Municipal Governance Program QUARTERLY REPORT
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Municipal Governance Program QUARTERLY REPORT July 1 – September 30, 2017 MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAM AID 524 -10 - 00006 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................1 Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................................................2 I. Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................3 II. program accomplishments .....................................................................................................................8 III. Significant Constraints/lessons learned and Best Practices ............................................... 34 IV. Planned Accomplishments .................................................................................................................. 36 Annexes .................................................................................................................................................................... 41 1 MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAM AID 524 -10 - 00006 ACRONYMS ADM Municipal Development Association AMC Christian Medical Action AMJOLU Young Women Fighters Association APRODER Association for Promotion and Rural Development ARC Appreciative Review of Capacity ASODEL Association for Survival and Local Development BICU Bluefields, Indian and Caribbean University CAPS Potable Water and Sanitation Committees CEPS Center for Studies and Social Promotion CEIMM Center for Studies and Investigations on Multiethnic Woman CDM Municipal Development Committee CIG Interagency Gender Commission CIF Citizen Innovation Fund COMAJ Municipal Committee of Adolescent and Youth COMUPRED Municipal Disaster Prevention Committee CSO Civil Society Organization FADCANIC Foundation for Autonomy and Development of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua FECONORI Federation of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities FUMSAMI San Miguelitos’ Women Foundation ICCO Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation IEEPP Strategic Studies and Public Policies Institute LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual MDS RACCS Sexual Diversity Movement Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region MGP Municipal Governance Program MINED Ministry of Education NGO Non-Governmental Organization OCD Organizational Capacity Development PGR General Budget of the Republic PRODESSA Center for Advancement and Counseling in Research and Development in the Agricultural Sector PwD Person with Disabilities RACCS Southern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region RACCN Northern Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region TRANSMUNI Municipal Transfer System UNAN National Autonomous University of Nicaragua URACCAN University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast 2 MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAM AID 524 -10 - 00006 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Local Governance • 2017 Municipal Budget oversight: 239 projects proposed by partner organizations to date in 2017; 115 (48%) approved and included in municipal budgets and registered in the TRANSMUNI 1 system as of September 22, 2017. Funding disbursements have begun on 74 of the 115 projects. • Fiscal Transparency and Municipal Council Sessions: 281 people (53% women) from Municipal Development Committees (CDM), Citizen Networks, Municipal Youth Committees (COMAJ), and Youth Groups participated in the third round of 2017 municipal budget transparency forums in Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Lóvago, Muelle de los Bueyes, and El Almendro. 1,044 people (46% women) from the community at large participated in the forums. Community members expresses concerns to authorities related to the slow execution of infrastructure projects for schools, recreation, health, and agriculture. Authorities, as has been the case in past forums, offered a variety of excuses for the delays and made commitments to coordinate with relevant public institutions to complete the projects within the year. • Social audits: The CDMs of Santo Domingo, San Pedro Lovago, and Muelle de los Bueyes carried out 7 social audits of municipal projects, and found that project execution reported in Transmuni is often under-reported compared to municipal records. Field visits to projects showed that while levels of project execution were acceptable, in many cases, there were delays, or poor quality materials were used for structures. Members of the CDM Youth Commission in Muelle de los Bueyes completed a social audit of the Universidad Nacional Autonomo de Managua (UNAM’s) University in the Field 2, program and will finalize the findings next quarter. Gender • The Viva las Queremos photoexpo was displayed in the Nicaraguan and Central American Historical Institute, with the opening attended by the US Ambassador. The expo celebrates the lives of 18 women murdered in the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) between 2014 and 2016, and generates debate about the impact of gender-based violence. The exhibit will remain indefinitely in the building's Memory Walkway. The exhibition was also displayed at the Nicaraguan North American Cultural Center (CCNN) and the Rocedes textile factory, in the Las Mercedes Free Trade Zone, where over 1,000 women saw it. 15 female Rocedes workers have since reported domestic violence cases to their human resources department, and are receiving support from the company psychologist. Next quarter, 1 TRANSMUNI is the Nicaraguan government budget online monitoring system. 2 This program is a UNAM extension program, which was successfully lobbied for by members of the COMAJ of Muelle de los Bueyes. 3 MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAM AID 524 -10 - 00006 the exhibition will be presented in an activity of the NGO Vital Voices, which will bring together 300 women entrepreneurs from throughout Nicaragua, and in Bilwi, in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, at the request of a local cultural organization. • The Red Afro, an organization in Bluefields that works to defend rights of Afrodescendent and indigenous populations, completed the second feminist training module for 25 Afrodescendent women from Laguna de Perlas, Corn Island, El Bluff, and Bluefields. The training focused on the rights of Afrodescendent women and advocacy, and will be cascaded by activists in their neighborhoods and communities in order to increase activism in the population. • 66 women with disabilities or caretakers from Diabled Person’s Organizations (DPOs) in Corn Island, Laguna de Perlas, and Bluefields attended workshops on gender equity and new masculinities, then identified shared challenges and actions to address these challenges. • 9 women’s municipal agendas were completed by 70 communities in 9 municipalities. These agendas were developed by community members through a collaborative process and validated by wider groups of community members. The agendas will serve as advocacy tools in order to promote women’s rights and needs, and will be presented to candidates in the upcoming municipal election to seek their commitment to supporting women’s needs in the municipalities. Youth • Youth groups in Bluefields and Laguna de Perlas presented agendas to municipal and community authorities, and hosted a forum for 133 youth of different ethnicities (62% women), who discussed gender equity and the necessity of ending violence against women. The youth predicted challenges in continued youth motivation for civic participation after elections, and highlighted challenges in motivating youth to participate in local development while facing high unemployment and lack of quality education. • MGP partner organization ASODEL, who works in the promotion of women’s and youth rights, organized the Critical Thinking Day workshop as part of their strategy for creating and positioning youth agendas. The workshop was a space for learning, exchange, and debate among youth and included specialists in elections, historical memory, new media, gender, and violence against women. 110 youth (59 female, 51 male) from Matagalpa, Chinandega, Managua, the Caribbean Coast, and Boaco attended the workshop. • The COMAJ of Bluefields, working with Bluefields Indian Caribbean University (BICU), presented their agendas to municipal candidates at an event that was attended by two political parties (FSLN and PLC, although at different times of day) and 170 people, including political party members, secondary school students, university students and staff, and members of civil society organizations. The event was transmitted on Facebook Live and La Costeñísima radio. 4 MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAM AID 524 -10 - 00006 • A total of 15 youth community or municipal agendas were completed in 38 communities in 14 municipalities Indigenous and Afrodescendent Groups • The Red Afro held meetings with BICU, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast (URACCAN) to agree on indicators and questions for the 2018 census to collect reliable data on Afrodescendent and indigenous populations in the country. Red Afro will present these proposals and suggestions to INDIE 3 for inclusion in the 2018 census. • More than 450 people attended the event Celebration of a Decade of Afrodescendent Communities, hosted by Comunidad Creole, a community organization in Bluefields working to advance the rights of the Creole and Afridescendant population, demonstrating increased awareness and