Programme description

Title: Local Development through Good Municipal Governance (PROMUDEL)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
Country: Guatemala
Lead executing agency: Office of the Vice-President of Guatemala
Overall term: 2006 to 2012

Context

The signing of the peace accord in Guatemala in 1996 after 36 years of civil war created the foundation for a process of peace and reconciliation. The accord contains an agenda of key economic, social, political and legal reforms, but there is still a long way to go to eliminate the conflict’s root causes. At the municipal level, most local authorities and organised civil society are still unable to carry out core municipal tasks. Moreover, the majority of the marginalised population is still not in a position to participate adequately in the shaping of political will or in economic development.

Objective

Selected municipalities in four departments practise good governance characterised by efficiency and transparency. Municipal services have tangibly improved and cooperation and communication between local government and civil society are strengthened.

Approach

The programme region includes municipalities in the departments of Alta and Baja Verapaz, Quiché and Huehuetenango. The programme, with joint financing by Germany and Sweden, works mainly with municipal authorities, local development councils and other representatives of organised civil society.

The work of the development councils at the village and municipal level, which has enjoyed legal recognition since 2002, is being consolidated. Thanks to the development councils, disadvantaged population groups, such as indigenous peoples as well as women and young people, are better integrated. The municipal councils accept the role of these participatory committees and consult with them on development measures.

The programme – known in the region as Programa Municipios para el Desarrollo Local (PROMUDEL) – simplifies bureaucratic procedures, ensures that municipal councils use existing financial management systems in decision-making, and helps raise local authorities’ capacity to generate their own income.

The programme also actively supports municipal services. Working in close cooperation with the population in poorer settlement areas, the municipalities are piloting the implementation of small-scale model infrastructure projects with 50 per cent financing through local subsidies. The aim is to reduce the distrust that has grown between the authorities and inhabitants of these neglected regions, and to establish joint decision-making and implementation mechanisms.

Results achieved so far

The programme advises 35 municipalities in the four departments. Twenty-five municipalities have improved their management of municipal services, such as water supply, wastewater disposal (sewerage), and waste disposal. Local grants awarded to improve services at local level have enabled implementation of 116 projects that reach 107,000 beneficiaries. Twenty-five municipalities have increased their own revenues by more than 30 per cent, and in 22 municipalities the municipality development council (COMUDE) is functioning correctly. In 27 municipalities, more than half of the investment budget is devoted to projects that were proposed by the village development councils and reviewed in the COMUDE.

Fourteen municipal councils inform the COMUDE of their local financial situation and the projects’ progress every four months. Newly established offices for promoting opportunities for women (in 35 municipalities) and for young people (9 municipalities) as well as for improving public services demonstrate that municipalities are making significant strides in exercising their responsibilities. Bilingual citizens’ information points have been set up in 32 municipalities, providing information about the various municipal proceedings and units in Spanish and in the local Maya language.