«FICHE CONTRADICTOIRE»

Transcription

1 «FICHE CONTRADICTOIRE» Evaluation of the Commission s External Cooperation with Angola (Country level evaluation) (*For details on the recommendations please refer to the main report) Recommendations STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS (1-7): 1. Concentrate on capacity-building in management, institutional development and governance of all development partners. Focus interventions on capacity-building, Technical Assistance (TA) teams should concentrate more on transfer of capacity to their counterparts. Collect examples of best practice in capacitybuilding and mainstream them into Governance and Institutional Support activities and also into other sectoral interventions. Agree; the 10th EDF NIP puts an emphasis on governance through capacity development and institutional building - notably on economical planning and in the justice sector. In the 2009 Annual Action Programme (AAP), a programme in support to the Ministry of Planning was approved and the implementation shall start in In this context, it shall be noted that focus on the governance, capacitybuilding and institutional development has to be related to a tangible ownership by GoA. Moreover, in the framework of governance, combating corruption has to take place. Without measures to combat corruption it might be difficult to observe progress in terms of increased institutional capacity. [Under the CSP 10 th EDF this topic is not specifically dealt with, there is only one project under preparation which deals with corruption (among other issues as money laundering and drug trafficking)]. To achieve results in this field requires a high level of expertise and substantial time in order to: (i) reach an agreement with the partners, (ii) identify the relevant institutional set up enabling effective transfer of know- 1

2 2. Focus on service delivery at municipal and provincial level as a 'fulcrum' (with support to selected/prioritised municipalities) but with continued dialogue at national level and with gradual extension of municipal coverage. The draft CSP for EDF10 has set concentration of interventions at decentralised level as a driving principle. It is highly relevant and highly recommended for all sectors of intervention. how/expertise. In a country with relatively enough budgetary resources as Angola - to buy expertise, transfer of capacity has been slow so far and could be improved through better institutional support. Agree; focus on activities at provincial and municipal levels is certainly positive and decentralization is one of the key reforms to be done (the arrival of elections at the local level is still pending). However, limited resources at the EUD side and limited capacity at the recipients' side constrain achievements in this field. Despite those limitations the EUD is increasingly working at the local/provincial level through the new projects and will support strengthening of local planning; even if the GoA has just started this process that could take years. Further possibility how to make the process effective is to work at the central and provincial level with those ministries that already offer decentralized services, as it is foreseen in the 10th EDF projects. This is the case for the ones approved (planning, demining) and the upcoming one for 2010 (health), where support for capacity development at the local level is foreseen. It shall be noted, however, that by focusing on those most able to deliver, we might end up with those that need assistance the least. Apart of the EU-driven activities also a possible 2

3 3. Continue enhancing donor coordination in general and coordination of Member States in particular. Enhance the level of coordination with all donors and take the lead in joint programming between them. While increasing efforts at donor level continue motivating GoA to take a more active role. 4. Focus project activities on realistic expected results and targets, as well as on interventions with high EC value added (e.g. Health, TVET and Employment Generation, Good Governance, Rural Development). Insist on participatory situation with early decisionmaking and taking of responsibility by the beneficiaries themselves and on a more critical review of logical frameworks prior to project approval. support to the new FAS (Social Action Fund) programme from the GoA and the World Bank can be considered. The programme will also have a local impact, as it is mainly devoted to micro-projects and a reinforcement of planning and budgeting capacity at municipal level. Agree; the recently approved 10th EDF includes specific support to "aid coordination unit". Through the practical activities (donor database), this component is an opportunity to strengthen donors' coordination and the involvement of the GoA (through the Ministry of Planning) in the process. This is especially important as coordinated programming is hampered by a lack of will and capacity of GoA to discuss coordinated sectoral programmes with external donors. In this regard, the newly proposed partnership framework could be the opportunity to strengthen/coordinate the EU relationship with the GoA on subjects of common. Agree; policies responding to 'ad-hoc' situations, the overall lack of planning, weak capacity in human resources and the lack of responsibility from some beneficiaries are still constraints to follow this recommendation. This means that all sectors need specific support to planning, budgeting and human resources development - areas where the concrete impact of our intervention is not always easy to spot. 3

4 5. Pay adequate attention to Institution Building in the Public Sector and Organisation Building in the private sector. Plan for support to institutional strengthening or institution-building within the forthcoming decentralisation process. Plan to hand over part of the project management functions to the local beneficiaries organisations around mid-project to increase ownership. 6. Significantly improve mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues. Insist on identification and implementation of specific cross-cutting interventions. There is huge potential for wider support for environmental issues in Angola (including regulation and enforcement). Ensure that all projects have an adequate M&E system that includes baseline data collection. Partly agree; institution building is essential and in a country like Angola shall be promoted whenever possible. In this regard the institution building is promoted both for the public and private sector so there is no need for Organisation Building for the private sector. Moreover, the focus of 10 EDF NIP on institution building in the public sector will concern indirectly the private sector via ameliorating public governance. There also will be a new EDF project, still to be identified, dedicated to the private sector. One of the EDF components in the pipeline (FAS IV) will also boost the decentralisation process. Agree; considering the situation of Angola, each of major cross-cutting issues required a programme in itself. However, monitoring of the projects remains difficult due to: (i) no baseline data and no reliable data in any domain (weakness of the statistical system and institutions), (ii) travel restrictions to monitor projects (Angolan airlines on the EU black list) but projects that can be visited without extensive travelling are regularly monitored. Once a year, ROM missions allow for external contractors to monitor some of the projects in the provinces, (iii) lack of interest from the side of stakeholders/beneficiaries, (iv) insufficient institutional capacity and human resources in the country. The new 10th EDF project that will support the institutional strengthening of the 4

5 7. Identify a specific modality of intervention for Angola. Consolidate a position for intervention in countries that are rich in resources but low in terms of human development ratings. OPERATIONAL (8-11): RECOMMENDATIONS 8. Increase transfer of knowledge to national counterparts. Plan for TA becoming more longterm (taking into consideration logistical difficulties and institutional issues for the establishment of TA in the Angolan context). Plan for longer-term engagements by the EC. National Institute for Statistics (under responsibility of Ministry of Planning) might help in this matter. Agree; the intervention is both at the political (with the already proposed Joint Way Forward) and the cooperation level (as we increasingly encounter the risk of becoming less relevant due to the comparatively minor level of ODA when compared to the country's resources). Considering Angola's natural resources, and the challenges of rehabilitation & development, the 10th EDF NIP puts an emphasis on the institution strengthening and capacity development through technical assistance/cooperation. This is a kind of modality of intervention leaving to GoA to finance the hardware of sector support (infrastructure building and equipment supply). Agree; most of the key technical assistance in the context of the new institutional support projects are long-term. The programme notably in health foreseen a technical cooperation in line with the new strategy which emphasis on the long-term technical expertise. However, this has to take into account the (i) extremely high cost of having TAs in the country (one of the most expensive in the world), (ii) required time to mature the concept, (iii) identify the relevant institutions with the appropriate expertise and experience in working in developing countries (iv) the difficulties in obtaining good quality 5

6 9. Improve proactivity in communication with Government counterparts, implementation partners and other stakeholders. Increase communication with the Government not only on project implementation but also on specific sectoral issues and on best practice and policy issues. Make efforts to strengthen formal day-byday communications and policy dialogue at ministerial level. 10. Consider greater flexibility in the use of EDF procedures. Analyse delays in procurement and consequences on efficiency in implementation. Draw conclusions for action. Adapt procurement procedures to local market realities so that procurement decisions take into consideration local efficiency standards. experts ready to work in Angola (and able to obtain long-term working visas). Disagree; to gain the GoA attention for cooperation issues remains a challenging (if not unfeasible) task at this point, due to their very limited interest. The recommendation that the EUD should strengthen formal day-by-day communications and policy dialogue at ministerial level has a very limited practicability. Partly disagree; the key issue in implementing this recommendation would be to actually make the EDF procedures themselves truly more flexible. However, the question of EDF procedures is not one to be resolved at the level of one country. Nonetheless, EDF procedures are not adapted to the field reality and to the development needs of the specific country. As to adapting to local market realities we do not see a simple way how this shall be delivered. The local market realities are still disheartening and the role of the NAO services should be increased (one of the objectives of the 10th EDF Institutional Support project). Note that the EUD undertakes a significant workload which should be done by authorities including a considerable deal that should be carried out by the NAO s TAU. 6

7 11. Strengthen monitoring systems. Insist on baseline studies as a preliminary activity before starting implementation of 10 th EDF projects. Make sure that monitoring procedures proposed in project design are actually followed during implementation from the very beginning on, covering outputs, outcomes but also impact. Partly disagree; there are no baseline statistics for most sectors/areas. The information system - including baseline, monitoring - in Angola is a project in itself. This involves that each feasibility study should include a sector baseline assessment at the country level (as it should be in line with institutional building).in terms of monitoring we certainly already strive to assure that monitoring procedures are respected during project design and implementation. Unfortunately, the problems with monitoring are also related to the EUD's weak capacity to monitor projects in the field, due to staff constraints (as clearly underlined by the European Court of Auditors) and travel restrictions, due to the inclusion of Angolan airlines in the EU black list. LEARNING RECOMMENDATIONS (12-13): 12. Deepen knowledge of LRRD for mainstreaming lessons learned into other situations. In case a thematic evaluation of LRRD is to be launched, consider Angola as an outstanding case study. 13. Collect, systematise and disseminate best practices and lessons learned. Collect, systematise and arrange for the proactive Agree; as it could also help on the visibility side if the study is also disseminated. Angola is one of the countries considered in study launched on LRRD. Agree; this is a good idea if linked to a more pro-active visibility effort in the country and/or lessons learned in outstanding projects from the 7

8 dissemination of best practice and lessons learned across the sectors. In the design of projects and programmes, include components for best practice collection and dissemination. region/sector. One example could be the actual usefulness and dissemination of this evaluation report. However, there is a lack of specific budgets related to dissemination and the need for this policy to be embedded at the Commission level in order to capitalise on past errors/successes. 8