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1 Annex 1 1. Identification Title/Number Total cost Aid method / Method of implementation ANGOLA - Project to support the Government of Angola to define and implement an effective policy for Social Protection and Social Solidarity CRIS N : EUR (EU contribution, EDF A envelope - 15% of the National Indicative Programme) Project approach Partially Decentralised Management Joint Management with UNICEF DAC-code Sector Social/welfare services Rationale 2.1 Sector context Angola has been characterised as a post-conflict country with a fragile state apparatus, struggling with high poverty levels, a deficient infrastructure network still being rebuilt, inefficient public administration and dealing with challenging governance issues, while also having a vibrant economy which in less than a decade of peace has transformed the country from a low income centrally-planned system to a middle income market economy 1. The same analysis portrays the country as having profound social and infrastructure handicaps that hinder social development and economic growth. According to recent studies by the Government of Angola, such as the IBEP (Inquérito Integrado sobre o Bem-Estar da População 2011), 37% of the population lives below the poverty line and in the rural areas this is as high as 58%. Other sources classify 77% of people in Angola as poor, of which 55% as severely poor 2. Angola ranks 148 on the Human Development Index of 2011 and has a Gini Coefficient of , making it one of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of distribution of wealth. Although it has the 5 th highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in the Southern African Development Community region, mortality under 5 years of age is 2 nd worst in the same region, and 8 th worst in the world (it is estimated that approximately one in five children dies before the age of 5 4 ). Such conditions are regularly exacerbated because of the population's vulnerability to natural shocks. In 2012, for example, a drought heavily affected poor household s livelihood and caused child malnutrition to spike; a humanitarian intervention by the European Commission was required in an attempt to mitigate the effects. The main Government strategy for poverty reduction, the Estratégia de Combate a Pobreza, Crescimento e Estabilização Económica (2010), has as key objectives to promote the rapid 1 African Development Bank, Country Strategy Paper Multidimensional Poverty Index - Oxford Poverty and Human Development Briefing December Link:

2 and sustained reduction of poverty and focusses on 10 main sectors including social reintegration, civil security and protection, food security, rural development, education, health, basic infrastructure, employment and vocational training, governance and macroeconomic management. The Social Protection Act of 2004 sets out a three-pronged approach to social protection, including a "basic" non-contributory component for minimum subsistence and dignity targeted at the most vulnerable population segments, a compulsory component targeted at the formal economy, and a voluntary and supplementary component targeted at those in a position to contribute more in order to enhance their benefits. The Act also foresees the creation of an inter-institutional National Social Protection Council and of a Social Protection Fund. However, several of the legal provisions included in the Social Protection Act have not been implemented, including the creation of the Social Protection Council and Social Protection Fund. Angola is also a signatory to the 2008 Social Policy Framework for Africa 5. The main message of the MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola) during the general elections in 2012 was that post-war reconstruction has now largely reached its endphase and that the Government can now focus on the better distribution of Angola's wealth. The MPLA governance programme for , in its third chapter, focuses on social improvement including social protection, with the objective of going beyond general improvements in the public services to ensure that particularly the most vulnerable groups are able to achieve a decent standard of living. Proposed policies include social transfers, support to rural familial agriculture activities, subsidies for the elderly, programmes of professional training and reinsertion of people with special needs and strengthening civil society and its interaction with the Government. The need to complete the operationalization of the 2004 Social Protection Act is reiterated through the commitment to define specific policy and legislation. The National Development Plan reiterates the Government commitment towards strengthening social assistance. The plan identifies a number of objectives, such as: implement cash transfer programmes for people who are poor or affected by shocks and, more broadly Improve the social protection system, in particular for the most vulnerable groups ; but also recruit social workers at secondary and tertiary level, to create an Institute for Social Services (that would manage transfer-programmes), to develop mechanisms that allow for better differentiation between basic social protection and compulsory social security policies, and to develop better protection mechanisms for children in particular. However, the implementation on the ground of the Government commitment as expressed in the National Development Plan faces major constraints, mainly related to the limited capacity of the Ministry with the primary responsibility in the area of social assistance, namely the Ministry of Social Action and Reintegration (MINARS). Interventions in support of MINARS are already in place. Currently the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is assisting the Ministry in developing the new social assistance policy, a process that is expected to make significant headway throughout From March to August a team of international consultants is working with MINARS and other ministries with the objective of supporting the policy dialogue based on which a national social 5 The Social Policy Framework for Africa includes a list of recommended actions on social protection, the first four of which are: Build political consensus and recognise that social protection should be a state obligation, with provision for it in national legislation; Include social protection in National Development Plans and Poverty Reduction Strategy Processes, with links to Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) outcomes and processes; Review and reform existing social protection programmes; Develop and operationalise costed national plans for social protection based on the concept of a minimum package. 2

3 assistance policy will be developed by August The policy is expected to be presented to the council of Ministry and the broader public in the month of September The new social assistance policy will be an important step forward for the Government; however it will be just the first of many in the path that will lead to the operationalization of the Government commitments stated in its development plan. 2.2 Lessons learnt An assessment of the existing social assistance policy, conducted in 2012 by the World Bank and UNICEF Angola, shows that hitherto social assistance has mainly consisted of small scale social transfers programmes targeting war-veterans, basic food packages for the most vulnerable, items to support people with disabilities, occupational therapy for the elderly and professional training and reintegration of the poor and unemployed. There are also a few small scale programmes supporting vulnerable children such as those related to the distribution of therapeutic foods. All in all, however, the numbers of beneficiaries is very limited in comparison with the immense need. Furthermore, the quality of programme implementation needs to be improved to enhance the programmes' capacity to reach the intended beneficiaries. The fragmentation of social assistance interventions in terms of number and type of schemes and management arrangements has been a key weakness, with unclear allocation of mandates, resources and responsibilities both within MINARS and other ministries, and between central and local Government at different levels. A factor that is also often cited as a major challenge is the somewhat limited human resources capacity at all levels of MINARS. It is therefore vital to address the strengthening of human resources at different levels of the Ministry. The formulation process has also shown that a greater involvement of civil society can be an important factor in optimising service delivery, in particular with regards to mobilisation for stronger participation in policy dialogue and field level monitoring and oversight. The Government of Angola has in fact specifically mentioned the strengthening of civil society and their participation processes in both the National Development Plan, and the MPLA governing programme. The Government will be able to build upon its previous experience in supporting Angolan vulnerable groups under the 9 th European Development Fund (EDF) through the projects "Support to the Social and Economic Reintegration of Specific Vulnerable Groups in Angola" with the World Bank, and "Guaranteeing the Long-term Integration of Children in Angola" with UNICEF. A key lesson was that if insufficient technical assistance is allocated to the management of a large EDF project in Angola, there is a high risk of constraints in the implementation and in funds-utilisation. The Government is also involved in other experiences funded by the European Union (EU) that include institutional support to ministries and administrations, such as the FAS (Social Action Fund) project. Linkages with these experiences/projects will be sought during implementation. One of the key lessons from FAS is that adaptable and flexible support for a given ministry, with its own independent funding and the capacity to adjust outputs and activities during implementation, can be an effective tool for institutional strengthening in the context of the Angolan Government systems, which tend to be bureaucratic and inflexible. The FAS project has proven an effective one also as it contributes to on-going activities by the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Territorial Administration, without having to be dependant on annual Government budget allocations or running the risk of having its funding suddenly cut because of unforeseen changes to available Government resources. Past EU cooperation in Angola involving civil society showed interventionist key role in areas such as civil education, civil mobilisation, inter-institutional cooperation and knowledge 3

4 exchange enabling top-down Government policies more relevant and effective in the social context intervention. Civil society organisations could play an important role both in disseminating information on new policies and strengthening social participation, as well as in training civil servants at municipal and provincial level in a participatory manner, because of their excellent positioning in between the public sector and society at large. Non-governmental organisations could also play a key role in independent oversight and monitoring Complementary actions The project aims to support the implementation of the Angolan social assistance policy, whereby the focus lies on increasing access of vulnerable population to social assistance intervention. Complementary actions with other EU Programmes The proposed project may interact with a number of other projects funded by the 10 th EDF. Important amongst these would be the Access to Justice for Children project which is expected to make significant headway in strengthening the rights and access to basic services for children. The direct involvement of UNICEF Angola in both the Justice project and in the present project is expected to generate synergies, through collaboration and mutual support. A project that has recently begun is PAANE II (Programa de apoio a atores não-estatais) which will enable actions of research, civic communication campaigns and activities in support of organisations of people in a situation of vulnerability. There exist excellent opportunities to work with FAS IV, which is a large decentralization project and can be used as a vehicle to promote more awareness of the needs of vulnerable groups at municipal level throughout the country. This project is strongly supporting the Government of Angola's rollout of its decentralisation agenda, which includes the institutionalisation of public-civil dialogue at municipal and provincial level to improve the input of Angola's population in short- and medium-term development and investment plans. In linking with FAS IV, this project can try to increase the focus on social protection for vulnerable groups in these forums. Complementary actions with other Government Programmes This project complements the Government action and plan in the area of social assistance, as it aims at ensuring that the Government s effort to improve and scale up its social assistance intervention is successful. More specifically, this project intends to do so by supporting the early stages of operationalization of the Government social assistance policy currently being defined. At the same time the project aims at ensuring longer term effectiveness of the Government social assistance action by developing the capacity of the Ministry of Social Assistance to effectively manage the policy. While the project focus will be MINARS, as Ministry in charge of leading the social assistance agenda, the project will also seek to strengthen coordination mechanisms with other relevant ministries such as the MINFAM (Ministry of Family), the MINEDU (Education), the MINJUD (Ministry of Youth and Sports), the MAPESS (Ministry for Public Administration, Work and Social Security), INEFOP (National Institute for Professional Training and Education) and the MINADER (Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development). Complementary actions with other donors and International Agencies Since 2011, UNICEF and the World Bank have been supporting the Government to conduct the preliminary work required to move to the definition of a new social assistance policy. Especially UNICEF has been working in the past years to support the Government in the area of social assistance, and more broadly, social protection. Specifically UNICEF supported a social protection pilot programme jointly with MINARS, an assessment of the existing social assistance programmes, a review of the national social protection legal framework, an analysis of poverty and vulnerability in Angola. 4

5 The policy development process currently ongoing is supported by a 5-members technical team from March to July In the design of this project, the EU Delegation has been coordinating with UNICEF-supported initiatives in the sector. The work of the current technical team shall, conveniently, serve as a pre-project inception phase that can subsequently be built upon once the 10 th EDF funds become eligible. UNICEF has a very strong professional tie with MINARS as well as with other key actors in the sector. MINARS has indicated that they are keen to work with UNICEF in the implementation of component 2 (see below) as it will ensure continuity with previous work done Donor coordination The EU Delegation will ensure that a close coordination is maintained with UNICEF throughout the project. In so doing, the Commission's thematic services in Brussels will be closely involved in various steps of the implementation to ensure that the EU's knowledge and experience with social protection is brought to bear. Where possible, during its implementation the project will seek linkages with other major donors involved in relevant fields, such as the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and a number of United Nations agencies. Where one of the project objectives is to create a donor-government pooled fund specifically for the start-up of a transfer scheme for vulnerable children, the option will be offered to such donors to also contribute to this fund. 3. Description 3.1. Objectives General objective: Contribute to improved social protection for vulnerable groups in Angola through a systematic, nationally-owned approach. Specific objective 1: Strengthening institutional capacity of the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration, leading to enhanced national social assistance to the population needs with a focus on the most vulnerable groups. Specific objective 2: Supporting the Government of Angola to improve its national social protection policy and legislative framework, and assist with its implementation 3.2. Expected results and main activities The core problem the present project intends to address is the limited effectiveness and impact of the national social assistance interventions in Angola and the insufficient capacity of the key sectoral Ministry (MINARS) to implement a more ambitious social assistance agenda. The analysis made during the project preparation identified both supply- and demand-related constraints in the Angolan social assistance work. On the supply side: (a) the limited technical and institutional capacity of MINARS to formulate and effectively implement adequate strategies, policies and programmes to support the country s vulnerable population has been the major constraining factor to the expansion of social assistance in Angola; (b) the dispersion of responsibilities for the formulation and implementation of social policies and programmes by different ministries with poor coordination among them has hampered much needed synergies among programmes; (c) the ineffectiveness of the institutional setting within MINARS, especially in relation to the interaction of the central and provincial levels, results in poorly delivered social assistance intervention on the ground; and (d) the limited awareness of the Angolan population and civil society organisations of the social situation and needs of the 5

6 Angolan poor population impoverishes the needed public dialogue to support policy formulation. On the demand side: (e) the limited awareness of the population about their rights as enshrined in the national legislation and international treaties ratified by Angola leads to limited capacity to claim that the Government fulfils its duty to protect and promote such rights; and (f) the limited of capacity of local public and civil society organisations to assist the poor and vulnerable population in overcoming these constraints. The above constraints reflect existing weaknesses in the social assistance sector in Angola that will have to be addressed in the short- to medium-term. The proposed project was designed both to tackle existing sector constraints as well as to strengthen longer term institutional capacity and sustainability of the Ministry s action. The development process of the social assistance policy will be completed by MINARS in 2013, presumably in October at the National Conference on Social Assistance. Only at that point the social assistance objectives and lines of action will have been clearly spelled out. However, a number of elements that are expected to be reflected in the new social assistance policy have already emerged from Government documents and plans such as the National Development Plan. Among them is the intention to move towards a heavier reliance on cash transfers as a way to complement the current social transfer programmes that are to a great extent based on in-kind transfers. Such move appears a sensible one especially as, whenever conducive conditions on the ground are present, cash transfer interventions would allow the Government to take implementation to scale with lower administrative costs and logistical challenges than those encountered with in-kind transfers. The need to set up a management structure to implement the social assistance programme is also widely acknowledged by the Government. Indeed experience from other countries that have scaled up social assistance interventions testifies to the importance of a programme management structure that is effective and transparent. To this end, some countries in the region have created institutions with decentralized offices whose role is to manage the transfer programmes. Based on the Government s expressed commitment to fund social assistance, it is expected that the country will increasingly be able to find fiscal space to progressively fund the expansion of social assistance interventions. In this context, funding from the EU can play a double pivotal role: firstly it will jump start the process by supporting the setting up and initial stage of programmes implementation - thus avoiding delays in the operationalization of the policy; secondly it will allow to establish a solid social assistance system that will serve as foundation for the Government- funded expansion of social assistance in future years. In fact, as increased Government funding will progressively flow into the sector, wellconceived and established structures, managerial mechanisms and programmes will be in place thus increasing the effectiveness and impact of Government funding. The presence of these elements will also be conducive to accelerate the growth pace of Government investment in the area of social assistance. Moreover, as the EU funding will be used to support the programme development stage, it will be instrumental to promote a set of programmes and target criteria that benefit the population most in need; fostering choices that focus on addressing the different vulnerabilities thus limiting the influence of political preferences or possible mis-perception of vulnerability patterns. This appears important also as there are instances in which national programmes 6

7 appear to focus excessively on groups that are not necessarily the most vulnerable, such for example ex-soldiers, in detriment of other most vulnerable segments of the population. This project includes resources to be used as seed-funding to directly finance cash transfer interventions to highly vulnerable children. Children are in fact an excellent entry point for the delivery of social assistance to targeted households. As highlighted in the UNICEF Angola vulnerability and equity profile (May 2013), a broad body of evidence shows that in the early age of life individuals are extremely vulnerable to an array of hazards and risks that can jeopardise their survival and future development prospects. While detailed vulnerability criteria for programme targeting will be defined during the policy and programme development stage, the EU funding will focus on vulnerable children at severe risk of malnutrition and abuse and with limited access to education and healthcare. The EU policy guidelines articulate effectively on the need to support the social assistance agenda in the contexts such as the Angolan one: "if domestic funding is to be preferred, there are cases where this is simply not feasible immediately, and where donor resources might be mobilised to implement (or at least mobilise) the scheme. For donors to justify this, they must show that ex-ante funding of national social protection mechanisms gives far better value for money than an ex-post emergency response in a country where such mechanisms are not in place or do not work effectively 6. On the basis of the elements highlighted above, the project intervention has been structured along two lines that are expected to lead to four results, namely: Result 1.1: Strengthened institutional capacities and technical skills of MINARS, at central, regional and local levels, to analyse, design, implement, monitor and evaluate appropriate strategies, policies, programmes and measures specifically addressed to support the livelihood of the vulnerable population in Angola. Improve inter-institutional coordination. The activities foreseen to achieve this result include the provision to MINARS, at the national and sub-national levels, of extensive training opportunities, technical assistance, advisory services, learning exchange and networking activities and logistic support in order to: (a) enhance skills of public servants at different levels in analysis, formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of strategies, policies, programmes and measures in the area of social assistance and social protection. (b) support intra-ministerial communication and information sharing systems at the central and decentralised level. (c) support exchanges of experience of Government officials in the area of social protection, both in-country and with relevant institutions in other countries including study tours. A focus will be for countries in the region and beyond, whose social assistance agenda has successfully advanced or whose programmes are recognised as best practices. (d) support the organisation of coordination meetings with other relevant national ministries and public institutions, aimed at mainstreaming specific vulnerable groups needs into the social programmes of the Government of Angola in sectors like Education, Health, Housing, Water and Sanitation, etc. (e) support MINARS external communication to enhance visibility and disseminate information on the Ministry s actions and plans 6 EU Reference Document on Social Transfers in the fight against hunger, Chapter 8.3 "Financial Resources", page 80 7

8 Result 1.2: Assist with the strengthening of the national database and creation of a more effective monitoring and evaluation system to be followed by MINARS and better assess the impact of their programmes and activities. This will involve: (a) assisting in the design and set up of a beneficiaries database on social indicators, and strengthening the mechanisms for continuous data-collection and analysis, in synergy with activities in component 2. (b) updating and strengthening MINARS mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation of its programmes, improving its ability to assess the effectiveness and impact of their work and to better learn from experiences, as well as to include more input from civil society in this process. Result 2.1: The legal, regulatory and institutional framework required to operationalise and gradually roll-out the new national social assistance policy is in place and tested through a pilot experience. This will involve: (a) developing a detailed operational plan of the social assistance policy. The operational plan will spell out the actions to be taken by the Ministry and other institutions to operationalize the policy (b) developing detailed programme documents for each social assistance programme included in the policy. Support the development of operational procedures, including the definition of modalities for identification of beneficiaries, registration, delivery of assistance, audit, monitoring and evaluation systems (c) supporting the establishment of the institution in charge of the implementation of the social assistance programmes included in the policy. This can include the structure design, the development of operational procedures, the provision of equipment, etc. (d) implementing a training plan to capacitate the staff of the institution in charge of social assistance programme implementation. (e) supporting the establishment and scale up of the cash transfer programme targeting specifically vulnerable children. This will include one-off investment costs for setting up programme structures (identification and registration systems, delivery systems, financial services and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms) and direct contribution to a pooled fund for programme implementation. The funding will be focussed on programmes targeting children living in poor and vulnerable households 7 and foresees helping children and their families by Result 2.2: The knowledge and analytical capacity of MINARS in the social assistance field is strengthened. The activities foreseen to achieve this result include the provision of technical assistance and logistic support to: (a) conduct studies and research to inform decision making in the implementation of the social assistance policy. (b) support systematic collection and management of data and information on vulnerable population. (c) provide appropriate information and communication equipment and technologies (d) conduct communication campaigns targeting potential programme beneficiaries, to broadly disseminate information pertaining to social assistance programmes in place, eligibility criteria and enrolment modalities. 7 Detailed vulnerability criteria will be defined by the policy and the programme s operational guidance. 8

9 (e) promote research in the field of social assistance through universities via small grants and academic competitions. Result 2.3: The role of civil society in the delivery of national social assistance is strengthened to increase the responsiveness of Government policy to local needs and promote bottom-up mechanisms in programme implementation. The activities foreseen to achieve this result include the provision of technical assistance and financial and logistic support to: (a) carry out capacity building for civil society organisations of vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities or rural women, to strengthen their capacity to play a more active role in civil society dialogue forums (such as the Conselhos de Auscultação e Concertação Social CACS); (b) support civil society organisations involvement in the roll-out of Government social assistance programmes aiming at better programming through the use of local knowledge and bottom-up decision making; (c) improve the capacity of civil society organisations and strengthen their role to engage in independent monitoring and evaluation of national social assistance programmes. 3.3 Risks and Assumptions Various factors may contribute to a positive or negative output of the programme: ASSUMPTIONS RISKS MITIGATING MEASURES The Government develops and approves new social assistance policy in the short run Coordination difficulties between different relevant institutions and delays with actual approval of policy or budget UNICEF has a long-standing relationship with MINARS and the Government of Angola on this issue, and high level external technical assistance is already engaged to support the policy formulation. The Minister is putting heavy pressure on The decentralisation process continues and involves ever more the social protection sector The Government agrees to a pooled fund with this project for vulnerable children following approval of the new social protection agenda Scarce cooperation of MINARS at central level with provincial level, and weak incorporation of social assistance issues in key elements of the decentralisation process, such as the forums for civil consultation Policy that is finally accepted may prioritise different groups, or a different modality for service delivery than is expected having a national conference in September. The institutional capacity building actions promoted by MINARS at a local level between the Government technicians and other institutions will promote the dialogue and the ability to network. Cooperation with FAS to ensure better integration of social protection issues in the formulation of the municipal and provincial development plan. The availability of EU funds for this specific theme will act as a strong leverage and can even help give direction to the creation of other, similar funds using exclusively domestic resources but still the same implementation modality Coordination mechanisms work effectively and allow smooth project implementation Poor coordination among stakeholders, including Government structures and civil society organizations, 9 MINARS should establish regular coordination meetings with the various players to review progress and constraints. The technical commissions of Conselho

10 Government staff in charge of the project have adequate capacity to ensure conducive environment for smooth project implementation and the inoperability of the project s overall supervision structure due to disagreements between key institutions Teams that do not have the suitable technical, administrative and financial skills Nacional da Criança (CNAC) will be strengthened to act as a sustainable coordination mechanism. Engage to foster timely selection of adequate Government staff, strengthen on the job training; joint definition of Terms of Reference for consultants; definition of the monitoring and continuous technical support from UNICEF. 3.4 Crosscutting Issues Good Governance, Human Rights and Gender Equality are at the heart of project interventions and will be pursued through virtually all the above mentioned activities. More specifically, good governance issues will be essentially addressed in the scope of activities strengthening MINARS technical and institutional capacity, fostering inter-institutional coordination and improving public-private dialogue to support policy formulation and implementation as well as the transparent administration of delivery mechanisms for social protection. Human rights and gender equality will be addressed through improved social policies for the most vulnerable groups in general, and in particular in the focus on vulnerable children, that are often tied to vulnerable women-led households or abuse of child rights. 3.5 Stakeholders MINARS is the main technical partner and direct beneficiary of the project, both at central and local level. Key experts will be embedded within MINARS to ensure ownership. Local authorities, including municipal and communal administrations, universities and other donors and non-profit organisations will also be coordinated with as partners and direct beneficiaries of the project, collaborating in the implementation of decentralised activities and benefitting from training and the awarding of grants. International organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the International Labour Organisation, etc.) and other external donors and partners will potentially also interact with the project as well as be approached to support pooled funds for the start-up of social transfer schemes in component 2 of the project. Finally, the media and the general public will also benefit from improved information on the situation and needs of the vulnerable groups and on the national social policies and programmes. 4. Implementation issues 4.1. Method of implementation In order to implement this action, it is foreseen to conclude a Financing Agreement with thegovernment of Angola, in accordance with Article 17 of Annex IV to the Cotonou Agreement. The MINARS will assure the overall management and coordination of the whole project. The project will be implemented through two management modes: 10

11 Partially decentralised management: The project will be implemented in partially decentralised management in accordance with Articles 21 to 23 of the Financial Regulation of the 10 th EDF. The Commission controls ex ante all the procurement and grant procedures. Payments are executed by the Commission on behalf of the Beneficiary. Component 1 will focus on institutional strengthening and capacity building at the MINARS. Hereby a service tender will be launched for the provision of technical assistance in key departments at the Ministry. Two key experts shall be contracted initially to be based at the GEPE (Department for Strategy, Planning and Statistics) and will afterwards contract three non-key experts that will be based at the three main operational departments (Assistance and Social Promotion, Children and Adolescents, and People with Disabilities). Besides these 5 main experts, 3 provincial focal points will be contracted in the second year of the project to assist with strengthening MINARS capacity in the field. These will also coordinate with the second component of the project to pursue the objectives of result 2 supporting the roll-out and scale-up of the new social protection policy in three pilot provinces. The component will also have access to consulting days for contracting senior experts, and 500 days for contracting junior experts, which will be involved in a wide range of tasks (from providing training at all levels, organising events and workshops, supporting specific activities and objectives of the departments mentioned above and potentially other departments as well such as the Department for Logistics and the Department for Training). Their specific use will be foreseen in annual work plans to be approved by the Project Steering Committee (PSC). A new social protection policy is expected to be approved in September 2013, therefore parallel implementation of the project will maximise the opportunities that the momentum offers. The call for tender for the service contract will therefore be launched with a suspensive clause in accordance with article 19b of the Cotonou Agreement. Joint management: Component 2 will be implemented in joint management through the signature of a Standard Contribution Agreement with UNICEF, in accordance with Article 29 of Regulation (EC) Nº 215/2008 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10 th EDF. UNICEF complies with the criteria provided for in the above Financial Regulation and is covered by the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA). UNICEF will work directly with the National Director for Assistance and Social Promotion, which is also the head of the MINARS departments working with UNICEF in the development of the social assistance policy. This component and its main objectives have been formulated based on expected near-future policy developments; activities to support concrete policies and their implementation will have to be defined in coordination with the MINARS and other partners in the inception phase and throughout the project's implementation. For component 2, UNICEF will manage the activities according to the provisions of the Contribution Agreement. It is important to highlight that UNICEF has been working in the past years with the Government of Angola specifically towards renovating the social protection policy. As such, it currently enjoys a strong and fruitful relationship both with MINARS and other key actors. To finalise this process and produce a policy proposal, UNICEF employs a 5-man technical team in Angola from March-July In order to harmonise donor efforts, the EU Delegation has been coordinating closely with UNICEF in the design of this project to the extent that this project will be used as a vehicle to set-up and start the actual implementation of the new social protection policy once it is finalised and adopted 11

12 by the Government. The work of the current technical team shall, conveniently, serve as a preproject inception phase that can subsequently be built upon. The technical assistance and UNICEF will be responsible for the day-to-day management of their respective components and coordinate where necessary, but the MINARS, with the support of the two components staff, will ensure the overall supervision and coordination of the project implementation. Although the components are separate, certain elements are dependent on one another. For example, the strengthening of the database at MINARS will count on technical support via component 1, but supply of materials like information technology systems and servers will be provided from component 2. Likewise, component 2 will require support from the three provincial focal points contract under component 1 in order to pursue result 2. Because of the mutual dependency of the two components, the project steering committee has to a strong coordinating role. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) will be created, including as participants the MINARS and its technical assistance, UNICEF, the National Authorising Officer and the EU Delegation, and will be responsible for giving general guidance to the project. In particular it will ensure compatibility and mutual effectiveness of activities between the two components, approve annual work plans and budgets and review monitoring/evaluation and audit reports and ensure their recommendations are incorporated. The PSC will meet twice a year and representatives of other stakeholders may also be invited to participate in its meetings, with an observer status. The change of management mode constitutes a substantial change except where the Commission "re-centralises" or reduces the level of tasks previously delegated to the beneficiary country or international organisation under, respectively, decentralised or joint management Procurement and grant award procedures 1) Contracts All contracts implementing Component 1, as well as the contracts relating to monitoring, external evaluation and audit, are awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the Commission for the implementation of external operations, in force at the time of the launch of the procedure in question. Participation in the award of contracts for the present action shall be open to all natural and legal persons covered by the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10 th EDF. Further extensions of this participation to other natural or legal persons by the concerned authorising officer shall be subject to the conditions provided for in article, 20 of Annex IV of the Cotonou Agreement. 2) Specific rules for grants The essential selection criteria are financial and operational capacity of the applicant. The essential award criteria are relevance of the proposed action to the objectives of the call, design, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the action. They are established in accordance with the principles set out in Title VII Grants of the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10 th EDF. When derogations to these principles are applied they shall be justified, in particular in the following cases: Financing in full (derogation to the principle of co-financing): the maximum possible rate of co-financing for grants is 80% of total eligible costs for the Action financed. Up to full financing may only be applied in the cases provided in Article 109 of the Council Regulation on the Financial Regulation applicable to the 10 th EDF. 12

13 3) Joint Management All contracts implementing Component 2 of the project shall be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by UNICEF Budget and Calendar The total cost of the project, financed by the 10 th Indicative Programme for Angola, is EUR EDF under the National The budget available to implement the action is detailed in the Appendix. The execution period will be 72 months from the signature of the Financing Agreement, of which 48 months will be the implementation phase and 24 months the closure phase Performance monitoring The MINARS shall establish, with the support of the technical assistance, an internal technical and financial monitoring system for the project, which will generate progress reports and safeguard internal control. For component 1, the technical assistance, in collaboration with staff of the relevant MINARS departments, will prepare quarterly and annual progress reports to be presented to the PSC, in which it will explain all the progress made by the component, the problems and the necessary adjustments. The technical assistance shall also prepare an annual work plan and budget for the next year. For component 2, appropriate activities planning and budgeting, reporting requirements and performance monitoring systems will be defined in the Contribution Agreement. The annual progress reports, work plans and budgets produced under both components shall be appraised and approved by the PSC at the beginning of each year. The Commission may carry out Results Oriented Monitoring (ROM) via independent consultants, starting from the sixth month of project activities, which will be finalised at the latest 6 months before the end of the operational implementation phase Evaluation and audit The Commission may carry out external evaluations via independent consultants. This will include a mid-term evaluation at around the mid-term implementation period, a final evaluation at the closure phase, and, eventually, an ex post evaluation are foreseen. The PSC shall analyse the conclusions and recommendations of the mid-term evaluation and jointly decide on the follow-up action to be taken and any adjustments necessary, including, if indicated, the reorientation of the project. For Component 1, the Commission shall appoint, in accordance with EU procurement rules, an internationally recognised external auditor who shall audit on an annual basis the project's accounts for submission to the Commission. The external auditor shall also ensure that the segregation of duties between the Authorising Officer and the Accounting Officer is in place and respected, and that the monitoring of expenditure complies with the rules and procedures established in the practical guide to procedures for programme estimates. For Component 2, auditing procedures shall be established in the Contribution Agreement. 13

14 4.6. Communication and visibility A communication and visibility strategy shall be prepared from the start of the project. It shall be in line with the Communication and Visibility Manual for EU External Actions and will seek to create and maximise the visibility opportunities in the different phases of the project implementation. Such strategy must be approved by the Steering Committee. It will be aligned, as far as possible, and coordinated with the Government and other relevant stakeholder s visibility policies, in order to improve communication efficiency through exploiting potential complementarities and synergies. 14

15 Appendix: indicative budget CATEGORIES COST (in EUR) Component Component 2 : Contribution agreement with UNICEF Monitoring and Evaluation TOTAL

16 Annex 2 1. Identification Title/Number Total cost ANGOLA - Birth registration and justice for children CRIS N : EUR , of which (joint co-financing): EDF contribution: EUR (A envelope, 7% of the National Indicative Programme) UNICEF contribution: EUR Aid method / Method of implementation DAC-code Project approach/joint management Sector - Governmental Administration - Development of legal services 2. Rationale The initial proposal for this project consisted in supporting the institutional development of the justice system, in particular the central services of the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General's Office and the Supreme Court, in the context of the modernisation and decentralisation of public administration. This focussed in particular on the structural and organic components, training and human resources management; endowment in physical, technological and media regulatory and operational instruments. This was the proposal adopted at the level of the identification fiche. However, due to the huge delay during the instruction process, derived from the difficulty in obtaining inputs from the beneficiary institutions, together with the risk of loss of funds, a new proposal is now presented, which focuses only on the components of birth registration and juvenile justice. This solution will allow the use of the funds available for the country, within the framework of the 10 th European Development Fund (EDF), as it will focus particularly on areas of social need and in areas that are priorities for the justice sector Sector context Angola is a post-conflict country, marked by nearly 30 years of war, which devastated the social fabric and the economic sectors, with deep effects on its population. Despite the progress achieved since the peace settlement of 2002, the institutional capacities and systems of civil registration (in particular birth registration and access to justice for children) are still not fully functional yet. This condemns children to a life of exclusion and invisibility, with limited access to services, and therefore constrains the development of their full potential. Birth Registration Following the destruction of the Government infrastructures during the armed conflict, which mainly affected buildings and the civil registration filing system, the birth registration system 16

17 was significantly weakened almost across the entire country. For several years, much of the population remained isolated or constantly on the move due to war conditions. In some cases, they lost their identity papers, making it even more difficult to prove their identity, given the destruction of the normal registration services in those areas affected by the war. Thousands of individuals, especially children, were left out of the civil registration system and, consequently, without any identification. Many professionals within the sector were killed or lost their jobs. Although the war has ended, there are still many difficulties in this area. According to the latest Angolan National Statistics Institute data from the Integrated Survey on Welfare of population in 2009, only 31% of children under the age of 5 have civil registration, which means that over children aged 0 to 4 are not registered. Birth registration of children between 5 and 18 years of age is also insufficient, implying that new solutions have to be designed and implemented, such as the extension of free registration of birth up to the age of 18 (under approval), among others. The national average for all children below the age of 18 is 56%. The main bottlenecks identified in the access to the right to identity are: Lack of awareness of the importance and the procedures of Birth Registration. Less than 1% of parents are aware of the correct procedures to register their children, which does not exceed 0.5% in rural areas. Many parents only register their children once they want to be enrolled and attend school. Only 16.6% of children are registered before completing 1 year old, while nearly half of the children (43.5%) are only registered when they turn 4, 5 or 6 years old, probably because school enrolment often requires birth registration. Distance: This is a great problem in many rural areas and further aggravated in certain provinces as Lunda Sul and Cunene. Many people have to travel more than 50 kilometres to access the services, despite substantial decentralization of local administration. Costs. Registration is free for all children up to age of 5. Older children have a Kwanza (around USD 20) late-registration fee, which restrains their access to registration. Lack of preparation to provide all necessary information to register the child at birth. When their children are born, some parents are not prepared for the registration process: some have not chosen a name, some do not carry their personal identification; some have not reached an agreement with the child's father to be present at the registration act, etc. Lack of parents identity documents. Some parents lost their identity documents due to the war, or they were unable to access a civil registration services by the time when they fixed their residence. If the parents have no identity card, they are unable to register their children, considering that Angolan authorities require proof that the baby was born in Angola or that one of his/her parents have Angolan nationality. Father unknown. This occurs whenever a woman refuses to identify the father of her child, or if the father does not admit paternity, causing difficulties in the registration process. Home births. The rural population is often out of reach for registration services, mainly because almost 80% of childbirths are performed outside of hospitals and health centres, which are very far away from the birth registration offices. Complexity of the process. Women generally wait many hours to be able to register their newborn babies in maternity hospitals. Moreover, the maternity does not issue a 17