«FICHE CONTRADICTOIRE» Evaluation of the European Commission's cooperation with Nigeria (Country level evaluation) (*For details on the recommendations please refer to the main report) Recommendations Response of Commission services Follow-up (one year later) Principal Recommendations 1. In order to enhance time-efficiency and the production of pro-poor results, the EC 1 cooperation should enhance Nigerian project ownership through a more active approach to capacitybuilding within the Nigerian counterpart agencies. Partially Agree; this recommendation is a recurrent subject in the ongoing design of the 10 th EDF 2 programmes. Majority of the 10 th EDF projects under preparation will provide technical assistance aimed essentially at capacity building within the Nigerian counterpart agencies. The aim for the future would be to do so through direct support to the relevant MDAs 3 instead of creating parallel project support units. This would in turn require increased Nigerian ownership and commitment to reforms. However, an ownership cannot be simply enhanced only by support to capacity building led by external actors. To facilitate ownership, the EC should ensure that the right conditions are met for demand and participation to emerge, playing on various levels including careful process management for project design and participatory approaches. 1 European Commission 2 European Development Fund 3 Ministries, Departments and Agencies 1
2. Cooperation States 4 with a proven record of achievements in institutional & economic reform, and in the water and sanitation sector, should be further supported by the EC with advisory expertise, provided that reform includes Local Government and that the State budgets indicate a priority to those sectors. 3. The EUD 8, and the relevant services in DG AIDCO and DG DEV, should ensure that synergy be generated between Agree; several new projects are in line with this recommendation. Water and sanitation are no longer focal (nor non-focal) sector of the 10 th EDF CSP/NIP 5. However, expressed Nigerian interest and the EU value added/expertise in this sector led to the inclusion of water and sanitation support under the state and local governance reforms in the focal sector 2 on governance and human rights (in the 10 th EDF's focal states). The continuation of support will be based on the outcome of a joint EU-NAO 6 assessment, measuring the overall commitment to reform in terms of PFM 7, budget transparency and service delivery. In this regard, the reform minded focal states will benefit from further support to state and local governance and water governance. (Ideally, this support will continue in the same 6 focal states to build on previous investments and achievements). The project will also promote devolution of authority and functions to local governments to enhance service delivery at local level. Agree; after the merger of DG AIDCO and DG DEV into DG DEVCO there is certainly a need for close coordination and better information 4 The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a large and complex country with around 140 million inhabitants in 36 States. The EC strategy focused on six States (Osun, Cross River, Abia, Plateau, Gombe and Kebbi). However, with the end-term review (ETR) of the strategy in 2006, it was decided that four of these focal States would be replaced by four other States, which had shown a greater inclination towards reform. Thus, the adjusted set of focal States included Anambra, Jigawa, Kano, Yobe, Cross River and Osun. 5 Country Strategy Paper/National Indicative Programme 6 National Authorising Officer 7 Public Finanace Management 8 European Union Delegation (Delegation of the European Union) 2
EDF support and thematic budget line support for democratic governance and civil society, through coordination between the concerned units. General Operational Recommendations 4. The communication and analytical profile and (institutional) capacity of the EUD should be strengthened. This also applies in the context of future support for regional integration (in relation to the priorities of the forthcoming RIP 11 of the 10th EDF). sharing between the relevant services of DG DEVCO and the EEAS 9. The coordination with EDF at the country level should be best pursued by the EUD 10. The EEAS should be informed about the details of the support provided to Nigeria under the thematic budget lines. The thematic budget lines work many times in different time and targeting scales related to the specific calls for proposal. It, however, makes sense to support actions that will further complement the CSP/NIP while overlaps should be avoided. Within DEVCO a closer coordination will be envisaged between EIDHR and the geographical Directorate. Agree; communication is essential for visibility in a huge country. It is equally important to strengthen analytical capacity in core development areas and subjects which straddle development cooperation & political dialogue. The EUD human resources should be strengthened on the F&C 12 and operational sections given the well over 1 billion that the EUD is supposed to manage both under the national and regional programme. The promised and necessary reinforcement of the EUD so far did not materialize. In addition, the post of HoD 13 was vacant for some period and HoO 14 was also acting HoD which also impacted the 9 European External Action Service 10 European Union Delegation (in Nigeria) 11 Regional Investment Programme 12 Finance and Contracting 13 Head of Delegation 14 Head of Operations 3
5. The efficiency of the cooperation should be enhanced through adaptive design of programmes and results-based monitoring. Specific Recommendations 6. In order to increase the capacity of the public sector to deliver services to the poor, the EC should continue support for the GoN 15 Anti-Corruption Unit, EFCC 16. 7. In general, the EC should continue its support for the immunisation sector, provided that the GoN integrates polio eradication much better with routine functioning and the profile of the EUD. Partially Agree; the ongoing identification and formulation of the 10 th EDF programme with Nigeria already shows signs of adaptive design of programmes to strengthen their impact and increase their flexibility as well as EU value added. However, it is also important to invest more in thorough context assessments addressing drivers and resistances to change with a view to formulate a project with realistic and solid objectives and results. If the context is not understood, flexibility alone will not generate better efficiency. Agree; the EU 9th support to EFCC which was concluded in November 2010 was considered a success. A new envelop of 35 million (10th EDF) has been allocated to Nigeria s efforts in enhancing transparency, accountability and combating corruption. The EU will further continue to support anti-corruption activities through the (i) support to preparation and implementation of anti-corruption strategy and capacity building of the selected anti-corruption agencies, (ii) strengthening the coordination and cooperation mechanisms among anti-corruption institutions, as well by (iii) increasing public awareness and civil society participation in the fight against corruption. Agree; under the 10 th EDF in the non-focal sectors the EU continues its support to routine immunization and polio eradication through the 55 million health project EU-SIGN - The EU 15 Government of Nigeria 16 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission 4
immunisation and makes its objectives more transparent for the population. In particular, further EC-support should be given for a Partnership to Improve Immunisation Efficiency, PRIME 17 Programme, Phase 2, which could cover almost the entire country. 8. In order to strengthen democratic governance and civil society in Nigeria, the EUD should, in cooperation with the relevant Services in DG AIDCO and DG DEV, explore the impact of the support thus far and possible new avenues for such support. Support to Immunization Governance in Nigeria. Component 1 of the EU SIGN focuses on routine immunization which is necessary to sustain the gains of the polio eradication campaigns and is foreseen to last 4 years. The Component 2 has earmarked an amount of 20 million through a contribution agreement with WHO 18 for polio eradication. Immunization programmes are in line with the Government commitment to invest in Primary Health Care (PHC), as a contribution to poverty alleviation. Agree; governance is the biggest focal sector under the Nigeria 10 th EDF CSP/NIP. There is a need for stronger operational knowledge of the composition of Nigerian civil society and its capability for concerted action. The EU has already undertaken some steps to better map and provides capacity building for CSOs 19 within the 9 th EDF INSIDE project "Increasing NSA 20 Implementation and Development Expertise". CSOs are also supported as part of the ongoing Election Support Programme and will be supported under several 10 th EDF projects under preparation. (A new project supporting the electoral process 2011-2015 is proposed, taking into account the lessons learnt from the 9th EDF project). In addition, the 10 th EDF CSP put aside separate budget under the governance and human rights focal sector which should focus on improving NSAs effectiveness of democratic oversight and 17 Partnership to Improve Immunisation Efficiency 18 World Health Organisation 19 Civil Society Organisations 20 Non-state Actors 5
9. In its future support for micro projects, the EUD should further prioritise exit strategies and country alignment. advocacy. Possible future support to civil society will be examined in the context of the MTR 21 (last quarter 2011). General guidelines for NSAs and new aid modalities are being finalised and training will be made for the use of EUDs and HQ staff. Guidelines on engaging and supporting parliaments worldwide should be further used to reinforce current work with Nigerian Assemblies. Agree; micro projects not completed in the existing MPP 22 9 will be implemented in the context of a larger programme (10 th EDF Niger Delta Support Programme). Support will also be provided to local governments to enhance their capacity to support communities. 21 Mid-term review 22 Micro project Programme 6