Civil Society Participation In the ACP-EU Country Support Strategy Process In Tanzania A civil society perspective prepared by Rebecca Muna Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development (TCDD) and Tanzania Social and Economic Trust (TASOET) in collaboration with Eurostep Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development (TCDD) NGO- Technical AIDS Committee P. Box 11318, Dar Es Salaam Tanzania ngotac@africaonline.co.tz dadareby@yahoo.com Eurostep 115 rue Stévin 1000 Brussels BELGIUM Tel: +32.2.231 16 59 admin@eurostep.org
Monitoring the implementation of the ACP-EU Co-operation Agreement In June 2000 the European Union signed a co-operation agreement with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of countries. The Cotonou Agreement, as it has become known, provides the framework for the EU's co-operation with 77 ACP countries until 2020. As a successor to the Lomé Conventions, the new Agreement covers most aspects of the EU's cooperation with the ACP, including trade, aid and political dialogue. An important element of the Cotonou Agreement is the recognition of the role of non-state actors within the overall scope of the Agreement. This recognition includes provision for the participation of non-state actors - including civil society organisations - in all aspects of the Agreement's implementation. The production of this report is part of an initiative taken by civil society organisations to monitor the implementation of the Agreement. It is based on the premise that for the participation of non-state actors to be effective it is important for the autonomy of such actors to be strengthened. This monitoring initiative is being undertaken jointly by European NGOs and civil society organisations in ACP countries. In the first instance it is looking at how real the participation on non-state actors - and civil society organisations in particular - has been in drawing up Country Support Strategies and the National Indicative Programmes for EU support of individual ACP countries. ABBREVIATIONS ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of countries CSO Civil society organisation CSP Country strategy paper CSS Country support strategy EDF European Development Fund EIB European Investment Bank EOTF Equal Opportunity for All ESRF Economic and Social Research Foundation EU European Union NAO National Authorising Officer 1 NGO Non-governmental organisation NIP National Indicative Plan NSA Non-State Actor PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper TANGO Tanzania Association of NGOs TAHEA Tanzania Home Economic Association TAS Tanzania Assistance Strategy TASCODE Tanzania Council of Social Development TASOET Tanzania Social and Economic Trust TCDD Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development TEDG Tanzania Ecumenical Dialogue Group TGNP Tanzania Gender Network Programme WRDP Women Research and Development Programme 1 Government official responsible for co-operation with the EU under the Cotonou Agreement 2
Civil Society Participation in the Country Support Strategy Process in Tanzania Introduction This report is a synthesis of ideas and opinions from local civil society in Tanzania working on the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement. It is an ACP-EU Civil Society initiative, which aims to monitor the participation of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the implementation of the ACP- EU Cotonou Agreement. In the first instance this focuses on the participation of CSOs in the preparation of the Country Support Strategy (CSS) and the National Indicative Program (NIP). It seeks to provide perspectives from Civil Society on the participation process. This initiative is the result of ongoing co-operation between a group of ACP Civil Society organisations from Benin, Cameroon the Dominican Republic, Tanzania, and Uganda, with Eurostep 2. The Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development (TCDD) and the Tanzania Social and Economic Trust (TASOET) has produced this Report. TCDD is a coalition of Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) in Tanzania that actively works for debt reduction and cancellation, and the implementation of sustainable human development strategies that will eradicate poverty. TASOET is the secretariat of the TCDD. TASOET has been following ACP-EU co-operation issues since 1999, and has engaged in different lobbying and advocacy activities at different levels on this issue. The Cotonou Agreement, civil society participation and the Country Support Strategy process The Cotonou Agreement, the framework for cooperation between the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group and the EU, was signed in June 2000 to replace the Lomé Convention. The overall objective of ACP-EU co-operation is identified as poverty reduction in the ACP. Recognising that civil society participation is important to any effective campaign against poverty, the Cotonou Agreement identifies the participation of non-state actors, including civil society, as a fundamental principle of co-operation. Article 4 of the Agreement states that nonstate actors should be informed and involved in co-operation policies and strategies. The EU's co-operation policies and strategies with each ACP country are first defined in country strategies and National Indicative Programmes. These strategies and programmes outline the sectors on which this co-operation will focus over a period of approximately 5 years. As part of the programming process, and in accord with the provisions on civil society in the Cotonou Agreement, the EU and the ACP agreed that civil society actors should be consulted and involved in the development of the Country Support Strategies and National Indicative Programmes. 2 Eurostep is a network of 19 European NGOs - http://www.eurostep.org 3
The European Union (EU) and Tanzania 3 Tanzania has been a beneficiary of EC development assistance since the start of the Lomé I Convention in 1975. As a member of the ACP group it is a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement (2000-2020) signed on 23 June 2000 in Cotonou, Benin. Over the past 25 years, EU-Tanzania co-operation has seen a gradual narrowing of the focus. Initially covering agriculture and rural development, transport and social development during Lomé I to III, a strong focus was given to the road sector with a secondary emphasis on the social services and infrastructure for the second part of Lomé IV. Since the start of Lomé IV, and in addition to the NIP, there have been allocations from the Structural Adjustment Facility for stabilising and strengthening the macro-economic framework. Other support has been in the area of emergency support for food aid, refugees and HIV/AIDS as well as support provided through micro projects in a number of areas outside those abovementioned. Tanzania has also benefited from allocations for regional co-operation, both for East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) and the SADC region. Under both regional programmes the transportation sector (improved road and rail links in the regional network) was a major beneficiary. Under the SADC regional programme support was received for training and institutional capacity building for wildlife management, transport management, statistics and research in mining and geo-data. Medium term Objectives The overall stated objective of EU Support to Tanzania is to reduce poverty through accelerating the process of sustainable economic and social development 4. The support will therefore be geared towards the elimination of constraints on economic growth and improvements in the capacity for service delivery. Priority areas for EU Support The priority areas for EU Support as identified in the CSP and NIP for the period 2002 to 2007 will be macro-economic support, Basic Education and Transport. The latter will focus in particular on investments in road transport infrastructure and on strengthening and deepening the process of decentralisation with Tanzania and local government reform. The process to define these priority areas for the EU-Tanzania co-operation has been based in particular on the PRSP, the Tanzania Assistance Strategy (TAS) and evaluations of past EU Support. Other areas of support that have been identified, and which are seen as playing a complimentary role, include private sector development, agricultural export commodity development, the environment, natural resources and tourism. 3 Based on information provided by the Ministry of Finance, Tanzania 4 Agreed by the EU and the Government of Tanzania 4
The consultation process 5 The Cotonou Agreement indicates that the programming process for the utilisation of the development resources under the 9 th European Development Fund (EDF) 6 should start with the preparation and development of a Country Support Strategy (CSS) based on the country s own medium-term development objectives and strategies. The Government and the EU should prepare the strategy, following consultations with a wide range of actors in the development process. It should draw on lessons learned and be adapted to a country s needs and respond to the specific circumstances. The CSS is to be an instrument to priority activities and to build local ownership of co-operation programmes. Following an East African regional seminar on the programming of the 9 th EDF, held in Mauritius in September 2000, the Office of the National Authorising Officer (NAO) in the Ministry of Finance and the EU Delegation agreed on the steps to be taken in the programming process. It was agreed that a public launch of the Cotonou Agreement would be organised in Dar- Es-Salaam in January 2001 to ensure its dissemination and popularisation to a broad audience. It was also agreed that the Government would present to the EU, a policy framework, setting out in summary the development strategies and priorities, whilst the EU Delegation would proceed with a process of consultation with the EU Member states and undertake an analysis of the current situation. The Office of the NAO prepared the policy framework document, which drew heavily on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and which set out the Government s priorities vis-àvis EC support. The document also formed the basis for the subsequent consultative process. As a next step, the NAO requested sector ministries to provide comments and inputs, resulting in the revision of the document. The framework was formally submitted to the EC Delegation. The document, together with selected extracts from the Cotonou Agreement, was also provided to some private sector and civil society stakeholders (approximately 30 non-governmental and private sector organisations and institutions of research or higher learning). They were requested to provide inputs in to the preparation of the Country Support Strategy (CSS). This led to the preparation of an outline strategy based on the PRSP priorities, taking into consideration the written response from stakeholders. The outline strategy was sent to stakeholders and subsequently presented and discussed at a twoday National Stakeholders Workshop, comprising representatives from key Government ministries, the EC, and non-state stakeholders including civil society and the private sector. The participants analysed the outline strategy, identified strengths and weaknesses and offered suggestions on how to improve the strategy. The workshop participants appointed from their midst a six-person task team, and mandated the team to work closely with the NAO s Office to reflect the contributions of participants and the workshop recommendations in reviewing the strategy document. Work with the task team was supposed to result in the finalisation of this Strategy document. 5 Based on information provided by the Tanzanian Government 6 5-year budget for implementing the Cotonou Agreement. 5
The EC Delegation, as required by the Cotonou Agreement, worked on the preparation of a Response Strategy, based on the EC's own objectives, the country strategy as developed by the Tanzanian Government, as well as their own analysis. During the entire process a number of consultations between the NAO s Office and the EC Delegation took place. This Strategy and the EC Response Strategy formed the basis for formal discussion between the Government and the EC. These discussions were supposed to result in the finalisation of the Country Support Strategy, leading to the preparation and adoption of an indicative programme for implementing the CSS. 7 Methodology for collecting experiences As the first part of the engagement, TCDD and TASOET undertook a brief survey of a few selected areas of the process. The survey targeted Civil Society Organisations, the Ministry of Finance as the principal Government department handling EU-Tanzania co-operation and the EU delegate. A brief questionnaire was developed and distributed to the Tanzanian Ministry of Finance, the EU Delegate and CSOs, some of which participated in the consultation process on the CSS, as well as some that did not. These included: The Tanzania Association of NGOs (TANGO), the Tanzania Council of Social Development (TACOSODE), the Tanzania Social and Economic Trust (TASOET), the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, and the Tanzania Gender Network Program (TGNP). Unfortunately the EU Delegate did not respond to the questionnaire. According to the Delegation, the staff member responsible for responding to such correspondence had been seconded to the Ministry of Finance. Though, the questionnaire was forwarded to the Ministry of Finance, no response was sent on behalf of the EU. The Documents on the Tanzania Strategies for EU Support under the ninth European Development Fund (9 th EDF) and a report on the CSOs Consultative workshop of 12-13 March 2001 were also used. The areas surveyed were: information and awareness, consultation, dialogue and transparency in relation to consultation with civil society. Findings From the responses received to the following conclusions could be drawn: 1. Information/Awareness For the launch of the Cotonou Agreement, which was held in the Sheraton Hotel, Dar-Es- Salaam on 19 January 2001, the Government, invited representatives from civil society and 7 At the time of the drafting of this report, the Country Strategy Paper and Indicative Programme had not yet been finalised. It has since become available on the Internet at http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/strat_papers/index_fr.htm 6
the local media to participate in the event. This was to serve the purpose of informing the public and creating awareness on the issue. Some CSOs respondents noted that, the Cotonou Agreement was not familiar to them and those few who had seen it noted that the language used is very difficult to understand being somewhat technical. There was also a comment that the CSS and NIP documents are neither popular nor conducive to a participatory approach particularly when compared to the PRSP, yet less effort has been made to create awareness and understanding around issues in the Cotonou Agreement. 2. Consultation In the preparation of the Country Support Strategy (CSS) the Government, through the Ministry of Finance, co-ordinated the entire process. Civil society organisations were invited to make inputs into the document, on the basis of a draft circulated to key stakeholders in February 2001. However the Government received very little response from CSOs. The Government, also through the Ministry of Finance, organised a stakeholders consultation workshop for Programming of the 9 th EDF, which was held from 12 13 March 2001, in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The Workshop aimed to bring together key players in civil society and private sector to examine and give input into the document before the CSS was finalised and presented to the EU. From the CSO responses to the questionnaire there is a perception that the Government prepared a detailed NIP with no real consultation with CSOs. The stated rationale for these responses is, that since the NIP priority areas were drawn from the PRSP which is itself supposed to be participatory, the government seemed to consider there was no need to involve CSOs in working out the detailed NIP. Instead, the role of civil society was seen to be in its implementation and monitoring especially at the local level (the grassroots). What is apparent from civil society responses to the questionnaire is that there were gaps in the process of consultations. Civil society participation appeared to be minimal and generally, marginal in the process since there had been little/no real consultation on the process of how to prepare the CSS and NIP. This was justified by the following points cited by civil society respondents: The Ministry of Finance circulated a draft document to CSOs for comments on 12 February 2001 and the deadline for sending responses was 21 February 2001. This was too short a time for anyone without a background on the issue to comment or to take interest in the subject. Furthermore the document for soliciting inputs from the CSOs in the preparation of the CSS, a document on National objectives and priority sections of the Cotonou Agreement, was sent without additional information. This made it almost impossible for respondents to contribute to the document concretely when he/she had insufficient background information or even the text of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. This is the main factor, which affected CSOs analytical capacity and also the principal reason why the Government received little feedback from CSOs. 7
Very few CSOs were invited to the two-day 's consultative workshop for stakeholders, held in Bagamoyo from 12-13 March 2001. Only ten NGOs were invited to this workshop, these included six local NGOs: the Tanzania Home Economic Association (TAHEA), the Tanzania Ecumenical Dialogue Group (TEDG), the Tanzania Council of Social Development (TACOSODE), the Women Research and Development Program (WRDP), the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, the Tanzania Association of NGO (TANGO). Two international NGOs: SNV, Africare. Two micro finance NGOs: Equal opportunity for All (EOTF), and Poverty Africa. And one research institutional: Economic and Research Foundation (ESRF). The majority of these organisations had never been involved in discussions on ACP-EU issues and the representatives involved lacked information on the potential for EU co-operation with Tanzania. 3. Dialogue/Transparency According to civil society responses to the questionnaire, the main mode of dialogue was through workshops. In practice papers were presented by the Government and EU delegate, and some instances by private sector representatives. NGOs were given a short time to comment on different priority sectors according to the workshop agenda and timetable. Regarding transparency several respondents, felt that despite the role given to the abovementioned task team, their inputs would not be accommodated in the final documents since they were never provided with the workshop report or the CSS or NIP documents. Recommendations A number of recommendations were proposed by CSOs as to how they could more effectively participate and dialogue in different processes under the ACP/EU Cotonou Agreement: 1. Concerning the provision of information For the EU and Tanzanian Government The Government/EU delegate need to foster public awareness/sensitisation of ACP/EU issues and the Cotonou Agreement at all levels and this could be done by information dissemination to NGOs. There is a need to produce user friend materials that is translated into the national language (Swahili). There is also a need to conduct sensitisation seminars for CSOs to engage in the processes (CSS, NIP). All documents/information relating to future processes involving civil society should be sent out to civil society organisations in good time to give room for critical analysis and quality input into the processes. The level of transparency regarding consultation processes needs to be improved by the Government/EU delegates through the disclosure of figures and facts needed by CSOs for their analysis. There should also be greater disclosure to the public of the implementation of policies and programmes relating to the Cotonou Agreement, both by the Government and the EU decision-makers. This should cover proposals made in all phases of programming. 8
For Civil Society A National civil society platform needs to be set up which would lead in the process of bridging the information gap with the grassroots/community-based network organisations. At the same time it should take steps to further broaden the participation and representation of both urban and rural-based organisations. The idea of CSOs working together should not simply be seen as a concept, but a strategy, to create or build a movement that can benefit the country. Civil society organisations need to improve the ways they feedback and share information amongst themselves within national platforms, local networks, regional focal points and the ACP Civil Society Forum 8. 2. Concerning consultation, dialogue and transparency Recommendations for Civil Society CSOs need to cultivate relations with the Government, the EU delegate and other Social interest groups, with a view to sharing ideas and perspectives on how to achieve poverty reduction. CSOs should do more serious independent analytical work on policy issues. The results should be used to inform the public, NGOs at all levels, ACP/Government and the EU of Cotonou Agreement policy implications. CSOs should spare time to learn and understand macro level issues related to poverty reduction initiatives and strategies. These could include issues in the Cotonou Agreement, World Bank/IMF policies, and other issue related to bilateral initiatives. For the EU and Tanzanian Government CSOs networks or coalitions should be involved in the process of selecting representatives of CSOs for the different meetings, seminars, round table discussions or any form of consultation with governments. The nature of CSOs involvement should be changed, to move beyond simply consultation in the workshops, to involve CSOs in the different technical working groups that prepare programme and strategy papers. Government representatives/eu delegates should attend and participate (whenever invited to speak) in different meetings, workshops, and discussions organised by the CSOs. CSOs capacity building for effective participation in different dialogues and consultation should involve, amongst others: The establishment of clear procedures for CSO access to resources; The encouragement of CSOs in the ACP and the EU to carry out research and studies to enhance their capacity to dialogue; The training of CSOs in various fields such as economic literacy. 8 The ACP Civil Society Forum is a network of ACP civil society organisations working ACP-EU Cooperation issues. It aims to provide a platform for civil society from ACP countries to formulate positions on ACP-EU cooperation. 9
Conclusions It is clear that most CSOs have little knowledge about the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. Consequently they express little interest in the specific issues involved, nor seek involvement. This stands in contrast with the indication from the Government and the EU delegate that there is satisfactory participation in the processes. To date such engagement has been confined to those few organisations, which have been involved in lobbying and advocacy activities in collaboration with ACP CSOs forums and their partners in the north. It is worth noting that although both parties to the Partnership Agreement have committed themselves to establishing a more pluralist partnership, practice does not support this perspective, and in the development of the Tanzania Country Strategy there are no clearly stated roles for CSOs in its implementation. The documents only state the roles of the Government/NAO and of EU Delegates. However, despite low levels of interest shown on specific issues, many civil society actors in Tanzania are beginning to recognise the opportunity offered by the Cotonou Agreement and they do share the vision, which gives the sense of ownership, accountability, transparency and promotion of full involvement of all stakeholders at all levels. There is also an indication that many CSOs now see the importance of engaging in the ACP/EU Cotonou Agreement. For this to be strengthened there is a need to foster further public awareness and understanding around the different issues in the Agreement and to build capacity for effective participation. Rebecca Muna Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development (TCDD) and Tanzania Social and Economic Trust (TASOET) 10
Annex I Cover letter sent with questionnaire The Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development (TCDD) is a coalition of Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) in Tanzania that have dedicated themselves to undertake various lobbying and advocacy activities towards debt cancellation/relief, poverty eradication and sustainable human development. Tanzania Social and Economic Trust (TASOET) is a secretariat of the TCDD which have been following up the ACP-EU Co-operation Agreement since 1999, and have engage in different lobbying and advocacy at different levels. One of the most important provisions in the Cotonou Agreement is the recognition of civil society organisations as a critical actor in its implementation at all levels. As CSOs, we are equally determined to utilise this window of opportunity to enhance and enrich NIPS or CSS. We are convinced that we can make a meaningful contribution to other on going efforts by government and EU Delegations in Tanzania and realisation of the above will require collaboration and regular engagement (policy discussions and debates) amongst other things. As part of the preparatory process to fulfill our goal, we are undertaking this brief survey on a few selected areas. This is going to be a long process of capacity building for CSOs in implementing and monitoring the Cotonou Agreement implementation and the steps we take, determine those to follow. It is against this background Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development and Tanzania Social and Economic Trust, have developed the small questionnaire, attached, to facilitate the collection of ideas to specifically looking at Civil Society participation the processes of drafting the Country Support Strategy (CSS) and the National Indicative Program (NIP). Kindly we are requesting your organisation to spare sometimes to respond on the questions attached. Thank you, REBECCA MUNA Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development. 11
Annex II Questionnaire Monitoring Civil Society Participation in the preparation of Country Support Strategy (CSS) and National Indicative Programs (NIP), November 2001. Information / Awareness What information was sent out to CSOs before, during and after the CSP process by the government? Before..... During... After..... What was the mode of distribution?... How was the information utilised by the CSOs invited? Any other plans mooted to enhance information exchange and awareness? How do you rate your understanding of the CSS, NIP? (a) Very good (b) Good (c) Fair (d) Very little Explain your answer Consultation How did you participate in the CSS/NIP processes? e.g. Were you invited in the Consultative workshop? Did you receive the CSS document for input, when? Did your organisation participate in the preparation of NIP, how? What was the approach? How long was the process? Who initiated and Co-ordinated the process? Dialogue/ Transparency What was the contribution of CSOs? How were CSOs inputs accommodated in the report? 12
What did EU Delegation / GoT / CSOs propose in terms of national priorities? What are the priorities now (at end of the consultation drive )? Is the final CSP / NIP ready? Have you seen (do you own a copy) of the final CSP/ NIP? How is your Organisation involved in the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement? How could CSOs involvement in the consultation process be improved, organised and managed? Additional Comments. Thanks a lot, REBECCA MUNA Tanzania Coalition on Debt and Development/ for Tanzania Social Economic Trust. 13