Conclusions and Recomendations
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SUMMATIVE EVALUATION OF MS COUTRY PROGRAMME STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMME SUPPORT WITHIN THE “DEMOCRACY FOCUS” Mozambique FINAL REPORT By Elias Ainadine May 2011 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................... iii Executive summary ................................................................................................................................ iv 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The programme ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The evaluation............................................................................................................................... 1 2 PROGRAMME STRATEGY AND DESIGN ................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Country Programme Strategy ....................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Partnership Approach ................................................................................................................... 5 3 ACHIEVEMENTS .................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Building Local Democracy ............................................................................................................. 8 3.3 Anti-Corruption ........................................................................................................................... 10 3.3 Democracy in Primary Schools .................................................................................................... 11 3.4 Capacity Development ................................................................................................................ 13 4 GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNT .......................................................................................... 15 5 RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 16 Summative Evaluation of MS CPS (2008 – 2012) – Final Report – May 2011 iii Acronyms AA ActionAid AAI ActionAid International AADK ActionAid Denmark AC Anti-Corruption ACUDES Cultural Association for Sustainable Development ADPP Aid Development from People to People AMOPED Mozambican Association of Parents and Care Takers AMOPROC Mozambican Association for Citizenship Promotion BLD Building Local Democracy CC Consultative Council CCM Christian Council of Mozambique CPS Country Programme Strategy CS Civil Society CSO Civil Society Organization CSP Country Strategy Paper DDF District Development Fund DO Development Observatory DP District Platform DPS Democracy in Primary School FECIV Civic Education Institute FONGA Forum of NGOs in Gaza FOPROI Forum of NGOs in Inhambane GMD Mozambique Debt Group GTO Oppressed Theatre Group IGT International Governance Team INGO International Non-Government Organization IPCC Institutions for Community Consultation and Participation LC Local Council LDH Human Rights League LG Local Government LFA Logical Framework LOLE Law of State‟s Local Organs MAE Ministry of State Administration MPD Ministry of Planning and Development NGO Non-Government Organization ONP Teachers National Organization ORAM Rural Association for Mutual Help PEDD Strategic Plan for District Development PES Social and Economic Plan PESOD District Social and Economic Plan and Budget P4C People for Change ToR Terms of Reference T4C Training for Change UDEBA-LAB Basic Education Development Unit – Laboratory Summative Evaluation of MS CPS (2008 – 2012) – Final Report – May 2011 iv Executive summary Programme Design Relevance Weak accountability, high levels of corruption, lack of transparency in allocation of public resources and problematic public financial management contribute to weakening government‟s ability to ensure access and provide good quality services to the citizens. The Government of Mozambique is addressing these problems through the Public Sector Reform Programme introduced in 2001 but, many challenges remain related to the weak capacity of the state and government institutions, lack of transparency and accountability mechanisms of public authorities. The legal framework for decentralization approved in 2003 creates spaces for Civil Society participation (Consultative Councils and Development Observatories) in the decision-making process at various levels, but the engagement of CS is yet not effective. The MS programme that prioritizes Building Local Democracy, Anti-Corruption and Democracy in Primary Schools is responsive to the problems that affect the governance process. It is also aligned with the ongoing decentralization process and the measures being taken by the state and government in the fight against corruption. Coherence The MS programme support activities basically oriented to i) building the capacity of the partner organizations, duty bearers, and rights holders; ii) strengthening the CS structures (CS forums and platforms, local councils, school councils) to participate in spaces created for CS participation and; iii) support the engagement of CS with government institutions at various levels. This represents an adequate response to the increasing openness of the government for CS participation in decision making process related to policy planning and implementation. There is however a need to reflect about the programme design in relation to the definition of themes and setting immediate objectives. In the current LFA there is no clear line between the Building Local Democracy and Anti-Corruption themes. It appears to be some overlaps between the two themes in terms immediate objectives and consequently their outputs and indicators. Partners portfolio The MS partners portfolio includes a diversity of national CSOs ranging from national to district based CSOs as well as CSOs with ties at all levels. It also includes some thematic CSOs particularly the ones working in the DPS theme, whose are from education sector background. This setting represents strength for the programme allowing presence at various levels and opportunities for networking among partners placed from different levels. There are however challenges and constraints which are not exclusive for MS partners but rather the origin and nature of CS in Mozambique. Most CSOs operate as “service providers” or “consultancy CSOs”, rather than real CS movements that Summative Evaluation of MS CPS (2008 – 2012) – Final Report – May 2011 v represent the interests of their constituencies. Learning from Inhambane and Gaza provinces, the provincial forums for instance, are not playing the expected role of representation and coordination of their member CSOs but rather trying to be implementers in the ground and in some cases competing for accessing funds with their members. Linking local activities to national (or international) advocacy initiatives Linking local activities to actors at national level has a great potential especially when dealing with corruption issues or carrying out advocacy work. Local evidences can be used for advocating at national level, with potential of contributing for changes at policy level. One of the outputs of the programme in this regard was to create a coalition with other CSOs outside the MS partners, but based on information available for the evaluation, this has not been achieved. Gender analysis and gender mainstreaming Gender mainstreaming is a key component of the MS programme in Mozambique. However, from the outset there has been weak conceptualization of gender analysis and gender mainstreaming in the programme document which perceives women participation as a way of addressing gender. In the programme implementation gender was not sufficiently incorporated and not systematically planned with clear targeted objectives and outputs. There is a mixture of understandings and interpretations about gender and gender mainstreaming by different stakeholders. Partnership Approach As MS is implementing a programme on “Democracy Focus” the partnership approach is an asset for sustainable impact, as it ultimately empowers citizens. It is highly valued by all stakeholders as an effective approach for programme implementation. It has over the years empowered the partners and communities (represented through district platforms, school councils and other Civil Society structures) to engage with government and influence the decision making processes. A number of factors contributed to the positive assessment of the MS partnership, which include: i) the willingness of MS to listening the partners, involving them in the planning processes, and the responsiveness to their concerns throughout the programme implementation; ii) the quarterly evaluation meetings with all partners, seen as good forums for dialogue between MS and partners; iii) the MS commitment to support partners in resolving institutional and organizations challenges that interfered with the program implementation; iv) the training provided by MS enhancing partners‟ capacities to effectively implement the programme, including the allocation of advisors for technical and institutional support; v) the reflection meetings, exchange of experiences and promotion of networking among partners