COMMUNITY DECENTRALIZED DEVELOPMENT LEVEL

Basic structures for planning should include grassroots institutions such as village development committees, area development committees supported by technical staff. However this is more relevant at the level of implementation. The implementation plan should state that the political guidance (not interference) in the decentralization process is to be provided by the cabinet financing of development at the local level is  be based on the proposals aligned under strategic sectoral strategies and functions and submitted through the DDO’s office or sector heads. All projects shall be overseen by functional coordinated teams or Sector Development and Management Committee (SDMC) chaired by the district department head/ representatives. Other members of the SPMC shall include the community representatives and fund representatives. In addition, there shall be Sub Project Management Committee to oversee specific project implementation. This shall ensure there is harmony, cooperation and ownership among key stakeholders and thus control duplication. Such a structure will require a basic legal and policy framework to clearly stipulate the division of roles and responsibilities between the different funds.

Bondo Model: A decentralized plan for Kenya unveiled

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process is recognized in many developing countries as a viable attempt to link grassroot priorities with government resource allocations. In Kenya the PRSP process has opened discussion on how to create institutional capacities at District level to respond effectively to demands for services and funds. But there is a frightening lack of good experience in the decentralized management of rural services on which to base the design of the implementation arrangements.

The United Nations system has been spearheading the adoption of a model that is contextualized for Kenya. The major tasks that faces the UN in Kenya is to find ways of supporting community-driven development in ways that build on local strength, (particularly of local women and youth groups) and linking these to public resource allocation decisions at the district level. Bondo was therefore selected as a pilot district to test the model with the intention of replicating lessons learnt across 16 other districts in Kenya.

In March 2003, an orientation workshop was held in Bondo District, in South Western Kenya. During this function the Bondo Model, a methodology for creating linkages between government resources and grassroot needs, was unveiled. During the function the UN through a UNDP project, Africa 2000 Network donated US$38,000 to 10 community groups to support micro-projects on a pilot basis. 50 participants represented the women, youth and community groups.

Speaking at the function, Mr. Musumba, a District Officer in Bondo said " ...the choice of Bondo to try out decentralized planning with its success likely to be replicated elsewhere will go a long way in motivating the local communities to work hard to achieve the desired objectives". Over US$20,000 has so far been disbursed in Bondo.

The Model's strategy is to use United Nations Volunteers (UNVs) to facilitate  intermediation between civil society and the authorities, helping CBOs and local NGOs to write project proposals that fit the criteria of the various funding mechanisms, establishing accounting, monitoring, training, evaluation and informal mechanisms to help the CSOs measure their progress or lack of it, and more generally, building up capacity within the informal sector to drive development in its sector or location.

For further information please contact: situma.mwichabe@undp.org

 

Edition 1 / March 2003

Millennium Villages focus

The Millennium Villages focus centrally on the delivery of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the promotion of human security in impoverished rural areas through community-based investments and community-based capacity building. The Millennium Villages are a proof of concept for achieving the MDGs in hunger hotspots of rural Africa and subsistence farm communities in other parts of the world. The

guiding dimensions are: (1) holistic investments and integrated planning and implementation of key sectors such as agriculture, health, education and infrastructure; (2) complementarity of public and private sectors; (3) community-based development; (4) conversion from subsistence to commercial agriculture and development of the private sector: (5) increased donor support, matched by increased efforts of host governments and communities; (6) scalability in project design and financing; and (7) transition to sustainability through community management of local activities, gradual reduction in subsidies, economic growth and viable private sector; increasing role of government and NGOs in public sector services, and commitment of donor community to increased foreign direct assistance.

Significant, early successes in the initial Millennium Villages – e.g. in food production, malaria control, and school meal programs – indicate the readiness of local communities to contribute major efforts to MDG success. The evidence also highlights the feasibility of implementing decentralized, multi-dimensional investment programs spanning agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure in rural communities. These initial successes are leading many governments to promote national rural development strategies based explicitly on scaling up the lessons of the Millennium Villages.

Reference,

Millennium Villages Handbook:

A Practitioner's Guide to the Millennium Villages Approach

Version 1.0

June 18, 2008