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Local Governance, Urban Poverty and Service Delivery in Namibia
Get PDFThe urbanisation of poverty is one of the most dramatic developments on the African continent, yielding contrasting images of affluent residential and business districts and utter misery in sprawling shantytowns or slums. Namibia has one of Africa’s highest urban growth rates, taking thousands of women, men and children to towns in search of a better life. The large majority of these end up in poverty-stricken informal settlements in urban areas. The current service delivery approach of the government has left out informal settlements and has instead focused on improving and expanding services in formal areas. The inadequacy of this situation has detrimental effects on the poor. This report examines challenges for pro-poor service delivery in two towns in Northern Namibia
– Ondangwa and Outapi - as seen from (i) the two local government institutions finding themselves in between the central government and their own poor populations; and (ii) the informal settlement population with hitherto unfulfilled expectations for basic services in the form of housing, water, electricity and sanitation. The study suggests that main obstacles to improved service delivery to people living in the informal settlements are associated with distrustful relations between local government and the communities, weak ability and incoherent efforts by civil society to act as development agents, and inadequate government driven approaches. In particular, the study argues that the local governments’ need for revenues to finance service provision is incompatible with the ability to pay for these services for a majority of the population in informal settlements.
This implies that new collective approaches to service delivery in informal settlement areas will have to be developed
Poverty in Mozambique Discourse, Analysis and Monitoring. Suggestions for National Stakeholders and the Donor Community
Get PDFThis report was prepared for the Norwegian Embassy in Mozambique and NORAD.
Its purpose is to advise the Norwegian and other cooperation authorities on how best to support poverty analysis and monitoring in Mozambique, generally and in the sectors of health, energy and fisheries in particular. The following scope of work is highlighted in the Terms of Reference:
• map ongoing poverty analysis and identify institutions which could be involved in such analysis
• assess the latest poverty analyses based on the National Household
Survey and other data, with a view to suggesting how further advice can be improved in terms of scope, methodology and dissemination
• advise on how a pluralistic professional analysis and discussion on poverty and poverty reduction in Mozambique can be stimulated
• assess the justification for and potential value added from the involvement of Norwegian research communities
• discuss possible collaborative mechanisms with other ongoing and
planned poverty analysis initiative
Filling "the Gap": Lessons Well Learnt by the Multilateral Aid Agencies
Get PDFAn assumed gap between relief and development assistance was widely discussed in the 1990s. Urged to “mind the gap”, the multilateral aid agencies adjusted.
In terms of the initial learning phase - i.e. readiness to recognize a new set of problems and adjust objectives and programs accordingly - the agencies thus responded effectively. Functional adjustment was fostered by agency concern for their organizational standing, reinforced by inter-agency competition. Attempts by two agencies to forge a structured approach and create a regime to address “the gap” was neither successful, nor did it in the end prove necessary. The case suggests that inter-agency competition rather than cooperative regime-building is the easiest way to foster certain kinds of organizational learning
Corporate social responsibility in the Angolan oil industry
Get PDFWhat are the responsibility of oil companies in resource rich countries? Do they take these responsibilities? Based on a utilitarian perspective and theories of the resource curse, we discuss the oil companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) when a resource rich country such as Angola lacks accountable public institutions. We also analyse the type of responsibility oil companies take and factors driving corporate social responsibility. From undertaking a survey among oil service firms operating in Angola, we have found that, in practice, policy on the corporate social responsibility of oil companies is mainly driven by economic incentives (it is good for business), rather than by ethical considerations
Aid, growth and peace: A comparative analysis
Get PDFThe paper examines patterns of post-conflict aid in a sample of 14 countries, with in-depth qualitative analysis of seven cases. The study shows that – contrary to the findings of World Bank-supported research in this area - donors do not respond to a CNN-effect by rushing in aid soon after peace is declared while scaling back rapidly during the remaining post-war decade. Rather, post-war aid follows several patterns and can best be understood as strategic behaviour designed to promote a range of economic and political objectives. This paper also questions the related policy recommendation of the World Bank research, which is that post-conflict aid should be designed to maximize economic growth during the first decade of peace. Rather, this paper argues, other aid strategies are more relevant to stabilize peace in the short run and sustain it in the longer run
Governance Interventions in Post-War Situations: Lessons Learned
Get PDFThis report addresses governance issues in post-war situations as these are dealt with in three sets of literature:
•the growing case-based knowledge arising from the experience in internationally-assisted transitions from war to peace since the early 1990s.
•insofar as these transitions typically intended to establish a democratic post-war order, important insights can be drawn from the more general literature on democratic transitions.
•there is increasing evidence that the direction of developments in the post-war phase in important ways is shaped not only by the conflict itself, but by the nature of the peace settlement and the international commitment to the agreement and its implementation As a result, the context of political and economic reconstruction will vary significantly.
The report outlines the key institutional components of the relationship between a post-war context and the implementation of a democratic system of governance.
After noting the importance of differentiating between types of post-war situations, the report reviews experiences from what is considered to be the most critical governance interventions. These include constitution-making and constitutional design; establishment of watchdog institutions; truth commissions and criminal justice procedures; local governance; security sector reform; elections, forming of electoral systems and political parties; supporting human rights organisations; empowerment projects, and cooperation among divided communities and peace committees.
Lastly, major cross-cutting issues are considered, such as pace, sequencing and portfolio mix of governance interventions, building trust and generating reconciliation, and coordination of external actors.
This report was originally prepared for the seminar
Governance in Post-Conflict Situations organised by UNDP and
Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway, 5-7 May 2004
Review of Norwegian support to Tanzania Culture Trust Fund
Get PDFThis report reviews Norwegian support to Tanzania Culture Trust Fund (Mfuko wa Utamaduni Tanzania). The fund was established by the Government of Tanzania and Sida in 1998, and aims to promote individual and organizational achievements in the cultural field.
Since its inception, the fund has supported 220 cultural projects within six constituencies: Performing Arts, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Industry, Fine Arts & Crafts, Language and Literature and Film, Audio Visuals and Multi- Media. In addition, special awards have been given to 48 artists who have made an outstanding contribution to Tanzanian cultural life.
Due to limited government and private sector funding of culture and arts, the fund has played an important role for the cultural sector. However, the review found that the fund could have been more cost effective and that financial and administrative reports from programme activities need to be improved and more closely related to programme documents. An assessment of the financial reports reveals irregularities in the early years of the fund.
The main objectives of the fund are in line with Norwegian priorities for development cooperation with Tanzania; reduction of income poverty, good governance, improved competence, and institutional capacity building. However, the degree to which the outputs and outcomes of the activities fulfil the objectives of the fund varies.
The review recommends that a clearer policy is developed to strike a balance between the fund’s role in poverty reduction and its goal to support exceptionally talented artists. Strategies should be worked out to help artists develop new attractive designs and improve marketing. The report also recommends that some of the cultural awards are earmarked artists who address and stimulate public debate on corruption and good governance
The Accountability Function of Parliament in New Democracies: Tanzanian Perspectives
Get PDFThe role of parliaments in holding the executive accountable is a neglected topic in the study of the democratization process in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular there is a lack of studies measuring executive-legislative relations over a long period of time, and few may serve as basis for comparative analysis across countries. This working paper sets out to develop a framework for an analysis of the accountability relationship between the legislature and the executive. Although the empirical illustrations throughout the paper are from Tanzania it is believed that the framework can also serve as a useful guideline for analysis and comparison in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The paper’s point of departure is the legitimation and decisional/influence functions of parliament – the functions considered of greatest importance for assessing parliament’s ability to hold the executive accountable. The policy making function of parliament is seen as the core component of the latter while social legitimacy is believed to strongly impact on the legitimation function of parliament. These are in turn dependent on two sets of key variables which may be categorized into external and internal variables. The analytical framework is constructed by identifying indicators along all the variables and with two basic anticipations in mind: Parliament’s basic accountability function is determined by external factors such as social legitimacy, constitutional powers and external agents. Variables which can reinforce parliament’s accountability function, but not determine it, are the committee system, party and party groups, and the various characteristics of the chamber
Evaluation of NPA's support to Mutuelle, a voluntary health insurance scheme in Rwanda
Get PDFThe report was commissioned by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) with funds from NORAD. The evaluation looks into NPA’s support to health services in Gisenyi district of Rwanda. The focus of the evaluation is on Mutuelle, a community based health insurance scheme. The evaluation has a number of recommendations for reforming the Mutuelle, which may contribute to financial sustainability. A necessary condition for sustainability is a high membership rate, which in turn depends on the payment scheme as well as the quality of the health services. We recommend that the premiums must be transferred automatically to the health centre and the dis trict hospital. This will ensure financial sustainability for the Mutuelle and the risk is transferred to the health district that can more easily bear the risk. In addition, small co-payments must be applied to avoid excessive use of the health services. We also suggest a second voluntary contract, where the prepayment is higher than in the present contract, and the co-payment is smaller. Finally, we suggest that NPA, or other agencies, pays the prepayment for the very poor
The accountability funtion of supreme audit institutions in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania
Get PDFDespite the important accountability functions assigned supreme audit institutions, little is known about their actual functioning and we have scant information about how supreme audit institutions interact with other stakeholders in the budget process.
This report provides a comparative study of the supreme audit institutions in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. In order to understand how supreme audit institutions function their institutional capabilities are assessed through comparing their mandate, capacity and autonomy. The impact of the supreme audit institutions on actual policy is examined by comparing their relational resources i.e. how they interact with other institutions and agents in the political system and draw support from the environment. This include interactions with parliament, civil society and the donor community. The final part summarises the findings and compares the overall performance of the supreme audit institutions in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.
The report was originally commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation (Norad)