STATUS OF PRSPs IMPLEMENTAION IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

1

STATUS OF PRSPs IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
IMPLEMENTATION Key Successes Challenges By
Barbara Kalima-Phiri Southern Africa
Trust 20-21st November, 2006
2
1. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND

• Origins of PRSPs
• core principles
• pressures from Global Jubilee Campaign
• 1995 James Wolfenson
• 1997 - ESAF evaluation

3

2. Key Lessons Successes of PRSP 1 (Formulation)

• key instruments of accountability and
  transparency - aid relationship bwt donors and
  recipients
• become country-level operational framework for
  progress towards MDGs (specific focus and
  attention on county specific constraints to
  development)
• sharper focus on poverty reduction, more open
  participatory processes and greater attention to
  monitoring poverty related outcomes
• Greater ownership of PRSP process by technocratic
  Ministries such as MOF - does not translate into
  country ownership
• Gleneagles G-8 Summit 2005 vs poverty levels

4

2. Key Lessons Challenges of PRSP 1 (Formulation)

• Time constraints
• Poor institutional arrangements
• Limited participation, consultation involvement
• Weak poverty analysis policy sequencing
• - Eg. Data used lacked depth
  comprehensiveness, gender disaggregated data
  unavailable on plight of marginalized groups
  missing eg Tanzania (10yr old Hsehold survey
  Data)
• Quality data is essential for contingency
  planning and trade-off analysis crucial areas
  of achieving real progress in PRSP content

5

Challenges of PRSP 1 ..cont..

• Bruce Imboela Zambias PRSPs - champions a
  neoliberal program constructed on the sanctity of
  the market and seeks to maintain the very
  structural processes that engender poverty.
• - Because it fails to break, conceptually and
  methodologically, from past program failures, the
  PRSP is likely to be just the latest installment
  in the ever-changing fashionable semantics of the
  development community . IMPLICATION FOR THIS -
  NO POVERTY REDUCTION
• Another missing element of PRSPs - was lack of
  support to productive sectors, incl. small and
  medium sized enterprises and small farmers and
  rural entrepreneurs. In the majority of cases
  these critical groups are supposed to benefit
  from subsidies THIS DIDNT HAPPEN
• unless poverty reduction strategies actively
  integrate the poor into the productive sectors,
  poverty will not be reduced, and growth will
  either not transpire or will be inherently
  inequitable.

6
3. Implementation status

• 2005 49 countries - full PRSPs
• (half in sub-Saharan Africa almost similar
  proportion in HIPICs)
• 11 more produced IPRSPs and 10 initiated
  processes that could result in a full PRS
• In southern Africa 5 out of 14 fully
  completed, eg Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia,
  Malawi Lesotho Tanz. and Moza among the 1st
  wave of countries that adopted and finalized
  PRSPs, and in both cases a second generation PRSP
  completed in 2005
• Implementation timeframe - on average, for just
  over two and a half years.
• Several countries - in process of revising their
  original strategies. eg Burkina Faso, Uganda -
  already done so

7
Implementation status continued

• The DR Congo - recently finalised its full PRSP,
  which has to be submitted and approved by the
  World Bank/IMF
• Angolan cabinet approved the countrys poverty
  reduction strategy (Estratégia de Combate à
  Pobreza, ECP) in early 2004 was scheduled for a
  Joint Assessment by the World Bank and the IMF
  during the first quarter of 2006
• Zim. ongoing discussions on possibility of
  preparing a PRSP - but current political
  situation has forestalled this from being
  developed. - April 2006, the government
  released the National Economic Development
  Priority Plan (NEDPP).
• 6 Countries not eligible for PRSPs

8
Southern African countries finished or finalizing
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)
(January 2006)

Source Adapted from Roberts (2006)
9
Southern African countries not eligible for
PRSPs (Jan 06)
10
4. Keys issues in implementation

• Ownership
• Financing
• Participation processes
• Policy targeting and impact on poverty

11
Ownership

• PRSPs vs other develp. Plans no harmonization,
  role of govt. decision making unclear
  consolidation on plans
• Ministries of Finance not fully engaged link
  bwt plans and budget lost
• New structures/PRSP Units created on top of
  existing ones influence of funding
• Boards of IMF/WB Still endorses good/bad Prsps
  undermines ownership

12
Financing

• General agreement - donor hamornisation
  alignment
• Effective implementation happening now in many
  countries eg Tanzania, Mozambique, Ethiopia etc
• CSO Coordination and engagement Intermediary
  initiatives
• Debt servicing obligations, trade losses
• Donor vs citizen accountability

13
Participatory processes

• PRSP 1 clear CSO participation mechanism
• New challenge failure to maintain participation
  during implementation
• Growing sense and urgency to define roles
• - NGOs (info. Disseminators, watch dog role,
  PEM)
• - Private Sector (beneficiaries of tenders)
• - Parliaments growing role in parl. oversight

14
Policy Targeting and impact on poverty

• MDG Targets vs PRSPs
• Misalignment bwt PRSP plans MDG targets
  timeline 3-5 yrs vs 2015
• Difficulty in translating medium term goals into
  year by year national budgets
• Lack of prioritization PRSP wish list lack of
  focus
• Positive trend increasing expenditures towards
  aspects (data for 27 countries)
• Caution public spending - not better results
  poverty reduction but budget outlays indicate PRS
  implementation
• 40 of 230 million population in SADC abject
  poverty

15
What policies and processes to drive poverty
reduction?

• Right mix of rights based and sustainable
  livelihood approaches
• Adoption of responsive policies processes (Global
  Monitoring Report)
• CSO priorities monitoring poverty trends and
  gaps, institutionalization of participation,
  regional agenda informed by evidence based
  analysis
• Cost effective monitoring and evaluation
  techniques

16
Conclusion

• it is clear that as countries move towards the
  next stage in the PRSP process issues of
  ownership, financing, participation, and policy
  targeting becomes crucial to the success of the
  implementation of poverty reduction strategies.
• Thank you!