Hodi Hodi O&OD has come to Handeni

Transcription

1 Hodi Hodi O&OD has come to Handeni How people in Handeni District are making the Opportunities & Obstacles to Development planning concept work for them

2 Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit In collaboration with Handeni District Council Support to Local Governance Processes (SULGO) Programme 325, Isimani Road, Upanga P.O. Box 1519, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania T / F E sulgo-dsm@giz.de I Based on interviews with some of the Handeni O&OD facilitation team members: Mr. Julius M. Mhando DCDO Mrs. Rosemary J. Buge DAO Mr. Juraji D. Mziray Livestock Officer Mr. Leonard D. Mkayula Livestock Officer And supported by: Mr. Hassan O. Mwachibuzi DED Mr. Moses P. Mabula DPLO Mr. Bennie G. Bloemberg GIZ Advisor Mr. Philipp Schattenmann GIZ Advisor Dar es Salaam, April 2013

3 FOREWORD Opportunities and Obstacles to Development (O&OD) as a participatory planning process has been carried out in Handeni District over the past 5 years. It is part of the decentralization process, in which communities plan and prioritize interventions, which can solve their socioeconomic challenges and obstacles. In Handeni District Council, the process has begun to show results since citizens participate in planning, decision making, implementing, monitoring and evaluating their own development projects. The Council supports the annual O&OD reviews, held in villages, as well as integrating the proposed activities into the district annual plan and budget (MTEF), in order to get funding. In Handeni District since 2008 the process of O&OD has resulted in many social and economic community projects being implemented timely while the communities have increasingly become aware of development programs taking place in their areas. Consequently, transparency and communication between government levels and citizens has improved. Moreover, the O&OD reviews in Handeni are a major source of information and village data documentation, where all stakeholders interventions begin with. Preparations of plans at village level are in accordance with the national development efforts, such as the Millennium Development Goals, Vision 2025 and MKUKUTA. Over the past 5 years Handeni District Council invested a total amount of TZS 202,000,000 to facilitate villages to prepare their plans, improve coordination, monitoring and evaluation, as well as strengthening communication processes at all levels. This adherence to the D by D principle has resulted in more sustainable community development and better planning of the District Council. It is our hope that by sharing our experiences, other Local Government Authorities may benefit and will be able to make O&OD a very valuable and lasting process in the council s affairs. Ramadhani H. Diriwa Muhingo Rweyemamu Hassan O. Mwachibuzi Council Chairman District Commissioner Council Director O&OD in Handeni 3

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5 INTRODUCTION Opportunities & Obstacles to Development, or O&OD, is a method for consultation between local governments, village communities and civil society. All district and municipal councils in Tanzania are required to carry out O&OD as a mandatory part of the Local Government Reform Programme. The purpose is to facilitate community people to plan, implement, and own their community plans with the aim of shifting planning process from top-down to bottom-up. O&OD empowers citizens by providing a platform where they can express their demands and visions. It promotes transparency and accountability, improves communication between communities and local government, and strengthens communities capacity to conceive and carry out their own development projects. A set of manuals from PMO-RALG details how O&OD should be carried out in all Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in Tanzania. These manuals are excellent, but the process they describe is a comprehensive one that depends on resources that are typically not at hand in rural districts in Tanzania today. This booklet describes how O&OD is practiced in Handeni District in 2012, and how the council seeks to develop and integrate the process further. It is not meant to replace the official manuals, but to show a pragmatic example of how people in Handeni are making O&OD work for them. O&OD in Handeni 5

6 The Handeni Council faced many limitations, such as limited funds for transport and allowances, lack of staff trained in the participatory planning techniques, weak village leadership, and sometimess conflicting planning directives from central levels. The O&OD process has been simplified in some ways and it is still evolving. But in spite of the difficulties, after five years with O&OD, stakeholders at all levels are overwhelmingly positive and suggest that real change is underway. For many years the Government had been making plans for development that did not come from the citizens Rosemary Buge, an agricultural extension officer, has been involved in all O&OD work in Handeni and is one of the most experienced District Facilitators. Like many extension officers in Tanzania she was familiar with the participatory research and planning methods deployed in O&OD from projects she had worked with earlier. She says introducing O&OD has shifted some of the initiative for planning from the government to the citizens: 6 O&OD in Handeni

7 O&OD originated in the government realising that for many years it had been making plans for development that did not come from the citizens, and that many of these plans were partly implemented since people found it was not their own plan. But through this exercise people have learned that they have in fact opportunities to address their problems, make their own plans and organise to implement them. One opportunity is natural resources like trees and land. Say they need a school; that the village has many children who fail to enrol in school because they don t have school buildings. Now, after getting permission from the department of education, some communities here have managed to start their own schools as a result of that first O&OD. Citizens volunteered to build the school themselves as they discovered in the course of the process how they can rely on themselves. n Rosemary Buge with a village resource person and teachers at a school built by the villagers in Magamba as a result of O&OD planning in O&OD in Handeni 7

8 THE O&OD PROCESS ROLLOUT AND REVIEW At first we called it a campaign. But now O&OD is not a campaign. It s a continuous process that goes on throughout the year. Introducing the O&OD process in an LGA involves a two-week participatory research, data collection and planning exercise in each village or mitaa. This initial exercise is called the O&OD rollout. Handeni did the rollout in Following the rollout, annual O&OD reviews are to be carried out, when the three-year plans produced in the rollout are reviewed and adjusted, and new plans are made. The review is a less comprehensive exercise which takes eight days per village, of which the first three days are facilitated by a team of trained O&OD facilitators. In Handeni there have not been enough resources to revisit every village every year. Instead, half the villages were re-visited in a review of 2011/12 and the other half in 2012/13. The current plan is that each village should go through the review every second year. PLANS AND BUDGETS Julius M. Mhando the O&OD Coordinator The plans that are made in the communities are integrated and budgeted for through incorporation in the council s annual budget, the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Village governments report on their progress through council meetings. Since 2012 Handeni District has a dedicated O&OD monitoring team that meets monthly to keep track of the process. When the MTEF has been revised and approved by the central government and parliament typically up to a year after the O&OD planning took place funds for projects that were planned in the villages are disbursed directly to the respective villages bank accounts. 8 O&OD in Handeni

9 STEPS IN THE ANNUAL O&OD CYCLE IN HANDENI DISTRICT APR MAR FEB MAY JUN JAN JUL AUG preparations DEC eld work follow-up and monitoring NOV SEP OCT Review and planning Review O&OD tools and data collection procedures. SWOC analysis for presentation to CMT. Selection of villages. Budget and itinerary for field work. Selection of facilitators. Refresher training of village and ward facilitators One or two days training in each Divison. Hand out forms for data collection for distribution to villages. Producing village development plans Fieldwork in the villages. Discussion and collection of data sheets. Finish before onset of short rains. Follow up and monitoring Are village assembly meetings held to present village plans? Are village plans implemented? Analysis and presentation Analysing O&OD outcome. Presenting analysis to CMT and FAP with regards to upcoming MTEF. Incorporation of village plans in MTEF DFT participate in planning sessions. Verify that O&OD data is used in departmental plans. Use PlanRep function to link activities to Village/Mtaa or Ward. Make budget for next year s O&OD. Feedback to villages Post PlanRep printouts showing approved activites and budgets to Village Notice Boards. O&OD in Handeni 9

10 THE ONE-OFF O&OD ROLLOUT IN 2008 Handeni District carried out a full-scale O&OD rollout in Realising that local councils do not have sufficient resources of their own the PMO-RALG acknowledges that the rollout needs to be supported by central government. Prior to the rollout, five national-level facilitators contracted by PMO-RALG trained thirty district-level facilitators (DFs). The thirty DFs formed teams together with 95 Ward Facilitators (WFs) and 224 Village Facilitators (VFs) or Village Resource Persons. A total of 5,000 villagers were actively involved in the process. These teams spent 12 full days in each of the District s 112 villages. The costs for this exercise was 118 million shillings, excluding the costs for training, and it was funded by PMO- RALG, while HDC covered the transport costs. Rosemary Buge explains how PRA tools were applied in the villages: During the rollout we used nine tools to identify obstacles and opportunities. We started with drawing a village map that showed the village s resources; valleys, water sources, forests, land for cultivation and settlements. 10 O&OD in Handeni

11 After the mapping we did transect walks, where the group walks across the village and study the soil, natural vegetation, trees. You stop and note any issues that you come across along the way. We made mobility maps showing the distance to social services, water sources, fuelwood, postal service, banks, hospitals and dispensaries. We listed historical events for the village, things that happened many years ago and what consequences they had. Then we made seasonal calendars, showing which crops are grown at which time of the year and what problems are associated with them. We looked at which livestock are kept and what diseases they get in different seasons. n Village map from Kweisasu village O&OD in Handeni 11

12 n PAIRWISE RANKING In this ranking of problem areas to adress in Komfungo village, school buildings came out on top, followed by piped water and oxploughs Then there is human disease; checking if there are seasonal outbreaks and how these affect the farm work. We discussed what business and trade activities, as well as cultural activities, are carried out in different periods. All that was plotted into the seasonal calendars. We made Venn diagrams (chapati diagrams) showing institutions, prioritized according to importance. We ranked activities that are destroying the environment and discussed what can be done about them. In the end we have a list of all priorities that have been revealed. We ask the participants which priorities are most important. We do this through pair-wise ranking, comparing one priority to another, in pairs. Then we establish goals for each problem area and discuss which opportunities we can identify to address it. We ask ourselves: What can we do to improve this? What can the villagers do themselves, and with what do they need external help? Finally we come up with project plans about agriculture, livestock, water, health... When you then go to the village you already know which specific projects the villagers need in each sector. The department for agriculture knows that if they go to Kwamatuku, the village has decided to procure modern farming tools and need training. So when the agricultural extension officers come they look at the project that has been most highly prioritised first and we help with that. When the health department go there they will deal with another priority, a dispensary perhaps. 12 O&OD in Handeni

13 And all these projects have a point of departure in what the community can do for itself and what it cannot do, so when you go there you focus on the things they cannot do on their own. DOCUMENTATION The entire O&OD process is documented on large manila sheets, in two folders per village. One folder contains the outcome of the various exercises and tools that were used, and the other contains plans for the next three-year period. The folders are copied by hand for the District Council while the original set is kept in the village office. These folders stacked at the district headquarters are now used for copying into a database, for monitoring and follow up of village projects. Lots of data are collected in O&OD, but so far it is available only in these handwritten folders and, for some kinds of numerical data, in unwieldy spreadsheets kept on local computers. The Council is looking into the possibility of developing a continuously updated village database that could be made available to development agents and citizens. O&OD in Handeni 13

14 THE ANNUAL O&OD REVIEW APR MAR FEB MAY JUN JAN JUL AUG preparations DISTRICT FACILITATION TEAM The DFT is made up of District Facilitators, usually subject matter specialists from the different technical departments, who work together as a team during the O&OD fieldwork phase. The work is organized and facilitated by an O&OD coordinator. DEC work follow-up and monitoring NOV eld SEP 1 OCT Planning with the District Facilitation Team The O&OD cycle begins with a District Facilitation Team meeting at the District Headquarters. The planning needs to take place in August-September since the best time for the fieldwork is in October, before the onset of the short rains. The team reviews the experiences and outcomes of the previous year s O&OD cycle, asking questions like: How can fieldwork exercises and participation be improved? Was the timing appropriate for the villagers and for incorporating the results in the MTEF? What information does the Council need from the villagers for this year s planning? How can data collection be improved? The findings are summarized in a SWOC analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges) that is presented to the Council Management Team. Keeping department heads informed and aware of the O&OD process is regarded as very important in Handeni. Then follows detailed planning for the upcoming O&OD review: Recruiting facilitators: how many are available? Is there a need to train new ones? Selection of villages: how many villages can be covered and how much time should the facilitators spend in each village? The facilitators in Handeni consider that while 12 days per village was appropriate for the first O&OD rollout, 3 days is just about sufficient when re-visiting for the O&OD review, while an additional 5 days is used for approval of the Village Plan. Logistics: access to transport for the entire field-work period must be organized in detail with itineraries and driving schedules. 14 O&OD in Handeni

15 Da Budget: Travel, allowances and fuel requisition Letters to Village Executive Officers with directives to organize village assembly meetings and prepare the community must be delivered at least two weeks before the exercise begins. Produce new data collection forms, data sheets, program and itinerary for the field work period. DATA COLLECTION Collecting and updating data on the villages is an important part of the O&OD process. Handeni council uses a set of standardised forms for the purpose: Household Survey, using specially designed data sheets. Questionnaire, a retooled O&OD information sheet, made in Excel for easy compilation and analysis Evaluation of previous priorities The picture shows a Household Survey Form used to gather data from every household in the village. O&OD in Handeni 15

16 APR MAY JUN follow-up and monitoring JUL AUG preparations SEP 2 Training of ward and village facilitators Many local government staff have not been trained in the participatory research and planning methods that are used in O&OD. There is also staff turnover necessitating training of new staff. MAR FEB JAN DEC work NOV eld OCT In 2012 there were 9 District Facilitators, 23 Ward facilitators and 112 Village Facilitators or Resource Persons working with the annual O&OD review in Handeni. Prior to the fieldwork, the District Facilitators organized 1-2 day training courses in four training centres around the district to equip ward and village level facilitators with facilitation skills and a shared understanding of the process. APR MAY JUN follow-up and monitoring JUL AUG preparations SEP 3 Reviewing the Village Development Plans The O&OD review is announced in the village several weeks before the fieldwork starts. The community needs to get prepared and the village government must call a village assembly meeting in good time. MAR FEB JAN DEC work NOV eld OCT Each village is then visited by a team of three facilitators: One member of the District Facilitation Team, One Ward Facilitator, often an agricultural extension worker, CD worker, Ward Education Coordinator, WEO or Primary Teacher. One Village Facilitator or resource person, usually a VEO. This team spends three days in the village. In the latest O&OD review, it took nine teams of three facilitators a total of 23 days of fieldwork to cover 56 villages. During this time, two roving supervisors - the District Community Development Officer (DCDO) and the District Planning Officer (DPLO) - moved from village to village to ensure the quality and consistency of the exercise. On the first day in the village the previous plan is discussed. 16 O&OD in Handeni

17 This is followed by reporting on implementation and on the income and expenditure budget. A focus group is assembled, ascertaining a gender balanced composition with representatives of the elderly, youth, livestock keepers, farmers, entrepreneurs, representatives from NGOs and CBOs, traditional leaders, disabled, widows and hamlet leaders. This is followed by a household wealth ranking, using a standardized format, a review of the previous priorities, and a new analysis of the environmental impact of income generation activities. The second day starts with establishing village priorities through pairwise ranking followed by preparation of a logical framework matrix and a new three-year plan. The third day a Village Assembly is held when plans and reports are presented. While the facilitators will not stay on in the village after the third day, the Village Council continues with the planning exercise for five more days. The new plan is forwarded to the Ward Development Committee for discussion and comments after which it is presented to a second Village Assembly meeting for approval. Finally, the village plan is consolidated into sectoral plans and handed over to the District Planning Officer through the DED. TYPICAL PROGRAMME FOR THE O&OD REVIEW Day 1: Village Assembly meeting, data collection, evaluation of previous plans. Day 2: Preparation of new village priorities and Logical Framework. Day 3: Presentation of Village Development Plans and financial reports to the Village Assembly. DAYS 4-8: Consultation with WDC and approval by Village Assembly. O&OD in Handeni 17

18 APR MAR FEB MAY JUN JAN follow-up and monitoring JUL AUG preparations DEC eld work NOV 4 SEP OCT Follow-up and monitoring Following the first O&OD exercise in 2008 there was a gap of many months between the time that village development plans were submitted to the council and before budgets were approved and allocated. In some communities little implementation took place and the plans were more or less forgotten while waiting for an initiative from the council. To avoid this kind of gap in implementation, the council created a dedicated O&OD monitoring team in The team is supervised by the O&OD coordinator. The coordinator works more or less full time with the O&OD process while the seven members of the monitoring team work for three days every month with monitoring, with a point of departure in studying the minutes of village council meetings that are submitted to the council each month, and following up with village and ward extension workers in the field. The team is developing specific reporting formats for village projects and administrative issues that village governments will submit monthly, together with the minutes of VC meetings. In order to further improve the accountability of village leaders and extension workers, an idea of signing a Memorandum of Understanding for each village project that is approved by the Council is currently being developed. APR MAY JUN JUL AUG preparations SEP 5 Analysis and presentation Immediately after the fieldwork period is over the collected data and the development plans are analysed by the District Facilitation Team. MAR FEB JAN follow-up and monitoring DEC work NOV eld OCT The purpose is to share the findings through presentations to the Council Management Team (CMT) and the Finance, Administration and Planning (FAP) committee to make sure that the findings and plans will be considered in producing the MTEF. Presentations are made with slide shows with graphs and tables. 18 O&OD in Handeni

19 Incorporation in MTEF The District Facilitators are invited to the sessions of the CMT prior to the budget sessions of the District Planning Team (DPT). It is important that what is presented at this stage is in a format that can be easily incorporated in the MTEF. The Coordinator presents the analyses of the O&OD review to the DPT on the first day of this planning session. Depending on the villagers priority ranking, the planners of the sectors most affected are now coached by members of the DFT and the O&OD facilitator. Sector planners often have a technical approach to budgeting and planning and may need to be reminded of the requirements and prioritizations that emerged from the communities. Ideally, the MTEF that is produced should reflect the outcomes of the O&OD. It is also important to ensure that the next year s O&OD activities are budgeted for in the MTEF. In Handeni the costs for the latest O&OD review was 550,000 shillings per village, including allowances, fuel and stationeries. 6 APR MAR FEB MAY JUN JAN follow-up and monitoring JUL AUG preparations DEC work NOV eld SEP OCT FEEDBACK TO VILLAGES The central government will not approve everything that local councils budget for. After the MTEF has been approved by the Full Council, the District Consultative Committee, the Regional Consultative Committee, the MoFEA and PMO-RALG a process which is usually concluded in June the DFT together with the Planning Team evaluates to what extent the village plans have been incorporated in the approved MTEF. 7 APR MAR FEB MAY JUN follow-up and monitoring JUL AUG preparations eld work NOV SEP OCT They present the analysis to the CMT and inform the communities through printing the relevant PlanRep budget and planning sheets for posting on notice boards in village and ward centres. JAN DEC O&OD in Handeni 19

20 Implementation Some plans made in the villages can be fully or partly implemented right away, relying on local resources. If the project involves building a new school, the village can start doing their part of the construction while waiting for the funding to come through. If it s about reducing malaria, villagers can start by cleaning up the environment and getting rid of standing water, while waiting for funding for a new dispensary. Projects that rely on the District s own funding sources can be approved for implementation once the MTEF is approved by the council, typically in April. But Handeni district does not have many own income sources and the majority of prioritised projects rely on central government funding. It takes a long time until the District budget is approved, and even longer until the money is paid out to the village s bank account. This means that a project that was planned during an O&OD workshop in October may not be implemented until the MTEF has been approved by the ministry and the parliament and the funds released to the council. This should happen in July but typically the funds do not arrive until October more than a full year after the community submitted their plan. The O&OD process is thus a two-year cycle from the perspective of the village. While the O&OD review is carried out in half the villages, implementation of many of the projects that were planned the year before is just about to begin in the other half of the villages where the O&OD review was carried out the year before. The development plans are based on the logical framework concept and take a point of departure in ranking problems and defining development goals. But the plans are often not very specific in terms of who should do what at which time to reach the goals, partly due to the delayed and uncertain funding, partly to weak village leadership and partly due to low community participation. There is a risk that the plans are not acted upon in between the O&OD reviews. The council s response has been to set up the O&OD monitoring team that reviews the monthly minutes from village 20 O&OD in Handeni

21 Da council meetings to keep track of plans and administrative issues. Furthermore a Memorandum of Understanding for each approved project will be introduced in 2012/13 that holds both village governments and the council accountable for their respective commitments. WHO DOES WHAT IN O&OD? All citizens have the opportunity to participate through attending the village assembly meetings that are organised before and after each O&OD review. Focus group volunteers. In each village, around 40 men and women are invited by subvillage chairmen to join the participatory exercises. Village Facilitators, 1 per village, usually the Village Executive Officer (VEO). Ward Facilitators, 1 per ward, these are usually the WEO, or extension workers or other field staff posted to the ward. District Facilitators, 30 council staff were trained in the methods, of which 9 participated in the latest O&OD review. Ward Councillors take part in the discussions, either as invitee during Village Assembly meetings, or as chair person of the WDC. The O&OD Coordinator, a planning officer assigned to the task, keeps an eye on the process throughout the year. Two Roving Supervisors, the DPLO and the DCDO, tour the District during the field work period to ensure quality and consistency. The O&OD Monitoring Team, has 7 members and meets monthly for 3 days to follow up. The Village Government is responsible for all communication and organisation in the village, including holding village assembly meetings, as well as for reporting to the District Council and for implementing the plans that are approved. O&OD in Handeni 21

22 We gather project plans from many villages but the budget allocated to us from the government limits what we can do. Rosemary Buge about the O&OD review: When we go back to the village for the second time, for the review, we are not doing a full O&OD again, but we follow up on the plans that are already in place. We start by informing the village government that we have come to facilitate a review of the village plans. We repeat the goals of O&OD; that it s about empowering the community to recognize their problems and understand what they have available for addressing them. We insist that the sub-village leaders attend because they are the ones who are close to the people. In the rollout phase we worked for 12 days in each village and we did all the exercises. When we return for the review, we have less time in the field. In the latest O&OD review we spent three days per village only, but this was very difficult. We returned with too little information. And instead of doing the review in all villages we covered 56 only. Next time we need to go to the remaining ones. We do not have the resources to do the review in every village every year as required. But even so, we can now see that the villagers understand what is going on. When you talk to those who represent the sub-village they give you all the information. It s a big difference from the first time. We gather project plans from many villages but the budget allocated to us from the government limits what we can do. For example, we implement something called DADP, District Agriculture Development Program, which concerns villagelevel projects, but the budget we receive for that is sufficient for five villages only. But the council still has some money to allocate to every village, so that one village gets 3 million, another 5 million, and then they can look at their priorities from O&OD and decide which project they should implement first. These funds are allocations from the LGDG, of which 50% is distributed over all the villages, based on population. 22 O&OD in Handeni

23 Juraji Daudi Mziray is another member of the District Facilitators Team who has worked with O&OD since the beginning: I see the whole exercise of opportunities and obstacles for development as very important. All levels of government play a role in implementation of development plans. The priority here was to eliminate a malaria epidemic. You find each citizen has a role in implementing that plan while government has its role. The villagers were looking at having a dispensary. Now they will contribute their manpower while the government will provide money for buying building materials. This O&OD has given experience. The meetings I ve had with villagers have taught me a lot of things. Even if I work as an expert I can t know everything, and villagers too have certain expert knowledge. During the process they share things that I didn t know. Some have a great understanding of livestock production and I ve learned a lot, for example from the Maasai pastoralists about the indigenous veterinary medicine they use against various cattle diseases. Juraji D. Mziray Livestock Officer and District Facilitator n Village chairman, Kweisasu O&OD in Handeni 23

24 n A volunteer in Komfungo village has brought tax from market stalls and collects receipts from the village executive officer. HOW ARE VILLAGE PROJECTS FUNDED? Only about 40% of the projects that were planned when O&OD was introduced in 2008/09 have been implemented. This is mainly due to lack of funding, but also diversion of funds to the construction of Ward Secondary Schools, as well as inadequate leadership.. The project plans produced in the O&OD process rely on different sources of funds: Revenue collected by the village government, mostly as small fees from small businesses in the village. The O&OD data indicates that the average potential income per village is TZS 2.8m. How much of this potential that is actually collected is not yet known, but it seems that the budgeting and reporting demands brought by O&OD has in itself helped villages take revenue collection seriously. 24 O&OD in Handeni

25 District Council. 50% of the Local Government Development Grant that the District receives from Treasury, as well as 20% of the revenue that the Council collects from it s own sources, is sent directly to the villages in proportion to their population. In recent years Handeni villages have received between TZS 1.5 and 6m, or a little over TZS 1,000 per capita from the Council. Most projects cost more to implement and it is not uncommon that the money is left in a bank account with negative interest for several years. Funds earmarked for specific purposes channeled through the sector departments. These funds may or may not coincide with priorities expressed in the O&OD process. Contributions by villagers, mainly in kind. Villagers labour and local materials typically account for 25-35% of the investment in building projects. The Constituency Development Fund 67m last year is administered by the council but controlled by the MPs and thus not available for the O&OD planning. All in all, the O&OD process involves very small investments in village projects, probably not more than around TZS 2,000 per capita per year. However, the combined investment in community projects in Handeni by other agencies is many times greater. The Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) alone has a TZS 1.3bn budget for Handeni, and there are several other donor and NGO funds operating in the District. But these agencies are often bypassing the O&OD process in favour of setting up their own project-specific committees. The O&OD coordinator Mr Mhando is optimistic that other development agencies will eventually operate more within the O&OD framework in the future, when stronger accountability and effectivity at community level can be demonstrated. n A typical village in Handeni has 1-2,000 residents and receives 2-3m shilling in development funding from the Council budget per year. To get some perspective on that investment, this new 120 km Mkata-Handeni- Korogwe road costs 1m shilling per meter. O&OD in Handeni 25

26 LESSONS LEARNED Today Handeni spends only a small part of their budget on the O&OD process, equivalent to about 350 Sh per citizen. Governance starts from the bottom It has been argued that O&OD has not made a significant difference for development. Critics have said that districts can t afford to do it properly, and that the development funding that is allocated through O&OD and controlled by village communities is too small to make a difference. There is a fear that the wish lists that people in the communities are making, may lead to unrealistic expectations. It is true that Handeni could not have afforded the O&OD rollout without extra funding from the government. But that was a one-time investment. Today Handeni spends only a small part of their budget on the O&OD process, equivalent to about 350 Sh per citizen less than the price of a bottle of soda. Nobody in Handeni thinks this is waste of time and money. 26 O&OD in Handeni

27 Moses Mabula, District Planning Officer, recognizes the challenges: The whole process has been a challenge. First, there is the dependency mentality. For many years people in the communities have been dependent on government and other donors for development. Another challenge is in holding meetings. This exercise involves sessions that can take a whole day and people demand water or allowances to participate. Then there are political challenges. Political parties get involved in different ways and some feel that the whole exercise was brought by the ruling party to win votes. But nevertheless, citizens have recognized the importance of making their own plans according to their own priorities. This is a positive initiative for democracy. O&OD has changed the style of management of public service, especially in local government. It has increased transparency. Not only are you coming up with new development projects, but also you are designing these projects together with the people themselves after they have identified their needs and resources. The old practice of superimposing top down projects that we have planned at the district level has been abandoned. Now we depend on the citizens priorities and our job as experts is to compile their plans so that we get an overview of the whole district and can match their needs with the resources we have access to. The district is large, with 112 villages, and the money we get in the district to distribute to the villages won t be enough. Every village will complain that it gets too little. Citizens and politicians complaints will always be a challenge in development. But the accusations that we are embezzling the money has decreased a lot with increased transparency now that villages have their own bank accounts and project committees. Our duty now is only to advice them and authorize. My role as planning officer has changed. My task now is to facilitate the communication of plans from the grassroots level Moses P. Mabula District Planning Officer There is the dependency mentality. For many years people in the communities have been dependent on government and other donors for development. O&OD in Handeni 27

28 O&OD requires change across the entire governance system. You need leaders who understand how to involve the public. to the council, but also the other way around to facilitate communication of what the council does to the lower levels. When the council s decision has been passed and the minutes approved we communicate to the villagers which projects have been chosen for funding by the council. This is posted on notice boards in all wards and villages. We work with more transparency these days. When the funding arrives we distribute it directly to the villages. Each village has its own bank account where we deposit the money for village projects. Other projects are implemented at Ward level and yet others at the district level, due to their scale or complexity We come up with many plans that we integrate in the district development plan, but when we begin the budget allocation process with the Ministry of Finance we find that they have their budget envelope. When they establish the ceiling we have to adjust our demands. Therefore, the government s instructions become, in a way, a barrier to O&OD because of the limited capacity of the central government and the council. But in one way or the other, the central government needs to lead the country according to its development policies. There is MKUKUTA, three clusters of boosting the economy, good governance, but also social services. There are the millennium development goals with guidelines. It is the task of the district to link the Government policy with plans and initiatives from the villages. Our government is poor and the financial resources that are available are not sufficient. O&OD requires change across the entire governance system. You need leaders who understand how to involve the public. The big problem is in the mindset. We need to elect leaders who are critical enough to motivate the public and understand that their own role in development is as a catalyst. We don t need leaders who are just sitting there complaining that the government doesn t bring enough. Governance starts from the bottom. 28 O&OD in Handeni

29 Julius Mhando, the District O&OD Coordinator: The O&OD process does costs some money but I don t think it is expensive since it is a function of democracy. The MKUKUTA says we should invest in good governance, and citizen participation is one of the main pillars of good governance. Because if we do not make plans with the participation of the villagers, if they do not state clearly that this is indeed the plan we agreed upon, then that plan will be owned by the District Executive Director and the Village Executive Officer only and not by the villagers. But as long as the villagers themselves decide, after seeing the opportunities and obstacles this is the cost for democracy. I don t think the cost is high. After all, the council has a budget of 19bn shillings. Using 28 million for O&OD is a very small part of it. Participatory planning is very important because it has proven to be at the source of development. Now the villagers themselves say for this year, we think we should do this. They follow the procedures and supervise their project themselves, and they are able to say that this part of the plan we can do ourselves, but this other part we need the government s help with So I don t think the O&OD process is expensive. Consider the road that is built for a cost of 1 billion per kilometre. The O&OD process costs no more than some 20 meters of that road. Even the elections cost more than the O&OD. Julius M. Mhando District O&OD Coordinator O&OD in Handeni 29

30 THE WAY FORWARD The O&OD process in Handeni is evolving in different directions. Institutional development: If in the beginning the focus was on making more realistic plans that made better use of the limited development funding available, the process is now more about institutional development, gradually building up managerial competence and accountability in the villages and introducing more transparency and opportunities for citizen participation in governance. As the Tanzanian economy is growing so do the calls for increased social spending and support to rural livelihoods. The institutional development now taking place through the O&OD process in Handeni may turn out to be important for justifying higher levels of investment in social services in the future. Less redundancy in planning: In the past most new development initatives started from scratch with their own project-specific fact finding, research and planning in selected communities. Now the wealth of information about communities and their priorities that is accumulated through the O&OD provides baseline data and entry 30 O&OD in Handeni

31 points that can make development planning faster and more efficient. E.g. apart from inputs for MTEFs and PETS, O&OD is the perfect platform for launching almost any intervention at village level. Already the Agriculture Department in Handeni uses the extended O&OD to sensitize and organize farmers and livestock keepers. Currently also VLOM (Village Level Operation and Maintenance for water supply) is in the process of being initiated using the O&OD process. A renewed effort in Village Land Use Planning is currently being made in Handeni and O&OD provides a good starting point, using village mapping that is one of the tools used in O&OD reviews. Thus, many (future) interventions at village level can make use of the existing village plans and villagers O&OD experience. Monitoring: Monitoring was weak in the first years of O&OD in Handeni but now the recently established monitoring team is developing a comprehensive system for routine monitoring of how village councils are performing and how communities are faring, not only with regards to the O&OD plans. In Ndolwa ward the council is cooperating with the Civic Education Teachers Association (CETA) in a promising attempt to link a Public Expenditure Tracking System (PETS) to the O&OD process. O&OD in Handeni 31

32 FORMS AND DATASHEETS USED in HANDENI SN Ward No Village January 2012 February Segera 1 Jitengeni x x x 2 2 Mandera x x x 3 3 Masatu x x x 4 4 Chang'ombe x x x 5 2 Ndolwa 1 Kwamnele x x x Route Mzundu x x x 7 3 Komkole 'B" x x x 8 4 Luiye x x x 9 5 Komdudu x x x 10 3 Mazingara 1 Amani x x x 11 4 Kwamsisi 1 Kwamsisi x x x 12 2 Mkalamo x x x 13 5 Kwasunga 1 Kwasunga x x x 14 6 Kwaluguru 1 Magamba x x x Route Muungano B x x x 16 7 Kang'ata 1 Kwaluwala x x x 17 2 Nyasa x x x 1. Itinerary The logistics of O&OD fieldwork are complicated with teams of staff being driven to different areas. The Handeni council has developed a day-by-day itinerary form to managed the movements of all involved staff. Kipaumbele namba (2008) Ilikuwa siyo kipaumbele tena Pesa za H/W hazikufika Pesa zilienda kwa ujenzi wa sekondari/kwingine Bado pesa ziko kwenye akaunti Pesa zilitolewa kidogo; hazitoshi Usimamizi duni wa uongozi wa kijiji Mabadiliko ya uongozi mpya Hakuna ushauri wa wataalamu Kutokupatikana kwa mahitaji Sababu ingine Maelezo zaidi [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] 1 Shughuli (2008) Imetekelezwa? Weka x kama ni hapana Kama haijatekelezwa, chagua sababu moja Kati ya [4] na [13] chagua 1 tu; weka alama ya X Bado ni kipaumbele, eleza kwa nini? 2 2. Evaluation Form for following up the previous O&OD plan, asking villagers which of their priorities have been implemented; to comment on those that have not yet been implemented; and which of the priorities remain. 32 O&OD in Handeni

33 Weka alama ya v katika jibu linalostahili Idadi ya watu katika kaya Shamba (eneo ktk ekari) Idadi ya Ng ombe Idadi ya Mbuzi Idadi ya Kuku Nyumba Usafiri Mawasiliano Zana anazotumia kwa kilimo Mkuu wa kaya Me Ke 3. Household Survey au zaidi au zaidi au zaidi au zaidi Udongo na Nyasi Udongo, bati, sement Tofali, bati, sementi Baiskeli Pikipiki Gari Redio Simu Runinga Jembe la Mkono Plau ya Maksai Trekta Ndogo (Power Tiller) Trekta Jumla Ma The household survey collects basic data from households and lists which assets each household in the village has. It is carried out in every O&OD exercise. The results are entered in one large database, enabling detailed analysis of economic trends at household level. Mapato Matumizi a Aina ya Mapato Jumla Na Aina ya Matumizi Jumla 1 Ada za maombi 1 Gharama za safari 2 Asilimia ya mauziano 2 Gharama za upimaji mashamba 3 Baa 3 Gharama za vikao mbalimbali 4 Bodaboda 4 Posho ya mkusanyaji ushuru 5 Karakana za baiskeli 5 Posho ya mpiga mbiu 6 Maduka ya bidhaa za viwandani 6 Posho ya mwenyekiti wa kijiji 7 Maduka ya madawa 7 Posho ya wenyeviti wa vitongoji 8 Maduka ya vifaa vya ofisi 8 Shajala 9 Magenge/magulio 9 Ununuzi wa samani 10 Maonyesho ya video, disco/burudani Michango mbalimbali 11 Mashine za kukereza 10 Chakula mashuleni 12 Mashine za kusaga 11 Gharama ya mtunza ofisi 4. Income and expenditure This is an itemised budget for potential village income and expenditure prepared by the village government. O&OD in Handeni 33

34 Mchakato wa Fursa na Vikwazo kwa Maendeleo Sekta Me Ke J [2] [3] [4] 1 UTAWALA Idadi ya Vitongoji/Mitaa Idadi ya wajumbe wa Halmashauri ya Kijiji Idadi ya kaya Idadi ya wakazi 0 0 Idadi ya watu wenye uwezo wa kufanya kazi 0 0 Idadi ya watoto chini ya umri wa miaka Idadi ya watoto kati ya umri wa miaka ELIMU 2.1 ELIMU YA MSINGI Idadi ya watoto wa umri wa miaka 7 waliostahili kuandikishwa, mwaka 1 uliopita 0 0 Idadi ya wanafunzi wa umri wa miaka 7 walioandikishwa, mwaka ulioopita 0 0 Idadi ya wanafunzi waliomaliza darasa la saba, mwaka uliopita 0 0 Idadi ya wanafunzi waliofaulu darasa la saba, mwaka uliopita 0 0 5a. Village data sheet Records data on village government, demography, social services and economy aggregated at village level. 5b. Kitongoji Data sheet Data on population, education and schools, health services, water and economy at the sub-village level. SN Kata No Kijiji 1 1 Jitengeni 2 2 Mandera 3 3 Masatu 4 1 Segera 4 Mailikumi 5 5 Chang'ombe 6 6 Segera 7 7 Michungwani 8 1 Kwamnele 9 2 Chanika Kofi 10 3 Mzundu 11 4 Seza Kofi 2 Ndolwa 12 5 Komkole 'B" 13 6 Luiye 14 7 Kwamwenda Kuongeza uzalishaji wa mazao ya mahi Kuongeza uzalishaji wa mazao ya kund Uzalishaji wa zao la mpunga Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la mhogo Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la maharag Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la mtama Kuongeza uzalishaji wa ngwala-nyeusi Kuhifadhi mazao kwa kutumia viatilifu (d 6. Priorities The priorities established by each village in the District are categorised and gathered in this datasheet, providing an detailed view of development priorities for the entire district. Kuongeza idadi ya kaya yenye vihenge kuhifadhia mazao Kuongeza uzalishaji wa pamba Kuongeza zao la machungwa Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la alizeti Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la korosho Kuongeza uzalishaji wa zao la karanga 34 O&OD in Handeni

35 MORE ABOUT O&OD More information on O&OD can be downloaded from and O&OD in Handeni 35

36 ACRONYMS CMT Council Management Team DF District Facilitator DFT District Facilitation Team FAP Finance, Administration and Planning committee HDC Handeni District Council MKUKUTA Mpango wa Kukuza Uchumi na Kupunguza Umaskini Tanzania (National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty) MoF Ministry of Finance MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework O&OD Opportunities and Obstacles for Development PMO-RALG Prime Minister s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal SWOC Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges VF Village Facilitator WF Ward Facilitator 36 O&OD in Handeni

37 SUPPORT TO LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROCESSES (SULGO) PROGRAM Brief background In 1984, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania embarked on the policy of decentralization to provide better quality services to its citizens. A Local Governance Reform Program went into implementation in 2000 as one of Government of Tanzania s core reforms. It emphasizes decentralization-bydevolution (D-by-D), with the government understanding Local Government Authorities as the main vehicles to deliver quality public services to Tanzanians, especially to the poor, and giving them more powers and responsibilities as well as resources. Germany is one of several development partners supporting Tanzania s policy on decentralization. The bilateral cooperation assists the Tanzanian reform in mainly through: 1. Contributions to the two joint funding mechanisms for the Local Government Reform Program, being the Local Government Development Grant LGDG Basket and the Local Government Reform Program (Technical Assistance) LGRP II Basket 2. Technical cooperation through the bilateral Sup port to Local Governance Processes Program. SULGO is a cooperation program between PMO-RALG and O&OD in Handeni 37

38 n Description The Support to Local Governance Processes program The SULGO program s objective is to enhance delivery of public services for Tanzanians, leading to socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. Partners of the SULGO Program are the Prime Minister s Office - Regional Administration and Local Government (PMO-RALG), which supervises local government authorities and regional administrations, and GIZ, implementing the German contribution on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. SULGO focuses mainly on improving public financial management at sub-national level, as well as on harmonization of the legal framework and strengthening the rule of law. More specifically, SULGO aims at Increasing and utilizing local revenues for better public services. Improving accountability and civic participation at local level. Strengthening the legal framework for decentralization, improving the rule of law and greater legal certainty for the population at local level. 38 O&OD in Handeni

39 Component I: Local government finances and accountability Main areas of this component are LGA s revenue management as well as their accountability and internal control systems. LGAs are heavily depending on transfers from central government and have only a limited capacity to finance a local development agenda. SULGO supports enhancing own source revenue collection and management capacities in local government authorities as this will increase the financial resources for public service delivery, and make LGAs more accountable to the local taxpayers. SULGO assists in planning and control mechanisms for the efficient utilization of funds at Local Government level for public services responding to needs of the population. The current focus is to support the: Collection and management of property taxes, Introduction of Integrated LGA revenue management to improve local revenue administration, increase collection efficiency and reduce losses through inefficient systems. Strengthening of internal control mechanisms at LGA level Integrated development planning and budgeting Access to public information Public expenditure tracking Component II: The harmonization of the legal framework The Legal Harmonization and Strengthening Rule of Law component primarily supports efforts made by the government of Tanzania to create an effective legal framework at central and local level and improve the conditions for local governance and participatory processes in line with the D-by-D reforms. The component also seeks to foster an improvement of the rule of law by promoting better access to justice for all Tanzanians, especially the poor and the disadvantaged. n Description O&OD in Handeni 39

40 SULGO focuses on three main areas, namely: The harmonization of the legal framework for the decentralization policy; By-law making at the local level; Strengthening of Ward tribunals. Implementation Approach A main principle of German development cooperation is to focus on outcomes and impacts, rather than on activities and outputs in order to ensure the sustainability of results. All operations of SULGO are closely aligned with and complementary to the Tanzanian government s Local Government Reform Program. Strategies, policies and instruments developed in the Program are introduced first in the pilot councils and regions. Under the precondition of being scalable, experiences are systematically processed with the aim of rolling-out best-practices and high-impact approaches to the whole country. Coverage For piloting new initiatives, SULGO teams up with colleagues of local government authorities and regional administrative secretaries, mainly in Tanga and Mtwara regions. Additional collaborating partners are the Association of Local Authorities Tanzania, Tanzania Cities Network, Tanzanian Revenue Authority, and Institute for Tax Administration as well as the Internal Auditor General s Office. Budget The German government committed technical assistance funds for the period 2007 to 2014 for SULGO s implementation amount to around 19 million EUR (including contributions to the LGRP Basket). 40 O&OD in Handeni

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42 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Support to Local Governance Processes (SULGO) c/o GIZ Isimani road, Plot 325, Upanga P.O. Box 1519 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel: / Fax: