Where the work of others has been used, this is duly acknowledged in the text. During the 1960s and 1970s, the IMF and World Bank lent excessively to Third World countries when the value of the dollar fell. This means that while the initiative must be led by the government, all sectors of society must contribute to the formulation of the PRS paper.
Structural Adjustment Programmes
HIPC and the MDGs
Introduction of the PRSPs
What this means is that the PRS document must be a very detailed document that addresses aspects specific to poverty and underdevelopment. Third, the PRS document must be comprehensive, meaning that integration is a way to overcome poverty.
National Ownership and Broad Participation
In the context of the PRS process, the term 'ownership' does not have a universal definition. Broad participation is one of the main conditions for the creation of PRS documents. In the last decade, civil society has moved to the center of the international stage.
In order for civil society to participate effectively in the formulation of PRS Documents, participation must be institutionalized. This takes into account who dominated the process and whether mechanisms were established in which civil society was able to participate effectively in the formulation of the PRS Document. These are standard but important requirements that civil society organizations would need to effectively participate in the formulation of the PRS Document.
Overall, civil society members were present on most committees, making the entire process inclusive. The article produced by the CSPR was used in the PRS article, which showed that civil society had influence on the content of the PRS article. The participation of civil society groups in participating in the FNDP process is very similar to the first PRS process and the document put together by civil society was presented to the government.
A major criticism of the PRS process and the PRS paper is their similarities to the SAPs. Second, participation in the first round was not effective because the PRS process was rushed and civil society organizations did not have much influence on the content of the PRS papers. National ownership was further strengthened in the second round of the PRS process with the government's willingness and cooperation.
A Concept of Public Participation
Ownership and Public Participation
Moreover, the program's decision-making process and its outcomes are likely to arouse interest among citizens. National leadership plays a role when there is political will in implementing development strategies. Furthermore, a government loses credibility because these initiatives are not put forward by leaders who people voted for and who should be doing so in the first place.
As for Poverty Reduction Strategies, governments are expected to have control and therefore it would be their responsibility to ensure effective implementation of the strategies. First, the PRS process has become the new way for donors to interact with beneficiary countries, and second, there are many attributes of participation that are hoped to be achieved in the PRS process. According to IMF and World Bank guidelines, broad participation is described as involving as wide a spectrum of government as possible, which also extends to parliament; the inclusion of a wide range of civil society participants and other stakeholders in order to represent the views of the poor, as well as the participation of major donors and multilateral institutions32.
The benefit of public participation is that it deepens democracy in the sense that "it can increase the transparency of decision-making, improve the government's accountability to the people, and consequently increase the general management and economic efficiency of development activities"33. The government is put under control to take care of the country with the support of its citizens.
Public Participation and Civil Society
One way of defining civil society is as "a sphere of institutions, organizations and individuals located between the family, the state and the market, in which people voluntarily come together to pursue common interests"38. First, the end of communism influenced (to some extent) the rise of civil society organizations. Although some civil society organizations have become part of the government, the change to a democratic government has created opportunities.
The rise of civil society in Africa differs from that of its Western and European counterparts. States opposed the involvement of civil society groups because they were once seen as a force of resistance against the state. Legislation should be introduced to ensure the participation of non-governmental organizations and civil society groups in the development process.
In Malawi, participation was not institutionalized and the involvement of civil society was rather weak. Governments cannot consult civil society when appropriate; consultation and collaboration must be an ongoing process.
Ownership and Conditionality
Introduction of and Background to the PRSP
Institutional Structures
CSO Participation in the PRS
Mozambique
Introduction of and Background to thePRSP
Institutional Structures
CSO Participation in the PRS
Tanzania
Introduction of and Background to the PRSP
In December 2000, the boards of the IMF and the World Bank approved the first PRS paper. In February 2005, the second PRS Paper, i.e. the 'National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction' (NSGRP) was approved by the government. The contents of the Mkukutha document appear more substantial than the first PRS paper.
For example, the strategy for education in PRS Paper 1 set the enrollment rate the country wanted to achieve, i.e.: 'increase gross primary enrollment to 85%93. Unlike the first PRS Paper, the Mkukutha takes into account gender, disability and the year in which the targets are to be achieved. For example, the document records an 'increased gross and net enrollment of boys and girls, including children with disabilities, in primary schools from 90.5% in 2004 to 99% in 2010'95.
The difference in content clearly shows that the second process paid more attention to the needs of the poor. This difference can be attributed to the participatory process that took place in the formulation of Mkukutha, discussed below.
Institutional Structures
CSO Participation in the PRS
The outcome of the PRS Paper's participatory process was that Tanzania's civil society came together and mobilized around the PRS Paper in a supportive and positive manner. The PRS process has strengthened ties between civil society organizations in the North and South and enabled greater exchange of information. Curran illustrates that civil society organizations had very little influence on the content of the PRS document and that the process was very rushed97.
As civil society organizations were neither part of any decision-making nor influenced the content of the PRS Paper, it can be argued that the process lacked effective participation. Stakeholder groups were invited to participate in discussions around the priority areas in the document. The hearing process for Mkukutha was not rushed as it ran for a full year.
Furthermore, Mkukutha was more focused on results, in the sense that the document dealt with economic growth and poverty reduction. Also, participation was institutionalized in Tanzania, through civil society membership in the steering committee and technical working groups.
Zambia
Introduction of and Background to the PRSP
The first draft of the PRS paper was released in 2001 and the final draft was approved by the IMF and World Bank in May 2002. After the two-year implementation period was over, the second generation PRS paper was approved in 2006. The issues addressed were very priority specific and contained 10 chapters, namely agriculture, industry, tourism, mining, education, health, water and sanitation, energy, transport, communication, roads, and various cross-cutting issues such as HIV/Aids, Gender and the Environment.
Institutional Structures
This suggests that at the outset, priorities were well defined as no changes were required. The DDCC produced a report outlining the priorities of various sectors, for example, agriculture, social sectors and various cross-cutting issues. For example, a strategy to be used specific to gender development included, “facilitating the participation of women and girls in entrepreneurship and income-generating activities”104.
CSO Participation in the PRS
Civil society groups established an umbrella organization called the 'Civil Society for Poverty Reduction' (CSPR) in October 2000. After consultations in the various provinces, the CSPR produced a document called the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for Zambia: A Civil Society Perspective'. . Second, civil society's participation only lasted until the first draft of the PRS paper indicating that they had no representation on other committees and therefore felt isolated from the process.
Furthermore, 80% of civil society responses indicated that the PRS concept was understood and embraced by civil society112. In the FNDP, CSPR continued its activities to ensure that civil society contributed to the document. They carried out cross-sectoral analyzes based on civil society consultation meetings with communities and other groups.
Formal and informal mechanisms have been put in place to enable civil society to participate in the PRS process. The thematic working groups were established specifically to enable civil society groups to participate in the PRS process.
Has national ownership been achieved in the formulation of the PRS
This means that the PRS idea goes beyond poverty reduction, as it also focuses on the functioning of institutions, relations with foreign donors and the way the country is run. Second Meeting of the African Study Group on Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: PRSP Process in Zambia. IMF Country Report, 2003 'Malawi: Joint Service Assessment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Progress Report.
Assessing Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: A Desk-Based Synthesis of Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers--Operational Issues: December 10, 1999 http://www.imf.org/external/np/pdr/prsp/poverty1.htm. 2006: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Economic and Social Plan 2005. http://www.creditguarantee.co.za/Country%20Reports/Tanzania-.
What is the HIPC initiative? http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/faq/faq_docs/HIPC.shtml. National Meeting of Stakeholders for the 5th National Development Plan http://www.cspr.org.zm/press24-07-06.html.
