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Output 1: Enhanced Government efforts to develop comprehensive institutional, legal and regulatory framework for local Governance
The output responds to the related CP outcome, ‘Improved government structures and mechanisms at both centralized and decentralized levels responding to citizens’ needs and rights.’ The expected activity result is: ‘Support for legal reform for transformation from local authority to local government provided.’
This output was aimed towards several results: establishment of a Legal Reform Group; review and mapping of the existing legal framework and required changes; technical assistance for legislative formulation and drafting, including study tours to consider relevant legislative models as required; support to broad consultation process to inform legal frameworks reform process; and gender mainstreaming and empowerment of women’s participation in legal framework and legal reform process.
Most of the activities related to this output were postponed as the Government of Yemen’s National Programme (NP), which is the implementing instrument of the NSTLG, is still in the process of development and the NPU is not in place. LGSP did initiate discussion with the NP core team about a consultation process for the NP document but decision was taken to postpone such consultations until such time when the NP document is ready.
The only activity within this output included the launch of a participatory process for mainstreaming gender in governorate annual plans under Activity 5. The project focused on supporting the General Women Development Directorate (GWDD) at MoLA, responsible for mainstreaming gender in the policies, strategies, plans, programmes and projects as well as the General Directorates of Women’s Affairs (GDWA) at the governorate level. These recently established directorates are responsible for the integration of a gender mainstreaming perspective in the development of all operational systems and procedures and training materials at local level.
In particular, the LGSP enabled the GWDD to consolidate the best local experiences in gender mainstreaming in local development plans and to develop a plan to roll out the process of gender mainstreaming in all governorates. To this end, the project supported the organizations of two workshops in Sana’a and Aden to bring together the key actors from all 22 governorates responsible for gender mainstreaming and planning at the governorate level, namely: the GWDD in MoLA, the GDWA at the governorate level, the Women National Committee (WNC) governorate branches, and Governorate planning offices. The workshop included an extensive discussion of the principles and best practices of gender mainstreaming in development planning based on three presentations of best local experiences delivered by WNC governorate branches from Hadramout, Hodaida and Aden.
The workshops consolidated the best practices in local development planning to be issued as official recommendations by the Ministry of Local Administration and agreed on a the rollout recommendations for gender mainstreaming in all governorates of the country. In addition, the workshops recommended that a Community of Practice on gender mainstreaming in local development should be established. LGSP intends to support this activity in 2011. These efforts will significantly contribute to the improved capacity of governorates to make their annual planning in the context of gender-responsive and inclusive annual planning in the context of the 4th Socio-Economic Development Plan for Poverty Reduction (DPRR).
Output 2: Enhanced Government efforts to develop required capacities at central and local levels for a functioning local Government
The output responds to the related CP outcome, ‘Improved government structures and mechanisms at both centralized and decentralized levels responding to citizens’ needs and rights.’ The main targets envisaged for this output included: technical assistance to establish the National Programme management structure and oversight bodies; support to development of the Local Governance Forum and Donors Forum; support to MoLA to redefine the roles and responsibility of the Ministry and its organizational units within the Local Governance system; establish of systems for Monitoring, Follow-up and Evaluation of LGU performance / Development of Local Government Performance assessment System (LGPAS); support to finalisation of the Local Government Management Information System (LGMIS); development of the full package of base operating systems and procedures of Local Government in target LGUs; establishment of the Project Board, Project Management Team and operational mechanisms.
As can be seen from the list of the targets, most results in this output are dependent on the establishment of the NP management structure and the launch of the National Programme. Since the National Programme was not launched in 2010, only a few results could be achieved as described below.
Activity 1: Support the National Programme Management Structure and relevant direction and oversight bodies.
Since the NP management structure was not established during the reporting period, LGSP’s most significant achievement was to renew the interest of the government, particularly the Ministry of Local Administration, in decentralization and local governance after almost two years of inactivity. Two events, supported by LGSP, were particularly instrumental in this respect: the Uganda Global Forum on Local Development in October 2010 and the study visit to France, both in October 2010.
The first Global Forum on Local Development “Pursuing the MDGs through Local Government”, held from 4 to 6 October in Kampala (Uganda) offered an excellent opportunity of participation in a dynamic and frank debate on the issues facing local governments in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. The main objective of the forum was to highlight the potential for Local Governments to accelerate progress toward the MDGs, and the concrete steps necessary to unleash this potential. Yemen was represented at this event by a high level delegation headed by the Deputy Prime Minster for Defense and Security Affairs/Minister of Local Administration and including three secretary generals form governorates, two deputy ministers from MOLA and one national NGO representative. This high level of representation proved to be very useful for generating political commitment to continuous decentralization and local governance and for translating these commitments into practical actions. It was during the forum that the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Local Administration took the decision to revive the Drafting Committee for the National Program, which has been active since then.
To maintain this positive momentum, LGSP supported the participation of seven governors, the MOLA vice minister and one deputy minister in a training course on concepts of decentralisation held in France at the National Administration College on 17 to 25 October 2010. The training consisted of four intensive sessions. The participants learned about French experiences and achievements in the field of decentralised local governance, received training in local budgets and local taxation (preparation and execution of the budget, own resources of communities and the transfer of state control of local finance reforms), and discussed the best practices in spatial planning and sustainable local development. This training improved the appreciation of local governance and contributed to an environment conducive to further decentralization reforms both within the MOLA and in governorates.
Once the GoY decided to resume the development of the NP document to implement the NSTLG, the project launched several activities to support this process. LGSP provided technical assistance and support to the Drafting Committee, focusing on two issues: access to best international practices in designing implementation programmes for decentralization and local governance, and mainstreaming of public participation and gender into the NP draft. To provide this assistance, the project participated in a number of the drafting sessions and developed materials explaining experiences in other countries. At the request of the NP core team, LGSP assisted the National Programme in identifying the needs for specialised expertise and helped develop TORs for consultants. The project intends to fund up to 25 short term consultancies to support development of the NP document in 2011. Also, the project will support the NP core team with some IT and other equipment in 2011.
Activity 2: Support institutional reform and capacity building of MoLA and other relevant central government bodies in alignment with the new local governance framework.
During the reporting period, UNIFEM developed a proposal to support government efforts to develop required capacities at central and local levels for a functioning local government from a gender perspective. The proposal focused on developing a comprehensive training manual and training the GWDD at MOLA and GDWA at governorate level in (1) Supporting gender mainstreaming in MOLA policy making and institutional arrangements/capacity Building in awareness raising and advocacy on women's participation and (2) support the development and implementation of gender budgeting in local development planning processes.
The Proposal was shared with the Women Department, agreed on it and a MOU was signed between UNIFEM and the UNDP country office. The proposal also responds to Activity Result 3: Support Capacity Building of LGUs at Governorate and District Level to fulfill their functions under the new Local Government System. The training is scheduled to take place in February.
Activity 3: Support Capacity Building of LGUs at Governorate and District Level to fulfill their functions under the new Local Government System
The focus during this period was on reviewing, updating and improving methodology and guidelines on local development planning produced under DLDSP and on reviewing guidelines on community participation, community accountability mechanisms, gender mainstreaming, gender budgeting, LGMIS data collection, analysis and use.
To this end, LGSP together with a MOLA team undertook a study mission to Hadhramout where DLDSP piloted a model of supporting local development through DFTs, MTs and Local Administration Facilitation Fund (LADF). In Hadhramout (which was identified as one of the best experiences in DLDSP, the DLDSP piloted this model in six districts in Hadhramout coastal areas. Out of this, four districts received funds through LADF and another two districts were linked to the Public Works Project.
The three day mission was designed to carry out a rapid assessment of the pilot at the local level (governorate DFTs/MTs/the overall pilot at the local level, experience in one district receiving funds through the LADF, experience of one district linked to PWP) and to develop recommendations for the 2011 AWP.
The study covered a variety of government and non-government institutions at the governorate and district level and sought answers to a pre-designed set of key questions in the broad areas of the status of DFTs and MTs, their interactions with the government and non-government actors, experiences of government and non-government actors regarding DLDSP implementation and capacities and capacity needs of DFTs and MTs. The mission resulted in several recommendations:
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the local implementation mechanisms, such as DFTs, may be a useful instrument but their status and operating modalities need to be revised to make sure that they have a clear institutional standing and are embedded in local government structures;
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mechanisms, tools, methods need to be developed, institutionalized and introduced to ensure implementation of the new procedures, such as participation of civil society in the planning process;
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two critical areas need to be addressed to make district planning meaningful: (1) needs identification should be related to specific development targets and objectives and (2) district development plans must be linked to budget ceilings and realistic district budgets;
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the local revenue generation and tax collection systems need to be re-examined as a potentially significant resource for local development; a revenue improvement program at the municipal and district level may be a useful tool to increase local revenue mobilization.
Activity 4: Establish project team to manage activities and to enquire results
During the reporting period, this activity covered four areas: staff mobilisation, introduction of project management and implementation systems, staff orientation and project outreach.
Establishment of the project team started in June 2010 when six the project assistance and support staff were recruited. The National Project Manager (NPM) and Finance Manager joined the team in September, with the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA) joining in November 2010. LGSP’s human resource model is based on the use of short focused technical inputs from international experts who are paired with national experts within the programme. After careful consideration of the project activities, an initial set of 15 TORs were developed for various international consultancies. Actual mobilization of the experts will happen in 2011 according to the annual workplan to be agreed with the MOLA.
Also, steps were taken to recruit national experts for the project. From this point of view, the project structure was reviewed, gaps identified and the structure modified to accommodate three team leaders to lead in the three thematic components: legal and policy reform, institutional development and local development. National team leaders are expected to join the project in February-March 2011. In addition, two recruitment process was initiated for two international UNVs positions to provide specialist support to the NP in the areas of communication and performance management and measurement. The UN Volunteers are expected on board in February 2011.
During the reporting period, the project established internal project management systems and financial systems such as: (1) performance management system for objective setting, performance review and identifying performance development needs of staff; (2) weekly reporting formats; (3) internal finance management and administrative systems, such as software for financial management, opening a bank account for the project, planning the project annual budget etc.
The project staff, including the project administration and finance staff, received an orientation on UN systems al cohesion and procedures, including learning management systems. Also, all staff members participated in a field study mission to Hadhramout to assess the experiences of the DLDSP and to gain an insight into the new project.
The project team undertook an outreach effort in December 2010 to re-establish interaction with old partners and establish new contacts. The objectives of the outreach included LGSP introduction; identification of activities by other actors in the field of local governance and decentralization; and identification of potential inter-linkages for future collaboration. In the course of the outreach, the project held discussions and consultations with the UN family (World Bank, UNICEF and IFAD), national development agencies (SFD and PWP), international development agencies (GTZ and USAID) as well as donors (EC delegation, French Embassy, Embassy of the Netherlands). The consultations resulted in preliminary identification of common areas for cooperation in legislative reform, civil society development, gender mainstreaming, and local authority capacity building. The discussions also clarified the potential geographic coverage as well as specific cooperation modalities. The results of the outreach will be incorporated in the 2011 AWP and future programmatic activities.
Output 3: Improved Local Governments capable of equitably and strategically investing public resources and effectively promoting local development and contributing to the achievement of the MDGs
The targets towards this output included: understanding the state of LD/MDG; estimating the cost for closing the LD/MDG gap; Local Development Fund capitalized; consolidated and aligned parallel LD interventions; full operating LG package in place; LED and NRM functions activated at target LGs.
Activity 1: Broaden support for participatory local development planning processes at target LGs
The study mission to Hadhramout described under output 2 contributed to this activity.
Activity 2: Invest strategically in Local Development (services, local economic development and natural resource management) through the creation of a Local Development Fund to increase leverage of resource mobilization for local development.
Creation of a Local Development Fund was discussed with the SFD and PWP but no specific commitments were received. Discussions over the concept of the Local Development Fund will continue in 2011 in the context of the National Programme rather than LGSP.
Activity 3: Collect baseline data on local development, development & service delivery needs and costs of meeting these needs to inform local development planning
In October 2010, the project contributed to the Local Development Thematic Component Assessment for Sa’ada. The assessment was undertaken at the request of the Government of Yemen, which called on the UN and the World Bank to launch a Joint Initiative for Sa’ada (JIS) following the truce agreement in that province. Within the UN/World Bank joint approach, UNDP has been designated to provide the lead facilitation and technical expertise on Local Governance.
The Local Governance Component (LGC), in which the projected contributed, assessed local governance capacities in four capacity areas deemed essential in the context of Sa’ada Governorate: (1) organizational capacity of local authorities; (2) participatory governance capacity; (3) responsiveness to recovery needs; (4) social cohesion building capacity.
The assessment methodology comprised of a desk review of secondary data, rapid capacity assessment (RCA) which tackled both governorate and district-level governance and aimed at building the storyline on the impact of the conflict on local governance in the target areas (views of citizens on the performance of local authorities and their expected roles in a recovery process were also surveyed through a number of focus group meetings in IDP camps and in government-controlled areas), in-depth assessment (IDA) which was conducted only in Sa’ada City and the Security Zone given, the lack of access to other areas.
The assessment identified political uncertainty, crushed capacity versus exponential needs (capacities of local authorities have been seriously affected by the war on almost every level -infrastructure, logistics, human resources, local financial resources, staff skills and organizational capabilities) and on the other hand, there is a resident population that is verging on a humanitarian crisis, an IDP population that may return soon - but to damaged houses, farming land and not-so-welcoming resident communities – and a seriously-damaged service delivery infrastructure), divided communities (sectarian strife has grown as a wedge into hitherto cohesive communities) as the key challenges. At the same time, the assessment revealed resilience of the local civil society sector, good reservoirs of capacity among local authorities that can be built open to bring about rapid impact, high demand for capacity development among all local governance actors, access to sizeable financial resources for investment by local authorities in Sa’ada governorate, consciousness of a need for better coordination and support for establishment of various mechanisms at local, governorate and national level among all partners, as the main opportunities.
The proposed interventions, that have been grouped under two headings that are part of the overall JIS Action Plan, are as follows: (1) enhancing the responsiveness of State institutions and local governance partners (Local governance entities recover their working capacity, develop local capacities for coordinated multi-stakeholder recovery planning and implementation), (2) fostering social cohesion and reconciliation (support the reinforcement of social cohesion and dissemination of a culture of peace).
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