Monitoring for Results and Results Reporting
DEMOCRACY CONSOLIDATION PROGRAMME PHASE IV
PROJECT CODE: 00083040
2014 Annual Progress Report
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET
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Contents
Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 5
A. Situational Background/Context .......................................................................... 7
B. Assessment of Project Results During the Reporting Period ............................. 9
C. Gender Mainstreaming………………………………………………………...17
D. Status of key Partnerships and inter-agency/departmental collaboration in the area of the outcome…………………………………………………………18
G.
Challenges……………………………………………………………………….19
Annexes
I: Programme Plan and Progress Matrix
II: Financial Report
III: List of institutions and projects supported by DCP IV
IV: Success Stories
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MEC
MESN
MGDS
NICE
PO
PSC
PSD
RBA
RBM
RTD
DCP
DCT
DEC
IGA
IP
KKYO
MBC
MoV
Acronyms
ACB
CARD
CBF
CDC
CRC
CSO
RLC
SCF
TA
ToT
UNDP
Anti-Corruption Bureau
Churches Action for Relief and Development
Community Based Facilitator
Centre for Development Communications
Community Rights Committee
Civil Society Organisation
Democracy Consolidation Programme
Development Communications Trust
District Executive Committee
Income Generating Activities
Implementing Partner
Nkhotakota Youth Organisation
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation
Means of Verification
Malawi Electoral Commission
Malawi Economic Support Network
Malawi Growth and Development Strategy
National Initiative for Civic Education
Programme Office
Programme Steering Committee
Programme Support Document
Rights Based Approach
Rights Based Management
Right to Development
Radio Listening Club
Stakeholder Consultative Forum
Traditional Authority
Trainer of Trainers
United Nations Development Programme
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UNDAF
VSL
WORLEC
United Nations Development Assistance Framework
Village Savings and Loans
Women’s Legal Resources Centre
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Executive Summary
The Democracy Consolidation Programme (DCP IV) {2012-2016} has in 2014 continued to build and consolidate capacity (knowledge and skills) of the citizenry to demand compliance with governance and human rights principles from duty bearers at all levels of society. This report covers the period January to December,
2014.
During the reporting period, the project provided financial and technical support to
15 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and 1 public institution to implement various activities across the country. The project signed funding agreements with 2 new institutions namely Chinansi Foundation and Centre for Youth and Children
Affairs (CEYCA) to implement projects in Balaka and Kasungu, respectively and the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), an existing DCP partner, in Dowa district. The project failed to identify a suitable partner for Blantyre district.
The project strengthened the capacity of project grassroot structures, namely:
Community Based Facilitators (CBFs), Community Rights Committees (CRCs) and Radio Listening Clubs (RLCs) in various target districts to demand good governance, realisation of the right to development, fair trade, labour and consumer rights. Furthermore, the project structures continued to carry out community outreach meetings on good governance and the right to development within their localities and held interface dialogues with duty bearers in order to resolve their local governance and right to development challenges. 1,575 out of the planned
1470 CRCs for the year and 56 out of 61 RLCs reached out to various duty bearers, especially local government service providers. Through these interventions, the project realized results that benefitted the communities such as: withdrawal of 2524
Children (1145 girls) from child labour and their return to their homes and, most of them, re-enrolled in schools. In terms of addressing gender imbalances, the project made deliberate efforts to promote participation of vulnerable groups and the result is that slightly over 50 % of CRCs and around 70% of the RLC membership is now made up of women, with many taking up leadership positions.
The report has included some of the success stories in Annex IV which include the following interventions:
Intervention by villagers in Rumphi district to stop corruption in the sale of
Farm Input Fertiliser programme products;
Mobilization of local farmers to fight exploitation in rice trade by vendors in
Salima;
Promotion of the right to education in Rumphi district through establishing by-laws to stop cultural practices that derail children’s education.
Project paralegals assisted victims of human rights violations registering a total of
2,249 cases out of which 1,292 were resolved through mediation and counselling,
637 were referred to appropriate case handling institutions and 320 were pending resolution at the close of the reporting period. Vulnerable groups, in particular,
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women, children and the elderly made up over 60% of the beneficiaries of this service.
Project activities were negatively affected by the Judiciary workers industrial action which affected the speedy provision of redress for cases that required court intervention. Furthermore, inadequate funding to line Ministries, blamed on
‘Cashgate’ by the central Government, adversely affected service delivery delaying responsive actions by the local authorities. However, despite the challenges outlined above, community members through the leadership of the project structures sustained efforts to promote good governance and the right to development within their localities resulted in improved wellbeing especially for the most disadvantaged (the youth, children, women, and people with disabilities and HIV/Aids).
The main lessons learnt during the year were that mutual trust between stake holders, continuous engagement with duty bearers, continuous capacity building of project structures and adequate motivation were success factors.
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A.
Situational Background
DCP IV was designed in line with Malawi’s overarching development policies, the
Vision 2020 and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS II) {2011-
2016}. The Programme falls under the governance theme of the MGDS II. DCP IV was designed to contribute to the promotion of good governance and realisation of the right to development as prescribed in section 30 of the Constitution of Malawi.
DCP IV is aimed at building the capacity of the grassroots to demand good governance and fulfilment of human rights, especially the right to development, from appropriate duty bearers. This is done through a three pronged approach i.e capacity building of grassroots communities through the transfer of knowledge and skills on governance and human rights, with special emphasis on the right to development, fair trade, labour and consumer rights using animation, group working and other interactive methods; creation of local project structures i.e district officers, CBFs, CRCs and RLCs to lead the masses in making assessments of their community challenges and demand good governance and fulfilment of human rights, especially the right to development, fair trade, labour and consumer protection from relevant duty bearers; and provision of free paralegal services as a redress mechanism for vulnerable groups. The goal of the Programme is “Group villages progressively enjoying the right to development through demanding good governance and performance of correlative duties.”
The Programme is predominantly implemented through CSOs and Public institutions that are selected through an open and competitive process. The
Implementing Partners (IPs) generally fall into two broad categories: district based
IPs which create local structures to lead community in project activities; and media based projects which complement the district based projects through the provision of an alternative medium for right-holders to express their views and make demands to relevant duty bearers. The media projects also provide a readily available and efficient channel for disseminating relevant information to and sharing best practices with project beneficiaries, mostly the rural masses. DCP IV programming is guided by the Rights Based Approach (RBA) and Results Based Management
(RBM). All programme activities give special consideration and priority to the status and needs of vulnerable groups.
In 2014, the project continued to record commendable progress towards achievement of its outputs, with activities picking up pace during the second half of the year following the busy elections period. Media coverage and community activities were, during the first half of the year, dominated by election related issues in readiness for the tripartite elections held on 20th May 2014. In spite of the preoccupation with and the inevitable emphasis on elections, other more routine project activities continued to be undertaken resulting in improved capacity at grass root level.
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The grass-root based projects continued to cover 19 districts
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while media based projects reached out to the whole country. Following allocation of resources for programme expansion to 4 new districts in the 2014 AWP, a call for project proposals targeting Balaka, Blantyre, Dowa and Kasungu districts was issued in
May, 2014 through the print media. Unfortunately, the initial response was poor, perhaps due to the potential applicants’ preoccupation with the May 2014 tripartite elections, as the date of submission fell soon after the elections. The call for proposals was subsequently re-advertised and the selection process was completed, for three districts of Kasungu, Dowa and Balaka. No partner was identified for
Blantyre. Project implementation in the three new districts thus commenced with an Orientation session, contractual arrangements and a Training of Trainers sessions on good governance and the right to development held in December 2014.
Bi-annual review meetings aimed at sharing experiences and best practices among
CBFs were held in all the target districts except Mzimba, Nkhatabay, Karonga,
Ntchisi, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje and Nkhotakota where only one review meeting was held. A range of duty bearers, including the ACB, Farmers Union of
Malawi, as well as representatives from successful local Cooperatives/Associations were invited to interact with the CBFs and share experiences on their operations and best practices. The review meetings also served as revision forums for the training manuals in readiness for the rolling out of the CRC refresher training sessions. In addition, CRCs undertook learning visits to other committees in their neighboring districts. 1 CBF each from Mangochi and Ntcheu visited Nkhatabay as model CBFs during the latter’s review meeting. Further, CARD organized a learning visit for its new Mulanje District Paralegal Officer to learn from his counterparts in Zomba and Phalombe. YONECO organized 4 CBFs and their CRC members from TA Liwonde, Machinga, to visit Ntaja CRC, TA Ntaja, in the same district. One (1) CBF each from Mangochi and Ntcheu visited Nkhatabay as model
CBFs. 16 CRC members (7 female) from Dambo la Wana and Kanjamwano Rice
Farmers Associations in TA Malengachanzi, Nkhotakota, visited Bwanje Rice
Farmers Cooperative in TA Kachindamoto, Dedza.
1 Nsanje, Chikwawa, Mwanza, Neno, Mulanje, Phalombe, Zomba, Machinga, Mangochi, Ntcheu,
Dedza, Salima, Ntchisi, Mchinji, Nkhotakota, Nkhata-Bay, Mzimba, Rumphi, Karonga
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A.
Assessment of Project Results during the Reporting Period
Below is a summary of progress registered under each output during the year.
The summary provides the progress made so far towards the achievement of the set annual targets. It should, however, be noted that progress registered in most instances contributes to several indicators and has, therefore, been lumped together to avoid duplication.
Output 1: At least 70% of Group Villages effectively demanding progressive accessibility and acceptability of basic social services, basic services and good governance especially for women, children, youth and people with disabilities.
Indicator 1: No. of CBFs identified and trained as trainers on governance and RBA in new districts
Baseline: 0
Planned: 200
MoV: Progress Reports
Activities aimed at achieving this indicator were not implemented in view of the late selection of IPs for Balaka, Dowa and Kasungu districts. The selection process, which had been dogged by delays and a poor response as a likely result of the 2014 Tripartite elections, was completed towards the end of the year and a ToT on governance and right to development for Executive Directors, Project Managers and Paralegal Officers was held from 15 th
to 18 th
December 2014. Selection of CBFs is planned for the first quarter of 2015.
Indicator 2: No. of CRCs created and trained on governance and RBA in new districts
Baseline: 0
Planned: 500
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress
As outlined above, selection of CRCs for Balaka, Kasungu and Dowa would start only after the selection and training of CBFs for the three districts.
Refresher training on the right to development and RBA was, however, launched in all the 16 districts around mid-year. A total of 873 out of 1,912 (46%) committees from 16 districts were trained. Training could not start earlier as the targeted volunteers were engaged in the elections.
NOT Achieved (Gap for CBF and CRC identification and training is 100% while for
CRC refresher training it is 1039 CRCs in 16 districts. CRC refresher training sessions progressing slowly due to the fact that they must be led by the Paralegal Officer and not left to CBFs)
Indicator 3: No. of CRCs dialoguing with duty bearers.
Baseline: 980 CRCs; 45 RLCs.
Target for 2016: 2,453 CRCs
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Target for 2014: 1,470 CRCs, 61 RLCs
MoV: DCP Progress reports
Progress:
1,575 out of the planned 1470 for the year (64% of the 2016 target of 2,453 CRCs) and 56 out of 61 RLCs (92%) reached out to various duty bearers, especially local government service providers, through dialogues aimed at addressing various challenges impacting negatively on the quality of life for right holders. For instance:
Promoting girl child education and ending early marriages
Advocating for inclusiveness, fairness and equality in the implementation of Government and Civil Society safety net programs;
Demanding transparency and accountability in public service delivery;
Advocating for professionalism in the conduct of duty bearers, e.g. health workers, teachers, etc;
Demanding provision of and improvements in infrastructural services i.e. roads, bridges, school blocks, boreholes, sanitation facilities and clinics; and
Abolition of harmful cultural practices.
Most communities made demands on various aspects of governance and human rights, especially the right to development, through interface meetings/dialogues with various duty bearers. During the year, approximately 1,824 interface meetings were convened between CBFs, CRCs and RLCs and various duty bearers. Some examples of success stories recorded in the year are attached in Annex IV )
FULLY Achieved (Gap: Target exceeded for CRCs and RLCs’ gap was 6)
Indicator 4: No. of cases registered and processed by the District Paralegal Offices .
Baseline : 1,504; Annual target : 2,256
Progress:
District Paralegal Offices in 19 targeted districts continued to provide free paralegal services to victims of human rights violations. During the reporting period 2,249 cases were registered out of which 1,292 were resolved through mediation and counselling, 637 cases were referred to appropriate case handling institutions and
320 cases were pending resolution. Disputes handled included, among others, matrimonial disputes, gender based violence, child exploitation/abuse, labour disputes, land grabbing and deceased estates management.
FULLY Achieved (Gap: only 7 cases)
Indicator 4: No. of Radio programmes on governance and RtD produced and broadcast.
Annual target: 208:
- No. of Mfulu supplements produced and disseminated
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Annual target: 120,000
Progress
214 Radio programmes produced and aired by Capital radio ( Mau a Kumudzi –
Village views), DCT ( Khamalathu – our hard work {persistence} and Tilondoloze
Khamalathu – lets follow up on our hard work) , CDC ( Mbaliyanga ) and KKYO
( Titukule Boma Lathu – lets develop our district). The programmes were aired on
Capital Radio, MBC radio 1 (DCT), MBC radio 2 (CDC) and Nkhotakota
Community Radio (KKYO).
The Ministry of Information and Civic Education produced and disseminated 4,500 copies of a special Mfulu newsletter and 90,000 copies of the Mfulu supplement which were distributed through DCP grass root based IPs. The ministry produced the special newsletter following suspension of the production of Boma Lathu newspaper, which carries the Mfulu supplement, due to financial constraints.
Copies produced were below the planned monthly production of 10,000 due to high cost of printing a small newsletter.
FULLY Achieved (Gap: 55,500 copies of Special Mfulu Newsletter and 30,000 copies of the Mfulu Supplement mainly attributable to production suspension of
Boma Lathu newspaper, which carries the supplement, during the first half of the year. Circulation of Boma Lathu resumed in July, 2014. Exceeded target for radio programs )
Output 2: At least 70% of Group Villages in 28 districts demanding fair labour practices, markets and consumer protection especially for women, youth, children and people with disabilities
Indicator 1: No. of CBFs trained as trainers on fair trade, labour and consumer rights
Planned: 128
MoV: Progress Reports
Three (3) ToT sessions on Fair trade labour and consumer rights were held for 123
CBFs (51 female) from Karonga, Mzimba, and Nkhatabay districts. The trained are expected to replicate this training at the community level in the new districts.
FULLY Achieved
Indicator 2: No. of CRCs trained on fair trade, labour and consumer rights.
Planned: 448
MoV: Progress Reports
Following the ToT on fair trade, labour and consumer rights training, CBFs from
Karonga and Mzimba proceeded to train 20 and 45 of their CRCs respectively.
Progress:
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Activities aimed at achieving the above indicator were scheduled to take place in
Karonga, Mzimba and Nkhata-Bay during the year but were delayed due to the factors alluded to above. Note, therefore, that Nkhata-Bay, Mzimba and Karonga districts are yet to start registering results on issues of fair trade, labour and consumer rights.
873 out of 1,912 committees from 16 districts were refresher trained on fair trade, labour and consumer rights in 16 districts excluding Nkhatabay, Mzimba and
Karonga districts. Refresher training will be completed in all the 16 districts during the next reporting period. Commencement of the activity was delayed due to the busy elections calendar which utilised the same targeted volunteers.
NOT Achieved (Gap for CRC training is 374 CRCs while for CRC refresher training it is 1039 CRCs in 16 districts)
Indicator 3: No. of CRCs reporting identification and resolution of consumers rights issues.
Baseline: 980
Target: 1,470 CRCs and 61 RLCs
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress:
1087 CRCs and 61 RLCs championed consumer protection initiatives resulting in the setting up of monitoring committees to monitor the use of approved and assized trading scales as well as promote vigilance against the sale of expired products and the exploitative barter trade that exchanges agricultural products with cheap plastic kitchen utensils. Un-assized scales were withdrawn, in some instances with the help of Malawi Bureau of Standards and the Police, and expired goods destroyed while the barter trade was stopped in many areas. Consumers are also sensitized to guard against these malpractices.
Fully achieved for RLCs and partially achieved for CRCs (Gap: 383). Matters under this indicator are more seasonal and therefore mostly prevalent during the agriculture marketing season.
Indicator 4: No. of CRCs reporting identification and resolution of labour rights issues.
Baseline: 980
Target: 1,470
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress:
1107 CRCs and 32 RLCs mobilized communities to stand up for the protection of children’s rights, and to fight against child labour and exploitation and other abuses.
Monitoring exercises in child labour prone areas like Lakes Malawi, Chilwa and
Chiuta, the commercial agriculture farming areas and Trading Centres were also
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intensified. 2524 Children (1145 girls) were withdrawn from child labour, returned to their homes and, most of them, re-enrolled in schools.
The committees also sensitized the working class to demand fair labour practices.
The CRCs and RLCs intervened in cases of unfair dismissals and lack of occupational safety and, in the process, upheld the rights of workers. In one instance, they galvanized workers to form a Union in order to effectively engage with their employers on the fulfillment of labour rights.
Partially achieved (Gap: 363 for CRCs and 29 for RLCs)
Indicator 5: No. of CRCs reporting identification of fair markets and resolution of exploitative trade practices.
Baseline: 980
Target: 1,470
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress:
1225 CRCs and 59 RLCs took measures to eliminate exploitative trading practices and the tendency by Vendors to offer ridiculously low prices as well as force people into using unconventional methods of measurements. Communities created groups, such as associations, to jointly address the commonest exploitative tendency of forcing people to accept and use the unfair barter trading system. Pooling together their products in groups also ensured better and profitable prices through their ability to identify and attract profitable markets for their pooled products. It also enhanced information sharing for easy market identification leading to reduced reliance on the exploitative middlemen.
FULLY achieved . Matters under this indicator are also seasonal and therefore more prevalent during the agriculture marketing season.
Indicator 6: No. of CRCs engaged in IGAs
Baseline: NA
Target: 300
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress:
1365 CRCs and 59 RLCs engaged in various income generating activities like
Village Savings and Loans Groups (VSLs), bee keeping, fish farming, soap and candle making as well as producing energy saving stoves for sale.
FULLY Achieved (Gap: target exceeded)
Indicator 5:
Number of radio programmes produced and broadcast
Planned: 208
MoV: Progress Reports
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Progress:
Radio programs continued to play their traditional role of complementing the grassroots based projects in covering fair trading, labour and consumer rights issues and bringing out lessons learnt. They also continued to provide a unique channel for connecting duty bearers with right holders and exposing failures and lapses in the performance of duties. The media coverage’s far reaching effect also galvanised interest in other communities to emulate the examples set by those covered. See under Output 1 indicator 4, for details of media productions.
FULLY Achieved (see above for detail)
OUTPUT 3: Community members facilitating voter education for the right to
development and good governance
Indicator: %ge of public who are knowledgeable about electoral processes
Baseline: NA
Target: NA
MoV: Progress Reports
Progress:
Output not funded.
Despite the absence of election specific funding, CBEs, CRCs and RLCs actively participated, either on their own or in partnership with other accredited organisations, in raising awareness and encouraging community participation in the
2014 tripartite elections. The volunteers were also vigilant in guarding against lapses and apathy in the process which could have seen some polling processes managed poorly or very few people turning out to vote. The volunteers engaged appropriate duty bearers to ensure that challenges were resolved promptly while at the same time calling on the community members to go and vote for candidates of their choice without being induced or coerced on who to vote for.
CRCs and RLCs played a great role in engaging Parliamentary Election Candidates to sign social contracts with the communities (CRC & RLC facilitated the signing of such contracts in 45 constituencies from across the country), fighting electoral malpractices like violence as well as bias in allocation of campaign rally venues, intimidation of voters by traditional leaders forcing their subjects to vote for the leaders’ preferred candidates and other forms of electoral related malpractices.
Some CRCs also facilitated constituency and ward level debates to enable candidates explain their plans and visions as well as enable voters put across their aspirations. As a result a consensus was reached in many areas with regard to what the development agenda should be post May 2014.
PARTIALLY Achieved, although no formal assessment of the output was done.
Output 4: Right to development-centred effective and efficient management, partnership formation and monitoring and evaluation of the Programme
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Indicator 1: Number of strategic partners facilitating the meeting of demands by
DCP supported communities
Baseline: 15
Target: 17
MOV: Progress reports
Progress:
During the year, the Programme advertised for partners to implement the project in
4 additional districts of Balaka, Blantyre, Dowa, and Kasungu. Unfortunately, the first response was not satisfactory and, consequently, the process took very long.
In the end, Centre for Youth and Children’s Affairs and CHINANSI Foundation were allocated Kasungu and Balaka districts respectively while Dowa was allocated to CHRR, an existing IP for Salima. A suitable IP could not be identified for
Blantyre.
IPs continued to network with other organisations at various levels, including
District Executive Committee (DEC) and other district networks. New partnerships were forged to deal with elections related issues. For instance, the Programme agreed to partner with OXFAM on its “ improved access to profitable markets
” campaign which targeted aspiring Presidential and Parliamentary candidates.
Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) and National Initiative for Civic
Education (NICE) were another set of institutions with which the IPs networked.
CDC’s
Mbaliyanga program extensively engaged MEC to clarify electoral issues which were then serialised in Mbaliyanga episodes.
IPs continued to invite various duty bearers to review meetings to share relevant information with CBFs, especially on what services they offer and how the services could be accessed. Further, the Programme Office and the Anti-Corruption Bureau
(ACB) agreed to take advantage of review meetings for the ACB to deliver a presentation on ‘ Community participation in the fight against corruption ’.
Consequently ACB made such presentations in Mwanza, Mulanje, Nkhata-Bay,
Ntcheu, Mangochi, Chikwawa and Rumphi districts.
Fully Achieved
Indicator 2: % of implementation partners indicating satisfaction with support from
DCP Baseline: 100%; Target: 100%
MOV: Perception survey reports
Progress:
Perception survey yet to be conducted
Indicator 3: Programme Steering Committee (PSC) and Stakeholder Consultative
Forum (SCF) resolutions showing satisfaction with Programme implementation
Baseline: None
Target: Undefined
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Progress :
No PSC meeting was held during the reporting period initially due to the busy elections schedule and later as a result of a vacancy in the Office of the Chairman of the PSC as well as instability in the leadership of various institutions making up the PSC.
Stakeholder Consultative Forum (SCF) held for District Paralegal Officers and
Project Managers from 14 institutions in April, 2014. The forum shared experiences, discussed the Programme implementation strategy and reporting guidelines and addressed common challenges.
Partially achieved (Gap: 100% for PSC and fully Achieved for annual SCF) .
Indicator 4: Average % funds absorption rate per year
Baseline: 92%
Target: 97%
Progress:
Progress for this indicator is reported under paragraph E, financial Status and
Utilization.
Indicator 5: Number of people trained or refresher-trained in RBA and RBM
Baseline: 79
Target: 85
Progress:
ToT for Executive Directors, District Managers and Project Officers on RBA and
RBM for Balaka, Dowa and Kasungu districts as well as for selected District
Information Officers conducted in December at Linde Motel, Mponela. 20 (3 female) participants attended. It also included members of staff from other IPs, directly associated with the programme, who had not been trained before.
The SCF also offered an opportunity to revise the programme’s implementation strategy covering elements of RBA and RBM.
Fully achieved
For a sample of success stories registered under Outputs 1 and 2, please see Annex
IV.
Bi-annual review meetings aimed at sharing experiences and best practices among
CBFs were held in all the target districts except Mzimba, Nkhatabay, Karonga, Ntchisi,
Chikwawa, Phalombe, Mulanje and Nkhotakota where only one review meeting was held. A range of duty bearers, including the ACB, Farmers Union of Malawi, as well as representatives from successful local Cooperatives/Associations were invited to interact with the CBFs and share experiences on their operations and best practices.
The review meetings also served as revision forums for the training manuals in readiness for the rolling out of the CRC refresher training sessions. In addition, CRCs
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undertook learning visits to other committees in their neighboring districts. 1 CBF each from Mangochi and Ntcheu visited Nkhatabay as model CBFs during the latter’s review meeting. Further, CARD organized a learning visit for its new Mulanje District
Paralegal Officer to learn from his counterparts in Zomba and Phalombe. YONECO organized 4 CBFs and their CRC members from TA Liwonde, Machinga, to visit Ntaja
CRC, TA Ntaja, in the same district. One (1) CBF each from Mangochi and Ntcheu visited Nkhatabay as model CBFs. 16 CRC members (7 female) from Dambo la Wana and Kanjamwano Rice Farmers Associations in TA Malengachanzi, Nkhotakota, visited Bwanje Rice Farmers Cooperative in TA Kachindamoto, Dedza.
C. Gender Mainstreaming
As per its design, gender mainstreaming continued to guide implementation across all programme activities. Further, all activities continued to proffer special consideration to the needs and challenges besetting vulnerable groups, namely; women, the elderly, people with disabilities and those infected and affected by HIV/Aids, youth and children. This decision was primarily based on the prevailing gender and other imbalances, as a result of which deliberate efforts were made to promote participation of vulnerable groups. For instance, by design, women are supposed to comprise 40% of the various local committees and take up leadership positions. Already, slightly over
50 % of CRCs and around 70% of the RLC membership is made up of women, with a good number of them having taken up leadership positions.
Based on the bulk of the challenges and the adopted implementation guiding principles, most of the issues being addressed have something to do with addressing the gender and other imbalances. Consequently, community iterative assessments and action taking on local challenges were particularly designed to address the prevailing gender disparities and the need to prioritise the needs of women and other vulnerable groups.
Consequently, women realised more benefits from the projects and initiatives being brought to their communities as most of the community rights challenges being addressed by the Programme were those that had a greater negative effect on them and the interventions were specifically designed to improve their well-being and status. For instance, lack of Under-5 clinics, access to potable water and improved sanitation facilities are particularly harsh on women and the girl-child and were consequently prioritised.
The need for social inclusion also informed the work of the community volunteer structures which ensured that women and other vulnerable groups either equally benefitted or were prioritised as beneficiaries from Government safety net programs.
Further, women were major players in wealth creation schemes which saw more women start and benefit from savings clubs in their communities through which they accessed capital and used it to get into small scale business ventures. This ability to earn their own income gave many women the necessary confidence in themselves and also freed them from some of the worst forms of abuses.
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In a bid to enhance the attainment of the girl child in education, many communities instituted bye-laws promote girls’ enrolment and attendance in school which contributed towards curbing early marriages which are often as a result of poor attitudes among parents that see them favouring boys to remain in school while girls are brought up to learn how to manage a home and are then married off whenever the family feels they are a burden or as a means of accessing support from men.
It should also be noted that most of the beneficiaries of the free paralegal services were women who were able to access justice, a service that is generally not easily accessible for most women, especially for those based in rural areas.
And finally, presentation of project information was done with gender disaggregated data to demonstrate the extent of gender mainstreaming.
D. Status of key Partnerships and inter-agency/departmental collaboration in the area of the outcome
The Programme is implemented through partners, who constitute the Programme’s primary partners. During the reporting period, the Programme renewed partnerships for all its 14 IPs to continue implementing the 4 media and 10 grass-root based projects.
As already alluded to earlier, towards the end of the year, an additional two partners were identified. CEYCA and CHINANSI Foundation were identified to implement projects in Kasungu and Balaka respectively while Dowa district was awarded to
CHRR, an already existing DCP partner.
All IPs continued to be active members of their respective DECs and other district networks. In view of the 2014 Tripartite General Elections, new partnerships were forged to deal with elections related issues. For instance, the Programme agreed to partner with OXFAM on its ‘ Access to Agricultural Markets ’ campaign which targeted aspiring Presidential and Parliamentary candidates. MESN and NICE were another set of institutions, at the heart of electoral matters, with which the IPs networked. CDC’s
Mbaliyanga program extensively engaged the MEC to clarify electoral issues.
Following the assumption of office by new City, Municipal, Town and District
Councils, a flurry of activity has ensued with IPs wanting to seek adequate direction on how Ward Councillors will work with their communities. MPs have not been spared the engagement as communities seek to attach meaning to the campaign promises.
E. Lessons Learnt
The main lessons learnt during the reporting period were:
mutual trust and cordial relations between project staff, CBFs, CRC and RLC members as well as traditional and other opinion leaders at local level is a success factor in project implementation;
the electoral campaign period presents a unique set of opportunities during which
Parliamentary candidates are more responsive to demands by communities; and
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continuous engagement with duty bearers leads to a better understanding of project purpose and improved relations resulting in duty bearers becoming more responsive;
continuous capacity building of volunteer structures is crucial for the success of the
Programme;
motivation and retention of project staff is core to the success and sustainability of projects; and
effective networking and collaboration among stakeholders at district level results into timely and effective realization of project objectives.
G. Challenges
The following challenges had an impact on Programme delivery:
(a) unresponsive duty bearers: this development was to a greater extent caused by lack of resources in public institutions as a result of the fraud and theft of substantial amounts of public resources that happened in the last half of 2013;
(b) increased political sensitivity occasioned by the tripartite elections which impacted negatively on delivery of project activities as the community was heavily polarised; and
(c) a combined busy farming season and hectic electoral calendar resulted in rescheduling of community training sessions in Karonga, Nkhata-Bay and
Mzimba districts to the latter part of the reporting period. This also led to failure to complete them during the stipulated time.
(d) Due to busy schedules the project failed to organise a high level (Heads of
Institutions) field visit. Technical personnel in the implementing and funding institutions however managed to conduct a joint monitoring visit in the North whose feedback has assisted in planning for the 2015 annual workplan.
(e) The failure by the project to hold a steering committee meeting meant that oversight function suffered a setback. UNDP made efforts to write the OPC on the issue and is yet to get a reply.
H. Conclusion
The programme continued to register commendable progress with many communities transforming from being docile to active citizens demanding delivery of quality and affordable basic social services, respect for human rights in the delivery of public services as well as transparency and accountability. The election of councillors, after a long absence, will present an opportunity to grass root volunteers as they will now have a voice in the decision making fora at district level. The Programme proved relevant in addressing the challenges outlined in the situation analysis. It also demonstrated that it had the potential to contribute to the attainment of Vision 2020, theme 5 of MGDS
II and Outcome 4.1
of the current UNDAF
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Annexes
I: Programme Plan and Progress Matrix
II: Financial Report
III: List of institutions and projects supported by DCP IV
IV: Success Stories
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