Mutual Accountability

The PRS approach/ Paris Declaration and the Africa Partnership Forum

Donor Commitments Instruments for Transparency & Enforcement Third Party Assessments

Presentation by Fletcher Tembo, WV UK at ODI Workshop on Southern Voices for Change in the International Aid System,

held at ODI office, London

15th November, 2005

Overview

• The PRS- Paris Approach

• Mutual accountability framework (World Vision, UK study)

• Mutual accountability framework (the World Bank 2005 review of the PRS)

• Issues/ ways forward

• The Case of the Africa Partnership Forum/ Africa Peer Review Mechanism

The PRS- Paris Declaration approach to mutual accountability

• Argument: a) offers a strong signal for country ownership and donor coordination/ harmonisation (b) the pooling effect on donors e.g 4th Pillar in the World Bank’s new Strategic Framework for Assistance to Africa (c) gives a chance to pursue multiple forms of accountability.

Mutual Accountability : definitional issues

• Mutual accountability

• “when two or more parties have shared development goals, in which each has legitimate claim that the other is responsible for fulfilling, and where each may be required to explain how they have discharged their responsibilities and be sanctioned if they fail to deliver” DFID’s definition, cited in de Renzio et al, draft paper for this workshop, emphasis mine.

Donor Commitments Instruments for Transparency & Enforcement Third Party Assessments

Private sector

Who ‘owns’ what? Who is accountable to whom?

CITIZENS

EXTERNAL CONSTITUENCY

DOMESTIC CONSTITUENCY

DONOR AGENCY

GOVERNMENT

Children, women, poor

families

Parliament

Civil Society

Parliament

Civil Society

PRS CYCLE- Policy- Budget- Aid flows - Trade strategies

From conditionality to mutual accountability

From consultation to influence and accountability

Traditional institutions

media

Decentralised govt

Decentralised donor agencies

Adopted from de Renzio

media

Mutual accountabilitySource: Presentation by Linda Van Gelder and Elliot Harris of WB/IMF, based on 2005 PRS Review

(Trade)

Overview Balancing Accountabilities Scaling Up Results

PRSP

Domestic Constituents

External Actors

Institution and capacity building agenda

Analytic Underpinnings

Participation

more aid

predictable

harmonized aligned

Government

Polices,Programs,Public actions

Poverty- and results-oriented

Well-implemented

Some factors that can tilt the balanceSource: Presentation by Linda Van Gelder and Elliot Harris at WB/IMF annual meetings, based on 2005 PRS Review

Overview Balancing Accountabilities Scaling Up Results

PRSP

Domestic Constituents

External Actors

Analytic Underpinnings

more aid

predictable

harmonized aligned

Institution and capacity building agenda

Lack of prioritization and specificity

Limits on policy space

Volume and modalities of assistance

Conditionality

institutionalizedparticipation:who, when, how, what

effective monitoring

links tobudgets

Government

Polices,Programs,Public actions

Poverty- and results-oriented

Well-implemented

(Re-) Balancing accountabilitiesSource: Presentation by Linda Van Gelder and Elliot Harris at WB/IMF annual meetings, based on 2005 PRS Review

Overview Balancing Accountabilities Scaling Up Results

PRSP

Domestic Constituents

External Actors

Analytic Underpinnings

Government

Polices,Programs,Public actions

Poverty- and results-oriented

Well-implemented

more aid

predictable

harmonized aligned

Institution and capacity building agenda

effective monitoring

institutionalized

participation:who, when,how, what

Aid modalities that support domestic accountability

Greater prioritization and specificity

links tobudgets

PRSP

Domestic Constituents

External Actors

Analytic Underpinnings

Government

Polices,Programs,Public actions

Poverty- and results-oriented

Well-implemented

more aid

predictable

harmonized aligned

Institution and capacity building agenda

effective monitoring

institutionalized

participation:who, when,how, what

Aid modalities that support domestic accountability

Greater prioritization and specificity

links tobudgets

Issues from Zambia and Bolivia case studies/ Ways forward

• Institutionalisation of participation of civil society/ dealing with the question of legitimacy?

• From systems to support mechanisms that enhance voice/transparency/exit (Paris agenda) e.g. Zambia

• Harmonisation of agendas/ development cooperation then instruments

PEMFA Joint Technical Working Group

Mining Working Group

Agriculture Working Group

Joint Country Assistance

Strategy Working Group

Donor Sector/Thematic Working Groups

Six monthly Sector/Thematic Group Meeting

Private Sector

Development Forum

Aid Management Steering Committee

Consultative Group (CG) Meeting

Examples of Sector/Thematic Groups

Quarterly Minister of Finance Meetings

Aid Management Technical Committee

GRZ GRZ/DONORS DONORS

Public Expenditure Review

Permanent

Cabinet Aid Coordination Committee

Donor Coordination Meeting

Ambassadors' Donor Group

AID COORDINATIONSECRETARIAT

Government-Donor Coordination in ZambiaSource: Mwanawina, I (2005): Assessment of aid mgt capacity in Zambia

Issues/ ways forward

• Unless the PRS process is mainstreamed, it cannot drive mutual accountability, in which case it is not just capacity building/ address political interfaces

• Enforcement through both horizontal and vertical means (appropriate discourse of development) bearing in mind political economy issues

• Opening up the macro-economic policy & PSIA debate re: national participatory processes should be a priority

The Case of the Africa Partnership Forum

• To undertake mutual review of progress on commitments to the implementation of the NEPAD programmes and to determine what high level political interventions may be necessary– Implementation of NEPAD projects– Speeding up the APRM– Donor side commitments

Africa Partnership Forum • Issues

– Forum for specific NEPAD projects, could this mean less monitoring of donor commitments to specific African countries. National PRS subordinated, “ - - - to speed up the integration of NEPAD indicative plans into national development programmes and/or PRSPs to enable realisation of MDGs” Nuhlu, 2005 p.15.

– CSO monitoring through gender and CSO Unit, available space but is there danger of cooption?

• Possible solutions – NEPAD should remain a think-tank and de-linked from

watch-dog roles, African Monitor proposal, shadowing of the APF