) and the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs).

Using data from three OBS survey rounds (2006, 2008 and 2010), this brief presents eight facts on budget openness in East Africa, covering Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda (information for Burundi is not available). The brief reveals a trend towards more openness, but also shows that the level of budget transparency remains poor and that oversight institutions are weak. It is further found that governments fail to publish key budget documents and that the documents that are published provide only limited information.

It is clear that countries of East Africa could significantly improve their budget transparency. Doing so does not have to be difficult. Some measures are as simple as making public documents that are already produced for internal government use or for donor agencies. Other measures, such as strengthening the role of oversight institutions, Parliaments and the Supreme Audit Institutions may be more challenging, but successful East African examples can provide guidance on how to go about it.

2010 is an important year for Africa for various reasons. Of these, perhaps the most important is that firstly, this year marks the beginning of the decade in which most of its countries will celebrate 50 years of independence, and secondly, it is the starting point for the new AU/NEPAD African Action Plan (AAP) 2010–2015. This official statement of Africa's priority programmes and projects aims to consolidate the global partnerships and relationships necessary to drive the continent's development in a sustainable manner.

2010 also leaves five years before the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) are due to be met, and perhaps most importantly, this is also the year that will forever be remembered for South Africa's hosting of the FIFA World Cup^TM, an event that focused the world's attention on Africa.

"While Africa has made significant progress it has not yet achieved the necessary transformation ... the job is not yet done."

Lastly, a number of commitments for Africa's development expire in 2010, including the Gleneagles Agreement to double aid by 2010, the EU-Africa partnership (in which the former committed itself to increase aid to developing regions, including Africa), and the 2010 targets for aid effectiveness as contained in the Paris Declaration, to mention a few.

There is widespread consensus that Africa has made significant progress in its bid to right the socio-economic burdens that have crippled it for so long, but it has not yet achieved the transformation that is necessary in terms of governance, economic and social development. To complete the job, many more resources are required, the source of which may unfortunately dwindle due to the current fi nancial crisis in the North - most prominently in Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain - which not only suggests a potential decrease in the flow of development fi nance but has a mixed impact on the willingness of donors to fully meet their commitments, including those due to expire this year.

On the one hand, this impediment provides the impetus for fresh demands on development partners to provide additional support, while on the other, this is an important signal for the continent to focus on better utilising its external resources and seeking more indigenous solutions to its development challenges. It is important that these in turn are informed and owned by Africa's wider population and the public in the West.

During 2010, African Monitor and its partners organised a number of what it terms "Citizens' Consultations" throughout the continent. The goal of the forums, which focused on gathering the input and opinion of the grassroots population, was to thereby create an agenda that truly reflects African views, captures its voices and aspirations and ultimately shapes the continent's policy agenda for the forthcoming decade. Bishop Denis Singulane of Mozambique echoed it thus: "There are many who want to talk about poverty in the absence of the poor," which suggests that Africa's leaders have something to hide. The continent cannot afford to continue with development strategies and programmes that have suffered relevance, legitimacy and ownership challenges.

Related document/s:

• The Citizens Manifesto: A National Synthesis Report

On July 16^th 2010, following the completion of the 20^th session of the Bunge, the President of Tanzania dissolved the 9^th Parliament. This event marked the end of the term for Members of Parliament who were elected during the 2005 general elections. Now that the last session has been completed it allows us to look back and to consider how MPs performed during their tenure. Did they participate actively and represent their constituencies by asking questions and making interventions, or were they silent backbenchers?

The Bunge is the Supreme Legislature of Tanzania. The Bunge grants money for running the administration and oversees government programs and plans. The Bunge oversees the actions of the Executive and serves as watchdog to ensure that government is accountable to its citizens. To achieve all this, Members of Parliament pass laws, authorise taxation and scrutinize government policies including proposal for expenditure; and debate major issues of the day. For the Bunge to effectively carry out its oversight role, active participation by Members of Parliament is critical. MPs can be active by making three kinds of interventions: they can ask basic questions, they can ask supplementary questions and they can make contributions during debates.

This brief follows earlier briefs, the last of which was released in August 2010. It presents seven facts on the performance of MPs, including rating who were the most active and least active MPs.

The information in this brief was retrieved from the public Parliamentary On-line Information System (POLIS) posted on the Tanzania Parliament Website (http://www.bunge.go.tz) in August 2010. The full data set can also be downloaded from the Uwazi website (http://www.uwazi.org).

Related documents:

• Do people prefer active MPs?
• Uganda: The Parliamentary Scorecard 2008 - 2009

The UNDP Oslo Governance Centre (OGC) and Civil Society Division are seeking a consultant to author the introductory chapter to a forthcoming publication on social acccountability and governance issues. This comparative experience publication will be divided into six sections: an introductory chapter, and five regional chapters covering Asia-Pacific, Arab states, Africa, Europe/CIS and Latin America and the Caribbean. It will analyse the regional context and illustrate experiences in using social accountability principles and tools for MDG tracking and monitoring and how they have contributed to improving MDGs strategies and programming, as well as contributed to overall improvements in democratic governance.

Background: The outcome document of the 2010 MDG summit, 'Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals' acknowledges that many of the successes in achieving MDGs have been made possible through inclusive national ownership, civil society and community involvement, among others. The document reiterates the need for replicating and scaling-up policies and approaches that promote community-led strategies, and improve institutional implementation capacities. Overall, it stresses the crucial role of governance in not only promoting economic growth but also in improving access to services, and empowering people to participate in decision making processes.

However, except for a few oft-quoted cases, other examples of successful social accountability initiatives around the world are few and far between. This is partially because little attention has been paid to assessing the impact and effectiveness of such initiatives. Indeed, much is not yet known about whether and how the use of social accountability tools lead to improvement in service delivery and the achievement of MDGs. However, evidence does suggest that change or improvement in service delivery can only be possible if the application of these tools are linked to state institutions or existing governance processes that could lead to appropriate policy and institutional implementation changes at both national and local level. Thus, if adequate attention is paid to the process of developing social accountability initiatives and the implementation of the tools, social accountability initiatives can be tapped to be mechanisms for stimulating broader civic engagement for MDGs,  and transforming governance processes. In addition, they could potentially inspire a local value system related to participation, accountability and transparency.

Given this potential of social accountability initiatives, the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre and the Civil Society Division of Partnership Bureau will produce a comparative experience publication that will explore the linkages between social accountability initiatives, governance and MDGs in different regional contexts. The publication will specifically seek to capture experiences from across regions and contexts where either elements of social accountability tools were adopted or new initiatives have been successfully developed to promote two-way dialogue between citizens and state, address social exclusion and increase engagement of citizens, including that of marginalised and excluded, in MDGs achievement and enhance state responsiveness.

Purpose of the publication: The purpose of this publication is to provide strong illustrative experiences from southern CSOs on how social accountability can be mainstreamed into programming and to expand the thinking within UNDP around strategic partnerships. It will showcase good southern experience, enhancing UNDP's learning in this area. Specifically, given the renewed focus to accelerate achievement, the publication will be aimed towards informing the new generation of MDGs policy and programming where mainstreaming of social accountability principles and tools can serve as a practical means to strengthen civic engagement for MDGs, build responsive and capable institutions and improve service delivery (and meet MDGs) at the local and national level.

Target Audience: This publication is aimed at all development practitioners interested in promoting community-led strategies for achieving MDGs. It is also aimed at governance practitioners to encourage them to adopt MDGs as entry points for promoting participatory governance processes and strengthening institutions.

Structure of the publication: This comparative experience publication will be divided into six sections: an introductory chapter, and five regional chapters covering Asia-Pacific, Arab states, Africa, Europe/CIS and Latin America and the Caribbean. It will analyse the regional context and illustrate experiences in using social accountability principles and tools for MDG tracking and monitoring and how they have contributed to improving MDGs strategies and programming, as well as contributed to overall improvements in democratic governance.

Duties and Responsibilities: The OGC and CSD are seeking a consultant to develop the first chapter of the publication-Introduction: Tracing the linkage between social accountability, MDG and governance. This chapter will draw on existing materials and publications to provide the overarching conceptual framework for the publication as a whole, also highlighting the themes to be addressed in the regional chapters (to be developed separately).  The chapter will draw on a diversity of sources, including UNDP strategies around acceleration towards achievement of the MDGs, and the output will be one chapter of 10-15 pages.

• Preparation (including review of the relevant literature on social accountability and MDGs) - 5 days;
• First draft of the report - 7 days;
• Second draft (integration of comments) - 3 days.

The consultant will be supervised by the Democratic Governance Advisor, Oslo Governance Centre, in close liaison with the Acting Director, Civil Society Division

Competencies:

• Excellent analytical and organisational skills;
• Proven research skills;
• Strong verbal and communication skills;
• Excellent writing skills;
• Ability to perform tasks in timely manner.

Required Skills and Experience: The consultant should demonstrate the following minimum requirements and qualifications:

• Seven years of relevant development experience in the areas of Participation or Governance, with particular emphasis on social accountability.
• Strong publication record in the field of participation or social accountability.
• Advanced university degree in relevant area such as International Affairs, Development Studies, Law, Public Policy, or equivalent.
• Experience or knowledge of UNDP; its mandate and work in democratic governance, civil society, social accountability and MDGs.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Note: Interested persons can access the application form here.

For long citizens have been passive and reactive actors in the political process in general and in deepening electoral democracy in particular. Through the CM - an initiative that is defined both as a process and an output, citizens have taken the foundational steps to reversing their passive and reactive stance in politics. This national synthesis report is evidence of the growing pro-activeness of Ugandan citizens who are working together for a better governed country, a country where every Ugandan feels happy to be part of and a country where every Ugandan is patriotic to. This National Citizens Manifesto Synthesis Report is a culmination of a year of reflection, consultations and consensus building that took citizen Manifesto Partners to every region of Uganda to consult with ordinary Ugandans about their dreams and aspirations for the country. In this national synthesis report, a diagnosis of Ugandan's major social, economic, political and policy challenges is done from an ordinary citizens' perspective and key demands and proposals made of how Uganda can overcome some of the systematic challenges it faces.

This synthesis report is an output document that explains the CM Initiative, the process it took to develop it and highlights key emerging priority issues from regional and interest group reports. From this National Citizens Manifesto Synthesis Report, a Final Citizens Manifesto - a concise statement of principles and demands is derived. The purpose of this Synthesis Report is therefore to provide the evidence base about the final CM so that all who engage with it know it is a product of an extensive consultative process.

The report is written with a number of audiences in mind. The primary audience is Ugandan citizens in their diversity - those that participated in the process and others that will interact with it in one way or another. It is this group that hold the ultimate power to make the idea of the Citizens Manifesto, a reality by using it to engage with one another and with aspiring politicians. The second audience targeted are actors in political society and in particular Political Parties, aspiring politicians offering themselves for different leadership positions in the forthcoming election. The third audience is the next government - there are important demands that both technocrats and politicians working in the next government must heed to. Finally, this report is also useful to other development players that are engaged in democracy promotion in Uganda. To partners that support development in Uganda, it is important that this voice of Ugandan citizens inform your work and priorities.

This National Synthesis Report is divided into 4 parts. Following this introduction is a section that explains in detail what the CM is, its rationale; its objectives and expectations. A section on the process of developing the Citizens Manifesto concludes Part 1. Part II are outcomes of the Citizens Manifesto comprising a Vision for Uganda, values and principles that should underpin governance and development in the country, a citizen perspective on what should constitute Uganda's national interests, the top 10 development concerns that emerged from various consultations and analyses, this is followed by key demands and aspirations in areas of politics, society, economy and policy (including foreign policy). A synthesis of common expectations and demands for each elective position concludes Part II. Part III is a brief on the role of different actors in Uganda's development scene. Part IV presents 19 matrixes highlighting regional and interest group specific issues from the different consultations.

• Download Citizens' Manifesto Summary [861 KB]
• Download full document [4.3 MB]
• Cover pages [504 KB]
• Introductory pages [82 KB]
• Part I: Genesis of the Citizens Manifesto and Overview of Process [476 KB]
• Part II: Outcomes: Emerging Development Concerns, Aspirations and Demands [1 MB]
• Part III: Conclusion and the Role of Different Actors [298 KB]
• Part IV: Regional and Interest Group Summary Matrixes [716 KB]
• Annex I: Question Guide for Community Consultations [129 KB]

Related document/s:

• Citizens' agenda for Africa's development: A report on African citizens' consultations

The Government of Kenya is spending considerable resources at the constituency level. In 2009/10 at least 73billion went towards decentralised fund spending. This averages into Ksh 350million per constituency for local development. Through the CDF, LATF and ESP alone approximately 50billion was spent amounting to roughly Ksh 200million per constituency. However, the findings of this study uncover a myriad of challenges which mirror concerns raised by similar reports in the past.

Social Auditing is an approach to accountability that relies on the engagement of citizens. The driving force behind social auditing is the obligation of duty bearers to take responsibility for their actions. It is a rights based approach to accountability based on the fundamental principle that citizens have the right to demand accountability and public officials have an obligation to account. It is rooted in the work of the Indian organisation Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghthana (MKSS).

Social Auditing is important because it promotes civic engagement and empowers people; reduces corruption and ensures effective development is realised; increases transparency and accountability for the promotion of good governance. Social auditing also offers mechanisms and structures to promote and protect the right of citizens to development.

The Nairobi Social Audit campaign was jointly undertaken by The Institute for Social Accountability [TISA], Shelter Forum and Ufadhili Trust between May and September 2010. The campaign targeted three decentralized funds: The Constituency Development Fund [CDF], The Local Authority Transfer Fund [LATF] and The Economic Stimulus Programme [ESP], in four Nairobi constituencies; Embakasi, Kasarani, Langata and Westlands.

60 ward representatives drawn from the four constituencies were identified and capacitated with knowledge and skills on how conduct social audits. The social audit public launch kicked off with a public meeting held at Babadogo, Nairobi in July 2010. The social audit teams thereafter undertook field work and complied field reports by the end of August. These were then analyzed and prepared into the first draft of the social audit reports and shared directly with official stakeholders and the public through public validation meetings in each constituency.

The output of the validation process has been complied and synthesized into this final report for public dissemination with the view to strengthening local governance in Kenya. In total 72 projects were sampled.

This report makes specific fund recommendations to relevant institution heads, as well as national policy recommendations with a view to informing ongoing reforms under the New Constitution of Kenya with a view to securing citizen engagement, transparency and professionalism in the County government structure.

We urge Parliament and other reform institutions to be bold, selfless and proactive in creating strong and accountable Counties and believe that this report will make a valuable contribution to the reform process.

Since 1997, the Government of Uganda has implemented the Universal Primary Education Policy. This followed closely the promulgation of a Constitution in 1995 that established education as a right for all. These reforms were also in consonance with the global education reforms as espoused in the 1990 Jomtien World Conference on Education for All (EFA) which called for increased access to education as well as an improvement in learning achievement. In 2000, we had the Dakar Framework of Action that reinforced all these global and national reforms as seen in Goal 6 that calls for "improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognizable and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills". These goals have been assimilated in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and MDG 2 now specifically speaks to Universal Primary Education.

In Uganda, since the introduction of UPE, effective ways and means to make tangible improvements in both UPE service delivery (teachers, curricula, facilities, inspection and support supervision) and outcomes (learning) have been of focus. The Government of Uganda and development partners through the Ministry of Education and Sports have made enormous investments in the primary sub-sector to improve quality in terms of curricula, infrastructure and learning environment, teaching/learning process and learning achievements. The UPE policy in Uganda received a major boost with the enactment of the new Education Act, 2008 by Parliament which makes primary education compulsory for all children. In addition, the sector adopted the Quality Enhancement Initiative (QEI) - a flagship program within the UPE program for the improvement of primary education specifically targeting the twelve districts with the worst education indicators in the country. The sector also adopted other support policies to guide its efforts to provide quality primary education, including the instruction in local language policy which is intended to support the on-going implementation of the thematic curriculum in lower primary. However, the subsector continues to register low learning outcomes.

The Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) has since 2003 been conducting annual national assessments of literacy and numeracy competencies at primary 3 and 6 level. The recent National Assessment of Progress in Education (2009) indicates that in terms of proficiency in Numeracy and Literacy of children in the sampled classes of P.3 and P.6 still stands below 50%. Notwithstanding the strong government commitment major constraints and challenges remain, and these include:

• Low community participation and ownership of education activities
• Inadequate capacity particularly at the district level
• Inequity in primary education provision particularly due to a wide variation in access to preprimary education in the country
• Slow recruitment and deployment of qualified teachers
• Inadequate school inspection services
• Poor communication between the districts and schools
• Inadequate provision of instructional materials for implementation of the thematic curriculum at lower primary
• Inadequate training of teachers in the delivery of the thematic curriculum
• Inadequate institutional capacity for planning, implementation and management particularly at the school level
• Inadequate infrastructure in primary schools due to low funding
• High attrition of teachers
• High repetition and drop out of pupil

The Uwezo initiative responds to this context. Uwezo, meaning "capability" in Kiswahili, is a four year initiative to improve competencies in literacy and numeracy among children aged 6-16 years in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through an innovative, civic-driven and public accountability approach to social change. Uwezo intends to enable policy makers as well as ordinary citizens - i.e. parents, students, local communities and public at large - to become aware of actual levels of children’s literacy and numeracy, and build on that awareness to stimulate practical and policy change across East Africa.

In Uganda the initiative is hosted by the Uganda National NGO Forum (www.ngoforum.or.ug) and regionally within Twaweza (www.twaweza.org). Uwezo is a citizen-led assessment that complements education assessments conducted by Government. It is based on the concern that educational assessment studies have increased across East Africa but the use and impact appears to be limited. Further, assessments tend to be overly technocratic and complex in nature, and are difficult for most people to understand. Access to their findings remains limited to small circles, and their dissemination seems to have failed to stimulate the public imagination or lead to policy and social change.

Uwezo seeks to fill this gap by generating household based data on children’s literacy and numeracy across East Africa, in a manner that informs the public, stimulates countrywide debate, and creates demand for policy change from the bottom-up. Uwezo builds its design and methodology from the pioneering approach of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER, www.asercentre.org) in India.

Download summary

Download full report

Au Sénégal, l’extraction minière artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or fait vivre entre 30 et 50 000 personnes (réparties sur 87 sites), avec une production annuelle d’environ une tonne estimés à 10 milliards de FCFA. Il jouit actuellement d’une très grande attention de la part des pouvoirs publics et de l’ensemble des Parties Prenantes en général à travers des programmes d’encadrement et de formation, de modernisation des méthodes de production, de renforcement institutionnel et organisationnel, d’information/ sensibilisation et de facilitation de l’accès au crédit.

Cependant, le secteur demeure confronté à plusieurs défis d’ordre juridique, économique, sociaux et plus préoccupant encore environnementaux, notamment lié à l’usage du mercure.

Le Partenariat Mondial pour le mercure a été lancée par le Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement (PNUE) en 2005 afin de prendre en charge cette problématique au niveau international. Or, des études ont montré que l’exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or est en tête en matière de demande de mercure au niveau mondiale.

Ainsi, l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour le Développement Industriel (ONUDI) qui agit en tant que leaders du volet orpaillage du Partenariat, se propose de réduire de 50% la demande de mercure dans l’exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or d’ici 2017.

Dans cette même perspective, l’Agence Américaine pour la Protection de l’Environnement (USEPA) a organisé à Dakar (Sénégal) en septembre 2008 un atelier de sensibilisation sur les risques liés à l’utilisation du mercure dans l’orpaillage, en partenariat avec la DMG et le CSE.

En décembre 2009, l’ONUDI et ses partenaires ont organisé à Bamako (Mali), un atelier sous régional (Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinée, Mali, Niger et Sénégal) d’information et de sensibilisation sur le mercure, à l’issue duquel l’élaboration de Plans d’Actions Nationaux sur la question a été retenue.

C’est dans ce cadre qu’un atelier pro-bono avec toutes les parties impliquées (Ministère en charge des mines, Ministère en charge de l’environnement, ONGs, Association des orpailleurs...) a été organisé à Kédougou le 15 septembre 2010 dans la salle de conférence des locaux abritant l’ONG« la lumière ».

Aussi pour finaliser et valider le Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’Orpaillage (PASNO), toutes les structures précédemment impliquées sont conviées encore une fois à un atelier , le mercredi 27 octobre 2010, dans la dite salle de conférence.

Objectifs de l’atelier:

2.1 Objectif général L’objectif général est de présenter le projet de Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’exploitation artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or aux structures impliquées dans l’activité d’orpaillage, pour étude et validation.

2.2 Objectifs Spécifiques:

1. Recueillir les observations des parties prenantes sur le projet de Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’exploitation artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or;
2. Améliorer et compléter les informations essentielles du Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’orpaillage;
3. Procéder à la validation du Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’orpaillage par l’ensemble des parties prenantes;

Méthodologie:

L’atelier se déroulera en 2 temps : Présentation du Plan d’Actions Stratégique National sur l’exploitation artisanale et à petite échelle de l’or par l’expert de l’ONUDI; Discussions et commentaires des participants ; Réponses et interactions de l’expert avec les participants.

Modalités:

L’approche « pro-bono » utilisée par l’ONUDI requiert la participation des Etats aux frais d’organisation des ateliers, comme preuve de leur engagement dans le processus d’élaboration du PASNO. Ainsi, hormis le remboursement des frais de transports des représentants des orpailleurs, aucune autre forme de prise en charge n’est prévue.

Irene Grootboom brought the first successful socio-economic rights case to the Constitutional Court. The case tested the Court. We had adopted a Constitution which deliberately included social and economic rights, in recognition of the fact that full democracy is more than the right to vote: it also implies social justice, in the form of access to the basic necessities of life which enable us to lead our lives with dignity, and to achieve our full potential as human beings.

Quite obviously, the first job of the courts is to enforce the Constitution and the rights which it contains. A person whose home has been destroyed and who has nowhere she can legally live, has no access to housing and is denied one of the most fundamental necessities of life. A court cannot fold its arms and say that this is bad luck, it is the consequence of apartheid, and one day things may change. The question is not whether the court should do something. Rather, it is what the court should do.

Judges often find this a difficult question. They point out that where there is a large-scale failure to meet the needs and rights of people, one of the questions which has to be answered is "who first?" If you cannot serve everyone at the same time, whose needs should enjoy priority? And there are questions of "how much?" If the right is a right of access to adequate housing, or to education, what quality of housing or education has to be provided before it meets the constitutional standard? How do you assess that when giving more to one may mean giving less to another?

The Grootboom case showed that this is not the first question. The first question is whether there has been a breach of constitutional rights. If there has been a breach, the first duty of the courts is to say so. This is important in itself. It vindicates the complainant, it puts the government on the spot for its failures, and it educates and informs us about our rights and obligations.

The Court declared that the failure of the government to create a programme for emergency relief for those who are in a desperate situation is a breach of the Constitution. The Constitution requires that the government’s housing programme must be reasonable. It is not reasonable to say to someone who is homeless that she must wait, homeless, to be provided with a full house in twenty years’ time.

But having done that, the questions remain: "who first?", and "how much?" Courts which are faced with these questions usually give two answers.

The first is that the court is not competent to answer those questions. The only people before the court are the complainants and the government: other homeless people, who also have claims, are not there, and are not able to place their facts and their demands before the court. The judges are limited to the information which is placed before them in the case – they cannot rely on any other source of information. And the judges have no skill in formulating housing policy. They do not know what is practically achievable, and how to achieve it.

The second answer which is given is that these decisions should be made by people who are democratically accountable for their decisions. No-one votes for a judge, and a judge who gives a bad decision cannot be voted out of office. These decisions, it is said, should be made by those who are democratically accountable.

There is truth in both of these answers. However, neither of them is a complete answer.

In the first place, the question whether Ms Grootboom should receive a house, or whether the children in mud schools in the Transkei should receive a decent school building, is in truth never the subject of an electoral process. We vote twice every five years, and it is an all or nothing vote. You cannot say I support the ruling party, and I vote for it, but I vote against its policy on emergency housing, or its policy about funding allocations to schools. To suggest that these decisions are subject to a democratically accountable process is rather overstating it. You have to ask yourself the simple question: when did anyone vote against the provision of emergency housing for homeless people? Which party said that children should continue to learn in mud schools in the Transkei, and who voted for that policy?

The claim that government is democratically accountable for these decisions is therefore something of a fiction. We do not vote for these details, and we are never given the opportunity to do so.

Secondly, most of these decisions are not taken by elected office bearers. In the Grootboom case, the government had never made a decision not to provide emergency housing – there was simply a gap in the policy. The housing policy was constructed by officials and experts, and perhaps approved by the Minister. It was never considered by a democratically accountable deliberative body. Similarly, the decisions on what funding to allocate to school buildings are not made by a democratically elected Parliament. They are made by officials and senior politicians, sitting in an office. They are the people who allocate resources. They do the best they can, behind closed doors. They usually do not have to account publicly for those decisions.

Judges sit in public. They have to listen to argument, and they have to give reasons for their decisions. This is a strong form of accountability. I have sat as an acting judge, and I have worked as a government official. I can truthfully say that the pressures of accountability which I felt as a judge were greater than in respect of most of the decisions which I had to take as the head of a government department.

So the argument about non-accountability of judges has to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is true that they are not elected, but it is also true that they have far more direct accountability than many of the people who make the decisions which affect people in their daily lives.

There are, however, valid questions about the competence of judges to make decisions about competing claims to the allocation of resources. I would certainly not want to live in a country run by the judges.

What, then, should judges do when they find a breach of rights, but it is not possible or appropriate for them to decide the detail of the remedy? The key to this is to promote accountability. The principle of accountability for the exercise of power is fundamental to our Constitution.

The first thing the courts can do once they have found a breach, is order the government publicly to state what it has done to remedy the breach, what it will do in future, and when it will do it. This creates the opportunity for the public to hold the government accountable. If the government’s programme is inadequate, it creates the space for public debate and campaigning, for mobilisation and organisation, which will seek to compel the government to do better. The people are given the information which enables them to hold their public representatives to account.

And when the government says what it will do in the future, it creates a benchmark against which its conduct can be tested. If it fails to meet that benchmark, and cannot justify its failure, it may find itself back in court, or it may find itself in the court of public opinion, having to justify its actions to the people. Again, participation and democracy are deepened.

The second thing the court can do is require the government to report to it on its plans, and on the implementation of those plans, so that the court can judge whether this satisfies the constitutional standard. This is sometimes referred to as a structural interdict. The government is given the space to decide how best to give effect to the right, and the court is then asked to decide whether what the government has chosen to do, meets the requirements of the Constitution. This enables the courts to avoid having to decide questions which are beyond its competence, while ensuring that what is done does in fact meets the constitutional standard.

The third thing the Courts can do is make an order which promotes participation and accountability "on the ground".

For example, the Constitutional Court has held that a municipality which wants to evict people has to "meaningfully engage" with them before bringing any proceedings for eviction. The Olivia Road case showed how this can work. In that case, some hundreds of people were living in the inner city in Johannesburg in truly dreadful privately owned buildings. The buildings were unsafe – there was a high risk of fire, and there were very real health dangers.

The City applied to court to have the people evicted. The people said that they would not go, because they needed to be in the inner city where they earned a modest income – there was nowhere else for them to go, and they would rather stay in those buildings, with all of those risks, than be consigned to the outer darkness of the urban fringes, where they would starve.

What was the Court to do? Was it to order the eviction, knowing that this would likely cause terribly suffering and hardship, or should it allow the people to stay where they are, knowing that this too was likely to cause great suffering and hardship?

The Court did neither. It ordered the parties first to "meaningfully engage" with each other on the solution to this problem, and then to report back to the Court. Now, for the first time, the City had to deal with the residents as equals. Both sides knew that they would have to go back to Court and explain themselves. Both knew that if they acted unreasonably, there was a risk that the Court would make an order against them. The previous inequality between the all-powerful City and the powerless residents was suddenly changed.

The result was remarkable. The City agreed to make some immediate improvements to the buildings, to limit the risk of fire and health hazards. It found other buildings in the City to which the residents could move, once they had been renovated. The residents agreed to leave their homes. They agreed to pay rent if they were able to do so. An apparently intractable situation had been resolved.

What the Court had done, was promote democratic accountability. It made the City account to the residents for its actions, and justify and explain them, and if necessary justify and explain them to the Court. It transformed the residents from people pleading for government largesse, into the holders of rights who were in a position to negotiate with the government because they held rights. That, of course, is the very purpose of rights: it is to transform and regulate power relations.

Fourteen years after the adoption of our final Constitution, deep inequality and poverty continue to mock our efforts to build a democracy based on social justice. The Constitutional Court has shown that there are ways in which the courts can help us to achieve our highest goals by broadening and deepening democratic participation, and promoting the accountability of power.

Lecture by Geoff Budlender, 11 October 2010

The Ghana Integrity Initiative, has launched the Africa Education Watch (AEW) project report on Ghana.  The report focused on three municipalities and three districts in the Upper East, Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. The report found that the areas lacked basic school infrastructure like classrooms, blackboards, chairs and tables, noting that this situation had affected the performance of pupils. The report indicated that only about 38 schools out of total of 60 monitored between 2007 and 2010 were well equipped with basic infrastructure.

Launching the report in Accra, Mr Vitus A. Azeem, GII Executive Secretary, said the Africa Education Watch (AEW) was a three-year programme (2007-2010) supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation through the Transparency International Secretariat (TIS). He said the overall goal of AEW was to contribute to improved access to quality of primary education and equity through a more effective use of resources.

Mr Azeem said the AEW in Ghana monitored cost and quality of education, cost of teaching and learning materials, implications of school feeding programme, teacher population and qualification, access to financial information, availability of school infrastructure, average class size and school governance systems.

He explained that based on the report the AEW recommended that education authorities provided more classrooms and furniture, opened new schools and trained more teachers to make up the current shortfall and provided standardized training for non-professional teachers.

The report also recommended the sensitization of parents, particularly, members of school management committees and Parent-Teacher Association executives, on their rights and roles in school management so as to enable them to participate more actively in school governance. It also suggested the training of SMC members in basic planning and financial management to contribute to school plans and track the application of school resources to reduce leakage and corruption. The AEW report identified the urgent need to provide a sustained training for school heads to ensure proper record keeping and efficient use of school resources.

"Head teachers who fail to keep proper records to ensure transparency and accountability in school financial management must be sanctioned," the report indicated.

GII said the intermediate outcomes of AEW included a creation of awareness among stakeholders, including NGOs and media, to ensure that they became more knowledgeable and concerned about waste, leakage, corruption and accountability mechanisms in primary education. It also sought to increase and prioritize demand for action on transparency and accountability in primary education and to empower education and finance officials to deal more proactively with transparency and accountability in primary education.

Presentation 1 [759 KB]

Presentation 2 [706 KB]

Some 60 parliamentarians together with partners have come up with a plan to transform the pledges made to maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) into action. The commitments came at a special meeting called by the Pan African Parliament and organized by Africa Public Health, with support from the PMNCH and several partners aimed at implementing Decisions from July's African Union Summit on 'Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa'.

The meeting preceded the Pan African Parliament (PAP) October Assembly meeting, bringing together Chairs of Finance /Budget Committees of National Parliaments and PAP Commissions of Health, Gender and Finance to discuss potential activities which Parliaments and they themselves can take to lead to improved health outcomes for women and children.

With 27 countries represented through Senators or Deputies, the session yielded strong recommendations outlining actions for PAP and National Parliaments. Policy makers committed to:

• Hold multilateral consultation sessions in country involving parliamentary committees and ministries of health, finance, gender and other relevant social determinants to discuss key issues that need to be addressed;
• Define strategies for parliamentary action on MNCH in countries based on:
  • Support for the development of national health plans which include comprehensive packages of essential interventions and focus on health system strengthening – in particular human resources for health
  • Budget support for the implementation of these plans based on percentage and per capita targets
  • Advocacy to Executive bodies
  • Development of legislation in support of healthy women and children
  • Implementation of accountability mechanisms to ensure full impact;
• Implement a process to report on these activities within PAP committees and African Union Assemblies.

The recommendations reiterate the AU commitment to reaching the target of 15% of GDP expenditure for the health sector, but also encourages incremental annual increases targeting the achievement of adequate per capita health spending. It emphasizes: risk pooling measures to protect populations, better use of indicators, performance-based financing and in particular the use of innovation to increase fiscal space available for health spending. Parliamentarians outlined a need for capacity building in terms of key MNCH indicators, budget assessments and legislation development with an eye towards improving health outcomes for women and children.

The recommendations are predicated on global and regional agreements such as the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa, the Maputo Action Plan, the Africa Health Strategy, The Paris Declaration, the Accra Agenda for Action and the United Nations Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.

The meeting was organized by the Africa Public Health and was supported by The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, World Vision International, DFID, The Global Fund, UNFPA, GHWA, UNAIDS and GAVI.

Documents and presentations

Agenda [pdf 223kb]

Summary concept note [pdf 609kb]

Parliamentary Policy & Budget Action Plan for African Union Summit Decision [pdf 737kb]

Investing in Maternal Health: Appropriate Use of National Resources for Africa's Development [pdf 403kb]
Dr Akinyele Eric Dairo, Regional Adviser, UNFPA African Regional Office

Finance and resources needed to prevent MTCT in Africa [pdf 703kb]
UNAIDS

Bilateral Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to Health [pdf 720kb]
Tony Daly, DFID, Regional Maternal Health Adviser

Health care professionals for maternal and newborn health: some reflections on the gaps and the way forward [pdf 493kb]
Prof Eric Buch, Board member, Global Health Workforce Alliance

Equity issues are again attracting attention from academics and policy analysts concerned with taxation. This book makes a substantial contribution to this new awareness by emphasizing the important role that gender, like other social stratifications such as race and income, often plays in determining the impact of taxation on well-being.
Richard Bird, University of Toronto, Canada

This groundbreaking volume examines the gender dimensions of tax systems in seven developing and one developed country and is the first systematic treatment of its kind. The conceptual framework that it poses should be part of the toolkit of policy professionals, donor staff, and gender specialists in years to come.
Manuel F. Montes, Development Policy and Analysis Division, UNDESA, USA

This highly original book is essential reading for everyone concerned with equality in taxation. It provides a powerful conceptual framework that goes beyond comparing male and female headed households and sets out detailed empirical findings on the gender dimensions of both direct and indirect taxation.
Diane Elson, Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation, University of Essex, and Chair of Women’s Budget Group, UK

Around the world, there are concerns that many tax codes are biased against women, and that contemporary tax reforms tend to increase the incidence of taxation on the poorest women while failing to generate enough revenue to fund the programs needed to improve these women’s lives. Because taxes are the key source of revenue governments themselves raise, understanding the nature and composition of taxation and current tax reform efforts is key to reducing poverty, providing sufficient revenue for public expenditure, and achieving social justice. This book presents original research on the gender dimensions of personal income taxes, value-added excise and fuel taxes in Argentina, Ghana, India, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. It will be of interest to postgraduates and researchers studying public finance, international economics, development studies, gender studies, and international relations, among other disciplines.

Caren Grown is Economist-In-Residence at American University, Washington, DC, USA.

Imraan Valodia is Associate Professor at the School of Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Table of contents

1. Taxation and gender equality: A conceptual framework Caren Grown 2010


2. Methodology and comparative analysis Caren Grown and Hitomi Komatsu 2010


3. Gender equality and taxation in Argentina Corina Rodriguez Enriquez, Natalia Gherardi, and Dario Rossignolo 2010


4. Gender equality and taxation in India: An unequal burden? Pinaki Chakraborty, Lekha Chakraborty, Krishanu Karmakar, and Shashi M. Kapila 2010


5. Gender analysis of taxation in Mexico Lucia C. Pérez Fragoso and Francisco Cota Gonzalez 2010


6. An investigation into the gender dimensions of taxation in Ghana Ernest Aryeetey, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Abena D. Oduro, and Robert Darko Osei 2010


7. Gender equality and taxation in Morocco Ahmed El Bouazzaoui, Abdessalam Fazouane, Hind Jalal, and Salama Saidi 2010


8. Gender equality and taxation in South Africa Debbie Budlender, Daniela Casale, and Imraan Valodia 2010


9. Gender equality and taxation in Uganda Sarah Ssewanyana, Lawrence Bategeka, Madina Guloba, and Julius Kiiza 2010


10. Gender equality and taxation: A UK case study Jérôme de Henau, Susan Himmelweit, and Cristina Santos 2010


11. Conclusion and policy recommendations Imraan Valodia 2010

This study was commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) in order to summarise the most important theoretical and practical lessons learnt on corruption in two of Finland’s long-term development partner countries, Nicaragua and Tanzania. In addition to providing an overview on corruption issues, the study also analyses the linkages between corruption and poverty, and summarizes the relevant debate on gender and corruption. It is based on the literature and relevant public documents, supplemented with interviews and first-hand observations in both urban and rural areas in Nicaragua and Tanzania.

The study supports the hypothesis that corruption and non-delivery of services in key sectors such as health have gender-specific poverty consequences. Corruption drains public resources and diverts them from the development of crucial infrastructure and social services. As such, corruption supports, stabilises and deepens inequality within societies. Corruption can, therefore, be seen as a mechanism that produces and perpetuates social and economic inequality; it constitutes a regressive redistribution of resources from the poor to the non-poor.

In the case of basic public services such as healthcare and primary education, the impact of corruption is felt disproportionately by women and the poor, who are most dependent on public services, and have no alternative even when facing corrupt practises in a life threatening situation, such as complicated birth delivery. This concern was expressed in the interviews with both public servants and civil society representatives in Nicaragua and Tanzania, who emphasised the need to strengthen sectoral oversight mechanisms and transparency. The latter is crucial for making civil servants better accountable to service users.

The socio-political and historical contexts of Nicaragua and Tanzania differ substantially from each other. In Nicaragua, political corruption is manifested in the clientelistic political culture, which is reinforced by a culture of spoils in which political power is understood as a legitimate source of personal enrichment. Corruption in Nicaragua – as perceived by citizens – is not characterised by everyday corruption, but more by corruption at the level of the political system. In Tanzania, the current situation in terms of incidence of corruption is subject to debate. While everyday corruption in Tanzania seems to have declined since the worst years of economic crisis, it continues to be the form of corruption felt directly by the majority of Tanzanians, even if high level political corruption is receiving more attention in the media. The perceived high prevalence of corruption on all levels in many developing countries is linked to what is known as the ‘state crisis’. This crisis affected the state-led development model of the 1980s, and was manifested in the massive employment of unproductive civil servants and subsequent bankruptcy of the employer-state. It has contributed to the exposure of corruption in high places, and the incapacity of the state to control everyday corruption at lower levels. The expansion of corruption has produced a kind of ‘corruption culture’ with a tendency to permanence. Development aid has often failed to address the problems corruption is causing in partner countries, and has in some cases even strengthened it by inducing an inflow of assistantship and clientelism favourable to corruption.

In both Nicaragua and Tanzania, the main focus of donor support to anticorruption work has been on the executive, while democratic oversight institutions on both the national and local levels have been left with a marginal role. There are various examples of vociferous, but often hollow, rhetorical anti-corruption campaigns by the executive, which seem to have been set up merely to appease the donor community or to discredit and eliminate political opponents. Anticorruption strategies very often stem from a presumption that all citizens have equal access to anticorruption bodies. This not the case in most of the developing countries. It is worth mentioning here that the new aid modalities, especially budget support, provide a real opportunity to strengthen the role of oversight institutions and to focus on the poverty reduction aspects of anticorruption activities.

The donor community has also had problems in finding a common response to the occurrence of corruption, especially in politically difficult environments. Recent initiatives, for example the EU’s Governance Assessments, World Bank anti-corruption strategies, and Nepad’s African Peer Mechanism, are a very welcomed effort to harmonise the approach of the donor community towards good governance. They also provide an excellent platform for a constructive dialogue to discuss the challenges corruption is causing to the partner countries and their citizens. Such initiatives are also bringing the donor community to realise that accountability in development is not only the accountability of the partner countries to the donor countries, but also the accountability of the partner countries to their own citizens.

Effective anticorruption work cannot rely on ephemeral ‘champions’ or the transient political rhetoric of the day, but must be anchored in permanent, democratically elected, institutions such as the parliament and local councils. Democratic governance includes, among other things: the involvement of citizens in choosing and overseeing those who govern them, respect for the rule of law and access to an independent justice system, effective institutions, and access to information. While good governance means more than tackling corruption, corruption is a serious symptom of bad governance and the lack of a closed network of social capital on the national level. The problem of the formation of negative, bonding social capital in the practice of corruption is an important element that has so far been neglected in anticorruption strategies.

Studies of corruption and gender have mainly focused on the relation between the number of women in public office and the level of corruption, while less attention has been paid to the differential impact of corruption on the well-being of men and women, and how the gender differences are addressed in anticorruption strategies. While bringing more women into politics and public office is important for advancing gender and social equity concerns, what matters is not the simple access of women to power, but the means of their access and the nature of the institutions in which they function. Merely increasing the numerical presence of women in decision making bodies, for example through quotas as in Tanzania, does not necessarily have a tangible impact on policy making and implementation if the structures of accountability are lacking or flawed.

1. Budget Manual is a compendium of general provisions and procedures relating to Budget making to be followed by all offices in the Union Government which are involved in the budgeting exercise and dealing with matters relating to Budget. This Manual is an attempt to cover the existing void faced hitherto due to the lack of a comprehensive guidebook on the subject matter of Budget process in the Central Government. An attempt has been made to incorporate all the issues related to Budget so as to make it a comprehensive one stop guidance material.



2. The purpose of this Budget Manual is to provide a guidance material and a training tool for the managerial and supervisory staff and above all to the employees dealing with the Budget and Budget related issues. It provides a comprehensive outline of the processes of budgeting, and other related issues along with various legislative and administrative policies, principles and practices which outline the budgeting system in India. The effort has been to draft this Manual in the form of a simple and usable document and as far as possible, to comprehensively outline the procedures and practices in vogue including the detailed check-lists and the mechanisms involved in its operation. The Manual attempts to outline in a linear fashion the entire chain of events leading to the presentation of Union Budget and passing of the related Appropriation Bills.



3. Chapter I is introductory in nature and brings out the meaning and importance of Budget, the important Constitutional provisions related to Budget, the various Budget documents and their composition and the recommendations of the Estimates Committee on the Form and Contents of Demands for Grants. Chapter II of the Manual deals with the Organizational aspects bringing out the roles and responsibilities of the Parliament and the Parliamentary Committees and the responsibilities of various wings of the Executive in the Budget making process. Chapter III of the Manual deals in a comprehensive manner with the Structure of Government Accounts and the classification system. This is very crucial for any budgetary process since the budgetary and accounting classifications follow a common pattern and their clear understanding is crucial for any analysis on Budget and the related provisions. A detailed analysis of the three Funds viz. the Consolidated Fund of India, the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Accounts of India has also been dealt with in this Chapter.



4. Chapters IV and V are the core of this Manual. Chapter IV brings out the entire chain of Budget preparation process right from the issue of the Annual Budget Circular. It deals in great detail with the process of estimations relating to receipts and expenditure and the consequent compilation of the Statement of Budget Estimates. All the related formats of estimation have been dealt with briefly in this Chapter in a sequential manner. Chapter IV also deals with the process of Pre-Budget meetings and the various instructions relating to furnishing of information by the Ministries/Departments for the preparation of Budget Statements. Chapter V of the Manual brings out the calendar of Budget activities and timelines including those in the Parliament. This Chapter also brings out in minutest detail the duties and responsibilities relating to various Budget documents/statements explaining alongside the process of their compilation. The checklists used internally for the preparation of various Statements in the Budget documents have been made a part of this Chapter for easy reference and understanding by all users. This Chapter also brings out the process of Budget related security arrangements including the system of Lock-in and the processes and check-lists for the preparation of State Budgets while under President Rule.



5. Chapters VI and VII of the Manual deal with the issues relating to Budget Implementation and their Reporting and Evaluation respectively. Chapter VI apart from others outlines the role of Departments in spending and control, cash management and the much in use processes of Reappropriations, Supplementary Demands for Grants and the related provisions in the General Financial Rules and the Delegated Financial Powers Rules. This Chapter also deals with some common Budget related irregularities which can be avoided by taking precautionary measures. The last Chapter of the Manual brings out the main Budget related Reporting and Evaluation processes including the Act provisions, guidelines and instructions relating to FRBM Statements, Outcome Budget, Mid-term Evaluation of Plan Schemes, Audit Reports of C&AG and the reviews by the Public Accounts Committee. The Manual also includes a number of Annexes wherever required for providing a more holistic perspective on the subject matters dealt with in the related Chapters.

Este documento foi comissionado pelo Departamento de Desenvolvimento Internacional do Reino Unido (DfID) com o objectivo de ajudar a desenvolver, em todo o governo britânico, uma melhor compreensão dos desafios à paz e à segurança em Moçambique. O documento foi concebido principalmente para contribuir para o desenvolvimento da política do governo britânico (e correspondente estratégia de influência) em relação a Moçambique, bem como para aprofundar a consciência dos riscos potenciais inerentes às abordagens adoptadas pelo governo britânico para a prestação de assistência no sector de desenvolvimento. Embora o documento se baseie, em grande parte, na Análise Estratégica de Conflitos de 2006 – e embora muitas das suas conclusões sejam semelhantes – a verdade é que tem um âmbito muito mais extenso. O documento contém uma análise de vários aspectos do conflito embora conste, de uma maneira geral, de uma análise de riscos políticos focalizando um ambiente político e económico variável. Como tal, cobre assuntos de interesse para a comunidade governamental britânica em geral, propondo ainda sinergias entre esta e o programa de desenvolvimento. O documento cobre apenas as principais questões estratégicas e proporciona um ponto de partida para discussões intra-governamentais sobre linhas de acção que sejam tanto possíveis como apropriadas.

Esta investigação teve início em Fevereiro de 2010, com um período de revisão da literatura. A seguir, em Março do mesmo ano, os autores visitaram Moçambique, onde entrevistaram doadores, funcionários do governo, membros de partidos políticos e de organizações da sociedade civil, académicos e outros interessados, à procura não de dados mas sim de impressões e perspectivas. As suas conclusões preliminares foram apresentadas em Maputo, em Maio de 2010. As investigações foram lideradas por Jeremy Astill-Brown e Markus Weimer, com a ajuda de Carolina Hunguana e Alex Vines. Os termos de referência deste projecto cobrem oito áreas de interesse, as quais se encontram reflectidas na estrutura do documento:

• Natureza, dinâmica e causas do conflito em Moçambique, incluindo as características estruturais e institucionais do mesmo;
• Natureza do assentamento político, formato da adaptação do mesmo e impacto tanto actual como futuro provável do mesmo sobre a redução da pobreza em Moçambique;
• Influência de factores continentais, regionais e intercontinentais, incluindo o tráfico ilícito de drogas e o comércio transfronteiriço ilícito, o terrorismo e o fundamentalismo;
• Principais ameaças à paz e segurança em Moçambique, as quais poderão enfraquecer os princípios fundamentais da constituição e o compromisso assumido pelo governo em relação à democracia multipartidária, aos direitos humanos e ao estado de direito;
• Interligações e dinâmicas entre os principais desafios à paz e à segurança;
• Impacto actual e potencial do conflito e outras ameaças à paz e segurança sobre a redução da pobreza e o êxito dos objectivos do PARPA, incluindo sobre as modalidades de assistência;
• Papel das forças externas, incluindo das modalidades de assistência dos doadores, nos factores que influenciam a paz e a segurança em Moçambique; e
• Abordagem à prevenção, gestão e resolução de conflitos, ncluindo a melhor maneira da comunidade internacional de doadores em Moçambique considerar o conflito no planeamento de programas de desenvolvimento em sectores como a governação democrática e outros.

A situação política, social e económica em Moçambique é dinâmica e, por conseguinte, a interacção entre a mesma e a assistência ao desenvolvimento também está constantemente a mudar. Assim, este documento oferece apenas uma imagem instantânea e temporária. Dada a natureza política das relações entre os doadores e os recipientes em geral, bem como especificamente em Moçambique, talvez seja indicado que os programas de assistência ao desenvolvimento incluam, nas suas operações quotidianas, uma certa análise funcional contínua do risco político.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that there is growing interest and concern about what actually happens in the classrooms since the Government of Kenya successfully implemented the Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in 2003. Teachers may be well-trained and yet effective learning still fails to take place. This study provides the first opportunity in Kenya to understand whether classroom interactions, including aspects such as ‘Opportunity to Learn’ and teacher subject knowledge explain why some schools are consistently ranked at the top while others dominate the bottom performance ranks in Kenya’s KCPE1. Research evidence has shown that an important aspect of quality education is the teaching and learning processes that go on in the classrooms. For APHRC, this is ground breaking study that complements its other education research studies which have focused on assessing the impact of FPE on access for the poor residents of the slums of Nairobi.

The study uses cross-sectional data and involved several steps to obtain the sample. Firstly, using KCPE examination results for 2002 to 2005, districts which have consistently been ranked within the top 10%, middle 20% and bottom 10% were indentified. Secondly, from this pool of identified districts, two were randomly selected from each of the three categories. Thirdly, a pool of schools that have consistently been ranked in the top and bottom 20% categories respectively in the KCPE results between 2002 and 2005 in the selected districts were identified. These schools were selected taking into consideration stratification by type so as to include both public and private schools. Finally, 12 schools in each district were randomly selected for the study based on the following criteria: six schools that have consistently been ranked in the top 20% in the district and another six that have been ranked at the bottom 20% in the KCPE results. To ensure proportional representation of both public and private schools, weighting was done according to the number of public and private schools in each of the selected districts. Using this step-by-step process, the following six districts were sampled for the study: Baringo, Embu, Garissa, Gucha, Murang’a and Nairobi. The selected districts represent Western, Central, Eastern, Rift-Valley and Nairobi regions of Kenya. It can therefore be said that the schools included in this study constitute a nearly nationally representative sample.

The instruments for data collection were developed in collaboration with researchers and practitioners with expertise in classroom observations, curriculum development, primary school teaching and assessment. The instruments were piloted in six primary schools, which enabled improvements to be made on various aspects of the questionnaires.

Data collection included the use of video recording and a classroom checklist to capture classroom interactions during lesson teaching; survey instruments for the teachers, head teachers and students; teacher numeracy assessment tool; and a learner numeracy assessment tool. Sixteen field interviewers were trained on how to administer the instruments and in the use of the video cameras.

The first round of field work was carried out between the months of May and July 2009 in 72 primary schools. 211 teachers, 72 head teachers, and 2,437 primary grade 6 pupils participated in the study. The second round of the field work was carried out during the months of February and March 2010. The video clips were analyzed by two experts using a video analysis rubric and the questionnaires were used to develop the analytical dataset on teaching practice and quality of learning in the visited schools. As is required of us by the Kenya Government, the National Council for Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education issued the requisite research authorization for the study, and the draft report has been shared with the Ministry of Education, Kenya.

Summary of key findings and policy implications

• The mean pupil score in Mathematics is 46.89% which is below 50% usually considered to be the pass mark.
• With the exception of Baringo district, girls in the other five districts have on average scored slightly higher (between 0.3 and 3.6 percentage points) than boys.
• The difference in maths mean scores is large (23.83 percentage points) between the top and bottom performing schools in Nairobi and smaller (4.9 percentage points) between top and bottom schools in Garissa.
• The maths mean score for teachers is 60.5% which is only slightly above the average pass mark of 50%.
• Male teachers from top-ranked schools scored higher than male teachers from bottom-ranked schools by an average of 7 percentage points.
• There is a linear but weaker relationship between pupil mean score and teacher score in the bottom ranked schools – which is to say, teachers in the bottom-ranked schools made some difference in the performance of their pupils in Mathematics wheras in the top-ranked schools, this relationship is non-existent. Individual seatwork was a dominant teaching activity in Mathematics lessons; recitation is the dominant activity in English lessons; and whole-class responses was the dominant activity in the Science lessons. However, in the bottom schools, whole-class responses was dominant in both English and Science lessons.
• Use of relevant teaching aids such as a manila paper illustrating a concept and placed on a classroom was found to be important in teaching and learning.
• Learners exposed to more interactive classrooms, for instance recitation with question and answer activities, scored higher marks.
• High performing schools (and by implication students) had higher gain scores than low performing schools (students).
• There is need to increase the availability of non-basic teaching materials through working in subject teams so that the developed materials can be shared across streams and that their effectiveness is evaluated by the subject team.
• There is need for a clear school policy on the development and utilization of teaching aids with a view to ensuring the availability of effective aids in the classrooms.
• There is need to encourage the head teachers, deputy head teachers and senior teachers to institutionalize lesson observation, feedback and professional guidance at school level.
• There is need to periodically assess teachers’ level of competency in the subjects they teach; and to review the policy on teachers teaching all subjects so that teachers can teach subjects they are competent in.
• On social relations, more parental and teacher/head teacher interactions should be encouraged, including parental involvement in what happens in the classroom.
• In low-performing schools, teachers may require more pedagogical skills-upgrading with a view to enabling them shift their lessons to more learner-centered approaches.

* Persons wishing to know more about the study can contact Dr Moses Ngware, African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, at:

Across Tanzania, huge progress has been made in basic education in the last decade. Enrolments are up in both primary and secondary education, and millions of children are able to go to school. Tanzania is ahead of schedule in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to education access and gender parity. Tens of thousands of classrooms have been built and tens of thousands of teachers recruited. The budget for education has tripled over this period; the Government now spends over a billion dollars annually or about 20% of its budget on education. Parents too have scrambled to cover their share, for even free education is never quite free, with costs of uniforms, books and pens, extra tuition, transport and whatnot.

These achievements are no easy feats; they have required significant political commitment. The key question is: what have these massive efforts and investments yielded? To what extent have these achievements translated into concrete improvements in children’s competencies? The point of schooling is to enable children to develop the knowledge and wherewithal to thrive in the world – starting with basic skills in literacy and numeracy that form the foundation of the ability to be curious, think, listen, ask questions, analyze, synthesize, and communicate with confidence. Are our schools succeeding in this responsibility? Are our children learning?

Uwezo seeks to answer this key question. This report presents the findings of its first assessment. Uwezo, meaning capability in Swahili, is a four year initiative to monitor the quality of learning in schools by assessing the basic literacy and numeracy skills of children aged 5-16. The initiative is housed within TEN/MET (Tanzania Education Network, www.tenmet.org) in Tanzania, and it is part of an East Africa wide effort also involving Kenya and Uganda coordinated by Twaweza (www.twaweza.org). The assessment is based on a proven methodology developed by the ASER Center in India, and it uses scientific methods to obtain a random sampling of households around the country. Trained Uwezo volunteers visit the households to assess the mathematics and reading (Kiswahili and English) skills of each child using a short, Standard 2 level assessment. The Standard 2 level is chosen because according to both Tanzanian and international Standards, by the end of the second year of primary education children should have acquired basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

The first Uwezo Tanzania assessment was conducted in May 2010 after extensive preparation and pre-testing. It involved 38 out of 133 districts. In each district 30 villages were randomly selected, and in each village all children aged 5-16 in 20 households were assessed. In total, 42,033 children in 22,800 households were assessed. The six key findings are presented below.

1. One in five primary school leavers cannot read Standard 2 level Kiswahili

   Even though Kiswahili is the national language widely spoken across the country, a large number of children are not able to read it fluently. In our sample, less than half (42.2%) of the children surveyed were able to read at the story level. Whereas all children in Standard 3 should be able to read at the Standard 2 story level, less than 1 in 3 (32.7%) can. Most children do not learn to read a simple story until Standard 5 or 6. By the time they complete primary school, however, 1 out of every 5 children still cannot read the Standard 2 level story. These children will likely never learn to read, and despite spending seven years in primary schooling, are likely to remain illiterate for life.

2. Half the children who complete primary school cannot read in English

   English is by far the hardest subject for children. Even though all children in Standard 3 should be able to read the Standard 2 story level, less than 1 in 10 (7.7%) can. Progress in English is slow; by Standard 5, only 1 in every 4 children can read a story. Nearly half cannot even read short English words. Many children reach Standard 7 without any English skills at all. By the time they complete primary school, half of all children (49.1%) still cannot read a Standard 2 level English story, and far fewer are likely to be able to read at the Standard 7 level. This means that the vast majority of children who enter secondary schooling are unable to read in the English language, the medium of instruction in secondary education.

3. Only 7 in 10 primary school leavers can do Standard 2 level Mathematics

   Although multiplication is in the Standard 2 curriculum, hardly any Standard 2 children can multiply. In fact, more than half of them cannot even add. By the time they reach Standard 5, most children can add and subtract, but the majority still cannot multiply. Most children master basic mathematics skills by the end of primary school. However, 3 out of 10 (31.5%) children in Standard 7 still cannot do Standard 2 level multiplication. One in 10 children complete primary school with no mathematics skills at all; they cannot even do basic addition. This likely means that the majority of children entering secondary school do not have an adequate foundation in mathematics that is essential for learning and analysis, particularly in science and commerce.

4. Urban-based children perform better than rural-based children

   Children in urban areas score about 7-10 percentage points higher than children in rural areas in l subjects. The difference is largest in Standards 2-4, when urban-based children begin to master basic skills while their rural counterparts fall behind. Rural children seem to catch up the Standard 2 level eventually by the time they are in Standards 6 and 7, but in fact may be falling further behind at being able to read at their own level.

5. Girls do slightly better than boys

   Girls performed better than boys in all subjects tested, although the differences are very small. Of all children tested, 43.5% of girls were able to read at the story level in Kiswahili as compared to 40.7% of all boys. For English and Mathematics the differences were negligible, as can be seen in the table below. Nonetheless these findings counter the widely held notion that girls do less well than boys, and raise questions about why there is marked gap in favour of boys in the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). Overall, however, the slight differences between abilities of girls and boys should not mask the larger reality, namely that too many of both lack basic competencies in both languages and mathematics.

6. Children with educated mothers perform better

   Children whose mothers attended secondary school perform dramatically better than other children. For instance, in Standard 3 and 4 these children are five times more likely to be able to read a story in English and more than twice as likely to be able to multiply and read a story in Kiswahili. Even children whose mothers have attended only primary school seem to have a small but significant advantage above children whose mothers have not been to school. The gap in performance begins in Standard 1 and continues through Standard 7, which suggests that mother’s education remains important for children at all levels of schooling.

Conclusion

The key findings summarized above and that are further elaborated in the following chapters reveal that there is a crisis in education in Tanzania. By the time they enter Standard 3, 100% of children should have basic competencies in literacy and numeracy. The reality is that by Standard 3, 7 out of every 10 children cannot read basic Swahili, 9 out of every 10 children cannot read basic English, and 8 out of every 10 children cannot do basic mathematics. Even by the time they complete primary education, large numbers of children cannot do what they should have mastered five years earlier in Standard 2. Breakdowns by districts reveal large disparities, with some districts performing far below the national average.

The stark reality is that, despite the enormous advances in education made possible by investing trillions of shillings each year, the vast majority of children in Tanzania are not learning.

What can be done about the situation?

First, we need to pause and make the effort to fully absorb these results and analyze what they mean. Rushing to explain them away or come up with quick solutions may not help, and it may lead to improper diagnosis and ineffective responses. It may also require, politically unsound as it may seem, to temper the enthusiasm with current achievements. Celebrating new buildings and higher enrolments is dangerous folly if its effect is to mask the reality that too many children in Tanzania complete primary schooling without the ability to read and count.

Second, while major challenges are inevitable whenever an education system is expanded rapidly, one can still ask the question: are the strategic policy and political objectives focused on the right things? At present, in Tanzania and elsewhere, much of the focus is on the provision of educational inputs, such as classrooms, laboratories, books and teachers, rather than learning outcomes, such as literacy, numeracy, writing, critical thinking and creativity. Since the evidence shows that the inputs are not being translated into learning outcomes, there is a need to realign focus system-wide on achieving learning outcomes within ministries responsible for education, training institutions, curriculum development, examinations, teacher and school assessment, measures of progress, and political commitments.

Third, there is a need to focus on what happens at the school, rather than in national aggregates alone. Studies across the region suggest that the teaching and learning process may be severely compromised. Two of the most common problems appear to be that insufficient funds are reaching schools (ie increasing education budgets are being used up for other things than school level improvements) and teachers are both poorly motivated and not teaching (ie ‘time on task’ is very low). It may make sense to pay greater attention to these two issues and how to improve them, as well as to rigorously study the relationship between resources at the school level and teacher time on task on one hand and learning outcomes on the other.

Fourth, greater transparency may spur reflection and action among both policy makers and citizens alike. Uwezo is committed to sharing its findings widely to contribute to this purpose. But the Government could take things much further by enabling data from every school to be available online and through mass media, so that every local government official, teacher, parent and student can compare how she or he is doing in relation to others. Technological innovations and the spread of mobile phone in particular make possible information sharing that was unimaginable a few years ago.

Fifth, instead of doing more of what has been done harder or faster it may be time to do something different. Our analysis and studies worldwide suggest that a core part of the puzzle may be to realign incentives – so that key actors system-wide are recognized for promoting learning. One idea worth trying and already endorsed by President Kikwete is called Cash on Delivery (www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/codaid). Its basic premise is that additional funding in education should be predicated on and paid on the achievement of an (independently audited) agreed learning outcome, such as literacy and numeracy (eg for every child who completes primary education with agreed ability $200 would be provided). This idea could be rolled further down, whereby the $200 could be shared among local officials, teachers and possibly even parents. The point is to nudge key actors to focus on and reward achievement of learning. There is no guarantee that this idea would work. But in the face of the gravity of the crisis in Tanzania, where the usual methods have failed to bring meaningful progress, experimenting with a carefully designed and bold alternative as Cash on Delivery, and rigorously studying its impact, makes sense.

This report is released on the eve of national elections in Tanzania. Whatever its outcome, the next five years present an opportunity to address the education crisis in an honest, bold and strategically effective manner. A skilled, competent and confident people are essential to enable the nation to thrive, particularly in the context of regional integration and increasing globalization. Whoever emerges as the next President of Tanzania, turning education from more of the same inputs to ensuring that every child can read and count and learn may be the greatest test of his leadership.

Download document...

* Readers might be interested in three other new reports on education issues in Tanzania (published by Uwezo/Uwazi/Twaweza).

• Broken Promises on Primary Education
• Capitation Grant for Education: When will it make a difference?
• More students, Less money

The 2010 Assessing Progress toward the MDGs in Africa report is based on the latest updated and harmonized data from United Nations agencies and OECD statistics databases. UNSD is the official repository of data for assessing progress toward the MDGs. The main reason for using these international sources is that they collect and provide accurate and comparable data on MDG indicators across African countries. The irregularity of surveys/censuses, ages, definitions and methods of production of the indicators may explain the lag between the reporting year and the years of data, which vary from 2006 to 2008. Some of the indicators are new or have been modified since 2007. Some indicators, like CO2 emissions and ozone depletion in Goal 7, are not relevant or are not quite in line with national priorities. Therefore, some countries use proxies for such indicators which reflect the specificities of their own circumstances and which align more fully with their priorities. Several indicators are dependent on censuses/surveys carried out every 2 or 10 years, so that inter-survey and inter-census periods tend to lead to data gaps. The MDG data are compiled by the Inter-Agency and Expert Group (IAEG) on MDG indicators, with one or more UN agencies being responsible for indicators falling under their area of competency.

UN agencies compile, on a regular basis, data from countries using standardized questionnaires or other mechanisms agreed upon with the latter. Submitted questionnaires are then validated through a peer review process based on their data collection and processing methodology. They provide estimates, take the responsibility for filling data gaps by estimating missing values, and make adjustments if need be, to ensure global comparability across countries. The OECD also collects data specifically to track aid flows, based on a standard methodology and agreed definitions to ensure comparability of data across donors and recipients. As far as the production of MDG reports at the continental level is concerned, these UN agencies and the OECD provide adequate harmonized and comparable sources of data. However, some countries’ official data on particular MDGs were used in this report to better indicate the performances of those countries on those indicators.

MDG data have not always been available on time at the national level. If they exist, they have been subject to problems of inconsistency with international standards. Moreover, data transmission to and estimates made by international agencies – together with the fact that countries do not produce data on MDGs annually – constitute another layer of problems contributing to the observed data gaps. Over the last few years, there have been commendable steps taken by African countries, with the support of international organizations, to obtain data for tracking progress on the MDGs. However, a number of challenges persist relating to the production of data in Africa. The low profile of statistics on the continent is due to a number of obstacles, including: inadequate resources allocated to statistical activities; the lack of institutional capacity; inadequate coordination of statistical activities; and minimal consideration of African specificities in setting up international standards. The African Statistics System (ASS) is therefore expected to further scale up its efforts toward continental statistical integration to address a continent-wide need for harmonized and quality.

The European Commission and the National Authorising Officer in Uganda have issued this call for proposals under the Democratic Governance and Accountability Programme. The programme seeks to support the civil society and media organisations to build their capacities to be effective advocates and monitors of good governance and social accountability.

The overall objective of the programme is to support key governance objectives of Uganda's development framework: a credible system of representation with well functioning political parties; an electoral system that guarantees regular free and fair elections; a system of checks and balances based on separation of powers; a vibrant civil society able to monitor governance and provide alternative forms of political participation; a free, strong and independent media.

An information session on this call for proposals is planned to be held on the following date and location: Kampala, 29^th September 2010 at Imperial Royale, Kampala Hotel at 10.00 am. The session will be confirmed on the website of Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development and also in the national press.

The deadline to submit proposals is 18 November 2010. For more information, visit this link.

The Local Government Score Card (LGCSC) is an independent assessment tool to assess the performance of local government councils in Uganda. It was initiated in 2009 under the Local Government Councils Score Card (LGCSC) Initiative of the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE). The Local Government Councils Score Card (LGCSC) is a set of parameters and associated indicators designed to do two interrelated things: first, it empirically assesses the extent to which local government council organs and councilors are performing their responsibilities as stipulated in the Local Act. Secondly, it examines whether there is a direct correlation between the good or bad score card performance of a local government council and the quality of servicedelivery in the district.

The parameters in the score card are based on the core statutory roles and responsibilities of the local government councils. The theory of change underlying the LGCSC is that by providing local government councils’ performance related information to the public, citizens will be able to demand for better quality services through increased accountability from local political leaders hence triggering a vertical spiral of demand for accountability from the local to the national levels. The score card seeks to address the number one policy problem confronting policy makers and development practitioners in Uganda: why has the quality of public service delivery in Uganda not improved tremendously in spite of a sustained record of economic growth and major investments by government and development partners?

After almost two decades of the decentralization policy in Uganda, the results are mixed combining both success and widespread failures. The local government system was entrenched in the 1995 constitution and a series of reforms epitomized in the enactment of the Local Government Act in 1997. The series of policy and institutional reforms have yielded tangible results in creating a system of local governance where citizens elect their leaders from the local to the district leaders. The underlying rationale as articulated in the 1995 constitution is that effective governance is achieved when functions and powers are devolved to the people at appropriate levels. However, there have also been apparent widespread failures evidenced through the malfunctioning of the public service delivery infrastructure, persistent levels of rural poverty and absence of effective accountability between citizens and their leaders both at the local and national level. This malfunctioning is often blamed on the problem of “weakness of and corruption in” local governments. Consequently, the standard policy response to this problem is to implement a series of supply-side interventions including supply-side monitoring of service delivery by local governments.

It is argued that the diagnosis that blames the failure in the public service delivery system on the “weaknesses” of the local government is a wrong diagnosis of the policy problem. On the contrary, the problem of poor quality of public service delivery is a function of systemic policy failures that undermine accountability systems upon which local governance is premised. The continuous affront in the powers of local governments, a distorted budget architecture that creates a substantial imbalance of power between the central government and local governments, and a rural development policy that has alienated citizens from government are the fundamental policy issues that account for the failure of local governments to become the frontline institutions for effective public service delivery. Consequently, it is argued that concentrating interventions on the supply-side financing and monitoring of performance of local governments is the wrong policy prescription. On the contrary, it is argued that what is needed are interventions that reconstruct and give confidence to local governments to plan and execute locally developed medium and long-term development programmes while building the accountability relationships between the citizens and leaders.

This Synthesis Report presents findings and analysis of the first LGCSC assessment conducted in 10 districts. The 10 districts which are spread evenly across the country were selected through criteria that sought to achieve a regional balance in the sample, balance old and new districts, included districts that were considered marginalized by geopolitical circumstances, or inclusion of districts that were perceived as models in terms of performance. Kampala District Council was particularly included in this lot by virtue of its metropolitan status. The score card is based on three interrelated building blocks: the council and its respective organs; the core responsibilities and functions of those organs; and the causal-effect relationship between score card performance and service delivery outcomes. The assessment covered the performance of local government councils in the 10 districts during the FY 2008/09. The following organs of the local government councils were assessed and scored: district councils; individual district councilors; the district chairpersons; and the district council speakers. All the organs are scored on performance of their core responsibilities with scores ranging from 0 up to 100 points.

The 10 district councils were assessed on the performance of 4 core responsibilities or functions: local legislation and legislative functions, accountability, planning and budgeting, and service delivery on National Priority Programme Areas (NPPAs).

Download document...

Monitoring and assessing the performance of local government councils in Uganda: background, methodology and score card

This background paper was prepared as part of the process to develop a framework for monitoring and assessing the performance of local government councils in Uganda under the ACODE Local Government Score Card Initiative. Since the adoption of the decentralization policy at the beginning of the 1990s, attempts to improve the functioning of local governments through systematic monitoring have not yielded the required results.

The monitoring mechanisms that have been adopted mainly focus on the fiscal and technical aspects of decentralization. Consequently, the role of local government councils as a major source of balance of power between the central government and citizens has not been properly highlighted. This background paper and the ACODE Local Government Score Card Initiative are aimed at deepening democratic governance in Uganda through evidence-based assessment of the performance of local government councils. The initiative was launched in 2009 with initial funding from the Deepening Democracy Programme and the Think Tank Initiative (TTI).

Download document...

Forum Syd's Tanzania office has launched a three year social accountability programme in the Kagera and Mwanza regions. The program started this year and is expected be completed in 2013. In order to make an informed decision on which interventions to apply and how they should be prioritised, Forum Syd commissioned a baseline study in the districts in which the programme will operate. This report focuses on the three pre-selected districts within the target regions and provides recommendations on appropriate interventions and benchmarks against which future progress can be measured and evaluated. The report of a very innovative social accountability benchmarking process can be read not only for the input it makes into a developing programme but for lessons of replicability by agencies in other countries across Africa.

1. For a successful delivery of the Program it is important for Forum Syd to understand that they are entering districts where community members have low trust in their service providers, private sector companies and CSOs with regards to social accountability. A program that deals with accountability issues should have a carefully planned entry process. To avoid continued dissatisfaction with the delivery of social accountability it is important to win the public’s confidence Emphasis should be placed on community sensitisation with the aim of changing peoples’ attitudes and perception to stakeholders. After the three years there should also be a planned exit strategy to enable sustainability of social accountability in the districts and avoid jeopardising the publics’ trust.


2. Local Government Authorities, private sector and CSOs should work towards creating an enabling environment in which the communities contribute to public policies and plans. This secures buy in from the people that will be affected by the decisions. This can be done through strengthening the capacities of CSOs and communities to increase transparency in the intervention. Another alternative can be through CSOs or community representatives attending working groups or stakeholder forums where public policy issues are debated.


3. Forum Syd should secure buy in from all stakeholders to support the process in order to give the Program legitimacy. This should be done through signing Memorandums of Understanding with Local Government Authorities and CSOs.


4. Communities should be trained to become responsive local governance actors as active engagement is crucial for there to be a well functioning social accountability process.


5. It is recommended that the social accountability mechanisms are used in the capacity building of communities, enabling members to understand their purpose and how best to use them.


6. To further enhance the communities’ currently weak understanding of how the CSOs’ can contribute to social accountability it is recommended for communities to be trained in the meaning of accountability. Meanwhile, CSOs should receive training to strengthen their understanding on how best to work with accountability and receive guidance on how to best position themselves as valuable stakeholders. Social accountability should be mainstreamed in areas of interventions.


7. As social accountability depends on active engagement from the communities it is important to drive behavioural change. It is therefore recommended that youth and as the next generation of voters, should be educated of their rights and obligations. Educating them will indirectly influence their families and by doing so reach a greater number of beneficiaries.


8. The community participation numbers are important as benchmarks against which future participation can be measured. In a democratic process one should always strive for full and meaningful participation, which is not manageable or realistic in a three year period. The number of participants should however increase on an annual basis as a result of social accountability interventions.


9. It is recommended to design specific interventions that respond to the needs of the most vulnerable groups such as out of school youth and people living with HIV/AIDS and disabilities. These groups are normally marginalised, hence without a focused approach they risk being left out of the social accountability process.


10. The local communities should receive training on their right to access information, and the process to follow should they be denied this right. The training should also include the different types of information to be available.


11. It is recommended that the resource centres be established as a means to facilitate channelling of information enabling communities to access information. Emphasis should be given to the usage of print and electronic media as it is found to be weak.


12. In order to promote freedom of expression the Program should, in its resource centres, make available various sources of information with a particular focus on internet training and usage


13. Local Government Authorities should expand their information channelling to include local level service providers such as Teacher Resource Centres, health centres and dispensaries or other commonly used local service providers.


14. When delivering their programs CSOs and Local Government Authorities should use the most commonly used public information channels in the districts. This will create a practice of using common sources of public information.


15. Community theatre could be used to introduce and enhance the understanding of social accountability. It can be an effective ongoing method of communicating information to stakeholders. This will also enable children and adults who are illiterate to access information.

*  Persons wishing to know more about this programme can contact Godfrey Wawa, programme manager and country representative for Forum Syd Tanzania. He can be contacted at: 

P.O. Box 11850,Mwanza, Tanzania; by phone at +255 713 7976 / +255 752420116; or by e-mail at 

The Forum Syd website is www.africa.forumsyd.org

Related document/s
Vacancy: Bilateral associate expert (BBE) on social accountability with a focus on youth perspective

A recente revolta popular em Maputo e Matola foi marcada por uma desmesurada reacção policial, na sequência da qual houve mortos, incluindo pelo menos uma criança, e centenas de feridos. Estas notas preparadas pelo Centro de Integridade Pública tem como objectivo caracterizar os contornos dessa acção polícial, descrever a causa da reação brutal e chamar a atenção para a impreparação da Polícia moçambicana em lidar com situações semelhantes.

A ocorrência de mortes devido principalmente à actuação da Polícia deve ser responsabilizada. Civilmemte, o Estado deve indemnizar todos os familiares das vítimas mortais e custear as despesas de tratamento dos feridos.

Uma comissão de inquérito parlamentar com participação da sociedade civil deve ser estabelecida para apurar as responsabilidades da actuação violenta da Polícia.

This report provides the first ever public environmental expenditure in Rwanda. It was written under the theme: “Putting environment on budget”. The objective was to evaluate the appropriateness in the use of funds in the environment sector. It was supported by UNEP/UNDP funded Poverty-Environment Initiative. The intended outcome of the initiative is the integration of environment for poverty reduction into national policy and district planning, policy and budget processes to implement the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) 2008-2010, Vision 2020 and the Millennium Development Goals.

The findings in this report are as a result of wide consultations within and across sectors, districts and the review of national documents and international literature from mid-September to end of November, 2009.The authors also benefited from being registered to access and analyze data from Development Assistance Database and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. These sources also enriched their findings.

From start, it was necessary to define environmental expenditure so as to determine the boundary for this review and possibly future ones. World experience points to the conclusion that ‘this is not as straight forward as it seems’. Nonetheless, the consultants used four factors to define the boundary. They are national definition of environment, the classification of government functions, institutional mandates for environmental management and practices by other countries.

When the government’s functional areas were reviewed, it was found that there is a functional area of environmental protection. However, many other aspects of environment fall under other government functional areas like agriculture, industry, infrastructure, to mention but a few. Accordingly, it was decided right from the start to focus the PEER on environment and natural resources sector, as overseen by MINIRENA¹ now, and across other sectors.

In Rwanda, the policy, legal and institutional framework for environment is both young and still evolving when compared with that of most East African Community member states, and other states in Africa. For a country that is committed to ‘green’ its economy, it will require a coordinated, and systematic approach to capacity building, planning and resource mobilization, and a blend with long term critical technical assistance within and across sectors. A coordinated approach within and across is strongly emphasized after finding that the spread of programmes and sub-programmes for environment are wide spread in several sectors.

Another finding is that as Rwanda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) continues to grow, it is depicting intra and inter-sectoral shifts. The natural resource based GDP estimated at 35% is still the highest. But Rwanda has stretched its capacity to generate more revenue from new sources. It hopes to do so from the real GDP growth that will increase disposable income. The productive sector under which environment and natural resources falls is already prioritized for additional resources in future, particularly after the government completes its heavily funded infrastructure programme.

However, MINCOFIN recognizes that climate change induced impacts may slow down agriculture’s GDP. But beyond that, they could also impact infrastructure and health. Thus, the cross-sectoral impacts of climate change should start to feature in the macro-economic framework by MINECOFIN, particularly where information permits.

Presently, Rwanda’s dependence on aid is high with 49% of the total budget in 2009 expected to be financed by aid. The per capita Overseas Development Assistance of US$ 64 and as a percentage of GDP of 25.6% are the highest among the East African member states. The government’s preference is for grants over debts. As long as Rwanda is still a favorite recipient of aid in grants, it should use it to its advantage to also invest in environment.

Rwanda’s private funding is growing although the proportion of environment could not be discerned. Foreign Direct Investment flows have steadily grown to even surpass that of giant Kenya for the first time in 2009 [UNCTAD, 2009]. Government should re-orient Foreign Direct Investment so that it too, can benefit environment. The potential for Foreign Direct Investment to increase even further has been improved by Rwanda’s topping the global list of business regulation reformers [WB, IFC, 2009]. With guidance on budgeting by MINECOFIN, the variance between budgeted and actual expenditure is narrowing across all sectors. MINECOFIN has guided sectors to provide only 10% above their previous years’ budget. But total tax revenue is not yet covering recurrent expenditure and the gap does not seem to be narrowing since 2004. That is leaving the country vulnerable to external support. At macro level, transfers and subsidies have the highest expenditure between 2005 and 2008, at 25%. They are followed by goods and services (22%), wages and salaries (20%), capital development (18%), exceptional expenditure (10%), debt (8%) and finally arrears (1%). The proportion of development expenditure to total expenditure on budget has risen from, 11% in 2006 to 15% in 2007 and 23% in 2008.

It must be mentioned at this juncture that the budget execution reports cannot fully capture all the public expenditure for environment. This is because with regard to Overseas Development Assistance: (i) only 67% is recorded in the national budget, (ii) 45% is disbursed using GoR budget execution procedure and, (iii) 50% is disbursed using GoR financial reporting systems. Until all development expenditure forms part of budget reporting, it will be difficult to capture the true magnitude of environmental expenditure. Central Public Investment and External Finance Bureau which is mandated for it, does not classify it by government functional areas. Yet, it is through these that all expenditure on budget is captured.

Environment and Natural Resource sector under MINIRENA has not yet absorbed any public expenditure level to boast of. In 2008, it commanded only 1% of both recurrent and development expenditure on budget. The high development expenditure in 2006 and 2007 is attributed to the water and sanitation, which after 2008 was transferred to MININFRA. The ministries absorbing the highest development expenditure in 2008 were: MININFRA (39%), MINAGRI (16%), MINEDUC (15%), MINISTR (19%), MINALOC (9%), and MINECOFIN (3%). ENR under MINIRENA only absorbed 1%. The implication is that both manpower and activities that could benefit the environment are outside the sector. It equally conveys a mammoth task before the sector to engage others to put environment on budget using resources already allocated to them.

That is the most promising strategy of putting environment on budget. Government would also need to finalise the processes for the operationalisation of the National Fund for Environment so that it is used as an instrument for giving incentives for environmental management. This will complement Environment Fiscal Reform under the Investment Code and other laws.

With regard to intra-sectoral absorption of expenditure, it was found that conservation and protection of environment led in 2008, taking 40% of the sectors budget. It was followed by land planning and management (25%), forestry resources (11%), mining and geology (9%), and integrated water resources (4%).The parent Ministry took 11%.

It becomes apparent that integrated water resources management is the least funded. Unfortunately, the low funding coincides with the growing desire for irrigation. The two do not match unless irrigation is to be predominately funded under donor funded projects.

With regard to execution rates, they were found to have improved over time for both recurrent and development expenditure under the sector. But a few shortcomings need mention. They could have been better if all units were fully staffed so that some expenses e.g wages and salaries are not refunded to the central government and delays in procurement are fully overcome.

Further, both efficiency and effectiveness cannot be fully ascertained because value-for-money audits are yet to be fully institutionalized at Central Public Investment and External Finance Bureau through which much of development expenditure flows. Neither has the Bureau introduced the concept of ‘unit costs’ to rationalize expenditure among homogenous items. In 2002, the office of the Auditor General was able to audit 31.5% of all the public entities. For the above reasons, it will be worthwhile in future for government to invest in additional public expenditure monitoring tools. They are the public expenditure tracking surveys, citizen report cards and Community score cards.

The programme of intensification and sustainable agricultural production systems under MINAGRI utilized more than 5 times the whole budget of environment and natural resources sector in 2008. However, analysis of its broken down development budget for 2009/2010 shows that sub-programmes on Land Husbandry, Water harvesting and Hillside Irrigation project, watershed management, swamp reclamation and irrigation would be equivalent to 40% of entire environment and natural resources sector budget. Accordingly, agricultural sector should be engaged to sustain environment on its budget, and to even increase it. This is because evidence from 42 developing countries over 1981-2003 showed that 1% GDP growth originating in agriculture increased the expenditures of the three poorest deciles at least 2.5 times as much as growth originating in the rest of the economy. But MINAGRI should study whether its subsidized fertilizer programme is not a disincentive to sustainable land use management.

MININFRA’s action plan for 2008 was not detailed in breakdown of its budget. But, going by budget for 2009/2010, its budget for improving and substituting biomass energy for the poor is equivalent to 70% of the forestry resources budget under environment and natural resources sector for the same period.

Further, MININFRA has spent and budgeted for sanitation and hygiene for schools. A more sustainable approach would be that MINEDUC budgets for such although it could solicit for technical backstopping from MININFRA. Only then would MINEDUC appreciate how to handle environmental issues associated with school populations. No doubt, the sectors’ needs for environmental mainstreaming and budgeting will differ. Rwanda Environment Management Authority working closely with MINECOFIN should encourage them to come forward and declare their interests or challenges so that they can receive focused technical assistance. Failure to declare these within environment and natural resources sector and across all other sectors is one of the barriers to learning, improvement and sustainable development.

MINECOM has been spending on biodiversity conservation and development of standards, including those for environment. It has more scope to enlist the private sector for environmental compliance. This is particularly because the market to which Rwanda is promoting exports is becoming environmentally sensitive. MINALOC has included environmental protection as one of the areas to benefit from earmarked conditional grants to districts. It is so small (0.13% of 2009/2010 budget) that at best, it could be used to trigger additional resources rather than address environmental issues. As the institutions close to the people, districts have strategic roles to make a difference in environmental management. Unfortunately, there is a mismatch between the funds allocated and responsibilities devolved to them. Districts utilized only 17.6% of the total budget in 2008. Some of the expenditure directly incurred by Ministries benefits them. Community Development Fund, as an instrument for channeling demand driven capital development to districts is cost-effective. Its intermediation costs are only 4%. Environment was found to rank the 5th preferred area out of eleven. MINELOC should expedite its costing for deepening decentralisation policy so that districts can get the right amount to deliver on their mandates.

As a Ministry overseeing both macro-economic planning and budgeting, MINECOFIN was found to have both the ‘carrot and stick’ to bring about improvement in public expenditure for environment and other sectors alike. The entry point for it lies in the results-based approach to budgeting it has introduced. This will then make it possible to assess the effectiveness of all public expenditure. The present focus on inputs, activities and outputs under the joint sector reviews are not enough to demonstrate the true progress towards the achievement of EDPRs targets. In other wards, it is possible to register increases in soil control measures or tree planting or registering land or making standards and regulations but when they are not related to the magnitude of the problems being addressed. If they fall short of that, Rwanda will not be making a positive score on environmental sustainability.

The planning, budgeting and Medium Term Expenditure Framework Guidelines 2008 which MINECOFIN introduced are a good rallying point for (i) link budget programmes to sector targets over a 5-year period, (ii) link budget programmes to sector activities, (iii) link sector programmes to EDPRS flagship programmes and their indicators. Sectors would need to be trained in their use so that they appreciate their rationale rather than use them to satisfy reporting procedures. Sectors have to also be trained by MINECOFIN in public expenditure reviews. At lower levels, it will be the sectoral action plans from which to track actual budgets for environment. The Smartgov from which public expenditure is being monitored does not yet reflect budgets for activities and outputs. In other words, PEER will continue to exert more demands than any other PER because of its cross-sectoral nature. MINIRENA and Rwanda Environment Management Authority should set aside sufficient resources for it in future.

1. MINIRENA has since then been divided into two ministries of Environment and Lands (MINELA) and Mining and Forestry (MINIFOR)

Under the administration, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has introduced a number of initiatives to improve services for city residents. Some sound progress is being made on these initiatives, including on refuse collection, sanitation, and public basic education. This report highlighted, a number of important service issues continue to need attention.

One overarching imperative is to provide more, and better, services to the AMA's less well served sub-metros and residential areas. To deliver the needed service improvements, the AMA will need to work in partnership with its constituents, the residents of Accra. This means communicating more frequently with residents, and actively listening to residents. This consultative citizens' report card has been designed specifically to facilitate the exchange of information between city residents and the AMA. It has asked a representative sample of almost 4,000 households, scattered across the city and in all sub-metros, to identify and prioritize their service needs, report on the quality of the services they receive, and provide feedback on their interactions with city officials.

This consultative citizens' report card also contains much information that will be of interest and use to city residents. It provides a fact-based picture of service coverage and service quality issues across the city at large, and also within each of the eleven Sub-metros. This information will help residents determine how services in their neighborhood and Sub-metro compare with other areas across the city, and help them identify areas which are better or less well served.

Against all odds

This is the story of a child, a girl born in one of the world's poorest places – probably in sub-Saharan Africa. She could also have been born in South Asia, or in a poverty-stricken community of a less poor region.

Against all odds, she has survived. Just think of the challenges she has already faced throughout her young life.

Compared to a child growing up in one of the wealthiest countries, she was 10 times more likely to die during the first month of life.

Compared to a child growing up in the richest quintile of her own country:

She was two times less likely to have been born to a mother who received antenatal care and three times less likely to have come into the world with a skilled attendant present.

She was nearly two times less likely to be treated for pneumonia and about one-and-a-half times less likely to be treated for diarrhoea – two of the biggest reasons she was also more than twice as likely to die within the first five years of life.

She was nearly three times more likely to be underweight and twice as likely to be stunted.

She was more than one-and-a-half times less likely to be vaccinated for measles and about half as likely to be treated for malaria or to sleep under an insecticide-treated net.

She was around two thirds as likely to attend primary school, and far less likely to attend secondary school than if she lived in a nation with greater resources.

Even now, having survived so much, compared to a child in the richest quintile, she is still three times as likely to marry as an adolescent … more than two times less likely to know how to protect herself from HIV and AIDS … and, compared to a girl in an industrialized nation, over the course of her life she is more than 300 times as likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth.

So, while she has beaten the odds of surviving her childhood, serious challenges remain – challenges that have the potential to deepen the spiral of despair and perpetuate the cycle of poverty that stacked those odds against her in the first place.

And this is just one child's life. While we may celebrate her survival, every day about 24,000 children under the age of 5 do not survive. Every day, millions more are subjected to the same deprivations, and worse − especially if they are girls, disabled, or from a minority or indigenous group.

These are the world's most vulnerable children. Ten years ago, the United Nations Millennium Declaration reaffirmed our collective responsibility to improve their lives by challenging nations, rich and poor alike, to come together around a set of ambitious goals to build a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.

Today, it is clear that we have made significant strides towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), thanks in large part to the collective effort of families, governments, donors, international agencies, civil society and the heroes out in the field, who risk so much to protect so many children.

But it is increasingly evident that our progress is uneven in many key areas. In fact, compelling data suggest that in the global push to achieve the MDGs, we are leaving behind millions of the world's most disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalized children: the children who are facing the longest odds.

Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity presents evidence of our achievements to date, but it also reveals the glaring disparities – and in some cases, the deepening disparities − that we must address if we are to achieve a more sustainable, more equitable progress towards the MDGs and beyond.

We hope that as you read this report and the progress it tracks, you will remember that behind every statistic is the life of a child – each one precious, unique and endowed with rights we are pledged to protect.

So, please take a few minutes to read through the report's tables and summaries. Your reaction may be, "Of course. Hasn't poverty always existed? Hasn't the world always been unfair?" True, but it need not be as inequitable as it is. We have the knowledge and the means to better the odds for every child, and we must use them. This must be our common mission.

Policy Forum has released a simplified version of the national budget for the financial year 2010/11 as part of its objective towards encouraging active citizens' voice through the popularisation of government documents. Policy Forum believes and making budgetary information more accessible to the public through simplification encourages public interest and participation in decisions on how their money is acquired and spent.

For years, Tanzania has not had a widely accessible document that gives a brief of the national budget in a manner that is meaningful and relevant to all citizens. This citizens’ budget is a first attempt at making budgetary information in Tanzania more accessible and interesting to ordinary people as well as giving them the opportunity to be more involved in the government’s planning and expenditure process.

The booklet can be accessed in both English and Swahili

Cutting-edge research should be the hallmark of the EU Framework Programmes. From conception, throughout their lifespan and in their conclusions they have the potential to provide answers to many of the challenges faced by our societies. Research in the socio-economic sciences and humanities in particular provides us with important insights to support evidence-based policymaking in Europe. Better policies are particularly needed in the current difficult social and economic climate.

The social and economic challenges which we face require policymaking at all levels - regional, national and European - to move beyond traditional paradigms and create responses which offer sustainable solutions now and in the future. The European Economic Recovery Plan (1) and the EU 2020 strategy (2) create the broad policy context for this approach. “Smart” investment, which focuses on the skills that are needed for the future, is seen as a major pillar of Europe’s strategy to respond to the challenges it faces. The research projects funded under the Framework Programmes can play a major role in giving shape to this approach.

The Directorate-General for Research is supporting researchers and project coordinators in meeting these challenges. In wide-ranging discussions with policymakers and researchers it has explored how to best ensure dialogue between both areas. This dialogue is crucial if the policy messages provided by the research supported by the EU are to contribute to the development of the strategies and approaches necessitated by the realities we face.

This guide is the most recent stage of this process of identifying needs and developing appropriate support. It builds on the work undertaken in our earlier publication “Scientific evidence for policy-making” which identified the key priorities for deepening communication and strengthening the transfer of knowledge and experience between research and policymaking.

This publication is designed to offer an easy-to-read guide which identifies the most important stages in the development of a dynamic communication strategy and which will ensure that the projects funded under the Framework Programmes make a real difference in enabling policymakers to respond to the significant challenges we face. Divided into three parts - Concept, Policy Briefs and Practical Means – this guide is intended to help exploit research concepts into genuine policy action.

In the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) argues that, although some developed countries were beginning to show signs of economic recovery, many developing countries now have to deal with the aftershock of the global financial crisis. This raises concerns about the extent to which positive gains on the realisation of the Education for All (EFA) goals are being threatened.

Given the developing country status of South Africa and the precarious nature of education delivery, it appears vital to ask how recent developments will affect public finances more generally, and education funding more specifically. In its National Budget Review 2010, the National Treasury makes the point that South Africa has fared well given the overall negative impact of the global crisis. In fact, it recommits government to increase and maintain spending on education, social and economic infrastructure, and crime. However, it argues that efficiency savings and the re-jigging of various categories of spending are necessary to pay for education and other prioritised services. Of particular interest will be changes in spending on salaries, given the central role of this input in service delivery in the social services sectors.

Current payments on the consolidated national budget (the bulk of which are salary payments) will take a knock in 2010 and the contingency reserve is projected to be significantly smaller in 2010 and 2011, partly to compensate for lower available revenue and to maintain spending on key prioritised areas. However, apart from 2010, where spending on transfers and subsidies is projected to be more than R600 million lower, over the rest of the present medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), favourable forward revisions are made to the 2009 budget estimates. There has clearly been a determined effort by the South African government to protect social spending, but the finer expenditure blueprint can only be assessed by undertaking detailed sectoral analyses.

This paper continues our long-standing interest in how the education expenditure framework responds to national challenges and whether we have a set of spending proposals fit for the purpose of delivering quality education. Our objectives in this paper are threefold: one, we attempt to describe expenditure trade-offs in the consolidated education budget in the context of the slowing down in general economic growth; two, we continue our running commentary on the state of inter-provincial spending equity to understand what progress has been made in reducing unequal spending ratios across provincial education departments; and three, we assess the coherence of government’s education spending proposals against the background of existing policy mandates that govern the various education sub-sectors.

Expenditure trends in provincial education 2010

The nine provincial education budgets are expected to grow from R126 billion in 2009/10 to R157 billion at the end of the current MTEF cycle (2012/13). This represents a real average annual increase of 1.5%, a much lower increase than that projected for the six-year period leading to 2012/13 (5%).

Evidence presented in the 2010 budget review suggests that the existing transversal expenditure framework does not deviate from the now well-established thinking about education budgets. Expenditure on wages (principally teacher salaries) is tightly reined in, while more expenditure room is provided for non-personnel expenditures that service public schools and other emerging programmes. Expenditure on goods and services, which covers the school allocation that goes to non-Section 21 public schools, continues to grow in support of the policy goal of declaring at least 60% of our public schools as no-fee schools. Expenditure on transfers and subsidies, which involve the school allocation for Section 21 schools and the school nutrition programme, is also projected to grow robustly over the first two years of the present MTEF cycle. Allocations for the school nutrition programme appear to support its expansion to more poor primary no-fee schools, but very few poor secondary schools will benefit from additional funding for this anti-poverty programme. Finally, expenditure on the acquisition of new buildings shows positive growth over the present MTEF cycle. In other words, education 2010 does not offer any breaks or radical discontinuity from previous education transversal expenditure frameworks.

In the programme expenditure framework, early childhood development (ECD) expenditure is projected to grow from R1.7 billion to almost R3.3 billion, a real average annual increase of about 20%. Expenditure on special needs or inclusive education sees an increase in expenditure from R3.5 billion to just over R5 billion. This represents a 7% real average annual increase over the medium term, showing that this will be yet another education priority in the coming years. Further education and training (FET) is the third programme that comes through as a strong priority. In the current MTEF, FET has seen a budget increase from R3.1 billion in 2009/10 to an expected R4.3 billion for the 2012/13 fiscal year. This represents a 5% real average annual growth over the medium term. Expenditure on public ordinary schools averages 1.1% over the medium term, while a small negative average rate (1.1%) is projected for adult basic education over the corresponding period.

Inter-provincial equity in service delivery programme spending

The least unequal provincial service delivery programme is public ordinary schools, whereas inter-provincial spending in special needs education and public FET programmes is approximately five times more unequal than public schools. The small inequality ratio in public ordinary school budgets is a direct result of the extensive policy and funding attention devoted to this sector. Emerging policy and budgetary interventions in the two other programmes are likely to reduce inter-provincial spending inequalities. The most unequal inter-provincial spending is found in the adult basic education and training programmes, and ECD programmes. With the former, the policy sector has been in decline over the last few years and the recently announced review by the Department of Higher Education and Training will delay further equalisation measures. In ECD (principally Grade R), provincial education departments have vastly different universal access attainment rates and different fiscal capacities.

Coherence of provincial education spending proposals

Just how coherent are the latest spending proposals? Firstly, the quality agenda in public schools is being supported in a contained manner, but there has not been a radical rethink about how one gets scarce government resources to support a quality agenda.

Secondly, the support to Grade R is consistent with the idea of building early learning foundations and minimising the wastage associated with illprepared learners. However, there has been very little monitoring of young learners who have completed various pre-school phases and we have yet to assess the efficacy of existing Grade R programmes.

Thirdly, government’s push to create viable medium-level skills through the public FET programme is laudable, and expenditure proposals are welltargeted at infrastructure and human resources. Although this sector has been notoriously inefficient in its use of government resources, we believe that the recapitalisation of technical colleges will make a real difference to academic outcomes.

Fourthly, spending proposals for the special needs education/inclusive education sector are encouraging, but we do not quite understand the logic behind the latest spurt in funding. We assume additional monies went to special needs education schools and programmes because interprovincial differences in access are marked, but government’s commitment to inclusive education will only become clear in time.

Fifthly, spending proposals for the adult education sector continue to lack coherence, especially given the large adult illiteracy rates in the country. However, the national mass literacy campaign is beginning to change the face of the sector and is making an invaluable contribution to reducing adult illiteracy.

Finally, the 2010 spending proposals bring to the fore the powerful role that the national departments of Basic Education and Higher Education and Training are playing in the delivery of education services at provincial level. The adult education and public FET programmes are now national functions. The largest cost driver in education, namely teacher salaries, is determined nationally and the redress framework in schools has been developed at national level. Key anti-poverty measures, such as school nutrition, are being funded by a national conditional grant. Also, although provinces transfer grants to school governing bodies for the delivery of Grade R education, schools themselves determine how this money will be spent. Most of the main quality and redress issues are being handled by the national sphere, which raises the awkward question about the role of provincial authorities in delivering education. We believe this question and the future role of provincial education departments must be discussed openly and publicly as they appear increasingly redundant in a hegemonic nationally dominated educational universe.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the World Bank's private sector lending division. Following the Bank's recent revision of its information disclosure policy, the IFC invited comments from interested stakeholders on its review of its Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and its Information Disclosure Policy. The IFC is an extremely influential institution, as its Performance Standards have been adopted by a large and growing number of private banks through the Equator Principles as a 'financial industry benchmark for determining, assessing and managing social & environmental risk in project financing'.

Read the submission by IDASA's Economic Governance Programme and a host of other important submissions, many from African civil society organisations.

• Submission to the International Finance Corporation on the review of its Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainbility, and Disclosure Policy
• Review and Update of the Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Policy on Disclosure of Information Consultations' report
• Review of IFC Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: BIC Concerns and Policy Recommendations
• Review of IFC Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO)
• Submission by Civil Society Organizations to the International Finance Corporation: Commenting on The Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy
• Letter on the Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy review
• The Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy review Response to Civil Society Organisations (CSO) letter
• IFC Draft Disclosure Policy: Minuses and Pluses
• IFC Rewrite of Disclosure Policy Criticized
• Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy, Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: Key Changes
• IFC Policy and Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability and Policy on Disclosure of Information: Review and Update - "Progress Report on Phase I of Consultation"
• Policy and Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: Consultation and Engagement Process
• Policy and Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: Update and Review Process Timeline
• Policy and Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy: Report on the First Three Years of Application
• Civil society organizations demand reform of World Bank Group lending to private corporations
• Mark up of Draft Policy on Disclosure of Information
• Review and update of the IFC sustainability framework: overview of key issues

The Governance of Power: Shedding Light on the Electricity Sector in South Africa
Electricity Governance Initiative in South Africa has released a groundbreaking report, “The Governance of Power: Shedding Light on the Electricity Sector in South Africa.” The report, coordinated by Idasa, contains hard-hitting analysis of the governance challenges facing key national institutions, including the Department of Energy, the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom), the National Energy Regulator of SA (NERSA) and the Department of Public Enterprises. “Secrecy, lack of consultation, confusion of roles and responsibilities, particularly for planning”, are some of the governance challenges before the sector,” noted Idasa’s Economic Governance Programme Director, Richard Calland.

Since the publication of the report, EGI South Africa has focused on improving the transparency and inclusiveness of the process by which the Department of Energy (DOE) is developing an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2) for the sector. The IRP has been of particular importance because of new coal-fired power plants that are in the pipeline, including Medupi, a 4800 MW plant which was recently approved for World Bank funding, and Kusile, a plant of similar size which is next in line.

Among the outcomes to date, the Department of Energy has:

• Disclosed for public record the membership of the group of advisors that are assisting with the writing of the IRP 2 plan
• Held public hearings on the assumptions underpinning IRP 2
• Extended the deadline for comments from 10 working days to the minimum 30 days required by law under the Administrative Justice Act
• Set up a website portal through which they are sharing info on IRP 2
• Produced a written record of all of the comments received and how they have been addressed

In order to build civil society capacity to participate substantively in the public hearings, EGI-SA conducted workshops in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, and helped arrange for DoE to brief the Energy Caucus, the only existing network of civil society and labour to engage on energy issues collectively. A workshop on international best practice in IRP laid the groundwork for producing an independent analysis of the IRP 2, which was submitted through DOE’s consultation process.

Timelines for finalizing the IRP2 have now been extended through November 2010, to allow a more complete modeling exercise and consultative planning process.

Origin, evolution and objectives of the program

ANSA Africa was launched in 2007 at its first stakeholder conference. Since then, the network has grown quickly, and today comprises over 2,300 members from 39 countries across the continent.

ANSA-Africa’s vision is sustained citizen engagement and partnerships for accountable institutions. Its overall goal is to improve governance and increase government’s responsiveness to citizen demands -- leading to better social and economic outcomes for citizens in Sub-Saharan Africa. ANSA-Africa supports the engagement of citizens and civil society across the African continent in building more effective states through social accountability approaches.

The purpose of the ANSA-Africa project is to promote the recognition and active use of social accountability initiatives, methods and tools as a means of building enduring social and economic contracts between citizens and governments.

The types of activities undertaken by ANSA to meet the aforementioned objectives include the following:

1. Development and dissemination of learning and knowledge products to improve the understanding and practice of social accountability in Africa;
2. Fostering connections, information exchange and sharing of experience among stakeholders through learning events and conferences to develop greater knowledge of social accountability and strengthen the ANSA-Africa network;
3. Strengthening the practice of social accountability in Africa through technical assistance and leveraged financial support; and
4. Supporting capacity development for social accountability.

The project focuses on vertical accountability, which is the direct engagement that citizens have with governments and other duty-bearers using political voice through participation in democratic political processes.

The thematic areas of intervention for ANSA Africa are the following:

• Access to information;
• Good governance and extractive industries;
• Climate change;
• Electricity governance; and
• Procurement.

Tenders should be emailed to: with a copy to by c.o.p. 10 September 2010. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted by 15 September.

"Was this a grass root budget? Has the unit of service delivery turned into constituency? Can every part of the country expect to have more nurses, more teachers, and access a computer? The road sector has been allocated huge resources; does this signify an end to potholes and muddy roads? For the experts’ their verdict is that this was a very ambitious budget that presents difficulties in actualizing. Indeed, they claimed that the country was running on one engine-the domestic economy and if it stalls, the country would be in serious trouble"

1. This years' budget was prepared at a time when the country had received adequate rains and against a backdrop of political stability and an economy that had showed signs of recovery. The key expectation as the Minister for Finance read the speech whose theme was "Towards inclusive and Sustainable Rapid Economic Growth Rate" was the quest to achieve a sustainable economic growth that ensures equity in wealth distribution based on available resources.


2. The Minister in his budget speech outlined the strategic framework that the government will follow leading to the country returning to the growth pattern attained in 2007 of 7% is sustained and thereafter accelerating growth further to reach the vision 2030 annual target of 10% in the course of the next five years. The strategic Framework of achieving this is underpinned by maintaining macroeconomic stability; fully implementing the East African Common Market Protocol; facilitating Business Development for wealth and employment creation; and investing in security for economic recovery.


3. Fundamental to this strategic framework is the urgent need for the Minister to address unemployment challenges, institute structural reforms aimed at increasing productivity and improving business climate, scaling up implementation of the socio-economic projects in marginalized areas as well as dedication of resources in infrastructure for the attainment of the faster development.

(Maputo) A descoberta, por parte da companhia norte-americana Anadarko Petroleum Corp, de sinais de presença de petróleo na Bacia do Rovuma, anunciada pela Ministra dos Recursos Minerais, Esperança Bias, é uma notícia que acende luz no fundo do túnel dos esforços colectivos da luta contra a miséria e a pobreza que os moçambicanos travam há várias décadas. Embora carecendo ainda de confirmação técnica sobre a ocorrência de crude em quantidades comerciais, a notícia também nos chama a atencão para aspectos que o Governo deve começar a melhorar para se garantir um quadro favorável de gestão de recursos petrolíferos em Moçambique.

Moçambique aderiu o ano passado à Iniciativa de Transparência nas Indústrias Extractivas (ITIE), numa decisão política acertada.

A ITIE institui procedimentos padronizados e formulários de declaração que ajudarão a garantir a prestação de contas de todos os pagamentos e recebimentos de receita dos recursos naturais. A ITIE visa, em especial, os países em desenvolvimento, onde os controles da receita geral e da administração orçamentária são muitas vezes insuficientes para assegurar a prestação de contas tempestiva, abrangente e fiável que constitui uma base sólida para o monitoramento de todas os tipos de transacção dos governos nos países avançados.

O Governo tem dado passos encorajadores relativamente à implementação da iniciativa, mas o anúncio da presença de petróleo na Bacia do Rovuma chama a atenção para matérias que a sociedade civil moçambicana tem vindo a identificar como pertinentes para uma gestão racional – e que beneficie a todos os moçambicanos – dos recursos petrolíferos e que não são objectivamente abordadas na ITIE , nomeadamente;

1. A renegociação urgente dos contratos com as multinacionais, tendo em vista a redução dos incentivos fiscais em seu benefícios
2. A implementação urgente dos princípios sobre fundos e rendas sociais, já plasmado na legislação
3. A transparência dos contratos assinados entre o Governo e as empresas de prospecção/exploração
4. Os danos ambientais e sociais que esses projectos criam durante o seu decurso.

Necessidade de renegociação dos contratos com as multinacionais, tendo em vista a redução dos incentivos fiscais

A indicação da existência de petróleo por parte da Anadarko remete para a necessidade do Governo renegociar os contratos assinados com os mega-projectos, em geral, e com as multinacionais deste sector, em particular, acabando com todo o leque de incentivos fiscais que se encontravam na legislação aplicada aquando da sua celebração.

Essa renogociação é a única saída para que Moçambique possa captar mais receitas fiscais e não-fiscais dessa multinacionais. Como se sabe, o quadro legal que regula as contribuições fiscais das empresas dos sectores mineiro e petrolífero foi revisto em 2007 (leis 12 e 13 /2007, lei de minas e de petróleos, respectivamente), tendo eliminado um conjunto de benefícios fiscais. Em 2009, foi também actualizado o Código dos Benefícios Fiscais (Lei 4/2009), na mesma perspectiva, mas o problema é que a maior dos contratos em vigor (incluindo com a Anadarko) são anteriores a 2007, o que quer dizer que, no caso de uma exploração comercial futura, Moçambique tem poucas chances de aumentar consideravelmente a sua renda fiscal.

Actualmente, o Governo, o Fundo Monetário Internacional e o Banco Mundial reconhecem a inutilidade e o exagero dos incentivos fiscais concedidos aos mega-projectos. Em resultado desse reconhecimento, está em elaboração e discussão um ante-projecto de Lei dos Mega-Projectos, para além de já ter sido criada uma unidade especial dentro da Autoridade Tributária (AT) para lidar com questões dos mega-projectos.

What sort of MPs do people prefer? Do members of political parties value MPs who have been active in Parliament, who have made vocal contributions and asked critical questions? Do voters care about how much their MPs have held the executive to account on the floor of the Bunge?

One indicator for answering these questions is to analyze the relationship between active/dormant MPs and their performance in the preferential polls of CCM, the dominant political party in Tanzania. In the poll held on Sunday 1^st August, 2010, 203 elected CCM MPs were trying to become CCM flag bearers in the upcoming general election. Of these, 75 lost and 128 won. The final decision on which candidates will stand for the Party during the national elections is expected to be made by CCM's National Executive Committee (NEC) in Dodoma on August 14, 2010, but the poll gives an indication of the preferences of its ordinary members.

In this note we present six key facts regarding the relationship between the participation of MPs in Parliament and their performance in the CCM polls. Data for the participation in Parliament is drawn from the Uwazi brief entitled Do they work for us? Update on the 19^th session of the Bunge (brief and full dataset can be downloaded from www.uwazi.org), which is based on information provided in the Bunge website; data on poll results is drawn from newspaper reports.

In assessing which CCM Members of Parliament lost and won, we only report on elected MPs. The assessment does not include 71 MPs who are appointed as special seats legislators (58), by the Zanzibar House or Representatives (3), who are presidential appointees (9) and the Attorney General. It also excludes 4 MPs who 'retired', leaving 203 for consideration. Of these, 44 are elected high level Government officials (4 Regional Commissioners, 22 Ministers, 15 Deputy Ministers, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Prime Minister) and 159 are 'ordinary' elected MPs.

Scorecard empowers voters to hold their MPs accountable
Daily Monitor

Democracies are premised on the idea that citizens can hold their leaders accountable for their actions... However, in order for this ideal to be realised, citizens must possess a minimum amount of information about their leaders' performance.

The Africa Leadership Institute's (AFLI) Parliamentary Scorecard Project seeks to provide Ugandans with this information to empower them to monitor their elected representatives and to make informed choices at election time.

As one might expect, this work by AFLI has drawn interest from politicians and constituents. MPs have criticised AFLI saying the scorecard is inaccurate and does not reflect what happens in Parliament. MPs have also argued that voters' perceptions are very different from what the scorecard concludes and that voters will not use the information.

Are these criticisms right? Does the scorecard reflect the quality of MP performance? Are AFLI's scores consistent with how MPs view each other or with how voters perceive MPs? Will voters change their opinions based on what they learn?

Do the scorecard scores actually correspond with how MPs perceive each other? It turns out that they do. The 2007 – 2008 Parliamentary Scorecard included a Peer Assessment measure to capture certain aspects of an MP's performance that public information cannot measure. We distributed a Reputation Survey to MPs asking them to rate their fellow MPs. The MPs' responses were used to create the Peer Assessment score that is found on the scorecard. We then looked to see how MPs' ratings of each other correlate with the scores AFLI calculated using publicly available data. We found a strong correlation.

Those MPs who received lower grades in our plenary, committee, and constituency measures, also received lower ratings from other MPs in the Peer Assessment measures. The relation between the Peer Assessments and the Scorecard scores is extremely strong, and statistically speaking the chances that we would observe such a strong correlation if the Scorecards did not reflect MP performance would be less than one in a trillion. It is important to note that the Scorecard and Peer Assessment scores are independent of each other. The Peer Assessment score is not used to calculate the Scorecard scores.

Also, the Scorecard was not available to MPs when they rated each other in the Reputation Survey. This correlation between Scorecard and Peer Assessment scores shows that AFLI's assessment of MPs through the Scorecard reflects what MPs think of each other and thus captures the more unobservable aspects of an MP's performance.

Does the Scorecard relate to how voters assess their MPs? The answer is yes. At the end of 2008, Wilksens and AFLI conducted a survey in each constituency in the country. This survey asked voters to rate the performance of their MP. We found that the surveyed individuals, without seeing the scorecard, gave higher ratings to those MPs who received higher grades in the scorecard and lower ratings to those who performed poorly on AFLI's Scorecard.

This is true for both supporters and non-supporters of an MP. Once again, it is important to note that these survey respondents were not shown the scorecard. This correlation shows that the Scorecard also captures what voters think about their MPs. The correlation between voter perceptions and Scorecard scores are “statistically significant” at the 99 per cent level.

How do voters react to the scorecard? Do they revise their assessments of MPs or do they ignore the Scorecard? To find out, the 2008 survey showed some voters copies of their MP's Scorecard. Upon seeing the scorecard, voters were asked how likely they were to support the MP in future elections. When the Scorecards produced information that differed from what voters thought already, voters were likely to revise their attitudes toward MPs.

Voters that did not previously approve of MPs reported a 25 per cent increase in their willingness to vote for an MP who scored highly on the scorecard. But voters that previously were supportive of MPs reported a 25 per cent decline in their willingness to support a poor performing MP for reelection. These are large changes which illustrate the willingness of voters to hold MPs accountable. It seems that voters reward and sanction their MPs based on performance.

These new findings give confidence that the Scorecard is providing accurate, unbiased, information. It also shows that voters care about this information. We believe that an informed voter base will greatly improve the performance and responsiveness of Uganda's Parliament and strengthen Uganda's democracy. AFLI is working hard to ensure voters have this information and wants to do so in a way that is fair to MPs.

To do so, AFLI is holding workshops in 118 constituencies around the country; MPs are invited to these workshops. We encourage MPs to take part and help provide constituents with more information about their work and we encourage citizens to use this information when voting in the 2011 elections. With this information, voters will be empowered to monitor their elected representatives and to make informed choices in the 2011 elections.

Adam Harris is the Uganda Parliamentary Scorecard project coordinator, Africa Leadership Institute/Stanford University

* Further information on the Uganda Parliamentary Scorecard can be obtained from the acting ALFLI CEO, Tobias Onweng:

Download document...

* Readers can access the Parliamentary Scorecard 2006-2007 here

* Readers can access the Parliamentary Scorecard 2007-2008 here

Community monitoring model in NRHM

Community-based monitoring is a part of National Rural Health Mission but it is not taking place. Lack of delivery of services at the Primary Health Centres has become the reason for apathy among villagers towards the PHCs. Meanwhile, the business of quacks is on rise. People with any serious disease do not go to the PHC. They take the services of private doctors or go directly to the district hospitals. Under this project, to retain the faith of villagers and improve the services of the PHC, community monitoring was planned and implemented.

Ten local grass-roots organisations showing keen interest in the goals and project activities were selected for interventions at the field level. These partners already had rapport built in the areas where the PHCs were located. Community Monitors to keep watch on the presence of the health officials at the duty hours in the PHCs were selected and oriented. Community monitors were mainly youth and did monitoring of the PHCs for 30 days. Since partner organizations were based locally, the monitoring of the monitors could also be done. But these monitors were paid monitors and were able to complete this process. They produced results in terms of tracking absenteeism and other service delivery.

To sustain this process, community meetings were organized in the 10 villages where PHCs are located by the local partner organizations. Organizations utilized their rapport with the representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and community leaders in the area particular. Volunteer monitors were selected from the village to continuously monitor the hospitals and their services and discuss it with Village Health & Sanitation Committee (VHSC). Several interface meetings between the service providers and recipients were also conducted to improve the understanding between demand and supply side of service delivery.

The sustainability of this model depends on two points: first, if government adopts this community-based monitoring model and institutionalises the process and, second, if the RPRI and community jointly take the decision to carry the model forward through its own revenue.

Project Overview

Delivery of various services through welfare schemes involves huge allocation of budget and expenditure in India, but the outcome of the expenditure is not proportionate that leads a big part of the taxpayers’ money in vain. Absenteeism is one major obstacle especially in the area of health and education that hampers the delivery of services. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is in operation for improving the health service delivery in rural areas for which the expenditure is Rs 14000 crore (US$3.02bn) in 2009-10. Whether the services are reaching and resulting in expected outcomes? Whether people are satisfied and if not, what are the obstacles/barriers?

Raising questions is easy but answering is tough. To get some answers, CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART) executed a project in Tonk district of Rajasthan aiming at ensuring service deliveries in PHCs by measuring absenteeism of health officials through community monitoring, assessing the satisfaction of citizens through Citizen Report Card (CRC), reasoning out the factors responsible for such behaviour through interviewing the service providers and conducting evidence-based advocacy for bringing changes.

About CART

Established in 1996, CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART) is a research and advocacy Centre. This Programme Centre was created as a result of diversification of CUTS in order to move ahead with its inherited agenda: consumer protection and education, and to create a more responsible society. Continuous pioneering work in the area of consumer protection found CUTS CART at the forefront of the consumer movement in India and beyond. So far, the Centre has trained over 1200 activists and created 300 independent groups in Rajasthan and elsewhere. Moreover, CUTS CART is credited to have about 1000 organisations in its network.

With the multiplication in the dimensions of a consumer, the Centre found the mandate of stepping in to several other programmatic areas. Currently, CUTS CART is working consistently on seven programmatic areas through consumer perspective. The outline of these programmatic areas is mentioned below:

• Consumer Education & Protection
• Investor Education & Protection
• Good Governance (with focus on accountability and access to information);
• Utility Reforms
• Sustainable Mobility (which includes road safety)
• Women & Child Rights
• Sustainable Development (which includes MDGs, environment, livelihoods etc)

The Centre has formulated its own mission statement and strategies and has got more than 10 affiliations from all over the world due to its continuous interventions in the country and other parts of the world.

Documentary film

The project has produced a ten minute documentary titled ‘Engaging Communities in Health Services' which depicts CUTS CART interventions.

Access the video here.

Training of Trainers: Workshop on Community Score Card
27 October 2010 - 31 October 2010
CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CART)
Venue: Jaipur, India

CUTS International is organising a five-day workshop, as part of an ongoing project, to produce master trainers with basic skills to conduct a community scorecard. Renowned resource persons will preside over various sessions of the workshop. The medium will be English.
Read more...

Note: Readers are encouraged to contact George Cheriyan, Director, CUTS International & Head, CUTS Centre for Consumer Action, Research & Training (CUTS CART), for any queries about the methodology used in this study or for any other points of clarification. He can be contacted at: or

The 15^th AU Summit held in Kampala, Uganda, from 19 to 27 July has adopted the following decisions:

On the Theme of the Summit: “Maternal, infant and child Health and Development in Africa” adopted actions to be undertaken in various Member State, in particular the actions aimed at attaining the MDGs 4, 5 and 6, including the launching of CARMMA, mobilisation of adequate resources for integrated health programmes up to 15% of national budgets, the sharing of best practices within regions, regular evaluation and reporting of progress achieved by Member States;

On the five (5)-year review of the Abuja call for accelerated action towards universal access to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis AND Malaria (ATM) services in Africa, the Assembly, decided to extend the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action Towards Universal Access to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Services in Africa (the Abuja Call) to 2015 to coincide with the MDGs. The Assembly urged Member States to accelerate the implementation of the “Abuja Call” through the strengthening of health systems, financing of health research, partnerships with relevant stakeholders; and a multi-sectoral and integrated approach to disease control.

On the state of Peace and Security in Africa, the Assembly welcomed the efforts deployed by the AU and the Regional Economic Communities / Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RECs/RMs), with the support of the international community, towards the full operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture, in particular the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) and the African Standby Force (ASF). The Assembly reiterates its concern at the continued impasse in the process aimed at restoring constitutional order in Madagascar, due mainly to the refusal of the de facto authorities to cooperate with the AU and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) towards the implementation of the Maputo Agreements of 6 August 2009 and the Addis Ababa Additional Act of 6 November 2009. The Assembly encourages the SADC Mediator, former President Joachim Chissano, to pursue and intensify his consultations with the Malagasy parties, with a view to facilitating an early and consensual return to legality, in accordance with the AU relevant instruments and decisions.

The Assembly urged the Comorian parties to work in good faith for the strict implementation of this Agreement, including the organization, within the scheduled timeframe, of the harmonized elections of the President of the Union and the Governors of the Autonomous Islands and the handing over of power between the President-elect and the outgoing one, and urged the international community to provide the financial and technical support necessary for the success of the process;

The Assembly reaffirmed its full support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, and strongly condemned the attacks and other acts of violence perpetrated by Al Shabab and other terrorist groups against the TFG, the Somali people and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The Assembly mandated the Commission to initiate the planning for the new phases of the deployment of AMISOM, supported by the African Standby Force (ASF), once operationalized. The Assembly requested the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a High Level Personality, to galvanize international support and attention for Somalia, and the engagement of the population in governance processes, in order to enhance the legitimacy of the TFG. The Assembly also reiterated its call to the larger international community and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, to play their rightful role, including the transformation of AMISOM into a United Nations Peace Mission, and to mobilize resources commensurate with the magnitude of the challenges facing Somalia and the region;

The Assembly reiterated its concern at the continued impasse in the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea and reaffirmed AU's readiness to assist the two countries to overcome the current deadlock through dialogue, and normalize their relations;

On Sudan, the Assembly stressed the critical importance of the partnership between the NCP and the SPLM and urged them, in consultation with the other stakeholders, to expeditiously address the outstanding issues in the CPA implementation, particularly the resolution of the issue of Abyei, the modalities for the organization of popular consultations in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states, and the completion of the demarcation of the North-South border;

The Assembly expressed concern at the recent degradation of the security situation in Darfur, and called on all parties to demonstrate restraint and refrain from actions likely to further complicate the situation. The Assembly encouraged the parties to the Doha process, led by the AU‐UN Joint Chief Mediator, with the support of the Government of Qatar, to intensify their efforts towards achieving further progress, and urged the Movements that are not participating in the Doha talks to join the process without any further delay.

The Assembly welcomed the work being done by the AUHIP since its establishment in October 2009, in particular the support to the implementation of the CPA, the negotiations on the post-referendum issues and arrangements and the search for an inclusive and comprehensive solution to the conflict in Darfur.

The Assembly commended Chad and Sudan for the steps taken in this respect, as well as the two Heads of State for their vision and leadership.

The Assembly noted with concern the delays in the implementation of the calendar of elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in the execution of the DDR program. It expressed concern. The Assembly further expressed its concern at the continued activities of the Lord's Resistance Army in CAR. The Assembly called on the Central African parties to work towards the holding of elections at the newly agreed dates (October and December 2010).

The Assembly urged the Ivorian parties to do their utmost, with the help of the Facilitator, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, to scrupulously implement the provisions of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement and its Supplementary Agreements, in order to create an enabling environment for the speedy holding of the elections, which should conclude the process for a way out of the crisis.

The Assembly took note of the transition and the process for the return to constitutional order as defined by the de facto authorities in Niger in consultation with the Niger parties, and requested all the stakeholders in Niger to ensure strict compliance.

The Assembly welcomed the holding on 27 June 2010, of the first round of the presidential election in Guinea and underscored the imperative need for the speedy organization of the second round of the presidential elections, to be followed by the legislative elections.

The Assembly urged the Mauritanian parties to promote political dialogue in good faith, in accordance with the Dakar Framework Agreement;

The Assembly expressed deep concern at the developments which took place in Guinea Bissau on 1st April 2010, undermining constitutional order, and condemned the continued interference of the Army in the functioning of the democratic institutions.

The Assembly reiterated its deep concern over the persistence and spread of maritime piracy, which is an international crime pursuant to relevant international instruments, including resolution 1918 (2010

The Assembly expressed satisfaction at the level attained in the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture and requested the Commission to continue and intensify its activities for the diligent and full implementation of the Tripoli Declaration and Plan of Action, including aspects relating to the objectives of the Year of Peace and Security in Africa.

On the implementation of the Year of Peace and Security in Africa, the Assembly, urged Member States to fully take ownership of this initiative, including by signing and ratifying relevant AU instruments, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and effectively implementing the commitments contained therein, as well as by intensifying their efforts for peace. The Assembly also stressed the critical importance of the United Nations (UN) proclaimed International Day of Peace, on 21st September, as a way to provide a single rallying point for the continent to show that peace is possible the need to mobilize increased resources from within the continent to ensure real ownership and leadership in the quest for peace.

The Assembly endorsed the objectives being pursued and the activities planned, for which occasion namely:

1. Cessation of hostilities in all conflict areas which are still experiencing varying levels of violence;
2. Distribution of humanitarian supplies, materials and services to communities in conflict areas, as well as in non-conflict areas in critical need of these.
3. one minute of silence for peace across Africa at 10.00am GMT; on which day
4. Relevant developmental work and community support in all AU Member States to be carried out by members of the armed and security forces;
5. One Day One Goal football games; and
6. Make Peace Happen Lesson Plan to be taught in all schools on Peace Day or during other relevant occasions.

On the establishment of the Pan-African University, the Assembly decided the allocation of the thematic areas to the following regions and countries, while the Southern and Northern Regions were to finalize their consultations to designate the two host countries for space sciences and water and energy respectively:

1. West Africa: Nigeria for Life and Earth Sciences;
2. East Africa: Kenya for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation;
3. Central Africa: Cameroon for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences.

On the abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction, the Assembly reiterated its commitment to fight impunity in conformity with the provisions of Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. It called on all concerned States to respect International Law and particularly the immunity of state officials when applying the principle of universal jurisdiction. The Assembly urged the European Union (EU) and its Member States to extend the necessary cooperation to the African Union to facilitate the search for a durable solution to the abuse of the Principle of Universal Jurisdiction and requested. It also requested the African Group in New York to follow-up on the implementation of this Decision in collaboration with the Commission and to ensure that the concerns raised by the African Union and its Member States regarding the Abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction by some non African States are properly addressed at the Level of the United Nations with a view to finding a durable solution and to submit a report thereon to the Assembly through the Executive Council on actions taken.

On the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Assembly, reiterated its commitment to fight impunity in conformity with the provisions of Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union and reiterated its decision that AU Member States shall not cooperate with the ICC in the arrest and surrender of President El-Bashir of The Sudan. The Assembly decided to reject for now the request by ICC to open a Liaison Officer to the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and requested the Commission to inform the ICC accordingly.

On the Hissene Habré Case, the Assembly requested the Government of Senegal, the Commission and Partners, particularly the European Union to continue consultations with the view to the holding of the Donors Round Table. The Assembly invited all partner countries, institutions and well wishers to attend the Donors Round Table that will be organized in this regard in Dakar, Senegal in November 2010.

On the transformation of the African Union Commission into the African Union Authority, the Assembly reiterated its commitment to the vision of gradually transforming the African Union Commission into the African Union Authority in order to strengthen the institutional building processes of the African Union and to accelerate the integration of the continent.

On the African Maritime Transport Charter, the Assembly, endorsed the Charter and urged the Member States to speed up signature and ratification of the African Maritime Transport Charter in order to ensure its speedy entry into force to facilitate accelerated development of maritime transport in the Continent.

On the Staff Regulations and Rules, the Assembly adopted the Staff Regulations and Rules of the African Union;

On the third Africa-European Union Summit, the Assembly, requested the Commission in collaboration with Member States to engage the EU side to discuss the possibility of adopting “economic growth, job creation and investment” as the overarching theme of the Summit.

On the Second Afro-Arab Summit, the Assembly, endorsed 10 October 2010 as the proposed date for the Second Afro-Arab Summit and urged Member States to actively participate in the Summit and Pre-Summit meetings as well as activities at the highest possible level.

On the theme, date and venue of the Sixteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, the Assembly, decided that the dates of the Sixteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly which will hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the Theme devoted to Shared Values with an emphasis on the putting in place of a Pan-African Governance Architecture, shall be the following:

1. Twenty-first Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee: 24-25 January 2011;
2. Eighteenth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council: 27-28 January 2011;
3. Sixteenth Ordinary Session of the Assembly: 30th January to 31st January 2011.

On the theme of the July 2011 AU Summit, the Assembly, decided that the theme for the Summit in July 2011 will be “Accelerating Youth empowerment for sustainable development”.

On the date and venue of the twenty-third Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, the Assembly welcomed the offer by the government of the Republic of Gabon to host the twenty-third ordinary session of assembly of the African union scheduled for July 2014 in Libreville, Gabon. The Assembly accepted the offer and requested the Commission in consultation with the host country to propose in due course, dates for the holding of the meetings of the Libreville Summit.

On strengthening of the cooperation among the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to address the Development Challenges OF Africa, the Assembly encouraged Mr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU Commission; Mr. Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank; and Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa to pursue their on-going joint efforts to deepen the relationship among the three Pan-African institutions.

On the support the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Project on the African Continent, the Assembly, endorsed the African bid to host the SKA on the African continent, thereby providing the world with the unique instrument for frontier research and discovery, cementing Africa's commitment to contribute to global scientific excellence and enterprise.

On the integration of the African regional organization for standardization, the Assembly, requested the Commission to work in collaboration with the Permanent Representatives' Committee (PRC) and its relevant Sub-Committees, and the Republic of Kenya in compiling a report on ARSO including the structural and financial implications of ARSO's integration into the AU structures for consideration by the Assembly through the Executive Council;

On the commemoration of Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security, the Assembly decided that an Africa Food and Nutrition Security Day (AFND) will be commemorated on 30 October every year.

On the promotion of cooperation, dialogue and respect for diversity in the field of human rights, the Assembly decided to support the UN Human Rights Council as a global forum for dialogue on human rights issues based on the principles of mutual respect, cooperation, objectivity and non-selectivity.

On the African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards, the Assembly decided to name the African Union Scientific Awards as “African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Awards”.

On the establishment and operationalisation of the African Petroleum Fund, the Assembly decided on the establishment of the African Petroleum Fund, the financing of which will be on a voluntary basis.

On Climate Change negotiations, the Assembly endorsed the recommendations of CAHOSCC on the streamlined single negotiation structure at the Ministerial and Experts' levels, with a view to ensuring effective coordination of the negotiation on climate change towards the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16) and COP 17 in Cancun, Mexico and in South Africa in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as follows:

Algeria to serve as Coordinator at the Ministerial level with Mali in its capacity as current Chairperson of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment to serve as Co-Coordinator;

The Democratic Republic of Congo to serve as Coordinator at the Experts' level together with Nigeria as Co-Coordinator;

The African Group of Technical Negotiators to establish a Bureau.

The Assembly also endorsed the recommendations of CAHOSCC for the continuation of the membership of the Republic of South Africa, the host of COP 17, within CAHOSCC, as well as the inclusion of the Democratic Republic of Congo in its capacity as the Chairperson of the African Group of the Technical Negotiators

It further endorsed the Decision of CAHOSCC to hold a meeting before COP 16 scheduled in Cancun, Mexico in December 2010.

On the reform of the United Nations Security Council, the Assembly reaffirmed the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration on the Reform of the United Nations Security Council containing the African Common Position, called for its intensive promotion and stressed the need for Africa to continue to speak with one voice on this question. The Assembly directed that the African Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of the Committee of Ten continue to work closely with other African Permanent Representatives to the UN as well as with other Interest Groups in the context of the ongoing inter-governmental Negotiations on the Security Council Reform Process;

On the appointment of the members of the Panel of the Wise, the Assembly decided in line with the provisions of article 11 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU, to re-appoint, for a further and final mandate of three years, the following personalities as members of the Panel of the Wise, at the expiration of their terms on 17 December 2010:

President Ahmed Ben Bella (North Africa),

Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim (East Africa);

The Assembly further decided in line with article 11 of the PSC Protocol, to appoint, for a mandate of three years, starting from 18 December 2010, the following personalities as new members of the Panel of the Wise:

President Kenneth Kaunda (Southern Africa);

Mrs. Marie Madeleine Kalala-Ngoy (Central Africa);

Mrs. Mary Chinery Hesse (West Africa).

On the prevention and combating of terrorism, the Assembly requested all African States to work closely together, directly and through the relevant organs of the AU, to implement enhanced measures for cooperation, mutual legal assistance and coordination between the security services, in order to boost Africa's collective action against terrorism. It also requested the Commission to carry out all the consultations required and initiate appropriate measures to mobilize wide support and effective contribution of the international community towards combating terrorism in Africa, including cutting off its financing sources and ending the payment of ransom. The Assembly requested further the Commission to submit regular reports on the status of the fight and cooperation against terrorism in Africa.

On the alternative sources of financing, the Assembly mandated the African Union Commission, through the Ministers of economy and Finance, to expeditiously finalize the current work on this matter for its consideration and final adoption in January – February 2011.

On appointment of a Member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Assembly decided to appoint the following person as a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, as elected by the 17th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Kampala, Uganda:

Name Country Term of Office

Mrs. Lucy ASUAGBOR Cameroun

3-year term

On the appointment of Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Assembly decided to appoint the following persons as Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, as elected by the 17th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Kampala, Uganda:

No. Name

Country

Term of Office

1. Miss Amal Muhammad AL-HANQARI Libya 5-year term
2. Mr. Alfas M. CHITAKUNYE Zimbabwe 5-year term
3. Mr. Benyam DAWIT Mezmur Ethiopia 5-year term
4. Mrs. Fatima DELLADJ-SEBAA Algeria 5-year term
5. Mr. Clement Julius MASHAMBA Tanzania 5-year term
6. Ms. Félicité MUHIMPUNDU Rwanda 5-year term

On the appointment of Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, the Assembly decided to appoint the following persons as Judges of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, as elected by the 17th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held in Kampala, Uganda:

No. Name

Country

Term of Office

1. Mr. Fatsah OUGUERGOUZ Algeria 6-year term
2. Mr. Augustino S. L. RAMADHANI Tanzania 6-year term
3. Mr. Duncan TAMBALA Malawi 6-year term
4. Ms. Eisie Nwanwuri THOMPSON Nigeria 6-year term
5. Mr. Sylvain ORE Côte d'Ivoire 4-year term

On procedures relating to items proposed by Member States to the Assembly, the Assembly urged Member State and the Commission to strictly comply with the Rules of the Policy Organs.

On the Report of Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) on NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the Assembly requested NPCA to scale up technical support to AU Member States on Agriculture and Food Security by providing necessary technical guidelines on access to global financing to boost CAADP implementation and requested the AUC and NPCA to finalize the Assessment Report on G8/Africa partnership commitments by the January 2011 AU Summit for presentation by African Leaders at the 2011 G8/Africa Outreach.

On the implementation of the previous decisions of the African Union, the Assembly requested the Commission to take necessary measures to elaborate in collaboration with the Permanent Representatives' Committee the guidelines on the preparation and adoption of decisions, including the number of decisions, the timeframe for reporting and to make appropriate recommendations to the Assembly, through the Executive Council at its next Ordinary Session in January/February 2011.

On the partnership for the eradication of mother-child transmission of HIV/AIDS, the Assembly invited all Member States to intensify efforts relating to antiretroviral treatment and prevention of mother-to child transmission and to extend such efforts to primary health centres. The Assembly underscored the need to propagate throughout the continent, programs for the total eradication of mother-child transmission so that no child may be born with HIV/AIDS. It requested the coordination, within the shortest time possible, of collective action of all African actors concerned, with help of interested international partners, to put a final end to the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mother to child.

On the accession of African countries to the Convention on banning the use of certain conventional weapons with a traumatic effect or which strike indiscriminately, the Assembly, invited African States to massively accede to this Convention in order to strengthen their contribution to the building and consolidation of International Humanitarian Law, particularly the formulation of international rules for the control of conventional weapons.

On African Cultural Renaissance Day, the Assembly decided to celebrate 3 April every year as African Cultural Renaissance Day throughout the Continent.

O trabalho de campo, da Iniciativa de Monitoria da Governação Local, nos 6 distritos abrangidos, concluiu que, até ao momento, os governos distritais ainda não realizam sequer metade das actividades inscritas nos PESOD

Para justificar o baixo nível de execução dos PESOD, os governos distritais reconheceram a existência de fragilidades institucionais no processo de planificação, que não é acompanhado de orçamento, de forma que a planificação é feita antes de se ter conhecimento dos tectos orçamentais, resultando daí numa planificação irrealista. O que na realidade acontece é a elaboração de um “shopping list” contendo todas as necessidades do distrito. Por outro lado, este processo continua ainda muito dependente dos sectores ao nível do governo províncial ou mesmo do governo central. Tal como foi apontado no primeiro exercício de monitoria, o principal constrangimento deste processo, está na engenharia institucional em torno da elaboração do PESOD.

O exercício de Auditoria Social, de 2009, apurou que persitem problemas de ordem técnica na área de infra-estruturas, sobretudo, na componente de fiscalização e, como resultado, os empreendimentos realizados no âmbito do PESOD têm problemas de qualidade e durabilidade.

Para além dos empreendimentos seleccionados para o ano de 2009, o trabalho de monitoria incidiu igualmente sobre as actividades que constavam dos PESODs de 2008 que, entretanto, não haviam sido realizadas e/ou estavam em curso na altura em que foi realizado o trabalho de campo em 2008. Concretamente, o trabalho de campo procurou verificar até que ponto as actividades, que não foram realizadas em 2008, transitaram para os PESODs de 2009. Isto servia para aferir o nível de coerência na planificação. Sobre estas actividades, o trabalho de campo apurou que, apenas, 17,9% dos empreendimentos não realizados em 2008 foi incluído nos PESODs de 2009. O trabalho de campo procurou ainda verificar até que ponto as actividades que estavam em curso quando se realizou o trabalho de campo em 2008 tinham sido concluídas em 2009. Sobre estas actividades, o trabalho de campo apurou que, em termos percentuais, 38% tinham sido concluídas, 28,6% estavam em curso e 33,3% tinham sido paralisadas, ou seja, foram iniciadas em 2008 e não tiveram seguimento em 2009.

"The African Union seeks to build an integrated Africa, a prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena"
African Union Strategic Plan (2004-2007)

One year ago in Libya, 53 Heads of States agreed to ratify and accede to all OAU and AU treaties by July 2010. They further called on African Union organs to assist with advocacy and sensitisation of African Governments. The decision is in line with Article 4.1(b) of the Rules of Procedures of the Assembly of Heads of States. Under this Article, the Assembly is required “to monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well as ensure compliance by all Member States”.

The State of the Union project was established three months later by civil society organisations to respond to this decision. The State of the Union project tracks and engages Governments and the African Union on their commitments by managing in-country research, community hearings and national consultations. In this regard, it could be called an African Peoples Review Mechanism.

This 2010 State of the Union Africa report assesses the continental performance of Member States against key governance, economic, social, civil and political policy standards and rights instruments over the period 2004-2009. The report incorporates national findings from ten countries reviewed in 2010. The ten countries are drawn from the five regions in Africa. They are Algeria, Egypt (North Africa), Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana (West Africa), South Africa, Mozambique (Southern Africa), Kenya, Rwanda (East Africa) and Cameroun (Central Africa). Combined, the population of these ten countries is 450 million people. Delivery on AU legal instrument and policy standards in just these ten countries would have an impact on two fifths of Africa’s citizens and peoples.

Ten AU legal instruments and four policy frameworks have been selected in recognition of the tremendous opportunities they offer for eradicating poverty, promoting justice and realising political, economic and social rights in Africa. The ten legal instruments are the;

• African Charter on Human and People’s Rights in Africa
• African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
• African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
• African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption
• African Youth Charter
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
• Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament
• Revised African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community

The four policy frameworks are the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action towards Universal Access to V/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Services by 2010, the African Health Strategy 2007-2015, the Maputo Plan of Action for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2007-2010 and the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP). Combined, the ten AU legal instruments and four policy standards significantly raise the bar for most African Governments in the areas of political, social and economic rights.

The reports take place at a critical moment for Africa. 2010 is an important year for several national, continental and international processes. Some of the most critical are the;

• Celebration of 50 years of independence for seventeen African countries
• Tenth anniversary of the African on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
• Fifth anniversary of the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa entering into force
• Launch of the African Women’s decade (2010-2020)
• The last milestone for African Governments to raise their health expenditure to 15% of national budgets and realize the Abuja Call for Accelerated Action Towards Universal Access to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Services
• The end of the period to implement the Maputo Plan of Action for the Operationalisation of the Continental Policy Framework for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights 2007-2010
• Tenth anniversary of the UN Millennium Declaration and review of the progress reached in meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015
• Fifteen year review point on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

While an exercise in enquiry, we hope this report will “stir” and commit policy-makers and citizens alike to unleash the systemic changes required at national and continental levels to promote, protect and realize the freedoms and rights contained in these legal instruments and policy standards. In this way, this report and the ten national reports could contribute to creating a tipping point for change so desired by Africa.

Download document...

L’AfCoP-GRD vient de publier son premier recueil. Intitulé Gestion axée sur les résultats de développement: Regards sur l'Afrique, il incarne l'engagement des 1200 membres de l’AfCoP qui s'efforcent de rendre leurs organisations plus orientés vers la performance.

Innovants, - Cette première édition du recueil de l’AfCoP sur la GRD innove en tirant pleinement parti de la plate-forme de l’AfCoP. Quatre des études de cas publiées ont été d’abord développées par des discussions en ligne. Des échanges Sud-Sud entre membres de l’AfCoP les ont nourries. Les auteurs ont reçu des commentaires, questions et suggestions sur leurs sujets. Ils ont partagé des présentations, des cartes de leurs projets et des photos de leur lieu de travail pour enrichir leurs études.

Contextes africains - Les études de cas mettent en évidence que l’appropriation des politiques contribue à la réalisation de résultats. Alors que cet aspect essentiel de tout effort de développement fait trop souvent défaut dans les contextes africains, les auteurs donnent des pistes concrètes pour surmonter ce problème par le biais de processus participatifs et de renforcement des capacités. Ils présentent des méthodes à adapter afin d’obtenir des résultats sur le terrain et répondre aux attentes des citoyens africains voulant voir les plus grandes réalisations possibles avec les fonds disponibles.

Auteurs - Les études de cas ont été écrites par les membres de l’AfCoP venant de neuf pays africains. Leurs différents parcours et perspectives fournissent une excellente vue d’ensemble des défis liés à l’obtention des résultats. Plusieurs d’entre eux dirigent des départements de Suivi-Evaluation, mènent la planification de projets ou travaillent dans les directions du Budget du ministère de l’Economie et des Finances.

Public - Ce document est principalement créé pour les praticiens des résultats et de la fonction publique. Les études de cas sont des outils à adapter par les gestionnaires pour leurs propres programmes et besoins. Cette publication permettra de mieux faire comprendre aux lecteurs comment apporter des changements dans leurs organisations de développement.

Les co-présidents de l’AfCoP, Dev Ruhee et Abdou Karim Lo, respectivement, de Maurice et du Sénégal, ont déclaré: " Nous espérons que cette publication sera utile dans le travail quotidien de nombreux praticiens de la GRD en Afrique, qui s’efforcent d’obtenir des résultats mesurables afin d’éradiquer la pauvreté. Notre optimisme n’a jamais été aussi grand que maintenant, au moment où les gouvernements se montrent de plus en plus déterminés à mettre leurs pays sur les rails de la GRD. Toutefois, les obstacles à surmonter restent nombreux, et il y a lieu de renforcer la capacité en GRD. L’AfCoP et ses sections nationales continueront certainement de jouer un rôle de premier plan dans l’obtention de meilleurs résultats pour l’Afrique. "

Le Recueil de l’AfCoP est disponible en ligne à l'adresse: http://www.africacop.org/library/docs/AfCoP-CaseBook-French.pdf

Pour plus d'informations, visitez la plate-forme de l’AfCoP à l'adresse: www.afcop-mfdr.org

The AfCoP-MfDR has just released its first Casebook. Titled Managing for Development Results: A Focus on Africa, it embodies the commitment of the 1,200 AfCoP members who are striving to make their organizations more performance-oriented.

Innovative – This first edition of the AfCoP Casebook on MfDR innovates by taking full advantage of the AfCoP’s web platform. Four of the published cases were first developed through online discussions. Live South-South exchanges between AfCoP members fed these cases. The authors received feedback, questions, and suggestions on their topics. They posted presentations, maps of their projects and photos of their workplaces to bring life to their stories.

African contexts – The case studies make evident that ownership is instrumental in successfully accomplishing results. As this key aspect of every development effort is all too often lacking in African contexts, the authors provide concrete approaches to overcoming this issue through participatory processes and capacity building. They present methodologies to adapt to best achieve results on the ground and respond to African citizens’ expectations to see maximum value for the funds spent by their governments.

Authors – The case studies have been written by AfCoP members coming from nine different African countries. Their various background and perspectives give a great overview of the challenges of achieving results. Several of them are leading Monitoring & Evaluation departments, spearheading the planning of projects or working in the Budget unit in the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Readership – This publication is primarily created for results and public service practitioners. The case studies are tools to be adapted by managers for their own programs and needs. This publication will enhance readers’ understanding of the how to bring about change in their development organizations.

The AfCoP's co-chairs, Dev Ruhee and Abdou Karim Lo respectively from Mauritius and Senegal said: "We hope that this publication will be useful in the daily work of the many results practitioners in Africa who strive to produce measurable outcomes in eradicating poverty. Our optimism has never been higher as we see increasing willingness from governments to put their countries on the MfDR track. Nonetheless, numerous challenges remain and the capacity to manage for development results needs to be strengthened. The AfCoP and its national chapters will surely keep playing a major role in delivering better results for Africa."

The AfCoP Casebook is available on the web at: http://www.africacop.org/library/docs/AfCoP-CaseBook-English.pdf

For additional information, visit the AfCoP’s platform at: www.afcop-mfdr.org

The abolition of school fees especially at the basic education level has been adopted by many countries as one of the key policy interventions for influencing education outcomes. In 2004, Ghana adopted a school fees abolition policy, the Capitation Grant (CG), to spur the attainment of universal access to the basic education goal under the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) and meet its Millennium Development Goal(MDG) targets (2 and 3).

Since the introduction of the CG in Ghana, many studies have been conducted by government, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders in education. These studies have however focused largely on the effects, impact and outcomes of the policy on school enrolment, completion rates and quality outcomes. Not much research has been done to track the disbursement, management and use of the CG. The CG would only be successful in ensuring universal basic education if resources allocated to the grant reach beneficiary schools and at the same time used for its intended purpose.

This study therefore tracks possible leakages and inefficiencies in the disbursement and usage of the CG in thirty (30) public basic schools in Ghana. In particular, the study provides empirical evidence on the leakage (if any) of financial resources allocated to the CG by tracking disbursed resources from the Ghana Education Service (GES) through to the District Education Units and finally, at the service delivery points (schools). More importantly, the study examined the usage of the grant at the beneficiary schools and assessed the robustness of the transparency and accountability measures for the appropriate and efficient usage of the funds.

Policy Recommendations

1. The spending pattern of CG must be evaluated to determine whether it is conducive to improving education outcomes as anticipated by the policy.


2. The relationship between allocation, equity and improved quality outcomes in the education sector must be assessed.
3. Policy measures that will gradually align education policy outcomes from enrolment explosion as a result of CG and other supportive programs to quality outcomes must be formulated and implemented.


4. The fixed amount CG per pupil per year must be reconsidered. Equity and need factor should be the basis for calculation.As it is now, it might in the long run widen the social inequality gap because schools with larger population will have more and will be able to meet basic essentials than smaller schools.


5. Education sector policy makers need to examine enrolment periods of basic schools to establish cutoff points to aid early submission of school and district enrolment records to the GES and the Ministry of Finance for release of the CG funds. Discussions with officials at the district levels and the GES indicate that continuous enrolment often leads to over population in the schools and lesser funds from the Ministry.


6. The CG implementation guidelines call for timely release of the grant to all districts and schools. This must be strictly enforced to make the policy effective.


7. Serious efforts should be made to simplify the SPIP forms to reduce the workload on heads of schools as some heads do not access the CG simply because the amount of paper work is a deterrent.


8. There is the need for continuous monitoring support and improvement in the internal management and implementation processes of the grant, particularly reviewing and revising the implementation guidelines to meet changing trends.


9. Given that the dynamics of power between school heads and SMCs members sometimes tend to be collusive, PTAs could be made grant signatories to increase demand for transparency and accountability by actors outside of the formal management structure of schools.


10. To have more lettered and technical persons on SMCs to improve their effectiveness and efficiency in the discharge of their oversight responsibilities, the GES should consider establishing SMCs for a cluster of schools within a particular area just like the current grouping of schools into circuits for effective supervision.


11. Serious policy efforts should be made to gradually computerize the administration of the CG at the district and school levels to ensure proper records keeping, effective reporting and monitoring. Meanwhile, there should be a policy to sanction heads of districts and schools who fail to keep up-todate and accurate records.


12. The GES should make it a policy that Banks demand copies of SPIPs vetted and approved by district education offices before releasing CG funds to schools.


13. The Ministry of Finance and GES could publish the release and disbursement of funds to the districts in the daily newspapers and on their respective websites for each district to know how much has been released to it by the ministry. District Education officials will then account for the funds received to their respective Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Assembly Members can also follow up to schools in their various localities for monitoring and verification of receipts.


14. Education sector policy makers and stakeholders need to undertake cost impact analysis of the Capitation Grant scheme vis-à-vis other education sector policies such as the school feeding program, free school uniforms etc. to assess the long term viability and financial sustainability of these programs.


15. Finally, the fact that challenges to education seems indifferent to the policy interventions is problematic and calls for critical policy review to align policy with expected outcomes. Indeed, the recurrent nature of some of the challenges to education as identified in the study communities raises concern about the long term impact ofsome national efforts at achieving Education for ALL (EFA) goals in Ghana by 2015.

Table of Contents

1. Social Accountability in Africa: An Introduction
   Carmen Malena and Mary McNeil
2. Participatory Budgeting in Fissel, Senegal
   Bara Guèye
3. Civic Participation in Policy and Budgetary Processes in Ilala Municipal Council, Tanzania
   Renatus Kihongo and John Lubuva
4. Tracking the Ghana District Assemblies Common Fund
   Charles Abbey, Vitus A Azeem, and Cuthbert Baba Kuupiel
5. Enhancing Civil Society Capacity for Advocacy and Monitoring: Malawi’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Budget
   Dalitso Kingsley Kubalasa and Limbani Bartholomew Elia Nsapato
6. Gender-Sensitive and Child-Friendly Budgeting in Zimbabwe
   Joy Chidavaenzi and Bob Libert Muchabaiwa
7. The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and Publish What You Pay Nigeria
   Dauda S. Garuba and John G. Ikubaje
8. Citizen Control of Public Action: The Social Watch Network in Benin
   Cyrille Chabi Eteka and Anne Floquet
9. An Analysis of Social Accountability in Africa
   Mary McNeil and Carmen Malena

Foreword

This is a challenging time for Africa. The combined effects of the global economic crisis, the need for equitable allocation of natural resource assets, and the ever-changing balance of influence and power between the developed and developing worlds are requiring African countries to re-evaluate their governance structures. These challenges are accompanied by new opportunities. For example, the proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) - such as cell phones and SMS text messaging, among others - is opening up government processes to a larger public and empowering ordinary citizens to demand accountability from their leaders. Although in many countries these trends are still nascent, they have the potential to radically change democratic processes.

“Social accountability,” as defined in this book, is an approach to enhancing government accountability and transparency. It refers to the wide range of citizen actions to hold the state to account, as well as actions on the part of government, media, and other actors that promote or facilitate these efforts. Social accountability strategies and tools help empower ordinary citizens to exercise their inherent rights and to hold governments accountable for its use of public funds and how it exercises authority. Global experience has shown that such initiatives can be catalytic and that they increasingly play a critical role in securing and sustaining governance reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability.

The case studies presented in this book represent a cross-section of African countries, drawing on initiatives launched and implemented both by civil society groups and by local and national governments in countries with different political contexts and cultures. They demonstrate that although social accountability approaches are strongly influenced by many underlying legal, social, cultural, and economic factors, they can still be implemented in difficult political environments (Zimbabwe). They point to the overriding problem of access to information (Ghana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe), and the low readability of information when it is available (Benin).

They demonstrate what can happen when governments and civil society work together to institute accountability measures (Nigeria), and the implementation challenges they face in environments ranging from decentralized (Tanzania) to more centralized (Senegal). In the introductory and concluding chapters, the editors explain what social accountability means in the African context and distill some common success factors and lessons that can help other practitioners and innovators in the field.

I am especially pleased that this volume emphasizes the “how to” of reform, as described by those who have implemented such approaches on the ground. The World Bank Institute plans to draw on and integrate this kind of knowledge into its global learning programs, relying increasingly on South-South exchanges of experience.

The credit for this volume belongs to the authors of the case studies, who have shared many astute and personal insights into the challenges they faced. Despite such challenges, each has succeeded in helping citizens make their voices heard and shape the way they are governed.

Sanjay Pradhan
Vice President
World Bank Institute

To purchase this publication access here

1. Introducing Accountability and Transparency to Water and Sanitation Services in Honduras through Enhanced User Participation

In recent years the Honduran municipality of Puerto Cortés has received significant attention for managing its own water and sanitation sectors. National reforms made this possible. This case examines these reforms, with an emphasis on:

• User Involvement in Decision Making. As a result of these reforms, water users in Puerto Cortés now participate in decision making for water and sanitation services at various levels, including by becoming members of the water and sanitation utility itself. Users are also involved in the control and oversight of concession awards, either by becoming members of the local regulatory agency or becoming involved with the utility’s management board.
• Inclusive, Transparent Board Management. More than 50 percent of water users are members of cooperatives that hold stock in a mixed capital utility, establishing a direct relationship between users and the utility operator. This has fostered a climate of trust and transparency, and as a result both groups have committed to improving service. In addition, the bill collection rate has exceeded 93 percent as of 2007.

Download document

2. Advocacy by the Office of the Ombudsman: Enabling Water Reforms Based on Citizens’ Feedback in Peru

This case examines how the Defensoría del Pueblo (National Ombudsman) in Peru amplified the voice of the community by establishing mechanisms for receiving and responding to citizens’ complaints about water delivery. The new system allowed the Ombudsman to use input from the public to improve national public policy and regulations, and in so doing, helped to bridge the disparate interests of service users, water suppliers, and the national regulator.

This type of public inclusion also raised awareness of important aspects of service delivery. Specifically, the Office of the Ombudsman helped water users understand that although the public has the right to access safe and clean potable water, it must also pay the costs of service delivery. In the process, the Ombudsman had to correct the common assumption that water is a free and infinite resource by increasing public awareness of the expenses associated with building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary for water delivery.

Peru has tried to make water services sustainable through reforms, but several factors have blocked the way. Perhaps the most challenging was convincing the public to pay higher prices for water. To make things more difficult, the provision of water services in Peru - and rate setting in particular - had long been politicized. Political actors controlled critical decisions - including rate setting - and as a result, decisions often reflected political priorities instead of the needs of the public. The water boards, along with officials from the decentralized water companies, were responsible for not only managing and operating the utilities, but also for overseeing billing and collections, levying penalties for nonpayment, and connecting and disconnecting users. Despite widespread need for infrastructural improvements and increased coverage throughout the water sector, water officials were often reluctant to implement potentially unpopular measures - such as enforcing rate increases required by the regulator, or disconnecting nonpaying users - for fear of political backlash. The governance situation of water delivery services was therefore untenable and jeopardized the financial sustainability of the decentralized water companies.

Download document

3. Community-Managed Sanitation in Kerala, India: Tools to Promote Governance and Improve Health

The Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project was a pioneering grassroots approach initiated by the government of India. The project aimed to revolutionize sanitation services in the South Indian state of Kerala, with the primary goal of improving public health. An array of social accountability tools instituted in Kerala addressed the significant governance problems that had hindered water and sanitation reforms in local and national programs.

Challenges to reform included a lack of accountability and transparency and broad corruption, which made local sanitation and hygiene problems more difficult to solve and accelerated the spread of infectious diseases throughout densely populated Kerala. Corruption therefore affected all segments of the population, particularly the poor and marginalized.

The Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project broke new ground by institutionalizing the integration of local communities with Panchayats (local government institutions). By placing communities in charge of their own sanitation, the project supported the sustained delivery of adequate sanitation and water services in rural areas of Kerala’s four districts. This case study differs from other cases by focusing on sanitation (particularly household latrines) instead of water, and by focusing on the actions of local government and civic society organizations instead of public sector institutions, such as utilities and boards. The project has improved on other sanitation programs by addressing critical sanitation needs and encouraging further cooperation among and between community members and local government.

Moreover, the project has mediated competing interests, enforced obligations, and prevented capture of resources by elites and unscrupulous vendors and community members.

Finally, the Kerala project institutionalized several social accountability tools. These tools enhance the prospects for improved governance beyond governmental operations to embrace innovative forms of social development - notably community-led management. It also established mechanisms to enhance gender equity and prevent corruption through public-private partnerships between local government, civil society organizations, the private sector, and user communities. As a result, Kerala has enjoyed significant improvements in development and health outcomes.

Download document

4. Improving Governance in Water Supply through Social Accountability, Communication, and Transparency in Wobulenzi, Uganda

Uganda’s water crisis is largely a result of deficient governance, including dysfunctional institutions, poor financial management, and the inability of citizens to demand change. This case study examines how social accountability tools were used in a pilot program to improve water service delivery in Uganda.

The average potable water coverage of small towns in Uganda (towns of between 5,000 and 15,000 inhabitants) is approximately 51 percent. Some towns, including those with piped infrastructure, have lower coverage owing to a backlog of repairs, replacements, and service renewals and expansion, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). Some infrastructure is malfunctioning from age, having gone more than ten years without repair.

The government of Uganda has expressed concern that the majority of Ugandans lack access to clean and safe water. It has therefore made water sector reform a priority. Uganda's "Annual Sector Performance Report" for 2006 revealed that the unit cost of water services has increased steadily without a proportional improvement in quality. The discrepancy between the cost and quality of water services is a result of several factors: poor management of water services providers, poor or nonexistent maintenance of infrastructure; the lack of a feedback mechanism through which the public can voice complaints; and a lack of government accountability and transparency. These problems have undermined the Uganda’s efforts to improve water services, particularly in small towns.

Since 2003, the government of Uganda has sought to improve governance in the water and sanitation services sector. In 2006, the multistakeholder Good Governance Sub-Sector Working Group (GGWG) was established within the MWE to improve transparency and accountability.

In 2008, the World Bank Institute (WBI), in partnership with the MWE and the GGWG, launched a non-lending technical assistance program to improve governance in water supply in Uganda through social accountability, communication, and transparency. The program was to be implemented by a local NGO following a competitive bidding process. The Norwegian Trust Fund, the Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD), and the World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) were to provide funding.

The WBI program aimed to promote the use of transparency and social accountability tools in Uganda’s water sector and to encourage effective communication among stakeholders. Furthermore, it sought to institutionalize the use of these tools within the MWE and the Directorate for Water Development to provide training in sustainable social accountability practices to a national level NGO that would implement the program, as well as to community leaders, local authorities, and local providers. Two surveys were conducted to track changes in public opinion about the performance of water service providers in the Ugandan town of Wobulenzi, in Luwero district. A baseline survey was done in August 2008, and a follow-up survey in December 2009. Additionally, the project included a participatory monitoring and evaluation of Wobulenzi’s water providers and supported the deployment of communication tools to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders about water use and services. Feedback from water users was also sent to service providers.

The program had five components:

• Comprehensive assessment of the local context
• Capacity building of the national NGO and community stakeholders
• Implementation of social accountability tools
• Improved communication to encourage good governance and cooperation among stakeholders
• Monitoring and evaluation to measure progress, results, and outputs, and to track outcomes, difficulties, and lessons learned

Download document

Consumer Feedback Partnership Pilot in the Water and Sanitation Sector, Nairobi, Kenya

On July 29-31, 2008, a three day seminar, “Consumer Feedback Partnership Pilot in the Water and Sanitation Sector” was held to introduce the concept of consumer feedback mechanism as a tool for building social accountability in Kenya’s water reforms.

The workshop brought together stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector to begin the process of institutionalising a consumer feedback mechanism in the form of water action groups (WAGs) as proposed by Kenya’s Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB). The Water Action Groups will work in partnership with WASREB and service providers to monitor and provide constructive feedback on service delivery issues in the water sector. The proposal to institute WAGs came in response to findings of the Citizens' Report Card on Urban Water, Sanitation and Solid Waste Services in Kenya, 2007.

The workshop was organised around participatory learning sessions that drew from international experience to examine and discuss tools for strengthening social accountability. Participants also discussed the role of communication in building partnerships for strengthening social accountability, the foundations of learning alliances, and the critical need to document experiences in this learning process.

It was attended by 65 participants including senior officials from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, WASREB, representatives of utilities, residents associations and civil society organisations from the four cities taking part in the pilot of the consumer feedback mechanism.

The seminar was jointly hosted by Kenya Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), the World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Water and Sanitation Programme for Africa, (WSP-Africa). Special thanks for the generous support from the Norwegian Government for the trust fund managed by WBI.

The objectives of the seminar were to:

• Begin to design a year-long partnership learning process to implement the proposed consumer feedback mechanism in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Kakamega.
• Develop a foundation for a communication program to be used by WASREB.
• To orient the water sector stakeholders on the concept and tools of social accountability and how they have been initiated in different countries and within the water and sanitation sector.

Access programme materials

Improving Governance In Water Provision Through Social Accountability, Communication And Transparency In Uganda

This Social Accountability project is being implemented by Network for Water and Sanitation

(NETWAS) Uganda from May 2008 to June 2009 in partnership with the Wobulenzi Town Council, Luwero District Local Government, the Ministry of Water and Environment, and the World Bank Institute. The project is focusing on improving governance in the water sector through transparency, social accountability and communication approaches and by engaging communities in the Town Council to work in partnership with the service providers to improve the quality of water service delivery. A hybrid methodology known as the Citizen's Report Card (CRC)/Community Score Card (CSC) and various communication tools and mechanisms are being used to promote social accountability.

In Wobulenzi, there are two different private water providers: one is a provider hired by the government through an OBA contract, and the other provider works under a normal private system. The OBA Approach (Output-Based Aid) is a strategy that involves delegating service delivery to a third-party, typically private firms, but also public utilities, NGOs, and community-based organizations, under contracts that tie disbursement of the public funding to the services or outputs actually delivered. Since NETWAS is applying the CRC/CSC to these both providers, this program will be able to compare the impact of the OBA approach in terms of utility performance and effectivess in improving water provision to the non-OBA provider in Wobulenzi, and give them both feedback for improving their performance.

The Citizen’s Report Card (CRC) survey that has been applied in Wobulenzi will provide service providers in both Wobulenzi Town Council and Bukalasa Agricultural College with feedback from the community about the adequacy, efficiency and quality of water services, based on their own experience. Later on, through the Community Scorecard Process (CSC) both community members and service providers will (i) identify priority areas for improvement in the quality of service delivery based on scores – areas with poor/low scores will be given priority for action; (ii) generate suggestions for improvement in service delivery; (iii) work jointly to identify and implement specific actions to improve the quality of water service delivery within a set timeframe and using available resources. The community in Wobulenzi will be able to monitor progress in service delivery through constructive feedback to water providers.

Objectives

The aim of this project is to promote better governance in the water sector in Uganda by fostering transparency, social accountability and efficient communication activities. The specific objectives of this program are:

1. To help local stakeholders understand and apply social accountability, communication and transparency concepts and mechanisms to improve governance in water service provision.
2. To support local stakeholders in designing and implementing effective communication mechanisms to promote a permanent, sustainable and constructive way of providing feedback from users to providers as well as informing users about service provision.
3. To help institutionalize these processes within the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Directorate for Water Development.
4. To train district-level users’ organizations, community leaders, local authorities and local providers in social accountability concepts and practices for the long-term sustainability of social accountability initiatives.

Access programme materials

Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) has become an internationally acknowledged tool for supporting implementation of commitments towards achieving gender equality and the realization of women's rights. UNIFEM contributes extensively to building interest, capacity and commitment to incorporate a gender equality perspective in budgetary processes and practices. Since 2001, UNIFEM has supported GRB initiatives in more than 35 countries and has positioned itself as a leading player in GRB in the UN system.

This evaluation critically examines how UNIFEM can further influence the achievement of gender equality through national budgetary processes and uses the criteria of relevance, effectiveness and sustainability to analyse data. The evaluation was conducted in three stages and produced a number of different findings at each stage, which are documented in three sets of reports.

The first report details the findings and recommendations of the second phase of UNIFEM's global GRB Programme "Strengthening Economic Governance: Applied Gender Analysis to Government Budgets," which launched in 2001 and provided technical and financial support to gender budget initiatives in Latin America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The second set of reports provides an analysis of four country case studies - Ecuador, Morocco, Mozambique and Senegal - and the third report is a wider evaluation of UNIFEM's corporate approach to GRB.

• Overview: UNIFEM’s Work on Gender-Responsive Budgeting
  English
• Evaluation: Gender-Responsive Budgeting Programme
  English | French | Portuguese
• Evaluation: Gender-Responsive Budgeting Programme, Ecuador
  English
• Evaluation: Gender-Responsive Budgeting Programme, Morocco
  English | French
• Evaluation: Gender-Responsive Budgeting Programme, Mozambique
  English | Portuguese
• Evaluation: Gender-Responsive Budgeting Programme, Senegal
  English | French
• Pamphlet: Corporate Evaluation of UNIFEM's Work on Gender-Responsive Budgeting
  English | French

The WaterAid paper Water utilities that work for poor people - increasing viability through pro-poor service delivery¹ discussed the need for specific pro-poor measures to ensure water service provision to poor urban populations. This paper follows from that discussion to outline the principles behind, and the application of, social accountability mechanisms as a means to increase the downward accountability and responsiveness of water utilities to poor people. An examination of the provision of sanitation services is beyond the scope of this paper.

Given the proven importance of pro-poor measures for urban water service delivery and viability, the question arises as to why such measures are not undertaken by utilities as normal practice. Although financial constraints matter, they do not constitute the only barrier. WaterAid’s report Bridging the gap - Citizens’ Action for accountability in water and sanitation² argues that the missing ingredient needed in order to reach poor people is accountability to the people, which necessitates the meaningful involvement of users in the planning, delivery and monitoring of water services. This increases the chances of delivering reliable, sustainable and affordable water services to more urban inhabitants.³

The engagement of users in utility reforms and ongoing service improvement processes is crucial, since reforms to improve efficiency (inevitably the main driver for reforms) do not “necessarily translate into geographical equity or a commitment to serve the poor… without incentives, a clear mandate to serve the poor or a ‘champion’, companies chase markets that are ‘easy’, offer the highest returns and do not require subsidies”.⁴ However, user engagement is far from simple and its outcomes far from predictable.

This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the conceptual framework around accountability; Section 3 discusses the concept of social accountability, followed by an examination of the principles that underlie social accountability mechanisms and tools used by service providers and users to improve the efficiency and pro-poor targeting of reforms. Section 4 provides conclusions. The paper is the third of a set of three WaterAid discussion papers on how to improve urban water and sanitation services for poor people. It was written as part of the preparation for a workshop for training of trainers on civil society participation in urban water reform, organised by WaterAid in Nepal in July 2009. The paper draws on a variety of literature, as well as a series of key-informant interviews.

1. WaterAid 2010
2. WaterAid 2006
3. WB 2009
4. Castro and Morel 2008 p291

Monitoring & evaluating pro poor governance

Governance as the exercise of political authority for purposes of managing the affairs of a society has been around throughout the history of mankind. Its formalization in the era of the modern political state has sharply brought to focus the reciprocal relationship between the state and her citizens. Good governance today is not only about prudent state management, but also the sensitivity and appropriateness of institutional responses to the ever emerging practical and strategic societal needs. In sub Saharan Africa where a majority of the population are poor, marginalised and excluded from decision-making processes, pro poor governance would endeavour to prioritize sustained economic growth, promote public participation and inclusion and avail social and economic empowerment opportunities to citizens. Pro poor governments are also underpinned by an over arching responsibility for demand-driven socio-economic and political reforms that adequately respond to the changing times. In reality, these relationships are much more complex, the needs and rights overlap as much as they are interdependent.

Monitoring governance at whatever level is a function of a well-developed and participatory M&E framework and citizen capacity and conviction to participate. Targets of Pro poor governance initiatives, despite their challenges must be included with deliberate intention to build capacity that would sustain participation and open up more opportunities. Other key stakeholders must equally be harnessed to give contextual insights that should inform the larger indicators and picture about governance. Kenya like any other sub Saharan African state has come far in embracing pro poor reforms and opening the political space for public participation. Our political developments and progress are broadly anchored on three political regimes since independence.

Monitoring governance remains a daunting global challenge. But while few people dispute the notion that the quality of governance matters to development, measuring governance has largely been dominated by top-down, ‘blueprint’ methods of assessments. The World Bank now contend; that all governance indicators have weaknesses; that there are no easy solutions in measuring governance; and that the links from governance to development outcomes are complex hence policymakers should view the different types of indicators as complementary rather than competing.

So, what does governance really mean? When, why and how does governance make a difference to the way a country develops? According to an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) research, governance is too important an issue to be left only to international donor agencies to define and determine. Governance in any case is nothing more than an over-arching programming concept; a synonym for making the political machinery work better. Whether this is achieved or not is better demostrated by the positive changes in the life of the ordinary poor people. This domestic constituency must therefore be brought in to provide a complementary and contrasting perspective.

1. Enactment of Freedom of Information Law: The existing official secrets act is a big hindrance to information gathering, which forms the bane of monitoring and evaluation. Sensitive information can easily be concealed under the guise of the act.
2. Building the capacity of both the demand and supply side is necessary to forging a common understanding of pro poor governance as well as service delivery. Both the soft (knowledge, bureaucracy) and the physical or hard infrastructural capacity remain wanting in supporting an inclusive M&E work. Civic Society led civic education has done a lot among the service users, but the civil service remain weak
3. Develop a multi stakeholder M & E framework capable of accommodating state, corporate and CSO actors. Current framework needs to be expanded to be more participatory to stakeholders as opposed to merely consultative. Moreover, there is need to pursue a more progressive trend towards participatory processes of pro poor M & E, while emphasizing the need to consider and include unique local contexts.
4. Emphasis should be made on greater coordination, harmonization and consolidation of the various M&E agencies and other players. Even better, a system of checks and balances should be struck between the specialised agencies to ensure peer monitoring. The monitors should be monitored too.

The Social Development Network’s main aim is to promote and facilitate effective strategic alliances among members and interested groups within Kenya. As a network, SODNET’s mandate is anchored on the need to restore the institutional integrity and civic sovereignty of the social sector. INFONET, a SODNET programme, originated in 2007, based on the need to create convergences on actions that are critical to the development of the human person. This attached presentation provides an outline of INFONET and its use of various ICT tools to promote accountability of service delivery.

INFONET and its use of online budget tool / mobile tools

The goal of harnessing these tools is to improve community engagement in local development planning and public resource management. INFONET is thus an ICT enhanced collaborative platform for budget tracking, knowledge sharing, especially of the use of constituency development funds at the local level in Kenya. The tool provides communities (especially rural and urban poor) with the possibility of monitoring the performance of central government, parliamentarians and local authorities with respect to budget expenditure, disbursements and service delivery to their local community. In turn, it offers feedback by the citizens to government, parliamentarians and local authorities of their performance. Citizens can also give feedback, via sms, to their local authorities.

INFONET, as a budget tracking tool, is important because it:

• Enables citizens to search different projects funds
• Provides constituency demographic information e.g. population, schools, hospitals etc
• Provides date on the type of funds and allocations summaries
• Reports problems to ward councillor and the constituency MP about overall project implementation
• Allows individuals and groups to report anomalies or incidences of corruption, while also uploading photos, text, videos etc.

Benefit Mapping

Currently, the project allows for the monitoring of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF), Youth Enterprise & Development Fund and Economic Stimulus Package (ESP).

• Citizens can use it for: Contribution on projects, anonymous reporting on corruption, gain information on process towards budget making
• Civil society can use it for: Report on corruption, solidarity, networking and institutional strengthening
• Leaders/Fund Councilors can use it for: Possibility of feedback, dialogue with citizens and lobby groups.
• Researchers can use it for: Analysis on devolution of funds, knowledge and memory on best practices from projects.
• Development partners/investors can use it for: Pertinent information on viable projects;

FrontlineSms

FrontlineSMS is a laptop or PC-based software application used for sending and receiving group SMS messages. It does not require an internet connection and works with any GSM network. FrontlineSMS requires a computer and a mobile phone or GSM modem. The software is free. Costs incurred are mobile carrier SMS cost. Installing FrontlineSMS is very quick: on Windows machines the process is fully automated and should complete in approximately two minutes. FrontlineSMS allows NGOs to run awareness raising campaigns, competitions or carry out text-based surveys, or to simply keep in touch with fieldworkers and supporters.

Observations based on the experience so far of INFONET

• Ideological choices: Modernize or Westernize?
• Leverage on existing practices / technology and up-scaling or create from scratch;
• Further political choice vs political will. If its not illegal, it should be done!
• Emphasis on the common person: encourage empowerment of citizen’s to act on their own & improve the universal quality of the human condition.
• Address emerging contradictions on ICTs and its impact on livelihoods
• Ownership, access and control of technology and information e.g. Agricultural knowledge (seeds, seed-banking, farm methods);
• One must also consider the following: Affordability, relevance, usability, availability leading to sustainability.

All are important in the choice of using ICTs in development. If its not relevant and affordable users will not engage it.

* More details on INFONET can be obtained from the authors:

• John Kippchumba
• Phillip Thigo

No documento Que tipo de Estado? Que tipo de igualdade? analisa-se o progresso da igualdade de gênero na Região depois de 15 anos da aprovação da Plataforma de Ação de Beijing, 10 anos da formulação dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio e 3 anos da adoção do Consenso de Quito, na décima Conferência Regional sobre a Mulher da América Latina e do Caribe realizada em 2007. Examinam-se, além disso, as conquistas e desafios que enfrentam os governos à luz da interação entre o Estado, o mercado e as famílias como instituições sociais construídas a partir de políticas, leis, usos e costumes que, em conjunto, estabelecem as condições para renovar ou perpetuar as hierarquias sociais e de gênero¹.

Mesmo que o estudo seja centralizado na América Latina e no Caribe, alguns indicadores se comparam com os da Espanha e Portugal, países que formam parte do Observatório de igualdade de gênero da América Latina e do Caribe e que participam na conferência regional como Estados membros da CEPAL. Da mesma forma, destacam-se algumas políticas no âmbito da paridade e da conciliação com relação às tarefas de cuidado que permitem a compatibilidade dos processos de igualdade em nível global e que dão conta do crescente intercâmbio da Região com outros países.

O papel do Estado no desenvolvimento da igualdade social constitui o eixo central do debate, tal como se propõe no documento La hora de la igualdad: brechas por cerrar, caminos por abrir (CEPAL, 2010a). Trata-se de um conceito chave em uma agenda de desenvolvimento compartilhada pelos diversos agentes da sociedade e que, no caso das mulheres, supõe sua incorporação ao mercado de trabalho em condições iguais às dos homens, juntamente com o reconhecimento da titularidade de seus direitos como cidadãs, sua plena participação na tomada de decisões em todos os níveis da sociedade, o respeito à sua integridade física e o controle sobre seu próprio corpo.

A incorporação das mulheres ao mercado de trabalho em iguais condições que as dos homens requer uma análise e uma mudança estratégica da função social e simbólica estabelecida na sociedade. Isto implica, por uma parte, redistribuir a carga de trabalho não remunerada associada à reprodução e ao sustento da vida humana e, por outra, desmontar o sistema de poder que subjuga as mulheres, tanto na dimensão privada (o direito a uma vida livre de violência, o direito de decidir plenamente sobre a reprodução e suas condições), como na dimensão pública (a representação equitativa nos níveis de tomada de decisões da sociedade).

O progresso na igualdade de gênero se relaciona diretamente com os avanços na autonomia econômica das mulheres, como o controle sobre os bens materiais e os recursos intelectuais, e a capacidade de decidir sobre a renda e os ativos familiares. Por sua vez, está estreitamente relacionado com a autonomia física como requisito indispensável para superar as barreiras que existem no exercício da sexualidade, a integridade física das mulheres e a reprodução, assim como a representação paritária nos espaços de tomada de decisões.

Na segunda parte da análise apresenta-se a situação da América Latina e do Caribe e os avanços alcançados pelos países quanto a políticas, planos e programas com relação à avaliação da aplicação da Plataforma de ,Ação de Beijing e, mais especificamente, os indicadores comparados dos países da Região relacionados à autonomia física, econômica e à tomada de decisões, elaborados pelo Observatório de igualdade de gênero da América Latina e do Caribe da CEPAL.

A análise dos indicadores comparados nesta ocasião atua como boletim informativo do Observatório de igualdade de gênero da América Latina e do Caribe, uma ferramenta que mostra as conquistas e os desafios na Região na última década e demonstra um progresso consistente no desenvolvimento de sistemas de produção de estatísticas e indicadores para medir a desigualdade existente entre homens e mulheres². O Observatório responde a um dos mandatos do Consenso de Quito (2007) e graças a ele foi possível contar com nova informação em nível nacional e regional nas áreas de autonomia econômica, autonomia física e autonomia na tomada de decisões das mulheres³. Trata-se de um esforço interinstitucional, coordenado pela CEPAL e sustentado nos aportes substantivos e financeiros do Instituto Internacional de Investigações e Capacitação das Nações Unidas para a Promoção da Mulher (INSTRAW), o Fundo de Desenvolvimento das Nações Unidas para a Mulher (UNIFEM), o Fundo de População das Nações Unidas (UNFPA), a Organização Pan-americana da Saúde (OPS), el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD), a Agência Espanhola de Cooperação Internacional para o Desenvolvimento (AECID) e a Secretaria Geral Ibero-americana (SEGIB).

Na terceira parte do documento aborda-se a questão do trabalho remunerado e o impacto do trabalho não remunerado das mulheres no emprego formal e informal, seu vínculo com as políticas macroeconômicas e o papel do Estado como promotor de igualdade e políticas públicas para a redistribuição do trabalho não remunerado, partindose do pressuposto de que estas políticas repercutem tanto na regulamentação da produção e nos salários, como no bem-estar das pessoas mediante as medidas de proteção e a assistência social.

As implicações do trabalho não remunerado para a economia e o foco na reprodução social que se leva a cabo nos lares é chave no entendimento das relações entre produção e redistribuição da riqueza. Por isso, a análise busca evidenciar distintas dimensões do trabalho doméstico, não só como uma reivindicação política, bem como um convite ao debate sobre as formas de redistribuição, os modos de produção e a qualidade da relação entre produção e reprodução social.

Destaca-se também a importância de contar com Estados responsáveis pelo respeito, a proteção e o cumprimento dos direitos humanos de maneira integral, mediante a articulação dos direitos sociais, políticos, econômicos e culturais, e a vinculação dos poderes Executivo, Legislativo e Judiciário para o desenho e a implementação de políticas públicas universais em que se assuma intrinsecamente que as políticas laborais estão indissoluvelmente vinculadas às políticas e aos mecanismos necessários para transformar a reprodução social em uma tarefa coletiva.

Enfatiza-se igualmente a necessidade de encaminhar as políticas em direção à conciliação entre a vida laboral e a vida familiar, e se propõe aos Estados e à sociedade em seu conjunto o fortalecimento de iniciativas para que as mulheres superem os obstáculos que lhes impedem ter maior mobilidade e melhores trajetórias laborais sem discriminação para o pleno exercício de sua cidadania.

Em suma, destacam-se os avanços em matéria de direitos econômicos e sociais e o importante papel político das mulheres, ao mesmo tempo em que se oferecem dados que permitem salientar a manutenção ou surgimento de novas desigualdades que, longe de mostrar progressos lineares na Região, mostram um mapa complexo que denota a existência de desigualdades cruzadas entre o desenvolvimento econômico, político e social das mulheres, o que coloca em evidência as variações, os bloqueios e a resistência às mudanças.

No diagnóstico e na análise que se apresentam neste estudo considera-se a heterogeneidade estrutural das economias, a diversidade cultural dos povos e as particularidades territoriais que fazem com que, em alguns casos, o tamanho da população e do território, o impacto dos desastres naturais na economia, a disponibilidade de recursos naturais e o tipo de desenvolvimento institucional sejam fatores que também têm efeitos diferenciados sobre a situação das mulheres em cada país e que devem ser analisados a partir da perspectiva nacional e sub-regional.

Por último, na seção destinada a propor uma agenda de políticas de igualdade de gênero, além de sugerir temas de políticas de curto e médio prazo em torno da redistribuição do trabalho remunerado e não remunerado e de cuidado, sugere-se a importância de incluir as vozes Por último, na seção destinada a propor uma agenda de políticas de igualdade de gênero, além de sugerir temas de políticas de curto e médio prazo em torno da redistribuição do trabalho remunerado e não remunerado e de cuidado, sugere-se a importância de incluir as vozes

1. Em 1995 realizou-se em Beijing a Quarta Conferência Mundial sobre a Mulher e se aprovou uma Plataforma de Ação, que foi avaliada depois de 15 anos no Exame e avaliação da Declaração e da Plataforma de Ação de Beijing e no documento final do vigésimo terceiro período extraordinário de sessões da Assembleia Geral (2000) em países da América Latina e do Caribe (CEPAL, 2009c).
2. Veja http://www.cepal.cl/oig.
3. Na décima Conferência Regional sobre a Mulher da América Latina e do Caribe celebrada em Quito em 2007, os Estados membros da CEPAL solicitaram a constituição de um observatório de igualdade de gênero.

Le document Quel genre d’État pour quel genre d’égalité? analyse les progrès de l’égalité entre les sexes dans la région, 15 ans après l’adoption du Programme d’action de Beijing, 10 ans après la formulation des objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement et 3 ans après l’adoption du Consensus de Quito à la dixième Conférence régionale sur les femmes de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes qui s’est tenue en 2007. Il examine en outre les succès et les défis auxquels sont confrontés les gouvernements à la lumière de l’interaction entre l’État, le marché et les familles, en tant qu’institutions sociales construites sur la base de politiques, de lois, d’us et coutumes qui, ensemble, créent les conditions pour rénover ou perpétuer les hiérarchies sociales et de genre¹.

et des Caraïbes, ainsi qu’à la conférence régionale en leur qualité d’États membres de la CEPALC. Par ailleurs, l’étude met l’accent sur certaines politiques appliquées en matière de parité et de conciliation avec les tâches de soins qui permettent de comparer les processus d’égalité à l’échelon mondial et de rendre compte des échanges croissants entre la région et d’autres pays.

Le rôle de l’État dans le développement de l’égalité sociale constitue l’axe central du débat proposé dans le document “L’heure de l’égalité: combler les écarts, ouvrir de nouveaux chemins” (CEPALC, 2010a). C’est un concept clé dans l’agenda du développement que partagent les divers acteurs de la société et qui, dans le cas des femmes, suppose leur intégration dans le marché du travail sur pied d’égalité avec les hommes, ainsi que la reconnaissance de leurs droits de citoyennes, leur participation à part entière à la prise de décisions à tous les niveaux de la société, le respect de leur intégrité physique et la maîtrise de leur propre corps.

L’intégration des femmes sur le marché du travail, sur pied d’égalité avec les hommes, requiert une analyse et un changement stratégique de la fonction sociale et symbolique dans la société. Cela suppose, d’une part, de redistribuer la charge du travail non rémunéré associée à la reproduction et à l’entretien de la vie humaine et, d’autre part, de démonter le système de pouvoir qui soumet les femmes, sur le plan privé (le droit à une vie exempte de violence, le droit de décider pleinement de la reproduction et de ses conditions) et sur le plan public (la représentation équitable aux échelons de prise de décisions de la société).

La progression en matière d’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes est directement liée aux progrès de l’autonomie économique des femmes, notamment le contrôle des biens matériels et des ressources intellectuelles, et la capacité de prendre des décisions concernant les revenus et les actifs familiaux. Tout cela est étroitement lié à l’autonomie physique, une condition indispensable pour surmonter les barrières qui subsistent en matière d’exercice de la sexualité, d’intégrité physique des femmes et de reproduction, ainsi que de représentation paritaire dans les espaces de prise de décisions.

La deuxième partie de l’analyse expose la situation de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes ainsi que les progrès réalisés par les pays en ce qui concerne les politiques, les plans et les programmes relatifs à l’évaluation de l’application du Programme d’action de Beijing et, plus précisément, les indicateurs comparés des pays de la région en matière d’autonomie physique, économique et dans la prise de décisions, élaborés par l’Observatoire de l’égalité de genre de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes de la CEPALC.

L’analyse des indicateurs comparés fait office de rapport des progrès de l’Observatoire de l’égalité de genre de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes, un outil qui met en lumière les réalisations et les défis dans la région au cours de la dernière décennie et rend compte de progrès importants en matière de développement de systèmes de production de statistiques et d’indicateurs pour mesurer l’inégalité entre les hommes et les femmes². L’Observatoire, créé au titre d’un mandat du Consensus de Quito (2007), permet de disposer de nouvelles informations au niveau national et régional, dans les domaines de l’autonomie économique, de l’autonomie physique et de l’autonomie dans la prise de décisions des femmes³. Il s’agit d’un effort interinstitutionnel, coordonné par la CEPALC et soutenu par les contributions techniques et financières de l’Institut international de recherche et de formation pour la promotion de la femme (INSTRAW), du Fonds de développement des Nations Unies pour la femme (UNIFEM), du Fonds des Nations Unies pour la population (FNUAP), de l’Organisation panaméricaine de la santé (OPS), du Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD), de l’Agence espagnole de coopération internationale au développement (AECID) et du Secrétariat général ibéro-américain (SEGIB).

La troisième partie du document aborde le thème du travail rémunéré et l’impact du travail non rémunéré des femmes sur l’emploi formel et informel, son lien avec les politiques macroéconomiques et le rôle de l’État en tant que promoteur de l’égalité et de politiques publiques pour la redistribution du travail non rémunéré, étant entendu que ces politiques ont des répercussions à la fois pour la régulation de la production et les salaires, ainsi que pour le bien-être des personnes par les mesures de protection et l’aide sociale.

Les conséquences du travail non rémunéré pour l’économie et la concentration sur la reproduction sociale qui se fait dans les familles sont essentielles pour comprendre les relations entre la production et la redistribution des richesses. Dès lors, l’analyse cherche à mettre en lumière plusieurs dimensions du travail ménager, non seulement en tant que revendication politique, mais en guise d’invitation au débat sur les règles de la redistribution, les modes de production et la qualité de la relation entre la production et la reproduction sociale.

Par ailleurs, le document souligne l’importance d’avoir des États responsables du respect, de la protection et de l’application intégrale des droits humains, par l’articulation des droits sociaux, politiques, économiques et culturels, et l’engagement des pouvoirs exécutif, législatif et judiciaire à concevoir des politiques publiques universelles, qui supposent intrinsèquement que les politiques du travail sont indissociablement liées aux politiques et aux mécanismes nécessaires pour transformer la reproduction sociale en une tâche collective.

Il souligne également la nécessité d’orienter les politiques vers la conciliation de la vie professionnelle et de la vie familiale, et pose aux États et à l’ensemble de la société la question du renforcement des initiatives pour que les femmes surmontent les obstacles qui les empêchent d’avoir une plus grande mobilité et de meilleures carrières professionnelles sans discrimination pour le plein exercice de leur citoyenneté.

Il met en lumière ensuite les progrès en matière de droits économiques et sociaux, et de participation politique des femmes, en même temps qu’il présente des données permettant de déceler la persistance ou l’apparition de nouvelles inégalités qui, loin d’afficher une trajectoire linéaire dans la région, dessinent une carte complexe qui montre l’existence d’inégalités croisées entre le développement économique, politique et social des femmes, ce qui met en évidence les hauts et les bas, les blocages et la résistance au changement.

Le diagnostic et l’analyse présentés dans cette étude prennent en considération l’hétérogénéité structurelle des économies, la diversité culturelle des populations et les particularités territoriales qui expliquent, dans certains cas, les effets différenciés que peuvent avoir divers facteurs tels que la taille de la population et du territoire, l’impact des catastrophes naturelles sur l’économie, la disponibilité de ressources naturelles et le type de développement institutionnel sur la situation des femmes dans chaque pays, facteurs qui doivent être analysés d’une perspective nationale ou sous-régionale.

Enfin, la section destinée à proposer un agenda de politiques d’égalité des sexes, en plus de suggérer des thèmes de politiques à court et à moyen terme concernant la redistribution du travail rémunéré et non rémunéré et des soins, pose la question de l’importance d’inclure les voix des femmes par leur présence démocratique dans la sphère de la prise de décisions, ainsi que de l’importance de reconnaître le mouvement des femmes en tant qu’acteur dans les espaces de dialogue et de gouvernance, et dans les organisations sociales et syndicales.

1. En 1995, la quatrième Conférence mondiale sur la femme s’est tenue à Beijing et a adopté un Programme d’action, évalué 15 ans plus tard, dans le cadre de l’Examen et évaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Déclaration et du Programme d’action de Beijing et du document final de la vingt-troisième session extraordinaire de l’Assemblée générale (2000) dans les pays d’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes (CEPALC, 2009c).
2. Voir http://www.cepal.cl/oig.
3. À la dixième Conférence régionale sur les femmes de l’Amérique latine et des Caraïbes, qui s’est tenue à Quito en 2007, les États membres de la CEPALC ont demandé la création d’un observatoire de l’égalité de genre.

The document What kind of State? What kind of equality? analyses the progress of gender equality in the region 15 years after the approval of the Beijing Platform for Action, 10 years after the drafting of the Millennium Development Goals and 3 years after the adoption of the Quito Consensus at the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in 2007. It also examines the achievements made and challenges faced by governments in light of the interaction between the State, the market and families as social institutions built on the foundation of policies, laws, and customs and habits which, together, establish the conditions for renewing or perpetuating gender and social hierarchies.¹

Although the study focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean, some of the indicators are compared with those of Portugal and Spain, which are members of the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean and participate in the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean as member States of ECLAC. Particular mention is also made of certain policies on gender parity and reconciliation of caregiving and productive work, in order to draw comparisons with equality processes under way at the global level and bring attention to the region’s increasing dialogue with other countries in this area.

The State’s role in promoting social equality is the crux of the debate, as affirmed in the document Time for equality: closing gaps, opening trails (ECLAC 2010a). This is a key concept in a development agenda shared by various social actors: it assumes that women will be incorporated into the labour market under the same conditions as men, that their rights as citizens will be recognized, that they will participate fully in decision-making at all levels of society, that their physical integrity will be respected and that they will have control over their own bodies.

The incorporation of women into the labour market under the same conditions as men presupposes an analysis of their social and symbolic role in society and a strategic change therein. This will entail redistributing the unpaid workload associated with the reproduction and sustainment of human life as well as dismantling the power system that subjugates women both in private (thereby guaranteeing them the right to a life free from violence and the right to free choice in matters of, and conditions relating to, reproduction) and in public (through their equitable representation at all levels of decision-making in society).

Progress in gender equality is directly related to advances in women’s economic autonomy, such as control over material goods and intellectual resources and the ability to make decisions regarding family assets and income. It is also closely linked with physical autonomy as an essential requirement for overcoming the barriers to the exercise of sexuality, to women’s physical integrity and to free choice in matters of reproduction, as well as with parity in decision-making.

The second section of the document depicts the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean and the progress made by countries in policies, plans and programmes relating to the assessment of the application of the Beijing Platform for Action and, more specifically, the comparative indicators for the countries of the region regarding physical and economic autonomy and decisionmaking as seen in the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean of ECLAC.

On this occasion, the analysis of the comparative indicators serves as a progress report of the Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, a tool that draws attention to the achievements and challenges in the region in the last decade and reveals substantive progress in the development of indicators and statisticalproduction systems to measure inequality between men and women.² The Observatory was established in response to one of the mandates of the Quito Consensus (2007) and has made it possible to have new national and regional data on women’s economic autonomy, physical autonomy and decision-making autonomy.³ This interagency effort is coordinated by ECLAC and supported by the substantive and financial contributions of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID) and Ibero-American Secretariat (SEGIB).

The third section of the document addresses paid work and the impact of unpaid work on women in formal and informal employment, the connection between unpaid work and macroeconomic policies and the role of the State in promoting equality and of public policies in the redistribution of unpaid work. These policies are understood to influence production regulation and wages as well as well-being through social welfare and protection measures.

The economic implications of unpaid work and households’ focus on social reproduction provide a key to understanding the relationships between production and the redistribution of wealth. Hence, the analysis attempts to draw attention to the different dimensions of household work, not only as a political demand but also as an invitation to debate on rules for redistribution, modes of production and the type of relationship between production and social reproduction.

The document also highlights the importance of States’ being responsible overall for the respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights by interlinking social, political, economic and cultural rights and coordinating the executive, legislative and judicial branches in order to design and implement universal public policies based on the assumption that labour policies are indissolubly linked to the policies and mechanisms needed to transform social production into a collective undertaking.

It also emphasizes the need to gear policies towards reconciling work and family life, and proposes that States and society overall strengthen initiatives for women to overcome obstacles to greater mobility and better career prospects without discrimination, and thus gain access to full citizenship.

In sum, the document stresses the progress made in women’s economic and social rights and in their key political role, while at the same time offering data that suggest that new inequalities persist or have emerged. Far from suggesting that there have been linear advances in the region, these data trace a complex map that denotes overlapping inequalities in women’s economic, political and social development. And this map underscores the vicissitudes, the impasses and the resistance to change.

The diagnosis and analysis set forth in this study take into account the structural heterogeneity of the economies, the cultural diversity of its people and specific territorial features, since these can sometimes cause certain factors - population and territory size, the impact of natural disasters on the economy, the availability of natural resources and the type of institutional development - to have differentiated effects on the status of women in each country, warranting further analysis from the national or subregional perspective.

Last, the section that calls for an agenda on gender equality policies refers to short- and medium-term policies centred on the redistribution of paid and unpaid and care work and highlights the importance of including women’s voices through their democratic presence in the decision-making sphere as well as the importance of recognizing the women’s movement, women entrepreneurs and businesswomen in dialogue and governance forums and in social and trade union organizations.

1. The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in 1995, and the Platform for Action adopted on that occasion is the subject of a 15-year review entitled Review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000) in Latin American and Caribbean countries (ECLAC, 2009c).
2. See http://www.cepal.cl/oig.
3. At the tenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Quito in 2007, the ECLAC member States requested the creation of a gender equality observatory.

Qu’est-ce que le Forum sur l’efficacité du développement des OSC?
Le Forum sur l’efficacité du développement des OSC - ou Open Forum - est un processus international mené par les OSC dont l’objectif est de définir un cadre global d’efficacité des OSC pour le développement. A cette fin, il réunira les OSC et d’autres acteurs du développement, notamment les gouvernements et les bailleurs officiels, à l’occasion de consultations et de dialogues multipartites au niveau national, régional international

Quels sont les objectifs de l’Open Forum?
L’Open Forum va faciliter des consultations et des dialogues multipartites au niveau des pays et des régions et au niveau international pour

1. Permettre aux OSC d’arriver à un consensus sur un cadre global de l’efficacité pour le développement des OSC, comportant un ensemble de principes, d’indicateurs, de directives d’application, de bonnes pratiques concernant les mécanismes de responsabilité ainsi que des normes minimales pour que les OSC travaillent dans des conditions favorables.
2. Fournir aux OSC un espace d’apprentissage, fondé sur la confiance mutuelle, où elles peuvent discuter de leur travail et de leur place au sein de la sphère des acteurs du développement.
3. Persuader les bailleurs officiels et les gouvernements, et peut-être d’autres acteurs du développement, de concourir à ce que l’environnement dans lequel travaillent les OSC soit un environnement favorable.

Qui est en charge de l’Open Forum?
Un Groupe de facilitation global (GFG), de 25 OSC, assure la coordination, la direction politique et la visibilité de l’Open Forum. Le GFG se réunit régulièrement pour faire le point sur les consultations et les dialogues multipartites et définir les orientations du futur agenda. On trouvera la liste de ses membres à l’Annexe 3. Le GFG a donné mandat à un consortium de six organisations de gérer au jour le jour les travaux de l’Open Forum (voir l’Annexe 2).

Pourquoi ce kit?
Ce kit de sensibilisation est une ressource pour les consultations de l’Open Forum. Son objet est d’enrichir le débat sur l’efficacité pour le développement des OSC, et d’être un guide pour les OSC travaillant au niveau local, national, régional ou international, dans le Nord, le Sud, ou à l’échelle internationale, qui vont contribuer à définir un cadre global de l’efficacité du développement.

A qui s’adresse ce kit de sensibilisation?
Il s’adresse:

• Aux réseaux et plateformes d’OSC en charge de la facilitation des discussions sur l’efficacité pour le développement des OSC, au plan national.
• Aux OSC participant aux consultations nationales, régionales ou thématiques/sectorielles sur l’efficacité pour le développement des OSC.
• Aux OSC participant aux Assemblées mondiales de l’Open Forum.
• Aux autres acteurs du développement participant aux consultations.

Comment peut-on l’utiliser?

• Pour fournir tous les éléments du contexte: Les sections 1 et 2 concernent tous les éléments du contexte de la création de l’Open Forum et du processus de consultation. Elles contiennent aussi des informations sur les processus parallèles menés par les donateurs, et des informations sur les autres initiatives centrées sur les OSC. Ces sections sont à l’intention des participants aux consultations, mais elles doivent aussi étayer le travail des organisateurs et des facilitateurs des consultations.
• Pour instruire et guider le débat: La section 3 comporte un exposé des questions clés concernant l’efficacité pour le développement des OSC, et un certain nombre de questions de fond pour alimenter et guider le débat.
• PPour mettre au point, structurer, mener les consultations et consigner leurs résultats: La section 4 est principalement à l’intention des organisateurs et des facilitateurs des consultations. Elle comporte des idées, des recommandations et des outils pour les aider à mettre au point, structurer et mener les consultations et à consigner leurs résultats. L’Annexe 1 contient un modèle de fiche récapitulative des résultats de la consultation.

Où peut-on trouver d’autres informations sur l’Open Forum?
On peut trouver d’autres informations sur l’Open Forum sur www.csoeffectiveness.org qui est le principal canal d’informations sur le Forum. Toutes les informations concernant l’Open Forum, notamment les dernières nouvelles, les ressources, les rapports et les résultats de toutes les consultations et de tous les échanges entre les parties prenantes seront postées sur ce site.

What is the Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness?
The Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness is an international CSOdriven process towards defining a global development effectiveness framework for CSOs. To this end, it will bring together, between mid-2009 and mid-2011, CSOs and other development actors, including governments and official donors, in consultations and multi-stakeholder dialogues at country, regional and international levels.

What are the objectives of the Open Forum?
The Open Forum will facilitate a global consultation and multi-stakeholder dialogue process at country, regional, and international level to

1. enable CSOs to reach consensus on a global CSO development effectiveness framework, to include a set of principles, indicators, implementation guidelines, good practices for accountability mechanisms and minimum standards for enabling conditions.
2. provide a learning space, based on mutual trust, where CSOs can discuss issues and challenges relevant to their work and relationships as development actors.
3. build understanding and support among official donors, governments and possibly other development stakeholders for an enabling environment for CSOs.

Who is involved in the Open Forum?
A Global Facilitation Group (GFG) of 25 member CSOs acts as governance body, providing leadership to and representing the Open Forum. The GFG meets regularly to monitor and draw lessons from the consultations and multistakeholder dialogues, and to set directions for the future agenda. See annex 3 for a list of members.

The GFG has delegated the day-to-day work on the Open Forum to a Consortium of six supporting CSOs (see annex 2).

What is the purpose of this toolkit?
This toolkit is a resource to support the Open Forum’s consultations. It should nform discussions on CSO development effectiveness and guide contributions of CSOs operating at local, country, regional and international levels, North and South, as well as globally, towards defining the elements for a global development effectiveness framework.

Who is this toolkit for?
The toolkit is targeted at:

• CSO networks and platforms tasked with facilitating national discussions on CSO development effectiveness.
• CSOs participating in national, regional or thematic/sectoral consultations on CSO development effectiveness.
• CSOs participating in the Open Forum’s Global Assemblies.
• Other development actors participating in the consultations.

How can it be used?

• To provide essential background information: Sections 1 and 2 provide essential background information on the Open Forum and the consultation process, including information on parallel donor-led processes and other CSO focused initiatives. These sections are primarily aimed at participants in consultations, but should also underpin the work of organisers and facilitators of consultations.
• To inform and guide the discussion: Section 3 provides an exploration of key issues in CSO development effectiveness and poses some fundamental questions in order to stimulate and guide the discussion.
• To set up, structure, run and record consultation workshops: Section 4 is primarily directed at consultation organisers and facilitators, mostly from national CSO platforms and networks. It includes useful ideas, recommendations and tools to assist them in setting up, structuring, running and recording the outcomes of national consultation workshops. In annex 1, a template for recording the outcomes of consultation workshops is provided.

Where can I find more information on the Open Forum?
Visit www.cso-effectiveness.org, the main communication channel of the Open Forum. All information pertaining to the Open Forum including updates, resources, reports, and the outcomes of all consultations and multi-stakeholder dialogues will be posted on this website.

Aid and Budget Transparency in Mozambique¹

Transparent budget processes are critical in democratic societies and citizens have the right to know where and how their resources are being invested. In Mozambique, where nearly half of the budget is financed by external aid, aid transparency becomes an important factor in supporting this democratic process. This short study looks at some of the constraints faced by governments (in preparing and implementing the budget), by the parliament (in their oversight role) and by civil society (in monitoring the budget process) related to lack of transparency of aid and the budget.

Aid transparency

External donors contributed some US$1.6 billion in aid to the Government of Mozambique in 2009. These donors have all committed to making aid more effective by adhering to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and to the Accra Agenda for Action (2008). However information about how much money is available, how it is being spent and what are the results of that aid are still poor.

Mozambique has made some progress in recording information about aid flows through the establishment of an online database called ODAMOZ (www.odamoz.org.mz) where donors record regularly how much money they have committed to spend or have spent on individual projects. This database however has been undermined by two things. Firstly, not all of the data is uniformly or correctly entered, making the picture inaccurate and secondly, the database is not yet linked to the government electronic state financial administration system (E-SISTAFE). This latter problem however should be addressed with the launch of the new version of ODAMOZ in May 2010.

Poor information affects in particular the health sector where aid is extremely fragmented in different projects. It is hard to budget without a clear idea of how much money will be available and aid commitments are not always delivered upon. The Global Fund, which is the largest donor to the health sector, in 2007 for example only disbursed 54% of its aid during the last month of the year, making it impossible to spend in that year. The United Nations practice of designing transversal programmes in various sectors, including health, makes it hard for the Ministry to know how much money is available.

When aid is reflected in the budget and in national financial management systems, it is easier to plan for and monitor. Yet nearly half of all aid money coming to the government does not use government budgetary execution, reporting or procurement procedures and two-thirds does not use government audit procedures. This makes it all but impossible for the government, parliament or civil society to monitor clearly how this money is being spent. The United States was the largest donor to Mozambique in 2009 but not one dollar of this money was channelled through Mozambican systems. The African Development Bank, the World Bank and Portugal also bypass national systems to a considerable extent.

Finally lack of predictability about aid in the future makes budgetary planning difficult. The only two donors to have rolling future commitments to Mozambique are the British and Dutch governments.

Budget transparency

The government has made efforts to improve the public financial management system through the introduction of the Single Treasury Account, but the planning and monitoring of the budget still lacks sufficient parliamentary and citizen engagement and oversight for a democratic country. As one interviewee said "the budget process is exclusively the governments and others hardly take advantage of the windows of opportunity for participation." While some of the explanation for this can be attributed to lack of capacity on the part of for example parliamentarians and civil society organisations, there are still transparency gaps which need to be improved.

The budget planning process is hindered by the fact that the budget is delinked from the planning process (Economic and Social Plan) and is not based on the budgetary ceilings that are defined in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

The key document for budgetary reporting is the State General Account; however a key limitation is that there is nearly a two year delay in publishing this report. Legally this report should be presented to the parliament within 8 months, which does not happen. And while it is shared with the donors, it is not made available in sufficient time to the public. The Administrative Court has recommended that a number of inconsistencies and opaque areas (e.g transfers to public companies, sectoral own revenue) in the report are clarified but these issues have still not been addressed. The Administrative Court have recently committed to making this report available in a simplified version of the general public which would be an improvement.

At the local level, the problem of lack of access to information is particularly acute, where interviewees cited a number of problems they encountered including intimidation and lack of collaboration of local authorities, lack of publication of information about local taxes and public officials reluctant to share information.

The weight of aid in the budget contributes to the fact that there is more energy invested in the government - donor joint review process, where results are measured against donor agreed performance frameworks, than in facilitating parliamentary or citizen oversight.

Key recommendations:

The study recommends that a number of actions be taken by the government, parliament, donors and civil society to improve the budget process through increased transparency. Donors need to provide more timely information about predictable aid and channel more of their aid through government systems. The government should publish revenue reports and make the Economic and Social Plans the basis of the State Budget which should in turn be clearly linked to the mediumterm expenditure framework.

Civil society and the parliament both need to increase their monitoring and oversight role. Parliamentarians need to take a more proactive role in demanding accountability and transparency from the government and donors, and in demanding transparency and effectiveness in the districts that they are linked to. Civil society organisations could increase their capacity to engage in budget monitoring by focusing on a few strategic areas.

1. This is a summary of a study commissioned by the Informal Governance Group (a group of international NGOs working on governance and aid effectiveness issues in Mozambique) and the Alliance 2015

Observatoire mondial sur la société de l'information (OMSI) 2009 est le troisième d’une série de rapports annuels qui contiennent une analyse critique de l’état de la société de l’information du point de vue des organisations de la société civile dans le monde.

OMSI vise trois objectifs interdépendants:

• Faire le point sur les politiques de technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) au niveau local et mondial
• Encourager un débat critique
• Renforcer le réseautage et le plaidoyer pour une société de l’information juste et inclusive.

Chaque année, le rapport privilégie un thème. OMSI 2009 s’intéresse plus particulièrement à « l’accès à l’information et au savoir en ligne pour faire avancer les droits humains et la démocratie ». Il contient plusieurs rapports thématiques sur des questions essentielles dans le domaine, ainsi qu’un aperçu des institutions et des indicateurs qui permettent de rendre compte de l’accès à l’information et au savoir. Le rapport contient cette année une nouvelle section qui présente une cartographique visuelle des droits et des crises politiques au niveau mondial.

Par ailleurs, 48 rapports de pays analysent la situation de l’accès à l’information et au savoir en ligne dans des pays aussi différents que la République démocratique du Congo, le Mexique, la Suisse et le Kazakhstan, alors que six aperçus régionaux présentent une vue d’ensemble des tendances régionales.

OMSI est une initiative conjointe de l’Association pour le progrès des communications (APC) et le Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos).

UNECA presentation at dialogue of the executive secretaries of the Regional Commissions with ECOSOC

The achievement of gender equality is a sine qua non to the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. The existence of MDG 3 on Gender Equality notwithstanding, the success of poverty reduction, universal basic education, child health, maternal health, the eradication of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and global partnerships depend on the achievement of gender equality. Examining the regional perspectives are important within the African context as the 2009 Africa Review of the Beijing Platform for Action reveals both major accomplishments and challenges in this field.

While successes have been identified in the fields of primary education, women’s human rights and political advancements, the Region suffers from limited success rates in efforts to reduce maternal health, women’s participation in conflict prevention and resolution, high rates of violence against women and girls, limited access to productive resources and continued negative stereotypical tendencies towards women. In the light of evidenced-based research which demonstrates positive linkages between gender empowerment measures and economic growth, issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women must be given the needed prominence to make this possible.

The development of an index that best suits the needs and aspirations of the continent is timely as the region takes stock of progress in gender equality through the accountability processes of ICPD +15 and Beijing +15 reviews of 2009. The African Women's Report (AWR) is also being launched at a time when the world observes 30 years of existence and implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

The core objective of the New Partnership for Africa's Development is to underscore the importance of Africa's lead role and ownership in finding solutions to problems affecting the continent. The gathering of information and data is vital to achieving this goal.

Premised on the absence or inadequacy of data on issues pertaining to the legal, social, economic and political fields, the AWR has demonstrated and indeed affirmed the need for African countries to place statistical development, especially the gathering of gender statistics on the front burner of development efforts. Such steps will provide early warning signs of gaps in policy design and implementation in country efforts to meet goals and targets set in the area of gender equality under international, regional and sub regional frameworks.

Through the prism of the limited data that was made available for the report, a diagnosis of continuing gender inequality in the aforementioned fields has nevertheless been made.

The report highlights difficulties that countries are facing with respect to the full realisation of women's rights due, among other things, to the persistence of negative cultural and religious beliefs and attitudes towards women. High Maternal Mortality Rates as highlighted during the ICPD and Beijing +15 regional reviews of October and November 2009 and further established in the AWR is an issue of catastrophic concern.

The AWR also demonstrates the different and changing dimensions of gender inequality being experienced in some countries, especially with respect to child health where there are increasing signs of male stunting, malnutrition and school drop out rates. These outcomes are not an indication of the need to reduce investments in affirmative action in favour of the girl child. They rather demonstrate lack of precise and targeted planning and implementation using tools such as disaggregated data.

xviii African Women's Report 2009 Measuring Gender Inequalities in Africa This edition of the AWR is technical in nature, given that it is based on the use of a technical tool, the African Gender and Development Index and thus makes it distinguishable from previous flagship reports of the African Centre for Gender and Social Development. The report in its present form reaches out to a wide range of users such as politicians, technocrats, civil society organizations, academia, researchers and development agencies. It is with a view to ensuring that the report can be used and understood by an even wider audience that the UNECA has produced the accompanying Synopsis.

It is the hope of the UNECA that the report will be used as a resource for change, knowledge building, information sharing and policy formulation in Africa.