Linking the community to local governments - community-based planning in South Africa

1. Linking the community to local governments - community-based planning in South Africa Presentation to Parliamentary Committee on Provincial and Local Government by SA National CBP Steering Committee

2. Poor people active and involved in managing their own development Critical issues: • Involvement in resource allocation (planning) • Involvement in managing local initiatives • Involvement in maintenance • involvement in planning what happens with service delivery • involved in managing service delivery • And empowerment as an end in itself – overcoming dependency and mobilising local energy for community action

3. Why community-based planning • To make plans more relevant to local needs and conditions • To increase community involvement in provision of public services • To increase people’s control over their own lives and livelihoods • To promote community action and overcome dependency There are important implications for the type of planning. We are assuming it must be all 4.

4. Participation and the IDP • Essential for deepening democracy • Required in the Municipal Systems Act , Chapter 4 • form of participation not specified • ward committees being elected, but not clear how they operate • this has attempted to develop a workable methodology for doing this, and this has happened in Mangaung

5. Link between ward plan and IDP Municipal-linked projects Ward plan Municipality Strategic projects eg Mangaung Partnership Local actions, eg festival IDP domain Eg LED projects, poverty projects, CPF, social dev support for HIV Other service providers (prov, national, NGO)

6. What does the ward plan look like • Situation in the ward • overall and for different groups, including the most disadvantaged • vision and goals for the ward • projects and activities to achieve the goals • what the community should do, what the municipality needs to do, what others need to do • proposals for spending R50 000 allocated by Municipality for spending this financial year • action plan for the ward • project profiles for submission to LG development plan

7. Ward 2 Vision • By 2010, ward 2 is an attractive and safe place, recognised as full of history, with good housing and tarred roads, well served by shops, facilities such as clinics, schools and library, people are healthy, skilled and self-reliant, and generating a viable income from a strong economic base. The area is well-maintained and services are sustained.

8. Goals by 2007 1 Ward 2 is economically dynamic, the people are skilled, self-reliant and have access to sustainable income-generating activities (23%). 2= We have decreased the infection rate of HIV/AIDS and those infected have access to good care and support (10%). 2= Every community member in ward 2 has access to, and owns their own permament house with services (10%). 4= Unemployed people in ward 2 have acquired a range of skills to assist in employment, and employed people will have had their skills upgraded (8%) 4= All the roads are tarred (8%) 6= Ward 2 is a safe and secure area for all residents and crime hot spots have been eliminated (6%)

9. Strategies for Goal 2 - HIV/AIDS • By 2007 we have decreased infection rate for HIV/AIDS and those infected have access to good care and support • The main strategies we propose to address this are: • Ensure proper care for HIV/AIDS infected and affected people, including voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), medical care and support. • Developing culture of openness and awareness by providing appropriate information about HIV/AIDS • Developing and mobilising care-givers and a volunteers

10. Activities for Strategy 2.2 on HIV - culture of openness

11. Ward 2 - proposed use of R50 000

12. Action plan for Ward 2

13. Overall priorities from wards used for IDP Dev priorities 1. If first priority scores 10, second 9 etc, and then added across wards

14. Results in SA • Mangaung - 43 ward plans, covering 750 000 people, 10 000 participating, guides 5 year IDP - action by community in many wards afterwards • allocated R50 000 per ward for support to start process • experience used for national guidelines on community participation (DPLG) • Limpopo, 31 villages covered in all 6 districts of the province • now interest in Greater Tzaneen, Mbombela (Nelspruit) and Maluti (QwaQwa) • CBP is now one output for the national Department of Provincial and Local Government in reporting to PCC

15. Findings from evaluation in SA • 42/43 wards had plans, all approved, and 41 had spent on their projects using the R50k • CBP was felt to be very useful by most wards (scoring it very useful-excellent) • working with different groups was very helpful and there was widespread participation • facilitators were drawn from a wide variety of jobs in the Municipality and were very positive about the experience • the manuals were found to be very helpful • training and support to facilitators could have been improved • the poor and disadvantaged were involved in the planning, and their priorities are represented in the final plans

16. Findings from evaluation (2) • plans originating from wards had biggest focus on environment, jobs, HIV, safety and skills/education • there was evidence of services being improved as a result (even though this wasn't expected at this early stage) • there were very high levels of ownership of the plan and process by the wards, with the R50 000 being important in motivating people to participate • for CBP to succeed it needs a good relationship between Ward Councillor and Committee

17. Next stage for CBP in SA • formalising coalition to support CBP through national Steering Committee, appointed 30 October 2002 at national conference on CBP • members SALGA, DPLG, Mangaung, Ethekwini, Khanya, GTZ, Greater Tzaneen, IDT, Thabo Mofutsanyane, MEC FSLGH • building capacity for CBP - training facilitators to extend CBP (just completed ToT manual) • deepening - improving methodologies for: • monitoring by ward committee, municipality, citizens • linkages with IDP • supporting implementation of ward plans • ward committee resource book

18. Next steps (2) • piloting (Greater Tzaneen, Mbombela, Boland, Maluti…….) • advocacy and dissemination - extending understanding of the approach nationally • widening - rolling out nationally in 2004 • evaluating results • sharing with partners - 2 partner meetings (Ghana, Zimbabwe)

20. Results in Uganda • Bushenyi - focus district with 800 000 people, adapted manual • 170 parish plans produced using CBP and used for sub-county/district plans • incorporated in national Harmonised Participatory Planning Guidelines for subdistrict planning (HPPG) - being implemented nationally • training of district local govs and then lower level local govs to implement the HPPG • medium term review of implementation supported by DFID/UNCDF over a period of 6 months • USAID supported initiative, Strengthening Decentralisation in Uganda (SDU) interested in HPPG and support in building capacity of district and sub county staff

21. Results in Ghana • 2 pilots run so far in Adanse East and Asante Akim Districts, both in Ashanti Region • implemented in half the district and rolling out in rest at the moment • problem of PRSP defining participation as one workshop, and many different approaches to participatory planning, so attentions of District Assemblies diverted • hoping to build a coalition to support an integrated approach to CBP

22. Results in Zimbabwe • National workshop in mid-2001agreed way forward • Pilots in Gwanda and Chimanimani rural districts • adapted generic CBP manual • developed district training team including service depts and core facilitation team at local level, using community to facilitate and write up plan • implementation now finishing in Gwanda, including in newly resettled areas • 50% of development levy allocated to support local projects • national workshop to review results in Jan 2003

23. Next stage for CBP • Development is about people, and people’s livelihoods improving - it is not some abstract that is done to people • Started a journey of ensuring that communities are fully involved in planning and managing their own development, claiming their rights and exercising their responsibilities • still a long way to go but a very fertile start

24. Next stage 2 • extend and deepen the approach, building on a variety of experience for a coalition to support CBP • look at methodologies around rolling the plans, incorporating in district plans, adequate monitoring by RDC and community • linking plans more effectively with IDP • improving accountability of LG around planning and the budget • thinking about community management • continue the peer learning and sharing across and within countries

25. Actions in terms of project • 4 country meeting May to focus on these new issues (Ghana?) • then in November (Zimbabwe?) • continue exchanges • roll out the ToT, test and revise • work out methodologies on these additional issues (monitoring, management, accountability)

26. Summary • a methodology for CBP adapted for the different countries • tested in planning for over 2 million people! • Evaluations show considerable impact from the planning in terms of participation, quality of plans produced, and services • Uganda, SA and Ghana evidence of local action resulting from the plans - let use see in Zimbabwe

27. Summary 2 • see now how to improve methodology, ensure it results in local action • developing a coalition of organisations to promote and the capacity to expand coverage • look at community-based service delivery • a real example of NEPAD in action and yielding results