Summer School on Good Governance in the context of the European Integration Institutions-Rights-Societies
Good Governance in Development Cooperation:
The case of the Italian cooperation with Burkina Faso
Daniele Gizzi
University of Pisa
1. Introduction
The purpose of this work is to explain how Italian’s Public Administration tries to support local development of some sub-Saharan countries through the strengthening of local institutions, in particular supporting the computerization and training.
The project that is analyzed is led by the “Istituzione Centro Nord Sud” an Agency of the Province of Pisa[1].
It is responsible for international development cooperation. Despite it acts like an Non Government Organization it is at all the effects a Public Agency.
The project's objective is to strengthen and promote institutions and networks of African civil societies (in particular Burkina Faso) in decentralized economic cooperation, aimeing at local economic and social development of the involved countries. For many years the European countries have been active in Africa within international cooperation programs to improve the Publics Administration[2].
The project will support the decentralization process underway in sub-Saharan African countries, through the training of administrators and officials, the logistical support computerization for the management of some services and to facilitate networking and the implementation of electricity supply to essential services. The project gets on the Euro-African Partnership for Decentralization Governance[3], sponsored by the Department for Economic and Social Affairs of United Nations[4], the Regional Council of Tuscany and the European Commission.
The project's activities are: training administrators, improving building capacity of local administrators, installation of computer workstations, planning and management of micro-local development interventions, meetings and missions.
The first part of the paper analyzes the social context in which the project operates: the social and economic conditions of Burkina Faso's Local Authorities and the services offered to citizens. The second part analyzes the objectives and the direct and indirect beneficiaries. The third part describes the actions that were implemented to achieve the aims of the project. The last part will focus on the analysis of the expected results, on the monitoring and final evaluation. Particular attention will be given to the methodology of action both to the problems that arise during the course of the project.
At the end the project seems to have improved the administration and the good governance of the beneficiary subjects. All the expected results were achieved and the project can be replicated in other contexts.
In spite of this I have found right and useful to conclude the paper with my personal evaluations and founding report on the project that could be useful for its future implementation in other contexts.
2. Burkina Faso's context and problems
The Public Administration in Burkina Faso has many structural deficiencies caused by the State's poverty and lack of stability: the state has been one of the first beneficiaries of the World Bank debt-relief and poverty reduction programs for highly indebted poor countries. Around 20% of the government budget is financed from international aid and most of the investments concerning infrastructures are externally financed. Growth rates have been more than 5% between 1990 and 2002[5].
Before the independence period the urban society was characterized as weak or less structured: after that moment the cooperation between the actors, such as local communities and civil society, increased quickly.
Moreover Burkina Faso Constitution (1991) acknowledges the local authorities and admits the devolutions of powers.
In August 1998 Burkina Faso embarked on decentralization governed by Law No. 40/98.
Article 6 defined local communities as province and commune. The municipality can be qualified as urban or rural. In addiction to these two kinds of local governments, there are other types of administrative entities: Province, Department, and village. The administration entities represent the authority of the central government at local level. The Province is both an administrative entity and a local community. Also the local authorities have legal personality and financial autonomy.
In Burkina Faso, decentralization policy is dictated by the ability of the local community to mobilize local financial resources to run the local government. A “rural commune” should at least have 5,000 inhabitants and local economic activities should be a potential of generating at least CFA 5 millions. The thresholds for an “urban commune” are 10,000 inhabitants and CFA 15 millions in receipts[6]. The commune, rural or urban, operates a balanced budget. The administrative city of a Province or a Department has the status of a commune regardless of these thresholds. A commune that has been unable to collect 75% of its budget revenue for 3 budget years will loose its status of autonomous local government. An urban commune could be reclassified into rural commune.
In this regard they can undertake any activity aimed at promoting economic, social and cultural development of the local authorities. A municipality or province can pass or get in contract with other economic entities of the State. It also can engage in cooperation with other public national or foreign entities. The administrative bodies are numerous, such as Boards, Committees, and Councils.
In 1995 was founded the Association of major which became in 2001 the so-called Association of Municipalities of Burkina Faso (MBF)[7]. The association has advisory powers but represents a Municipalities' primordial board.
Administrative Architecture of Burkina Faso Today
Name[8] / Deliberative body / Executive / Date of creationProvinces
(45) / High Commissary / Created in 1984
Departements
(350) / Prefect (Préfet)
Villages
(8.000)
Regions
(13) / Regional Council / President of regional council / Created in 2001
Election in 2006
Communes urbaines
(49) / Municipal Council / Mayor / Election in 1995, 2000
Communes rurales
(302) / Rural Council / Mayor / Election in 2006
Comité Villageois développement / Rural council / President of the committee / No formal elections
www.un.org
The region includes all communes on its territory. The region is the anchor for development coordination and planning an economic arena[9].
The boundaries of urban communes are temporary, since they incorporated parts of the rural hinterland during the process of “communalization” of the territory. The final communal border have been drawn up in 2009. The Commune Rurale is a group of villages.
Both urban and rural communes are responsible for the construction and management of most basic socio-economic infrastructures such as rural roads, primary health care centers, drinking water supply systems.
The mandates of the communes cover around eleven areas of responsibilities:
· Land
· Communal development and physical planning
· Environment and natural resources management
· Planning and economic development
· Health and hygiene
· Education, literacy and vocational training
· Culture, sports and leisure
· Civil defense, assistance, and social protection
· Water and electricity
The powers devolved are many, while the resources are limited. For this reason the decentralization process is slow. The Municipalities' few resources can't meet the costs. The fiscal devolution is under the 5% of the total national revenues. The self-financing is insufficient. Overall, the financial resources of local governments are inadequate. This is largely explained by the fact that communities' own resources remain low. The volume of the resources of municipalities comes from duties, taxes and the contribution which are allocated by the State. Despite of this, fiscal decentralization system of Burkina Faso remains quite arbitrary. According to the 2004 Code[10], the amount of the funds created to transferring resources to the local governments are subject to yearly decisions, through the central budget law. The modalities of their repartition are also determined each year jointly by the Ministry of Finance and Budget and by the Ministry of Decentralization[11]. Yearly made decisions may be detrimental to financial planning and especially for investment. The borrowing power of local government is limited to development investment. The lack of resources has a direct consequence on good administration[12]. The corruption is the first problem of Public Administration[13]. The Central Government called two new anti-corruption bodies into existence in 2001 to stop that social pathology[14]. In October 2001 President Blaise Compaoré has been elected member of the National Ethics committee, in orfer to suggesting measures to “moralise” public life[15]. The project provides technology and training to improve the few resource management.
The training includes seminaries on ethical code and particularly it focuses on accountability and transparency[16].
In 2009, in CPI[17] Rating Burkina Faso was placed in seventy-ninth position[18].
In a country like Burkina Faso, with heavy corruption and poor governance, the priority in anti-corruption efforts should be the establishment of the rule of law, strengthen institutions of participation and accountability, and to increase public and government awareness.
The human resources are quantitatively and qualitatively insufficient at local levels for the optimal implementation of decentralization and good governance.
In most rural municipalities, the provincial officials have became the main municipal officials: generally this officials have neither the training nor the necessary expertise to technically support the municipal councils, in which nearly 90% of the members are illiterate.
In addiction to this, to date most rural municipalities do not have General Secretary. In terms of services, the departments that are operational are only dealing with civil registration acts, like births, marriages, and deaths, and domain-related services.
Accounting and revenue collection services are often non-existent due to lack of accounting staff and collection agents.
This project tries to solve this problems.
3. Description of the project
The project aims to install a computer system in three municipalities in Burkina Faso. The objective is to improve the administrative functions. The quality of public administration is central to the achievement of poverty reduction.
Computerization is an essential step for good and correct administration. Computerization reduce and prevent data loss, errors and allows an efficient and systematic control of all administrative practices saving time and money.
The general objectives are:
I. The strengthening of the decentralization process in Burkina Faso.
II. The improvement of capacity of local planning and resource management.
III. The encouragement of democratic processes and local governance.
IV. The promotion of new methodologies to improve decision making and management.
V. The strengthening cooperation between European and African local authorities.
The specific objectives are:
I. The strengthening management capacity of municipalities involved.
II. The decrease of administrative procedures' inefficiencies and delays.
III. The Good Governance
IV. Permanent dialogue with the state and the local authority.
The indirect beneficiaries are the citizens of the municipalities and the decentralization national system. The project generates positive externalities and synergies with good influence for National Public Administration.
The direct beneficiaries are the municipalities involved and the administrative officials.
The activities planned to achieve the objectives are divided into two macro-areas. The first field includes the purchase of technology, the installation of equipment and the creation of a network between the computer stations.
The second field regards the technical training through seminars and conference. During the training will be given strong emphasis on ethical and moral aspects, essential for the Public Administration.
4. Intervention strategy
The project provides information technology in order to improve public administration and consequently spreading the Good Governance in Burkina Faso, because good governance is an essential precondition for sustainable development.
In fact, in the last decade, most of the innovative local and national government agencies in developed countries, have started applying the Information and Communication Technology to a growing number of public services. The potential benefits are numerous:
· Lower administrative costs.
· Faster and more accurate response to requests and queries.
· Access to all departments and levels of government from any location.
· Increasing the quality of feedback to managerial and policy levels.
The project follows some basic principles to obtain best results.
All actors are involved in the process of decision making. The strategies are participative and non-authoritative.
At the end the officials involved will be able to use the information technologies to solve the problems concerning the new technologies. Besides the officials gain knowledge on well-advanced methods of data storage.
At the same time of technical training there will be seminaries and conference. During the meeting will be explained the meaning and the importance of good governance and its principles.
The project underlines the main principles of good governance like:
· Acting in accordance with the law and human rights.
· Acting in accordance with the public body's policy and guidance.
· Taking proper account of established good practice.
· Providing effective services, using appropriately trained and competent staff.
· Taking reasonable decisions, based on all relevant considerations.
· Ensuring people can access services easily.
· Being open and clear about policies and procedures and ensuring that information, and any advice provided, is clear, accurate and complete.
· Keeping proper and appropriate records.
· Treating people without unlawful discrimination or prejudice, and ensuring no conflict of interests.
· Operating an effective complaints procedure, which includes offering a fair and appropriate remedy when a complaint is upheld.
· Ensuring proportionate, appropriate and fair decisions.
Public bodies must provide services that are easily accessible to their customers. Policies and procedures must be clear and there must be accurate, complete and understandable information about the service[19]. Actions and decisions of a public body must be free from any personal bias or interests that could prejudice those actions and decisions, and any conflict of interests should be declared. Public bodies must not show unjustifiably favours towards particular individuals or interests: this is important to understand better the spreading corruption in Burkina Faso's Public Administration.
Outline
5. Conclusion and Results
Results at the level of infrastructures and services development
In terms of infrastructures and services development, the results obtained are the complete digitalization of the transmission and commutation network of the municipalities involved, with the installation of a governmental Intranet linking. This type of information technology offers an exceptional chance for developing countries to improve technology and economic development. This opportunity is particularly important for Burkina Faso, a landlocked country, limited in terms of natural resources and therefore condemned to search for other comparative advantages. The complete “informatization” of the accounts departments, secretariats and the registry offices.