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Development of Information For Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) In Zambia

Development of Information For Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) In Zambia. Oliver J. M. Chinganya Central Statistical Office Zambia. PRSP Process.

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Development of Information For Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) In Zambia

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  1. Development of Information For Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) In Zambia Oliver J. M. Chinganya Central Statistical Office Zambia Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  2. PRSP Process • Zambia is preparing the PRSP which is intended to map out its development goals and indicate the strategies that will be employed to attain the set goals. • The PRSP is being co-ordinated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED). A unit has been set up to specifically manage the process. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  3. PRSP Process • The government realized that in order to achieve sustainable poverty reduction, strong pro-poor economic growth and continued strong social action programmes are required. • In order to achieve this, relevant accurate and timely data should be made available. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  4. Development of the PRSP • The preparation of PRSP began with an I-PRSP. • The process involved interactive consultation with - Government institutions - NGO’s - Civil Society - Other stakeholders. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  5. Development of the PRSP • Various sensitization workshops were held for: - Senior Government officials - Programme managers - MPs and Cabinet Ministers • Discussions were made on how best to prepare the PRSP. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  6. In order to develop the paper, 3 themes were considered - Economic theme - Social theme - Cross-cutting issues Under economic and social themes, the following expert groups were formed - Macro-economic - Agriculture - Tourism - Mining - Industry - Governance - Health - Education Development of the PRSP Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  7. Development of the PRSP • The cross cutting issues included: - HIV/AIDs - Gender - Water and Sanitation - Energy - Environment and Natural Resources - Roads • The groups discussed at various forums and it was clear that in order to write an informative and comprehensive paper, data and information was needed. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  8. PRSP Process Links with PARIS21 • Whilst in the preparation of the PRSP was going on, OECD countries and other international agencies formed the PARIS 21 Consortium. Its objectives are: - Developing evidenced based culture for setting and monitoring policy. - Developing well-managed statistical systems, utilizing available resources effectively. • These objectives were complementary to achieving the PRSP initiative. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  9. SADC/Paris21 • As a follow-up to PARIS 21 objectives, a meeting was held in December 2000 with a theme “Developing Partnership for Information needs of Poverty Reduction Strategies and other Priority Policy Areas” • The workshop was attended by - SADC member countries - Programme managers - Government and Private sector - NGO’s - Representatives of International agencies such as World Bank, IMF, AFRISTAT, etc including an expert on Poverty from Uganda. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  10. Issues Discussed at the SADC/Paris21 Workshop • The status of information requirements of PRSP • Current issues around the information Requirements and Poverty Monitoring • Priority Information Needs of sector ministries. • Information Needs of other stakeholders • SADC and other Regional organization information needs • · Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  11. Issues Discussed at the SADC/Paris21 Workshop • Information Needs of Civil Society • Information Needs of the Private Sector • Experiences and progress in Poverty Monitoring. • Dissemination and Information Accessibility • Supporting Poverty Monitoring and Information. As a follow-up to this meeting another meeting was planned to specifically look at the data requirements of the PRSP in Zambia. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  12. Consultative Process in Developing an Information Strategy for PRSP • The CSO is the main government organ mandated to carry out all censuses and surveys. • CSO organizes a coordinated scheme of social and economic statistics relating to Zambia and ensures that data is available. • The OECD through Euro-stat and CSO agreed to undertake a feasibility study to assess the knowledge and practice in the production and use of comprehensive statistical poverty data. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  13. Consultative Process in Developing an Information Strategy for PRSP In order to undertake the study, a consultant was engaged. The mission consultant was to: • To determine facts about poverty issues. • Examine basic information (concepts and definitions). • Data gathering. • Identify participants for the workshop. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  14. Planning of the Workshop • The Mission Consultant had a series of meetings with stakeholders to look at institutional data requirements and obtain their perspective on poverty issues. • The mission consultant also discussed the plan and focus of the Data Requirements workshop. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  15. Planning of the Workshop It was agreed that the workshop would cover: • A comprehensive analysis of the needs of all users. • A comprehensive review of all types of poverty data. • Analysis of the major data gaps and methodological weaknesses. • Analysis of where action is needed to strengthen the underlying data required for target setting, monitoring, and further policy making. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  16. Planning of the Workshop • A review of the areas where poverty analysis is weak. • Consultation for such a workshop was important as this resulted in facilitating those working in different areas, with different approaches and methodologies to engage in a dialogue in order to develop techniques to achieve better synthesis between their methods and sources. • Secondly, it would foster a more effective and sustainable dialogue between users and producers, so that producers have a clearer idea of user’s needs, that users are better able to interpret the data and analyses which are made available to them. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  17. Workshop Brief Proceedings(a) Policy Remarks The workshop was opened by the Minister of MOFED and attended by stakeholders. Also Stats. South Africa sent representatives. The Head of EU Delegation was also in attendance. The Minister emphasized on:- • A comprehensive review of the needs of users of poverty data. • That the data to be used in the PRSP must be supported by evidence based policies which must be growth oriented and politically implementable. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  18. Workshop Brief Proceedings(a) Policy Remarks (Cont’d) The EU Delegation leader raised concerns on: • Information not penetrating to the ordinary people. • Translation of information so that the ordinary people can benefit. • Collection and analysis of data should be based on quantitative and qualitative approaches. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  19. Workshop Brief Proceedings(b) CSO’s Position • The CSO which operates under the Census and Statistics Act Cap 425 of the Laws of Zambia gave an overview of the Zambian Statistical System. It also highlighted on its products, particularly in relation of the PRSP data requirements Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  20. Workshop Brief Proceeding(b) CSO’s Position (Cont’d) The CSO presentations raised in the discussions concerns on: • Collection of certain type of information. • Analysis of certain data not comprehensive. • Also that even if it was the main central organ which is supposed to overall surprise the data collection including methodology it did not have administrative authority/control It was therefore recommended that a National Statistical Coordinating Committee be setup to oversee the production of all statistics. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  21. Workshop Brief Proceedings(c) Poverty Unit at MOFED The unit presented an overview and the current status of PRSP. In addition, the working groups and respective institutions presented papers. The presentation and follow-up discussions revealed the need for PRSP data to: • Understand the status in terms of poverty and what data were needed. • Understand the relationship between sector interventions and poverty. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  22. Workshop Brief Proceedings(c) Poverty Unit at MOFED (Cont’d) • Monitor and evaluate the impact of intervention and the ultimate objective for PRSP. Discussions also confirmed that the PRSP had brought an opportunity to prioritize the data requirements and created a stronger relationship between producers and users of information. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  23. Workshop Brief Proceedings(d) Other Papers Presented • The private sector and the civil society. Both dwelt on specific data generation, including data mining of exiting data. • The donor/international agencies concentrated on their programmes which played an intervention role in poverty alleviation.  Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  24. Workshop Brief Proceeding(e) Papers on Data Production and Procedures • The papers discussed about the classical quantitative methods by CSO and, the qualitative methods by PAG. • It was recommended that both methods be used together to obtain best results. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  25. Conclusion • Need to co-ordinate the activities of various agencies dealing with poverty for effectiveness of poverty reduction. • Data mining of existing data should be encouraged. • Analytical skills for poverty analysts, programmer managers, policy makers and statisticians should be enhanced. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  26. Provisional Future Agenda • Taking stock of available data. • Establishment of a body to oversee and provide guidelines to the production of statistics. • Establishment of Producer/Producer Committee and User/Producer committee. • Develop an integrated database for poverty statistics. • Develop a system of disseminating data and information regularly. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  27. Follow-up Activities • Transformation of CSO into a semi-autonomous body – being rigorous done. • Preparation for an integrated database – 2gldb . • Dissemination strategies being developed. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  28. It is clear from the Zambian experience of involving policy makers, programme managers, major data users and producers in the process of statistical development that, statistical capacity building to support the PRSP planning and implementation will require the participation of all concerned at all levels. It is not a one person’s or institution issue but all stakeholders. Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

  29. THE END Desktop Unit - CSO, Zambia

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