4...creating spaces where voices connect

4...creating spaces where voices connect

Acronyms

Acknowledgment

Preface

Background

Purpose

Methodology

Implemented Activities at Inception Phase

Projects Achievements

Challenges

Lessons Learnt

Partner Profiles

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© Centre for Democracy and Development

First Published in 2011

Published by Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)4 Kikuyu Close, Off Nairobi Street,Off Parakou Crescent,Off Aminu Kano Crescent,Wuse II,P.O. Box 14345,WuseAbuja,Nigeria.www.cddwestafrica.org

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

AAN Action Aid Nigeria

C4C Coalitions for Change

CAC Company Affairs Commission

CAPP Community Action for Popular Participation

CDD Centre for Democracy and Development

CGS Conditional Grant Scheme

CP Concerned Professionals

CSOs Civil Society Organizations

DFID Department for International Development

DRGs Debt Relief Gains

FGN Federal Government of Nigeria

GPC Global Project Consortium

IBPs Issues Based Projects

JDPC Justice Development and Peace Commission

JONAPWD Joint National Association of Persons with

Disabilities

MDAs Ministries Departments and Agencies

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MVPF Monitoring the Virtual Poverty Fund

OSSAP-MDGs Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President

on Millennium Development Goals

PWDs Persons with Disabilities

VPF Virtual Poverty Fund

he inception of a programme like Coalitions for Change (C4C) was a Tlaudable innovation for the British Department for International Development. The Programme has provided a number of platforms for Nigerians to address a number of enormous challenges through issues based projects. The challenges include Constitutional Reform, Gender and Affirmative Action and Monitoring the Virtual Poverty Funds among others. The crucial role of the C4C management team which was led by Hajia Amina Salihu, the Programme Coordinator cannot be over appreciated.

The Nigerian government has shown clear commitment to the effective and transparent use of the Virtual Poverty Fund which was created in 2005 from the proceeds of the debt reprieve obtained by Nigeria from creditor nations. It has been built into the Federal Budgets since then and has been spent on critical sectors that focus on MDG projects and programmes in education, health and water resources among others. The monitoring and evaluation mechanism of the debt relief gains (DRGs) which the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs) instituted has performed excellently in ensuring that value for money is achieved.

We also want to acknowledge contribution of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Team of the OSSAP-MDGs comprising of the Centre for Democracy and Development (National CSO) and Global Project Consortium (GPC) who provided the coalition with adequate information on their activities thereby preventing the coalition from replicating effort which would have not add any value.

Special appreciation to the representative of each organization on the coalition too, without their commitments, the project would not have been a success. The same to our state level partners, you are highly appreciated

Finally, we want to specially thank the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) focal persons in all project states for their unending support. They provided us with a path to tread during the project. It has been a wonderful experience working on the project.

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he global search for pathways to reducing poverty and improving Tinfrastructure for human existence necessitated the adoption of MDGs in the year 2000. The MDG Goals were designed in such a way that their attainment would considerably reduce poverty and inequality and improve the quality of life particularly in Africa and other dependent nations. The Government was therefore right in aligning itself with these noble goals. In 2005, the Federal Government of Nigeria created the virtual poverty fund to boast the efforts of relevant line ministries, departments and agencies (MDAS) in achieving the targets. To ensure that the funds are used for the specified purpose, the government engaged Civil Society Organizations and private consultants to establish and run a system of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to ensure compliance with project objectives and community needs. In general, the M&E process has revealed both progress and challenges in the use of the Virtual Poverty Fund.

This short publication narrates an aspect of the story of the MDGs in four selected states of the country Kano, Ekiti, Enugu and Ogun. We draw attention to the collaborative efforts that are on going between the Federal and States governments and the challenges that are merging in the implementation process.

From our findings, it is obvious that the Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) is a mechanism that can promote efficiency in the use of public funds and thereby enhance the delivery of services to the many rural poor in Nigeria. The CGS has the potential of changing governments' project implementation strategy. In the better performing states, Kano in particular, the projects were satisfactorily executed and were completed/nearing completion at the time of monitoring. In Enugu and Ekiti states, we noted serious challenges in project implementation. The major lesson learnt is for MDGs projects to be successfully implemented in any community, the people of that community must be involved in choosing, monitoring implementation and participating in running the project itself.

Jibrin IbrahimDirector

he Millennium TDevelopment Goals (MDGs) are not a parallel agenda for development. They are the same f u n d a m e n t a l responsibility of government that have been prioritised over time for fast tracking progress in the following areas: water, healthcare delivery, gender equality, education, HIV-AIDS, environment and global partnership. The MDGs were adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015; they provide concrete, numerical benchmarks for tackling extreme poverty in its many dimensions.

The MDGs also provide a framework for the entire international community to work together towards a common end making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere. If these goals are achieved, world poverty will be cut by half, tens of millions of lives will be saved, and billions more people will have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy. A challenge posed to the achievement of the MDGs in a number of nations of the world was the protuberant debt overhang, which meant that less developed nations channelled too much of their meagre resources toward servicing debts rather than putting them into alleviating poverty.

This provided the context in which, in 2005, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) received debt relief from the Paris Club of creditors

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and made a commitment to channel the Debt Relief Gains (DRGs) into projects and programmes aimed at the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria. Subsequently, the FGN committed N100 billion in the 2006 budget to ten Federal ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development, Education, Environment, Health, Housing and Urban Development, Power and Steel, Water Resources, Women Affairs, Works and Urban Development for the implementation of MDGs related projects and programmes. This expenditure was drawn from the Virtual Poverty Fund.

The Virtual Poverty Fund is a special fund created by the Federal Government in 2005 from the proceeds of the debt reprieve obtained by Nigeria from creditor nations. It has been built into the Federal budgets since then and is to be spent on the critical sectors that focus on MDG projects and programmes in education, health and water resources, among others. Monitoring the Virtual Poverty Fund (MVPF) constituted CSOs' efforts at ensuring that gains from the relief were not frittered away due to corruption.

o ensure significant positive changes in selected institutions, leading to effective management of public resources and T

stronger formal accountability in water, health, power and other agreed sectors, the Monitoring of the Virtual Poverty Fund (MVPF) was an intervention project which was developed in order to monitor how the MDGs/Debt Relief Gains (DRGs) resources were utilised in Nigeria.

This publication presents the account civil society partners who implemented a programme funded by the Department of International Development of the United Kingdom under a platform known as Coalitions for Change (C4C) to support monitoring the Virtual Poverty Fund (MVPF), identifying challenges to project implementation and drawing attention to the lessons that can be learnt. It is also an attempt at a credible assessment of the Virtual Poverty Fund (VPF) in the states where CDD and the other partners worked.

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he project was executed through field research (administration of baseline questionnaires), key informant interviews (KII), T

focus group discussions (FGD) and physical inspection of projects. Others include trainings, CSO-government dialogues, media engagement, stakeholder consultative fora, surveys, review meetings with MDGs main-line ministries and CGS focal persons, sensitisation/town hall meetings, and dissemination of best practices and lessons learnt among the coalescing partners.

The CSO-government dialogues provided a two-way relation in which citizens provided feedback to government. These dialogues were a consultation tool that provided greater levels of interaction between government and the citizens. Citizens were able to propose policy options even though the final decision (policy formulation) rests with the government.

The stakeholder consultative fora were used to aggregate the views and opinions of stakeholders on the project. CDD and other civil society partners in Enugu, Gombe, Kano, Ekiti, Ogun and Lagos states; provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss and seek ways of ensuring effective monitoring of public funds in Nigeria with particular reference to the Virtual Poverty Fund/Debt Relief Gains.

A number of project sites were visited in all the states. The designed questionnaires were used to generate the opinions of stakeholders on the projects in their localities and ascertain suitability of every project visited. Monitoring focused on some 2006, 2007 and 2009 DRG projects in the Education, Health and Water sectors.

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THE SITUATION PRIOR TO THE C4C/PARTNERS - MVPF INTERVENTION:

Baseline information revealed thus:

Lack of synergy between Federal and State MDAs:

MVPF Partners identified a huge disconnect between Federal and State MDAs. State MDAs and community members' awareness about Debt Relief-funded projects was very low. All or most of them became aware of the projects only at the execution stage.

Lack of knowledge on the MDGs:

Community members were not aware about the MDGs in general not to talk of the, MVPF and DRGs.

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Formal launch of the Monitoring of the Virtual Poverty Fund project. Setting-up and inauguration of the MVPF Consultative Committees in the various states. Sourcing of information and experience-sharing meeting with OSSAP-MDGs, Global Project Consortium (GPC), and Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP) and state based civil society groups.Developing, pre-testing, printing of field monitoring instruments and re-training of field monitors.Planning meetings with implementing partners. Sensitisation workshops for state level MDAs, CSOs, Women, PWDs and marginalised groups and media on the MDGs and MVPF.Stakeholders consultative fora on the MVPF. Training workshops.CSO-government dialogues on budget and the virtual poverty fund.Advocacy visits.Review meetings with MDGs main-line ministries and CGS focal persons.Town hall meetings and community dialogues.

Absence of MDG Offices in the states:

In some states, MDG offices had just been set up while in some others they were absent.

Lack of community involvement in MDGs projects:

Community members were not involved in MDG projects planning and implementation.

Lack of collaboration between CSOs and Government:

CSOs play a crucial role in making democracy work by bringing people's issues and the voices of the marginalised to the social and political arenas. But they were not carried along in government programmes and initiatives.

Federal Architecture of the Virtual Poverty Fund:

The Virtual Poverty Fund (VPF) is a federal government project, and on that basis, all projects funded by it, though located in the states, were executed by federal MDAs.

The federal architecture of the project in 2006 posed a challenge for the state level partners since their focus was on the states MDGs project. After the first year of project implementation and the output to purpose review by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID), there was a need for a shift in focus to monitoring the Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) of the Federal Government. This invariably led to a loss of project time due to the constant rethinking and refining of the logical framework and the project work plan.

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More cooperation and complementary relations developed between government and CSOs in project states:

As result of our intervention, there has been improved civil society/government dialogue on issues of budget, MDGs and CGS. Civil society is now more involved in the budgeting process both at the inception phase and during execution. Prior to this time, civil society organisations only took part in budget hearings after the budget had been formulated.

Enhanced capacity of community members to monitor CGS projects:

Local communities in project states have been sensitised on the CGS projects in their communities. As a result of this sensitisation and capacity building, they are able to track MDGs/CGS projects in their communities. In Enugu state, examples of such communities are Nsukka LGA, Ozalla and Agbani, in Nkanu West LGA; Ogbede in Igbo Etiti LGA; Iwollo, Aguobu Owa, Olo 1 and Oghe 1 in Ezeagu LGA; and Akwuke in Enugu South LGA; Agduda in Udi LGA; and Mbulu Owehe in Enugu East LGAs in Enugu state. In Kano State, communities include: Garin Dau, Wudil, Utai, Takai, Tsamiya Babba and Gezawa.

In Ekiti, some of these towns and villages that were active in the tracking process are: Ilafon, Oke Imesi, Ijero, Ilogbo, Erio, Ado, Iyin, Igede, Aramoko, Ido Ile, Araye (Efon), Ipaye (Efon), Are, Igbimo, Aisegba, Ile Ona, Iworoko, Ijan-Ilupeju, etc. In Ogun, they include: Egbe, Ilemeso, Imesi, Ijurin, Iloro, Ayegunle, Omuo Oke Esure, and Ode Omi.

Government is now more responsive to the need for consultation with the people:

Due to the advocacy efforts by MVPF partners and other CSOs, government is now more responsive to consultation with the people, particularly on issues and policies that affect them. The right of people to be consulted is now widely accepted by state governments and links have been built between the government and the people.

Feedback and Alternative Policy Options to Government by the Citizens:

The CSO/Government dialogues provided a two-way relation in which citizens provided feedback to government. These dialogues were a consultation tool that provided greater levels of interaction between government and the citizens. Citizens were able to propose policy options even though the final decision (policy formulation) rests with the government.

Coalescing with OSSAP-MDGs, State MDG offices and other Supply Side Actors

Through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs (OSSAP-MDGS), MVPF partners were able to engage with state MDG offices. Aside from providing coalition partners with information on the MDGs/CGS programmes and projects, they also played useful roles as Resource Persons at state level activities. Information on locations of CGS projects was also supplied by them. Supply side actors from the Ministries of Water, Education, Health, Planning and Budget, Local Government, National Orientation Agency, National Assembly proved to be very useful resource and points of entry on the project.

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The MVPF project however recorded some challenges during its implementation. Of particular concern were the threats and blackmail of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Ijebu-Ode, by the Ogun State government, and non-disclosure of vital CGS information in Ekiti and Ogun States due to the lack of a freedom of information regime. Our partners however remained undaunted in pursuing their advocacy efforts in both states.

Accessibility to communities where CGS projects were sited posed another challenge to partners. Where the communities were not accessible by car, partners devised alternative means to reach the communities.

Inclusivity

State level engagement provided space in which the voices of women, persons with disabilities (PWD) and other marginalised groups were recognised and heard. At every engagement, concerted efforts were made by MVPF partners to invite these clusters as participants. A total of 48 members of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) participated in workshops across the states. Women groups were also represented at all engagements.

Nomination of disadvantaged groups for representation on Government Committees:

At the capacity building workshop for CSO partners in Kano state in September 2009, CDD's engagement with partner CSOs and policymakers in Kano State led to an approval by the Commissioner of Budget and Planning for the immediate appointment of two persons from the MVPF network, one representing civil society and the other, the Joint Association of Persons with Disabilities

(JONAPWD) as members of the Kano S t a t e committee on t h e implementatio n o f t h e Conditional G r a n t s Scheme.

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n the course of project implementation, there were major findings and key lessons that were captured. It should however be noted I

that all the implementing partners shared similar experiences on the MVPF, however, certain marked variations were observed. In the case of an obvious variation, the state concerned is mentioned, otherwise, the observations cut across the states:

1. Several communities complained of not being consulted before the formulation and during implementation of CGS projects. Majority of respondents had a low level of involvement on DRG-funded projects in their localities. This also brings to the fore the question of ownership and utilisation as it does not allow the citizens effective supervision of the projects so as to engender transparency in the use of public funds.

2. As a result of non-consultation with communities, some projects implemented under the Conditional Grants Scheme (CGS) were not demand driven.

3. Most civil society organisations are not aware of the MDGs/CGS. This came out clearly in various engagements with civil society actors in the project states. It is necessary to build the capacity of CSOs to own any development process. This is necessary because apart from a few CSOs working on monitoring and tracking the MDGs/DRGs, most CSOs are unaware and uninformed about the MVPF and its processes.

4. The media has not been sufficiently sensitised about the MVPF project and its processes.

5. In Enugu State, some CGS projects do not appear to have had the actual money allocated spent on them.

6. Also in Enugu State, most CGS projects were not branded and that made effective monitoring difficult.

7. Based on our findings, most of the MDGs-DRG projects/programmes in Kano State were satisfactorily executed and completed. CGS projects/programmes were the best carried out and executed, with 94.4% completion at the time of monitoring. In essence, Kano State has been able to impact positively in most communities by siting CGS projects in those communities.

8. Women and Persons with disability are not involved in the CGS process in some of the states. This practice negates the gender commitment made in the CGS implementation manual.

9. CGS Health projects in Enugu State however had serious shortcomings. Our monitors to the various project locations found out rather than carry out renovation of the PHCs, all that happened was simply repainting the building.

10. CSOs who were monitors had difficulty accessing information from the Enugu, Ekiti and Ogun States MDGs Office. However, this is a sharp contrast from what obtained in Kano State where the MDGs Focal Person was very cooperative and supportive.

11. In Ekiti State, CGS projects were sub-contracted from one contractor to another. This is done by the contractors themselves and what this implies is that projects are implemented below their real values.

12. In Ekiti State also, information on CGS projects are best sought after informally, as civil servants are reluctant to divulge official information.

13. In Ogun State, Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) which were claimed to be donated from the MDGs/CGS were discovered to have come from a different source.

14. CSOs involved in the MVPF projects in Ogun State were threatened for allegedly inciting the public against the Government while monitoring the implementation of CGS projects in the state.

he MVPF coalition was established with a membership of four Tcredible and active NGOs that have a record of accomplishment of activities in budget tracking and policy engagement.

Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) is a non-profit governmental, research, information and training institution dedicated to policy-oriented scholarship on questions of democratic development and peace-building. CDD works towards the promotion and consolidation of democracy and responsive development in the West African region through research, training and advocacy. CDD is an international organisation which operates through its country offices in West Africa. CDD is presently involved in monitoring of sector specific budgets in six Nigerian states as well as tracking of budgets for gender responsiveness in four West African countries and also the lead National CSO on the monitoring and evaluation of the Debt Relief Gains / MDGs projects in Nigeria.

CDD served as the secretariat for the MVPF project serving as an intermediary between C4C and the partners.

Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC)

The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of Ijebu-Ode is a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria with certificate No. 10414. The Commission, for effective and efficient planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of its programmes has three departments, namely: the Diocesan Agricultural Development Programme (DADP); the Human Rights Programme (HRP); and the Gender Equity and Women Empowerment Programme (WEP).

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Also working with partner organisations, JDPC tracked programmes and projects implemented with the VPF in Ekiti and Ogun states. In the first phase of project implementation, JDPC had worked in Cross River state.

ActionAid Nigeria (AAN)

ActionAid Nigeria works with the poor and excluded people in developing countries, promoting values and commitment in civil society, institutions and governments with the aim of achieving structural changes in order to eradicate injustices and poverty in the world. ActionAid works in Nigeria through a country agreement signed with the National Planning Commission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On the MVPF project, ActionAid worked with partner organisations in Gombe State.

Concerned Professionals (CP)

Concerned Professionals (CP) is a registered association of working professionals committed to the enthronement and nurturing of true democracy, good governance and the rule of law in Nigeria. Its membership consists of professionals engaged in various full time pursuits, who are desirous of positive changes in Nigeria. Concerned Professionals' intervention on the MVPF was in Lagos State.

rom our findings, it is obvious that the Conditional Grants FScheme (CGS) is a mechanism that can promote efficiency in the use of public funds and thereby enhance the delivery of services to the many rural poor in Nigeria. The CGS has the potential of changing governments' project implementation strategy.

If we had to rate project states (Enugu, Ekiti, Kano and Ogun) in terms of performance, Kano State would most readily come to mind as the best performing State. This is due to the fact that most of the MDG-CGS projects/programmes in Kano State were satisfactorily executed and were completed/nearing completion at the time of monitoring. The same verdict cannot be given about other project states. The justification for this exceptional performance could also be the fact that Kano State has been a beneficiary of the Conditional Grants Scheme since its inception in 2007.

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