Nepal Country Case Study Citizens' Voice and Accountability Evaluation
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Danida NEPAL COUNTRY CASE STUDY CITIZENS’ VOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY EVALUATION July 2008 July 2008 Production: Royal Danish Embassy, Kathmandu, Nepal Cover Design: Designgrafik A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark This report can be ordered from the Royal Danish Embassy: [email protected] The report will, together with the four other Country Case Studies from Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia and Mozambique, be placed on the CD-ROM inserted in the main evaluation report which will be published by the Department for International Develop- ment, DFID, later in the year: www.dfid.gov.uk . Responsibility for the content and presentation of findings, conclusions and recommendations rests with the authors. 2 Preamble The Nepal Country Case Study took place at a time of apprehension, hope and frustration in the country – in October 2007, when the main focus of attention was the postponement of the scheduled elections for a Constituent Assembly. After centuries of monarchical rule; after ten years of violent conflict between the Maoist insurgents and the political establishment; after the King‟s relinquishing power; after the signing of a peace agreement with the insurgents; after the coming together of eight political parties in an interim transitional government; and after the re- cent withdrawal of the main Maoist party from the coalition – after all these things, it was hoped that the Constituent Assembly would be Nepal‟s chance for reconciliation, reconstruction and the establishment of democratic structures. For this evaluation, the build-up to the Constituent Assembly was a touchstone of how the donors in Nepal had reacted to this major opportunity to enhance the citizens‟ voice and to build mechanisms for ensuring government accountability. And, for those who, like us, are attempting a situation analysis of Nepal, here is a warning: „The truth is that this is a complicated country, its 26 million people an intricate tangle. Best es- timates have 90-odd caste and ethnic nationalities living in the country‟s 150,000 square kilome- tres (less than 20 percent of which is arable), speaking 71 languages and dialects, and observing Hindu, Buddhist, animist, Muslim, Sikh or Christian rites or, more and more, eschewing god. There is no such thing as a typical Nepali. Each caste and ethnic nationality has its own class di- vides, hierarchies and patriarchies. Each has its own origin myths, its own history and its own particular relationship to state power in Kathmandu. People‟s political affiliations swing from communist to Hindu fundamentalist. All this makes the country difficult to decipher.‟ from Manjushree Thapa‟s, Forget Kathmandu 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary.............................................................................................................. 9 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 15 2. The Methodology ............................................................................................................ 18 2.1. Rationale for Selection of Interventions ............................................................................. 18 2.2. Rationale for Chosen Methods ........................................................................................... 21 2.3. Challenges ........................................................................................................................... 21 2.4 Limitations of the Methodology Used ................................................................................ 22 3. The Context .................................................................................................................... 23 3.1. The Political Landscape ..................................................................................................... 23 3.2. Decentralisation: Policy and Practice ................................................................................ 25 3.3. Social Structure, Gender and Exclusion ............................................................................ 26 3.4. The Distribution of Power: the Elites and the Excluded ................................................... 27 3.5. Public Oversight Mechanisms ............................................................................................ 27 3.6. Civil Society, the Media and Public Space ......................................................................... 28 3.7. Key Issues for CV&A Interventions .................................................................................. 29 3.8. The Architecture of Aid...................................................................................................... 30 4. Findings ......................................................................................................................... 37 4.1. Opportunities, Constraints and Entry Points for CV&A .................................................. 37 4.2. Institutional, Organisational and Individual Capacities ................................................... 39 4.3. CV&A Channels ................................................................................................................. 43 4.4. Changes in Policy, Practice, Behaviour and Power Relations ........................................... 49 4.5. Broader Development Outcomes ....................................................................................... 52 5. Conclusions and Lessons Learnt .................................................................................... 54 5.1. Channels, Mechanisms and Processes ................................................................................ 54 5.2. Results and Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 56 5.3. Pathways to Broader Development Outcomes ................................................................... 57 5.4. CV&A and Aid Effectiveness ............................................................................................. 58 6. Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 60 Annexes Annex A: Terms of Reference ............................................................................................ 63 Annex B: Nepal Country Case Study: Methodology .......................................................... 70 4 Annex C: Context Analysis ................................................................................................ 77 Annex D: Intervention Summary Sheets ............................................................................ 98 Coalition for Constituent Assembly Support (CoCAS) ............................................................ 99 Media for Consolidation of Democracy (MCD) ..................................................................... 103 Leaders, Listen to the Voice of People! (LLVP) ..................................................................... 107 Nepal Good Governance Project, Phase III (NGGP) ............................................................. 111 Decentralised Financing and Development Programme (DFDP) .......................................... 115 Dalit/Janajati Empowerment Campaign (DJEC) .................................................................. 119 Janajati Empowerment Project (JEP) .................................................................................... 123 Nepal/Swiss Community Forestry Project (NSCFP) – Phase V ............................................. 127 Poverty Alleviation in Selected Rural Areas of Nepal (PASRA) ............................................ 131 Annex E List of People Consulted .................................................................................... 135 Annex F: Force Field Analyses from the Civil Society Workshop ................................... 139 Annex G: Documents Consulted ...................................................................................... 141 Annex H: The Basic Operating Guidelines ...................................................................... 145 5 Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank BMZ German Federal Ministry for Economic Development Cooperation BOG Basic Operating Guidelines CA Constituent Assembly CBO Community-Based Organisation CeLRRD Centre for Legal Research and Resource Development CHF Swiss Franc CIAA Commission for Investigation of Abuses of Authority CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CoCAS Coalition for Constituent Assembly Support CPJS Centre for Professional Journalism Studies CPN/M Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) CSO Civil Society Organisation CV&A Citizens‟ Voice and Accountability DAC Development Assistance Committee Danida Danish International Development Assistance DCC District Coordination Council DDC District Development Committee DFDP Decentralised Financing and Development Programme DFID Department for International Development (United Kingdom) DFO Department of Forestry Office DJEC Dalit/Janajati Empowerment Campaign DIP Decentralisation Implementation Plan DLGSP Decentralised Local Governance Support Programme DPWG Development Partners Working Group ECG Evaluation Core Group EFA Education for All FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FECOFUN Federation of Community Forest Users‟ Groups in Nepal FFA Force Field Analysis FM Frequency Modulation FUG Forest Users‟ Group FWLD Forum for Women, Law and Development