SUMMATIVE EVALUATION OF MS COUTRY PROGRAMME STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMME SUPPORT WITHIN THE DEMOCRACY FOCUS. Mozambique FINAL REPORT.

Transcription

1 SUMMATIVE EVALUATION OF MS COUTRY PROGRAMME STRATEGIES AND PROGRAMME SUPPORT WITHIN THE DEMOCRACY FOCUS Mozambique FINAL REPORT By Elias Ainadine May 2011

2 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms... iii Executive summary... iv 1 INTRODUCTION The programme The evaluation PROGRAMME STRATEGY AND DESIGN Country Programme Strategy Partnership Approach ACHIEVEMENTS Building Local Democracy Anti-Corruption Democracy in Primary Schools Capacity Development GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNT RECOMMENDATIONS Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

3 iii AA AAI AADK AC ACUDES ADPP AMOPED AMOPROC BLD CC CCM CPS CS CSO CSP DDF DO DP DPS FECIV FONGA FOPROI GMD GTO IGT INGO IPCC LC LDH LG LFA LOLE MAE MPD NGO ONP ORAM PEDD PES PESOD P4C ToR T4C UDEBA-LAB Acronyms ActionAid ActionAid International ActionAid Denmark Anti-Corruption Cultural Association for Sustainable Development Aid Development from People to People Mozambican Association of Parents and Care Takers Mozambican Association for Citizenship Promotion Building Local Democracy Consultative Council Christian Council of Mozambique Country Programme Strategy Civil Society Civil Society Organization Country Strategy Paper District Development Fund Development Observatory District Platform Democracy in Primary School Civic Education Institute Forum of NGOs in Gaza Forum of NGOs in Inhambane Mozambique Debt Group Oppressed Theatre Group International Governance Team International Non-Government Organization Institutions for Community Consultation and Participation Local Council Human Rights League Local Government Logical Framework Law of State s Local Organs Ministry of State Administration Ministry of Planning and Development Non-Government Organization Teachers National Organization Rural Association for Mutual Help Strategic Plan for District Development Social and Economic Plan District Social and Economic Plan and Budget People for Change Terms of Reference Training for Change Basic Education Development Unit Laboratory Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

4 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 ( ) Final Report May 2011

5 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 in various issues and thematic areas. Achievements The programme has been successfully in building capacity of the partners; in contributing to strengthening Civil Society structures (district platforms and school councils) to engage with government institutions; in supporting the participation of CS representatives in the consultation forums (Consultative Councils, Development Observatories) within the legal framework. However, the programme had limited progress in relation to outputs in terms of policy changes at national level. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

6 vi Building Local Democracy The assessment of the progress and impacts under this theme is overall positive. It is obvious that it took some time for partners and beneficiaries to develop the capacity that is required to hold Local Governments accountable. In some districts, it was only in 2010 that district platforms and local councils begun to function effectively. One of the concrete results of the programme intervention in this theme is that members of district platforms are aware of the potentials and need to participate in the planning and monitoring processes at local level in one hand, and that the LGs understand the essence of LOLE and are opening more space for CS participation in decision making process, on the other hand. Despite the progress made in implementing the activities and the immediate results achieved so far, the changes have yet had limited impacts on the lives of the rightsholders. It is acknowledged however that more visible and longer lasting changes will require much time and political will to occur effectively. Therefore, there is a need to increase and focus the training about planning processes and budget monitoring for more qualified engagement. Anti-Corruption A number of activities have been supported by MS and partners under this theme, but progress and results achieved so far are limited and do not fully satisfy the objectives stated in the CPS. There are still some constraints that include weak partners understanding of corruption issues; lack of skills (policy analysis, budget tracking and monitoring) of the partners and district platforms; lack of courage of both partners and district platforms to address corruption issues; the political context in which there is still strong control from state and government institutions leaving limited space for CS critique and seeing reports of anti-corruption as coming from the opposition. Therefore, more support to partners and district platforms in this area is needed, to consolidate the knowledge and experiences and allow them becoming watchdogs and whistleblowers. Democracy in Primary Schools Democracy in Primary Schools is the innovation theme (country optional) of the MS Mozambique programme for which 20% of the programme resources are allocated. Partners supported the revitalization of school councils through democratic elections of school councils members ensuring the representation of all stakeholders including students, school managers, teachers and community representatives, also maintaining the balance between women and men, as well as the youth. The overall progress and impact are positive. A number of schools in the focus districts started the process of developing strategic annual plans with participation of school council s members. In the same districts, school councils are also engaging in the elaboration of School Development Plans and Internal School Regulations. Despite limited period of implementation of this theme, there are already some visible changes impacting on the rights holders and on school management practices and quality of education, which include increased child retention in school (boys and girls); improvement of school infrastructures; increase of enrolment of orphans child; improvement of free books conservation and devolution Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

7 vii As part of intervention approach of the programme in this theme, partners maintain strict collaboration with the education authorities. This is with no doubt a good foundation for sustainability of the programme results. Capacity Development Capacity Building of partner organizations is a fundamental part of the MS Mozambique CPS. This has been effectively translated from the CPS to concrete activities impacting on partners, duty bearers and rights holders. The strategies for capacity building within the programme included training on specific issues (Building Local Democracy, Anti-Corruption, gender, etc.) exchange of experiences between partners, support of partners and government representatives to attend T4C programmes, allocation of P4C to provide technical support, among others. As result, Ms partners have now clearer understanding of the legal framework to engage with government institution in the decision making process, and improved their understanding of policy documents. They have also acquired relevant skills to train district platforms and school councils for them to engage with government institution in policy planning and monitoring. From the perspective of the government representatives, capacity building enabled government to work better with CSO s, and it has made a valuable and sustainable strengthening of the partner organisations. Despite its limited scope, the overall perception of the P4C component by most of the people interviewed is that the programme has yet to reach its full potential. Partners and other stakeholders mentioned the great value external advisors can contribute to programme development and capacity building, but it is necessary that both advisors and partner organizations are very clear on roles and responsibilities. The T4C programme has only contributed to the MS Mozambique strategy on a small scale. The main reason contributing to the limited scale is the language barrier. T4C programme runs almost exclusively in English, making it inaccessible for large part of partners staff. Mozambique is a Portuguese speaking country, and only few highly educated people have English knowledge. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

8 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The programme In 2006, MS (now ActionAid Denmark) decided to focus all its programme activities on democracy. The Democracy Focus programme was developed within the framework of Partnership Against Poverty as the guiding strategy for all MS programme work in the South, and consisted of five themes: Building Local Democracy, which was made a key feature in all programmes; Land Rights; Anti- Corruption; Conflict Management, and Trade Justice. Following this decision, Country Programme Strategies (CPS) for the period were developed in all MS programme countries. The CPS defined the themes and strategies to be pursued by MS as well as the geographical focus areas. For Mozambique the CPS prioritized the Anti-Corruption and Democracy in Primary Schools themes, in addition to Building Local Democracy which is mandatory to all country programmes. The programme was designed to focus in six districts of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane provinces in southern Mozambique through partnership with local organizations. The programme is implemented through Partnership Approach with Mozambican organizations which take the front line in the implementation of activities. During the period , MS Mozambique signed Partnership Agreements with 17 partner organisations (GMD, FONGA, LDH Gaza, LDH Inhambane, CCM Chibuto, CCM Inhambane, FOPROI, ORAM, ACUDES, GTO, AMOPROC, AMOPED, Sociedade Aberta, UDEBA-LAB, FECIV, ADPP-EPF and ONP/SNPM), reaching 12 districts (Bilene, Chibuto, Guijá, Chókwe, Manjacaze in Gaza; Namaacha, Manhiça, Marracuene in Maputo; Zavala, Inharrime, Jangamo, Massinga in Inhambane) in the three focus provinces. By the time the evaluation was conducted, MS and ActionAid in Mozambique were at advanced stages of the merging process. From July 2011 the programme portfolio of MS Mozambique will be taken over by ActionAid, and from January 2012, MS will thus have no formal commitments to individual partner organisations. In future AADK will support national AAI organisations and their local partners, programmes, and projects in line with Danida s Civil Society Strategy ( Strategy for Danish Support to Civil Society in Developing Countries ). 1.2 The evaluation This evaluation was commissioned by AADK, and carried out in April 2011 by an evaluation team composed of four people 1 ; and it is part of an overall evaluation of AADK programme for detaisl, refere to the Terms of Reference of the evaluation in annex 5. 1 Elias Ainadine (External Consultant, Team Leader); Rebecca Kukundakwe (Thematic Coordinator for BLD, ActionAid Uganda); Joyce Laker (East Africa Coordinator for the IGT of ActionAid International); Anders Lundt Hansen (ActionAid Denmark).

9 2 The main objective of the evaluation was to ensure the collection and analysis of lessons learnt from the implementation of the MS Country Programme Strategy in Mozambique, during the period from 2008 to The evaluation followed a participatory methodology and included, among others, an assessment of issues related to: i) relevance; ii) partnership approach; iii) coherence between the CPS and the supported activities; iv) achievements; v) gender analysis and gender mainstreaming; vi) capacity building; among other issues 2. This report presents the background, processes, findings and recommendations of the Summative Evaluation of MS Country Programme Strategies and Programme Support within the Democracy Focus in Mozambique. Following this introduction, a Programme Strategy and Design Chapter provides a brief description of the Country Programme Strategy and Partnership Approach. Chapter three presents the evaluation s main findings in the three different thematic areas and Chapter four is a summary of good practices and lessons learned. The list of main recommendations from the evaluation is presented in Chapter five. Six annexes add detail while keeping the substantive report as short as possible as required by the ToRs. The report takes into account comments and feedback provided by MS and AA directors and programme staff and the AA CSP review team at debriefing meeting held at the end of the field work and, the feedback from both MS Mozambique and Denmark to the Final Draft Report. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The evaluation team would like to acknowledge and thank the contribution of all those that offered their time, provided useful information and insights to make this evaluation possible. A special thank you goes to the MS Mozambique and Denmark that assisted the team with the preparation, logistics, visits and interviews arrangements. 2 For more details about the evaluation (objectives, scope, methodology, activities, etc.) refer to the ToRs in annex 5. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

10 3 2 PROGRAMME STRATEGY AND DESIGN 2.1 Country Programme Strategy 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 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. In 2003, the legal framework of decentralization defined through LOLE was approved, followed by its bylaw in This framework creates the so called IPPCs (Institutions for Community Participation and Consultation), meant to devolve decision-making to the local level. The functions of the IPCCs include participating in the local planning (PEDD, PESOD, and DDF) and monitoring of its implementation; but they have yet to fulfil their role in this respect, as the engagement of CS in these forums 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 and preventing government and state institutions to adequately respond to citizens need. It is also aligned with the ongoing decentralization process and the measures being taken by the state and the government in the fight against corruption, such as the approval of the Anti-Corruption National Strategy. Despite the fact that CSOs are becoming active in the decision making processes, through lobbying and advocacy, overall they lack capacity to adequately engage with government institutions in planning and monitoring processes, as well as to raise issues of corruption. In this respect, the MS programme, that emphasize capacity building of both partner organizations and the rights holders, is an asset for strengthening the CS capacity and empowerment of the citizens.. There is however a need to reflect about the programme design in relation to the definition of themes and the 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 at the level of immediate objectives and consequently their outputs and indicators. This reflection can be guided by the following basic questions: i) How is Building Local Democracy different from Anti-Corruption (immediate objectives, outputs, indictors and activities)? ii) To what extent the proposed indicators are efficient in measuring the degree of achievement of the immediate objectives, and are related to the proposed outputs? Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

11 4 iii) What would be the added value of having the two themes in one with more structured outputs, activities and SMART 3 indicators? Since the programme started in 2008, MS has been supporting 17 partners 4. Three partnerships were terminated prior to the end of the partnership agreements 5 ; five were not renewed after the assessments carried out in late , in preparation of the handover to ActionAid in the merger process. The remaining nine 7 were renewed for a period of one year up to December 2011, for which an extension of the existing partnership agreements are in final steps of their preparation for signature. This is a diversified portfolio of national CSOs ranging from national to district based CSOs as well as CSOs with ties at all levels, which represents a strength of the programme allowing presence at various levels and interaction and networking among partners placed at different levels (district to national) and addressing different issues. There are however challenges and constraints which are not exclusive for MS partners but rather the origin and nature of CSOs in Mozambique, which operate as service providers or consultancy CSOs, rather than real CS movements representing the interests of their constituencies. Learning from the experience of supporting the NGOs provincial forums, these failed to play the (expected) role of representation and coordination of their member CSOs but rather trying to be implementers on the ground and in some cases competing with their members to access funds. Linking local activities to actors at national level has a great potential especially for advocacy purposes and to approach corruption issues. Local evidence can be used for advocacy at national level, with potential of contributing for changes at policy level. One of the outputs stated in the MS CPS in this regard was to create a coalition with other CSOs outside the MS partners. Despite the fact that some progress has been made in terms of initial contacts with potential members for the coalition, this was not fully achieved. On the other hand, the programme did not take advantage of some partners such as ONP who are present from district, provincial and national levels in the design of the projects, and as result, the trickle down effect has been minimal. Gender mainstreaming is a key component of the MS Mozambique CPS ( ), 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. The CPS document states that The CPS approach ensures a specific focus on capacity building of women and youth for a more articulated participation in CS platforms, local councils and school councils. On the other hand, gender has not been sufficiently incorporated in the program and not systematically planned with clear targeted objectives and outputs. There is a mixture of understandings and interpretations about gender and gender 3 Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. 4 Refer to annex 2 for more details about partners supported, budget, thematic areas and geographical coverage of individual projects. 5 ONP, FONGA, FECIV. 6 ADPP-EPF, AMOPED, FOPROI, LDH Gaza, LDH Inhambane. 7 ACUDES, CCM Inhambane, ORAM, UDEBA-LAB, CCM Gaza, GTO, Sociedade Aberta, AMOPROC, GMD. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

12 5 mainstreaming by different stakeholders. Most of the people interviewed (programme staff, government representatives, partners and rights holders) during the evaluation emphasised the need for women participation and engagement to be gender. The integration of gender has been strong in the DPS compared to other themes. As an example, in the school councils of Incaia Primary School in Bilene (Gaza) visited during the evaluation, the representation of men and women is 1:1; and the school councils also targeted equally girls and boys when addressing the issues of dropouts due to early pregnancies and domestic chores (girls) or looking for employment in South Africa (boys). This is a positive approach to gender where both women and men are equally important. Some partners 8 are in process of drafting gender policies but it is necessary to ensure that these efforts will be supported through a monitored implementation with clear outputs and targets. With the merger of MS/AA there is also need to carry out a reflection about gender mainstreaming versus focus on women s rights as elaborated in the new AA strategy, to clearly define the meeting point. In Mozambique there is a positive legal framework for gender mainstreaming 9 - the government recognises the need for equal opportunities for both men and women and the LOLE bylaw ensures that women are represented in the consultative councils and local councils. This needs to be analysed further and taken as an asset to enforce gender mainstreaming in the MS programme. 2.2 Partnership Approach Partnership approach has a high value for the MS Mozambique strategy, and is effective for programme implementation. This is highly valued by all stakeholders interviewed during the evaluation. From the discussions with MS/AA management and programme staff, partners, other actors supporting CS 10, government representatives at different levels and right holders, carried out during the evaluation, it s certain that the partnership approach adopted by MS has over the years empowered the partners and communities (represented by district platforms and school councils) to engage with government and influence the decision making processes. MS perceives the partnership approach as the best option for building alliances, networks and movements to promote social change, which creates ownership of the programs and activities at community level, contributing to sustainability. As MS is implementing a programme on Democracy Focus the partnership approach is an asset for sustainable impact. The following are some aspects sustaining this assessment: 8 GTO, ORAM, ACUDES. 9 The government recognizes the need for equal opportunities for both men and women. According to the ministry for state Administration, the new law is that at least 30% of representatives on the consultative councils are women. This tallies what the AA director mentioned; The implementation of the LOLE ensures that women are represented in PESOD processes; The Institutions for Public Partnerships have ensured gender sensitivity 10 OXFAM, DED, GTZ, Irish Aid. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

13 6 i) Local CSOs are closer to and more accepted by communities and government than INGOs, increasing their legitimacy to work with communities in challenging government; ii) There s sustained ownership of programs by partners and communities; iii) It empowers local people through capacity building of both partners and rights holders; As such, the CSOs remain relevant actors in governance process, within the legal framework. Strengthening of the district platforms facilitates the establishment of a critical mass of CS in planning and advocacy using evidence generated within the membership of the platform at community level. Rights holders in Namaacha emphasized that working through partners, instead of implementing directly, had two important advantages. Firstly, the partnership approach in itself builds capacity in partner organisations which is a lasting contribution to the local communities, as those skills will remain in the community even after the INGO has withdrawn. Secondly, it builds trust, since it is well known that INGOs come and go, while the local partner will continue with or without international backing, and thus enjoys a higher level of trust. A number of factors contributed to the positive assessment of the MS partnership, which include: i) The willingness of MS to listen to 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 in various issues and thematic areas, also contributing for establishing synergies; There are however some weakness and challenges in the partnership approach that need to be addressed in future, or taken into account in the design and implementation of a new MS/AA programme. These include: i) Some of the partners are still weak in their approaches for supporting district platforms, as well as in terms of project design, implementation and management (including effective reporting and accountability); ii) Most CSOs are weak in sense that in the fight to secure funding for survival they are driven by external agenda and not necessarily by their own mission; on the other hand, there is limited commitment from the partners due to limited staff and high turn-over; iii) The placement of P4C (mainly advisors) has significantly contributed to the partners abilities to implement programs. However in some cases it created Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

14 7 frustrations (on both advisors and partners) and conflicts resulting from different expectations, inadequate profiles of the advisors and no clear ToRs and relationship mechanisms. Other areas that need reflection from MS in respect to the partnership approach include: i) Delays in signing partnership agreements. At the time this evaluation was carried out, partnership agreements for 2011 were not yet signed. Ideally these should have been signed in the beginning of the year but the process of developing the project documents and the agreements has been running until middle April. This is, from partners perspective, wearing down the trust from partners to MS. Perhaps the process of formulating new partnership agreements, project documents, LFAs and budgets, which was intended to be participatory with equal involvement of both parties should have started earlier to ensure that the new partnerships could have been signed earlier in 2011; ii) Delay in funds disbursements. In some cases, there have been delays in the disbursement of funds to the partners. In all cases this was due to inability of the partners to timely account for previous instalments. According to the partners this is however a shared responsibility, as in some cases MS failed to timely communicate about changes in the financial procedures and requirements; iii) Communication between MS and partners. Partners reported some issues such as changes on financial requirements/procedures and delays in signature of partnership agreements, which were not adequately communicated to them; this lead to delays in the disbursement of funds and creating some suspicion by the partners; iv) How to enhance citizen s mobilizations and participation in building local democracy. This is related to the approach of the MS programme in supporting district platforms which are composed of representatives from some CSOs which do not necessarily represent the interests of all citizens, and have limited understanding of the dynamic of CS in their communities. Finally, learning from the implementation of the MS programme and based on the assessment by other actors supporting CSOs in southern Mozambique, supporting the provincial forums has been a challenge. During the period under evaluation MS had partnership agreements with two provincial forums of Gaza and Inhambane. The first was terminated prior to the end of the partnership period, while the second was not renewed for the extension period, up to end of 2011; both due to management problems and poor accountability, in addition to weak institutional setting (internal governance). Some of the failures in these partnerships could have been avoided if good assessment of the organizations was conducted prior to allocation of funds and proper capacity building measures adopted to address the weaknesses. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

15 8 3 ACHIEVEMENTS The implementation of programme activities and respective results in the period from 2008 to 2011 has been focused on developing partners and beneficiaries capacity. Overall, the programme has been successful in building capacity of the partners; in contributing to strengthening CS structures (district platforms and school councils) to engage with government institutions; in supporting the participation of CS representatives in the consultation forums (Consultative Councils, Development Observatories) within the legal framework. This conclusion is supported by the positive results achieved in the three programme themes. The programme had limited progress, however, in relation to outputs in terms of policy changes at national level. The following sections describe the extent to which objectives have been achieved in each of the three themes. More detailed information is provided in annex 1, based on the programme LFA, including some observations from evaluator s perspective on the progress achieved for each output. 3.1 Building Local Democracy Immediate Objectives Accountability: Local Government in six districts in Inhambane and Gaza provide transparent channels of communication for Civil Society input and provide information on PES and PESOD by 2010 Empowerment: By 2012, Local Government is accountable to Local Councils and provincial and district based CSOs for plans and budgets in six MS focus districts in Southern Mozambique The assessment of the progress and impacts under this theme is overall positive. It is obvious that it took some time for partners and beneficiaries (represented through district platforms, local councils and consultative councils) to develop the capacity that is required to hold local governments accountable within the legal framework. In some districts, it was only in 2010 that district platforms and local councils began to function effectively, as partners and district platforms are getting to understand the mechanisms and approaches to engage in the decision making process. One concrete result of the programme intervention in this theme is that members of district platforms are aware of the potentials and need to participate in the planning and monitoring processes at local level on the one hand, and that the local governments understand the essence of LOLE and are opening more space for CS participation in decision making process, on the other hand. Initially, most government officials were suspicious in relation to the role that CS can play, and CSOs representatives were seen as opposition. But as a result of the training and awareness raising through the projects, in a number of focus districts district platforms have been recognized by local governments as the interlocutors of the CS Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

16 9 for participating in Development Observatories and local councils sessions. These are now invited to participate in these forums. Among others, the following are some concrete results achieved by the programme in this theme: i) District platforms in Jangamo, Naamacha, Marracuene and Inharrime are succeeding in engaging with the District Technical Teams in the consultations and development of district plans; ii) District platforms in the focus districts are increasingly getting access to district policy documents (PESODs, PEDDs, government reports, budgets, etc.) and information related to the DDF, through direct access at the local government offices, and through publication on the public boards and community radios, up to administrative posts and locality levels; iii) In some districts (Namaacha, Jangamo, Marracuene, Inharrime and Chibuto) the composition of the local councils was revised to include CSOs and CBOs representatives who are in turn, actively participating in the planning and monitoring of the PESODs; iv) District platforms in a number of districts (Namaacha, Marracuene, Inharrime, Chibuto, Zavala) make use of the spaces for CS participation within the LOLE framework (local councils, consultative councils, Development Observatories), for advocacy on issues of local communities interest (water and sanitation, DDF, environment, access to information, public projects 11, land access/conflicts, transport, access roads, revenue, etc.) to influence local planning, budgeting and policy implementation; v) District platforms (Inharrime) are demanding (petition) more feedback from local councils and local government on process of developing the district Strategic Plan and decisions taken in relation to the allocation of the DDF; and are able to influence the agenda of the local councils sessions to bring issues of communities interest. Despite the immediate results achieved so far, changes have yet had limited impact on the lives of the rights-holders. The ones that are visible include the inclusion of the communities concerns related to water in the local plan for 2011 in Namaacha, as a result of advocacy work of the district platforms with support from Sociedde Aberta who brought the issue into discussion at the Development Observatories. It is acknowledged however that more visible and longer lasting changes will require much time and political will to occur effectively. It is also important to highlight that in some of the partners the inadequately qualified human resources is a drawback to the achievements. Therefore, there is a need to increase and focus the training about planning processes and budget monitoring for more qualified engagement. On the other hand, there is a need to empower and create innovative links between actors from different levels. Accountability and Empowerment, as described in the CPS/LFA are achievable in the current CPS, if the lessons learnt in the past years (related to approaches for supporting district platforms and interfacing with the consultative councils and local 11 The platform in Inharrime monitored budget expenditure for construction of government officer s house under PESOD and advocating for more budget allocation for community needs in the 2012 PESOD. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

17 10 governments) 12 are used to improve programme implementation in the remaining period; partners and rights holders are motivated and committed, and local governments are positive in relation to CS participation in the decision making process. As a complementary asset to this, the capacity building component of the programme is contributing to increasing the capacity of both partners and rights holders, as well as of the duty bearers (government representatives) at all levels, which is believed will ultimately contribute to the sustainability of the outputs related to empowerment. 3.3 Anti-Corruption Immediate Objectives Accountability: By 2012 district governments in six MS focus districts in Southern Mozambique publish and disseminate annual accounts to local councils members Empowerment: By 2012 Civil Society in six focus districts monitor transparency on poverty alleviation and budgets and demand accountability of district government on education and health The progress and results achieved so far are limited and do not fully satisfy the objectives stated in the CPS. Despite the fact that most of the activities were oriented towards building the capacity, more support to the partners and district platforms to consolidate the knowledge and experiences and allow them becoming watchdogs and whistleblowers is needed. There are still some weaknesses in the understanding of corruption issues by the partners and district platforms, and lack of skills to be able to identify corruption practices and adequately engage with local governments to demand more accountability. These can be addressed through more specific and appropriate training (policy analysis, budget tracking and monitoring) and mentoring, as well as an increased support for networking. Other challenges include lack of courage of both partners and district platforms to confront government authorities in connection with corruption manifestations and the political context in which there is still strong control from state and government institutions leaving limited space for CS critique and seeing reports of anti-corruption as coming from the opposition. These are some of the challenges that could have been addressed through the coalition of CSOs fighting against corruption nationwide. It is stated in the MS CPS that The strategy for anti-corruption work will be to group national NGOs and INGOs to form a coalition in order to improve the visibility of the work undertaken and encourage effective participation of CSOs but, based on information available for the evaluation, the progress made so far has been limited. Building CSO coalitions to tackle corruption issues is a valuable and strategic approach that represents a junction of forces from different actors, which is also fundamental for partners protection. It is acknowledged that in Mozambique the experiences in this area are new and time is required to ensure that partners and district platforms acquire the necessary 12 Refer to good practices reports in the annexes for more details. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

18 11 skills to effectively hold the local governments accountable. Meanwhile, the programme has contributed to some results in this area which include: Partners (ACUDES, CCM Chibuto, ORAM) and district platforms (Marracuene, Jangamo, Chibuto) reported corruption cases related to deviation of funds from a road project (PESOD) and mismanagement of DDF, payment of bribes for hospital treatment, etc., to the local councils; Partners (ORAM, CCM Inhambane, ACUDES) and district platforms made complaints to local government and local councils (Zavala, Inharrime) on lack of involvement of the local communities in land attribution; Partners (FOPROI, FONGA) engaged in monitoring the implementation of government s Anti-Corruption Strategy and the Action Plan in education, health and police sectors; Partners and district platforms are lobbying the district government and local councils for PESODs, annual expenditure list, lists of DDF beneficiaries and timely distribution of the agenda and documents to be discussed in District Council meetings (Jangamo); Partners and district platforms lobbied for agendas and minutes of local councils, Consultative Councils, PEDD, PESOD meetings; These have led among others, to the following impact: i) Annual expenditure and lists of DDF beneficiaries are published and disseminated to CS in the focus districts (Jangamo, Naamacha, Bilene, Xai - Xai, Inharrime and Marracuene); ii) LGs are gradually distributing agendas and relevant documents to the members of the local councils prior to the meetings; In some cases, changes resulting from project implementation with direct impact on the rights holders lives are beginning to be noticeable, such as the dismissal of government officers in connection with corruption practices in the management of the DDF, following denunciations from district platforms in Jangamo and Chibuto; and the review of the approval and disbursement processes of DDF in the same districts, now involving councils from the locality to district level. 3.3 Democracy in Primary Schools Immediate Objective By 2012 pupils, teachers and parents in School Councils participate and apply democratic principles in planning and management of schools affairs Democracy in Primary Schools is the innovation theme (country optional) of the MS Mozambique programme for which 20% of the programme resources are allocated 13, adding value to the other two themes. It consists of introducing the democracy theme in primary schools and developing educational material on civil rights, democracy, as 13 Building Local Democracy consumes 50%, and Anti-Corruption consumes 30% of the programme resources. Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

19 12 a way of life. Girls constitute a specific target group under this theme, which also targets the overall community, teachers and school managers. It is a big challenge to promote democratization in schools, as it deals with power relations, institutional, social and cultural behaviours which are by nature complex. But the fact that the beneficiaries (members of school councils) and education sector authorities are motivated represents a great potential for sustainable impact of the programme in this area. The overall progress and impact in this theme are positive. Partners (UDEBA-LAB and ADPP) in the focus districts supported the revitalization of school councils through democratic elections of school councils members ensuring the representation of all stakeholders including students, school managers, teachers and community representatives, also maintaining the balance between women and men, as well as the youth. One important asset in this process was the production of a video Children Dream which was complemented by theatre plays carried out with participation of school council s members, trainers, future teachers and community members, for civic education and awareness raising. The partners support resulted in a number of schools starting the process of developing strategic annual plans with participation of school councils members. School councils are also engaging in the elaboration of School Development Plans and Internal School Regulations and, in the monitoring of school book free distribution as well as school books devolution and conservations. Despite limited period of implementation of this theme, there are already some visible changes impacting on the rights holders and on school management practices. These include increased child retention in school (boys and girls); coordination in planning and management of the School Direct Support fund; increased enrolment of orphans child in schools; improvement of free books conservation and devolution; among other changes. As part of programme intervention approach in this theme, partners maintain strict collaboration with the education authorities at provincial and district. This is fundamental to build trust and create ownership. The direct implication of this is that the education authorities are very supportive to the work of partners and school councils; they acknowledge the role school councils can play in the management of schools and are complementing the work of the partners through monitoring and supervision for guidance and additional support for school councils. This is with no doubt a good foundation for sustainability of the programme results. However, continued support is still needed as in the education sector budget there is no specific allocation for supporting school councils. This is an area that the programme may address through advocacy at policy level in future. The work on Democracy in Primary Schools has potential for greater impact within the overall MS Democracy Focus programme. It is perceived that in long term the results from DPS will interface with the Building Local Democracy as an outcome of educating children, teachers and community with democratic principles, who will then engage in decision making of their communities and overall society. Some members of the school councils are also representatives of the CS in the local councils and Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011

20 13 consultative councils, giving them opportunity to raise issues of schools concern in these forums, and influencing the decisions in favour of schools development. 3.4 Capacity Development Capacity Building of partner organisations is a fundamental part of the MS Mozambique CPS As stated in the CPS document, the main focus for the theme Building Local Democracy of the MS country programme strategy for the next five years is on strengthening civil society s capacity for actively participating, influencing and monitoring local governance at district level. This fundamental status is also repeated for the Anti-Corruption theme, and is assumed to have effect for the innovation theme of Democracy in Primary Schools. Overall the Capacity Building component has been effectively integrated in the MS programme, translating from the CPS to concrete activities impacting on partners, duty bearers and rights holders. This has had a direct contribution to the positive results achieved in the three programme themes. The strategies for capacity building within the programme included training on specific issues (Building Local Democracy, Anti-Corruption, gender, etc.) exchange of experience between partners, regular reflection meetings, support of partners and government representatives to attend T4C programmes, allocation of DWs and P4C (mainly advisors) to provide technical support and support of institutional development and, support partners to strengthening networking. The effectiveness of capacity building integration in programme strategies is witnessed by the feedback from the stakeholders met during the evaluation (staff, partners, representatives from other actors supporting CS, rights holders and duty bearers) who revealed a high level of appreciation of the capacity building of the MS programme. MS partners have now clearer understanding of the legal framework to engage with government institution in the decision making process, and improved their understanding of policy documents. They have also acquired relevant skills to train district platforms and school councils for them to engage with government institution in policy planning and monitoring processes. CCM Inhambane expressed that they had received a large amount of capacity building through MS, and that had been necessary for them to implement their program. From the perspective of the government representatives, capacity building enabled government to work better with CSO s, and it has made a valuable and sustainable strengthening of the partner organisations. The P4C component in the MS Mozambique programme is limited in scope, and has consisted mainly of advisors. As of present, MS Mozambique has only two P4C (advisors). The overall perception of the P4C component by most of the people interviewed is that the program has yet to reach its full potential. Partners and other stakeholders mentioned the great value external advisors can contribute to programme development and capacity building, but it is necessary that both advisors and partner organizations are very clear on roles and responsibilities. In the past there seems to have been several cases of differences in expectations on both sides, resulting in frustrations and in some cases in conflict, leading to some questionings about the effectiveness of the approach. However, some partners such Summative Evaluation of MS CPS ( ) Final Report May 2011