Local governance Development fund Project, Sirajganj

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Local governance Development fund Project,
Sirajganj (BGD/97/C01 BGD/98/010)
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Sirajganj Local Governance Development Fund
Project
Duration 5 Years
Started in July 2000
Coverage
Implementing Agency Local Government
Division Ministry of LGRD Cooperatives
Funded by UNCDF UNDP
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BANGLADESH Country Profile

• Population 130 million (75 rural)
• Density 876/sq km
• Poverty 58 poor people live in rural areas 40
  rural pop. are poor (against 14 urban pop.)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
Division (06)
District (Zila, 64) Average popul. 2 million
Deconcentrated level
Sub-District (Upazila, 469) Average popul.
255,000
Union (Union Parishad, 4488) Average popul.
30,000 9 wards(Gram Sarkar)
Elected authorities
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National Policy/Institutional Context

• Local Government established in 1870 (Union
  Parishad is the oldest lowest LG Tier)
• Articles 11, 59 60 of Constitution lay the
  framework for decentralised governance (the
  republic shall be a democracy in which effective
  participation by the people through their elected
  representatives in administration at all levels
  should be ensured)
• Some policy statements (eg PRSP) point to
  potential role of LGs,

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Overview of major innovations

• Participatory Decision Making Monitoring
• Decentralized performance-based funding
• Open Budget Sessions
• Women Empowerment
• Local Resources Mobilization
• Participatory Performance Assessment of UPs
• Transparency and accountability
• Dissemination of lessons learned for policy
  change

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Participatory Decision Making Monitoring

• Participation of local community in Planning,
  Implementation, Monitoring, Maintenance
• Community wards meeting before annual budget
  session (at UP level)
• Men and women identify local problems and
  prioritize them for immediate solution
• UP plan and budget incorporated in community plan
  
• UP approved projects are implemented, monitored
  maintained by community committees

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Decentralized performance-based fund

• Annual Development Block Grant directly allocated
  to the UPs instead of sub-district
• Use of formula-based predictable grant
• Performance-based financing
• Timely disbursements to the UPs
• Fund owned by UPs
• Dissemination of information to Communities
• 30 of funds earmarked for women

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Open Budget Session

• UP Budget prepared through consultation with
  community opinion of local stakeholders on
  allocations to different activities
• Budget meetings usually attended by 100-500
  persons
• Communitys concerns are reflected in the budget
• Community participation in local resource
  mobilization
• Information on different sources of revenue and
  expenditures provided to communities

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Women Empowerment

• UP Women members are organized / trained through
  Women Development Forum at district Upazila
  level.
• At least 30 of local committees are chaired by
  female members
• 30 local development fund are earmarked for
  women
• Women participation in decision making process
• Advocacy information on women rights in the
  local governments process

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Local Resource Mobilization

• Enhancement of local revenue mobilization is one
  of the key criteria for accessibility to funds
• Training/Counselling to UPs and Communities
• Local resource mobilized for OM
• Incentive for performing UPs (e.g. in revenue
  collection)
• Community are informed about the use of revenue
  collected by UPs.
• Contribute to the government effort to revise
  model tax schedule strategy

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Participatory Performance Assessment

• Assessment of the UP Activities by the community
• The assessment done once a year in a particular
  day in presence of local people
• The assessment facilitated by UP members or any
  persons from community and community
  representatives provided score
• Participation of 100-300 persons (including
  20-30 women) in the assessment workshop
• Use of public score card to assess the
  performance of Ups
• Links between the results of the performance
  assessment and funding capacity building
  activities of UPs

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Capacity Building Activities

• Mostly learning by doing approach for capacity
  building of UP representatives
• Training on general capacity building to UP
  representatives officials
• Training on Participatory planning to UPs and
  community representatives
• Training to implementation and supervision
  committees on scheme management
• Technical training to implementation and
  supervision committees for quality control
• Study tour (abroad), cross visits, exposure
  visits for UP representatives, Government
  officials for learning from best practices
• Workshops for sharing the learning and
  disseminate those to the actors
• Organization of different forums like UP Chairman
  Forum, Union Facilitation Team, Women
  development Forum, Citizen committees for
  institutionalize the capacity building activities

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Transparency Accountability

• Organization of UDC, WDC, SSCs UFT in a
  transparent manner to ensure participation of
  community
• Use of scheme information boards, UP notice
  boards for information dissemination
• - Monitoring
  activities managed
• by community
• - Access of
  communities to UP
• financial
  transactions
• - Community
  gathering at the
• start and
  handover of schemes.

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Dissemination of lessons learned

• Performance assessment score card (eventually
  introduced nationally by LG Ministry)
• Incentive for the LGIs linked with Performance
  outcome
• Introduction of Direct block fund for Union
  Parishads by the government in 2004-05.
  
• Guideline for use of Union Parishad Block Fund
  reflected the learning of SLGDF project

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Major innovations of the SLGDFP
Appropriate financing procedures
Improved Planning Budgeting
Capacity building for all stakeholders
SLGDFP
Accountab. transparency with trust and
credibility
Efficient implement. production
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Results/Impact of the project

• The Performance Review Process has served as an
  important mechanism for improving accountability,
  relative efficiency, effectiveness and quality of
  different institutional arrangements
• 95 UP offices of Sirajganj district remain open
  functional in the office days
• Financial Management of the participating UPs are
  in order
• Community satisfaction with the UP performance
  have been enhanced
• Accountability of UPs to the community has been
  strengthened
• Women members are able to exercise their rights
• Total Revenue generation of the unions has been
  enhanced five times than prior to the project
  intervention
• The open budget meetings and disclosure of union
  parishads financial statement to public has
  increased the access of the people in UPs
  decision making process.

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Results/Impact of the project

• The participatory planning process has been
  widely recognised as improving scheme selection,
  implementation and OM.
• Community involvement in planning,
  implementation, monitoring have been ensured
• Communities are better informed
• Poor people as well as women are participating in
  the decision making process
• Good quality schemes are implemented
• Substantial differences in asset value
• Increased ownership and better management of
  decentralized funds by the union parishads
• The timing of the SLGDP grant allows the UPs to
  undertake a better budgeting processes
• The flow of funds directly to the UP has helped
  to move the focus of decision making about scheme
  selection and implementation to the local level

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Results/Impact of the project

• ? The main outcome arising from
  participatory planning is that planning is more
  demand led
• ? Peoples participation in planning,
  implementation is greater value addition to many
  of the schemes improving the quality of the final
  output
• ? Community ownership of the local
  development activities has been increased
• ? Incidence of embezzlement of fund has
  been reduced
• ? Union Parishads are in better position to
  deliver different services to the community
  
• ? Project innovations are well accepted by
  government, development partners, civil society ,
  LGIs and Community
• ? Different development partners (WB, EU,
  SDC) are coming forward to upscale the Sirajganj
  model in the other parts of the country

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Challenges

• Government Commitment towards decentralization
• Intervention of local legislator in local
  development activities
• Institutionalization of capacity building
  activities as well as Participatory processes at
  local level
• Sensitization of politicians and the bureaucrats
  towards strong local governance
• Implementation of constitutional provision
  regarding local government
• Coherent support of development partners towards
  local governance initiatives

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Thanks