Programme description

Title: Decentralisation for Rural Development
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Mozambique
Lead executing agency: Ministério da Planificação e Desenvolvimento (MPD)
Overall term: 2007 to 2013

Context

Mozambicans continue to suffer from the inadequate provision of public services. To change this, the government is working to strengthen local administrations in a decentralisation process which is taking place on two levels. On one level, the administrative bodies of the nine provinces and 128 districts are taking on functions that have until now been carried out in the capital, Maputo, and in the future, more decision-making will also take place locally. On another level, a process of democratic decentralisation is taking place. This has seen more than 40 autonomous municipalities come into existence since 1998.

Mozambique has made progress in establishing new structures. However, the local administrations are not yet able to provide the services they have been tasked with, to an acceptable standard of quality. Employees are often not sufficiently qualified, the necessary financial provisions are lacking, and clearly regulated administrative procedures have not yet been put in place.

Objective

Sub-national regional administrative bodies such as provinces, districts and autonomous municipal administrations have been strengthened. They provide services that benefit the poor segments of the population in particular. These changes are bringing progress in economic and social development.

Approach

The project is advising the relevant national ministries on establishing the proper conditions for decentralisation. It also supports the implementation of the national decentralisation programme in the three focal provinces of German development cooperation: Inhambane, Sofala and Manica. The national programme was developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Development with the participation of GIZ, and it is being financed by six international donors.

Priority areas of the national decentralisation programme include:

• Transfer of budgetary competences and functions to local administrations
• Strengthening of districts in the areas of planning, procurement, investment and financial management
• Promotion of political participation and development of district participation committees
• Modernisation of the system for internal and external monitoring of the uses of public funds
• Introduction of a monitoring system for district development

In addition, the project advises seven autonomous municipalities on urban planning, local financial management and participatory budget management.

Results achieved so far

Participatory bodies have been created in the districts and municipalities to facilitate dialogue between the state and civil society. Their representatives have a growing capacity to articulate their interests and to feed these inputs, for example, into strategies and budgetary planning. Measures for combating HIV/AIDS, for disaster prevention and for gender equality are being introduced into planning processes as well.

In several municipalities, better urban planning has brought improvements in the provision of basic infrastructure, such as safe drinking water, sewage systems and roads, to people living in poverty areas, who now also benefit from improved property usage rights. Through the development of inexpensive construction techniques and the promotion of local construction firms, on-site resources are being used more efficiently and local economic development is promoted.

Internal and external monitoring bodies, including the Mozambican court of auditors, have been established at a decentralised level, which has led to a marked increase in the number of audits being carried out. Whereas in 2006 only 164 audits took place, 2010 saw more than 600. Furthermore, these and other monitoring procedures have been adjusted to conform to international standards.