Kenya CSOs and Their Influence on the PRSP: the FEMNET experience

The International Forum on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness: a Multi-stakeholder dialogue

3 – 6 February 2008, Ottawa, Canada

Presented by: Therese Niyondiko, FEMNET

ABOUT FEMNET a regional women's network of individuals and organisations

working on a wide range of women’s rights including the economic, social and cultural rights.

Our mission consists of sharing information, ideas and strategies among African women working on development, gender equality and other women’s rights through communication, capacity building and advocacy at regional and international level.

Since 2001, mobilising women to engage with the PRSPS

WHY PRSPS should address gender issues Inequalities of opportunities retard economic growth; Gender-based social exclusion impedes poverty reduction Gender equality is essential to meeting the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs).

Kenya case study- Introduction Kenya, whose aid programme had been suspended since

1997, was required to develop a poverty reduction strategy, to qualify for development credit from the World Bank and the IMF as well as development assistance from bilateral donors.

Initial discussions and planning for preparation of Kenya’s PRSP was undertaken by a technical working committee, which brought together representatives of Government, Civil Society and Donor partners.

The Technical Working Committee was transformed into the PRSP Secretariat that developed and articulated the PRSP consultation framework.

Introduction A consultative and Participatory process: the consultations

were designed to ensure that the voice of the poor was heard and input from Kenyans who live in and experience poverty was taken into consideration to inform the national planning process.

a three-tier structure was developed covering National, District and Community levels and had involved over 60,000 Kenyans in 70 districts making up the country.

Trained facilitators drawn from the Government and CSOs facilitated Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA).

Involvement and Role of CSOs in the PRSP process

Initially, CSOs were reluctant to engage in PRSP preparation before complete reassurance on the commitment of the Government and the donor community.

the partnership was put to test when the parties questioned each other’s sincerity to and motivation in the process

The creation of Desks at the Secretariat for the Private Sector, CSOs and a Technical Advisor who represented the donor community was the commitment of the government to open the space to CSOs.

National Council of NGO’S sought direct representation of the CSO sector - a full-time professional appointed in the PRSP Secretariat by the Government.

Involvement and Role of CSOs in the PRSP process

The decision of the National PRSP Secretariat to channel funds for countrywide consultations through CSOs on the ground entrenched the sector’s strategic position in the process.

Through the CSO-CWG, a criteria for selection of lead organisations was established and used to nominate 7 organisations spread across the 70 districts as Lead Agencies.

Representatives of various CSOs were member of the National committee and played an important role in facilitating the formation and management of Thematics Groups (TGs) .

 

WOMEN’S ORGANISATIONS AND FEMNET’s ROLEFEMNET was a member of

The National Steering Committee that had the responsibility of management and guidance of the PRSP Process.

Lobby for the Gender Thematic Group which gave technical support on gender issues to the process particularly giving an analysis of women’s poverty based on a holistic approach;

FEMNET was also working with CSO-Consultative Working Group on CSO engagement in the implementation and participatory monitoring of the PRSP.

FEMNET conducted a study for the Kenyan government’s own economic research institution on the monetary and fiscal implications of expenditure types of demands in the PRSP.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS The role played particularly by CSOs in the consultative

process at grassroots level added value and legitimacy to the exercise, contributing immensely to its eventual success.

A sense of national ownership: Participation, inclusiveness, comprehensiveness and broad based were the principles that guided the formulation of the PRSP and it allowed to consider the outcome of the whole process as ‘Document for the People and Government of Kenya’.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS …cont’d Discussions strengthened around pro-poor strategies and

policies: For the first time in the history of development and budgetary planning in Kenya, a national process enabled a linking of the allocation of budgetary resources to peoples priorities identified through a participatory and broad-based consultative process.

An appreciation of the value of multi-stakeholder partnerships in negotiating consensus on national development issues   as their participation gave to the formulation exercise much social legitimacy and a sense of national ownership that was absent during the preparation of the IPRSP.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS …cont’d Promotion of social accountability and open dialogue: it

was apparent that wherever multi-stakeholder committees managed financial resources for the consultative process, a very high level of financial accountability was achieved. The fact that CSOs handled funds restored confidence among Kenyans and emphasised the seriousness of the PRSP preparation process.

Gendered poverty reduction strategies even gender faded out in particular areas such : the macroeconomic framework, sector priorities, monitoring and evaluation, the implementation matrix.

LESSONS LEARNED …cont’d The participatory process was liberating and empowering. It

provided space for less vocal community members to air their views. This built confidence amongst Kenyans in the process and hence generated support and significantly reduced scepticism.

The countrywide PRSP consultative process demonstrated that the common person and communities are fully aware of their livelihood needs and of the actions required to address them, when given opportunities through open and participatory institutional mechanisms such as the PRSP.

LESSONS LEARNED…cont’d A strategy of positive and constructive engagement with

government works better and attracts a more constructive response to Civil Society inputs, rather than one of confrontation and threats;

The appointment of CSOs in the districts as lead agencies and the active involvement of the private sector assured the public that the government was committed to making the process participatory.

Despite PRSP process set to establish an institutional framework that would prevent a dis-empowering effect of existing structures at the district level and ministerial sub-committees at the national level, little effort was made to ensure the participation members of parliament-only about 10 per cent participated- and the trade unions.

LESSONS LEARNED…cont’d Although CSOs made an important contribution at the

grassroots the process revealed that civil society’s organisation at national level was weak. A case in point was their inability to effectively influence Sector Working Groups due to limited representation.

the acceptance of their input into strategies for different sectors were limited, and discussions on the macro-economic framework that affect the viability of these strategies remained off-limits.

LESSONS LEARNED…cont’d participation was not consistent at all levels. e.g the gender

thematic group was not able to participate in the final drafting of the PRSP or in the preparation of the implementation matrix. The women’s organizations did not manage to second a permanent representative to the PRSP/MTEF Secretariat like the wider Civil Society and the Private sector.

Although the gender dimensions of poverty were captured in the Papers, gender faded out particularly in macroeconomic framework.

LESSONS LEARNED…cont’d Budgeting Model not fully appreciated: the budgeting process

was not open for civil society and this causes frustration especially as regard to resources for priorities identified by the people. Gender concerns were totally excluded from the fundamental basis of the national budget—the macroeconomic framework.

the PRSP process was assumed both by the International Funding Institutions and by Ministries of Finance to help better target government expenditure, but not necessarily to offer any new insights into macroeconomic policy, particularly monetary and fiscal policy.

LESSONS LEARNED…cont’d No measures or strategies to reduce the women’s

triple work burden, or to secure access to and control over economic resources for women (such as support for small scale enterprise where a large number of poor women belong).

Lack of gender-disaggregated data on the economy and on poverty's prevalence made it difficult to quantify women’s work/production, income and the gender impact of public expenditure and therefore to inform the macro economic framework.

CONCLUSIONThe consultation process was a good exercise but if weare serious about development ownership need to : To interpret the terms of national ownership as

democratic ownership to elaborate implications of this in the context of countries obligations of international human rights law including women’s rights and gender equality

To institutionalise a gender-balanced civil society access and participation in economic and financial decision-making and norm setting at all levels of consultation (macroeconomic framework development, implementation matrix and resources biding process

Conclusion ….Ctn’d Build capacity of both CSO and macroeconomists to improve

the quality of participation and to produce gender responsive strategies.

Operational development strategies established by partners countries and related work plans must fully integrate gender equality targets and indicators.

Thank You!

REFERENCES

A. Awori and J. Atema (2001), Making of A country Strategy Paper, Case of Kenya.

Maureen and Kiringai, Jane (2003), Gender mainstreaming in macroeconomics policies and Poverty reduction strategy in Kenya,

Femnet and Wandia, Mary (2003), The process of integrating gender in PRSP in Kenya and the challenges encountered by

the gender lobby Groups, Nairobi Kenya.