Report for CARE Egypt on the Validation of the

Governance Programming Framework

Report of the Governance program team workshop, 7-9 March, Cairo, Egypt

Section 1: Setting the context and description of work on governance

Concepts & Strategy

  • Do you have country office definitions of governance concepts?
  • Do you have a governance strategy? Does it include a TOC, hypothesis, assumption, breakthroughs etc?

CARE Egypt considers the lack of strong governance to be strongly connected to the persistence of poverty. One understanding of good governance is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the fulfillment of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law. Good local governance promotes transparency, accountability and the inclusion of citizens in upholding constitutional rights. In Egypt key challenges in creating a culture of good governance are the limited capacities of civil society institutions and the lack of opportunity for effective and widespread citizen participation. The participation of women and young people has been particularly limited, hindering the development of a strong and representative civil society.

CARE Egypt’s intent is to contribute to social justice and equity by enabling government, legal and media institutions to become effective duty bearers in upholding constitutional rights and for citizens, as rights bearers, to participate in exercising their rights through civil society organisations. One of CARE Egypt’s four programs is focused on governance, with a particular focus in promoting marginalised citizens’ rights, especially those of youth, in rural development and public services in Upper Egypt. Governance is also a cross cutting them across the other three programs.

As the responsibility for promoting a culture of rights and responsibilities lies among a number of institutions, groups and citizens, CARE Egypt’s strategy is to work with both the rights bearers, the programme’s impact and target groups who wish to fulfill their rights, as well as the duty bearers in government, law, civil society and the media.

CARE Egypt considers one of the key roles of local government and civil society organisations is to enable citizens the opportunity to participate in making policy decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. In addition, CARE Egypt recognizes therole of local media to provide citizens with objective, balanced, and fact-based information on local social and political affairs. The Governance and Civic Engagement Program pays particular attention to ensuring the meaningful participation of women in decision-making processes at all levels.

The Governance and Civic Engagement Programhas defined five domains of change based on major barriers / challenges to change and has aTOC in place but the domains of change need further refinement – and were partially refined before the end of our exercise - and a plan for testing the TOC and its potential risks need to be developed. The pathways and breakthroughs in the TOC also remain to be fully developed (Annex 1).

Description of work

  • What type of governance work do you do? Do you have a specific governance programme or project, or do you see governance as a theme that cross-cuts different programmes? Do you approach governance as a UCP?
  • Do you have dedicated governance staff? If not, what are your staff capacities to work on governance?

The impact group of the Governance and Civic Engagement Program goal is marginalized citizens, especially youth aged 18-35, in Upper Egypt. Its goal is for them to be actively engaged in local government mechanisms and practices, in ways that leads to their broader empowerment and furthers social justice and poverty eradication in society.The program has focused on the rights and needs of citizens in improving human and social conditions (UCP outcomes) by: supporting local government to implement processes that give citizens opportunities to express their views and participate; enhancing CSOs role in promoting good governance and holding local government accountable; advancing citizen, especially women and youth, engagement in local affairs to provide them with opportunities to express their views; and supporting media independence and their capacity to provide citizens with objective, balanced, and fact-based information.

On another note, the Governance and Civic Engagement Program has been disseminating policy briefs and developed good relations with the Ministry of Local Development (MOLD) that led to CARE Egypt partaking in the draft of the new law of local administration. Further planned efforts and adoption of advocacy as an approach to influence decision making is designed to take place in the coming period.

Other initiatives within the Governance Program areworking on CSOs capacity building, networking with other partners, and power relations between citizen and local government bodies. Gender inequality is addressed with respect to raisingawareness of the importance of including both men and women in governance processes. The Governance Programhas succeeded in bringing women into locally elected popular councils. However more action is needed on the policy level as all interventions are focusing mostly at the agency level of change, and to a limited degree on the social position level. Also more systemic changes in the beliefs and culture practices need to be designed.

Finally, through the World Bank, the program has extended its geographic reach and became a hub in the MENA region on social accountability methodologies and is providing TA on such participatory governance tools.

The Governance Program has a dedicated team including a Program Director, Initiatives Manager, Program Advisor, Youth & Women Specialist and a Program Administrative Assistant.

Domains and Sub Domains

  • Can you briefly describe whether and how you are working in each of the three domains and related sub domains of the GPF?
  • What type of work do you implement?
  • How are you working (directly, through partners etc)?
  • What type of partners are you working with? At what level (local, regional, national etc)?
  • What public authorities and other power holders you are working with? What type of work do you do? In what type of spaces (invited, popular etc)? What is CARE’s role?

CARE Egypt is currently implementing the following Governance & Civic Engagement initiatives:

On the Regional level - As a lead

The MENA Region Participatory Governance Capacity Building initiative (CARE is the lead partner in the MENA region with CIVICUS) – Targeting local government and civil society organizations (CSOs) to enhance the capacity of civil society and government actors in promoting participatory and accountable governance at local and national levels covering Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Yemen.

Strengthening Capacities for CSOs to Mainstream Social Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa – Affiliated Network for Social Accountability - ANSA/World Bank – The initiative (a) builds CSO capacities to use country-appropriate mechanisms and channels that enable civil society engagement with government departments and officials on emerging legislative and social issues; (b) initiates a process for an ANSA-MENA network of CSOs to share experiences with other participating CSOs.

On the National level - As a lead

The Partnership Program for Democracy and Governance –PPDG/USAID (CARE is Prime) - PPDG aims to increase the capacity of local government officials and politicians, civil society actors and community members in Upper Egypt to participate in the development, implementation and monitoring of government policies and processes to promote transparent, accountable and participatory local governance.

Building Knowledge and Experience for Rights-Based Approaches - Ford Foundation–The initiative increasesthe capacity of development NGOs in Egypt to apply RBA in their health, water and environment programming so as to support citizens to claim their rights and duty bearers to meet their responsibilities for sustainable poverty eradication.

Lacoste initiative on Sports for Social Change & Entrepreneurship (SSCE) – The initiative provides a safe and healthy haven for children and youth where they can practice sports and use it as a mean for leading genuine social change in their communities.

As a partner with other organizations

  • Egyptian Decentralization Initiative (EDI) (CARE is Sub to AECOM)
  • The Media Development Program (CARE is Sub to MSI)
  • AECOM International Development (formerly PADCO)
  • CARE Jordan, CARE West Bank Gaza, Yemeni Women Union
  • Civil society organisations in Middle East and North Africa region and worldwide
  • D3 Systems
  • International Research and Exchange Board (IREX)
  • Local civil society and non-governmental organisations, including young community leaders
  • Local media
  • Management Systems International (MSI)
  • Partners in Development (PID)
  • Social Contract Center (SCC)
  • Youth Development Consultancy (YDCI)
  • Youth Association for Population & Development (YAPD)
  • Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS)

In addition there are other initiatives being implemented in cooperation with other programs in the CO:

-Egypt Education Community Scorecard Pilot (Ismailia Governorate) is a social accountability tool designed to strengthen participatory approaches in monitoring and evaluating the performance of public services. The tool engages both service users and providers in identifying and overcoming barriers to public service performance using local resources.CARE Egypt is responsible for providing overall support to the Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) in Ismailia of El-Zanaty Associates, the leader of the initiative, to prepare, launch and supervise the pilot.

-Innovation through Sports Promoting Leadership & Empowering Youth (ITSPLEY- Beni Suef, Qena and Minia) aims to increase the capacity of stakeholders to provide girls (9-14 years old) with opportunities to develop and practice leadership skills through activities at village, governorate, and national levels in Egypt. ITSPLEY is linked to the Power to Lead Alliance initiative built on CARE Egypt’s extensive experience promoting school-based reform aimed at increasing school access and enrolment of girls in underserved communities in rural Upper Egypt.

-Community Scorecard Initiative (Alexandria andMenoufia) with Increasing Corporate Engagement in HIV AIDS Prevention in Egypt (ICE) Project for developing Family and Reproductive Health Units.

Donors

  • Ford Foundation
  • United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  • World Bank Institute

All previously mentioned Governance & Civic Engagement initiatives contribute to the three domains of theGPF (Annex 2). As an example, SSCE and PPDG initiatives have interrelated roles in building empowered citizensthrough institutional development of Youth Centers to be safer & attractive spaces, development of youth social entrepreneurship skills, development of youth leadership skills through sports, and empowering youth through Voice Out participation.

In implementing governance as a cross-cutting theme in all its programsCARE Egypt intends to base its approach on three principles. One is accountability of all stakeholders, so that programs will benefit the disadvantaged communities. The second is inclusive participation, which aims at helping impact groups to articulate their needs and concerns as well as support them and represent their interests and rights at the local and national levels. They are encouraged to participate in important forums and multiple stakeholder consultations. And the third principle is gender equality – ensuring that concerns of women and men are taken into consideration, and they are encouraged to participate in both, development and decision making processes.

Expected results

  • Incorporating governance issues in the domains of change of all CARE Egypt programs will ensure participation and representation of the interests of vulnerable groups, including the poor, youth and women, and empower them to voice their concerns and issues.
  • Improving governance should create space for different groups who may not benefit directly to be represented in social development initiatives more broadly.
  • With good governance the effectiveness of all CARE Egypt initiatives would be strengthened and this will help to better address UCPs.
  • The program would work towards greater sustainability in development initiatives.
  • Lessons learnt and field experiences would be shared at national and international debates and conferences, in order to influence policies and strategies.

More in that regards (addressing cross-cutting themes) is elaborated in section 5 of this report as the way forward.

Section 2: Thinking towards impact

Basing our reflection on our impact groups and stakeholders’’understanding of good governance –a deductive process

  • Do you have any information on how your impact groups/stakeholderswould define characteristics of good governance from their perspective?
  • This can be done with one or two groups in a simple focus group exercise (see the Burundi example).

Start defining social change and indicators for these characteristics and domains/sub-domains (this is a follow up exercise: after asking about the characteristic you can ask about change with regards to this characteristic):

Partners from Upper Egypt, rather than members of the impact groups themselves, expressed theaspirations of good governance for women and youth (Annex 3) as follows:

  • The presence of civic education curriculum in the Egyptian Education System that prevent gender discrimination.
  • Effective women’s participation through
  • Awareness of their roles within local communities and the legitimate channels for claiming their rights
  • Expanded participation in political parties
  • Effective legislative system through
  • Modification of legislations that create gender discrimination
  • Enforcement of laws(civil, popular and governmental) that guarantee women representation in the society (as a transitional period)
  • Annulment of the President of State’s entitlement to 'appointment with direct order'for governors and quotas for women representation in People's Assembly
  • Modification of the Local Administrative Law to impart extended legal monitoring authorityto Local Popular Councils (LPCs)
  • Reduction of the minimum age for nomination within LPCs from 25 to 21 years of age
  • Awareness of formal / informal monitoring tools and effective communication channels and creation of monitoring entities / bodies by CSOs
  • Strengthening the roles of regional unions, syndicates and federations
  • Enhancement of the independent roleof the local media in being honest, frontal and credible – for example in fighting corruption and the emergence of free and fair elections
  • Improvement of Student Union role in establishing policies
  • Establishment of Youth Assemblies at governorate level
  • Youngsters (9-12 years old) awareness of democratic and political participation
  • Establishment of a 'Scientists Committee' for studying community needs and executing mandatory development plans
  • The presence of a Village Transparency Wall (Wall of Merit) where village information and affairs are disclosed.
  • Adoption of a 'Merit System' in civil services

The future of Egypt remains uncertain with so many questions unanswered: Who governs the country now? Who will draft a new constitution after its suspension along with the parliament by the Supreme Military Council? When will the curfew be over? When will the state of emergency be lifted? When will elections be held? When will the figures of the old political system face trials for the crimes committed? When will those detained arbitrarily be released? Will regular Egyptians now be able to live in dignity, with jobs that meet their aspirations and houses where they can live safely?

While these questions naturally raise anxiety, most Egyptians are holding on to optimistic feelings that the country is heading in the right direction – one where human rights, the rule of law, prosperity and people’s will are respected.

For too long people looked up to their leadership to realize their aspirations. But with the change brought since the 25th of January, the rules of the game have changed and people now have the opportunity to re-build their country and shape their future.

The changes / variables identifiedwith regard to the formal / informal actors and institutions involved (Annex 4) that affected the power relations within the society and their impact on public authorities and citizens are as follows:

  • Unclear vision of whether the country will build an open, democratic political system or relapse into some form – new or old – of autocracy and concerns about the economic burdens imposed by recent events -- the loss of tourism revenue, the dislocation caused by curfews, work stoppages, and unrest.
  • The absence of a President of State and thepresence of the Supreme Military Council,entrusted with the task of leading Egypt through a transitional period, but with the legitimacyof its decisions being open to citizen approval.
  • Constitution suspension and complete constitutional amendments confirmed by a popular referendum in late March and presidential elections in September 2011. This is the first time in the six millennia of Egypt’s existence that the country’s civilian population has the opportunity to select their own leader free of monarchical control, foreign occupation, the constraints of Cold War politics, or the domination of one man desperate to retain his power.
  • Dissolution of the parliament (People's Assembly, Shura Council) and dismissal of the old ministerial cabinet and formation of a Steering Cabinet to help steer the country through reforms and toward free elections. This Steering Cabinet includes new faces in key ministries, responding to protesters' demands that the new government be free of stalwarts of the ousted President.
  • Unprecedentedly, Egypt's Attorney General has opened judicial investigations intoa critical list of public figures including the former President and members of his family for illegally acquired wealth.
  • Activation of the role of legislative entities in corruption cases specially the Central Auditing Organization (CAO) that has been previous handicapped by the former National Democratic Party (NDP).
  • Labour protests are now so frequent in Egypt that barely a week goes by without a sit-in or strike by workers calling for higher wages or better working conditions.Vocational and Labour Syndicates are not functioning effectively as they reject certain representative figures in their perspective entities.
  • Specialized Councils,established by presidential decrees like the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and National Council for Women (NCW), have unclear roles as they were established and spearheadedby the former First Lady.
  • Operating under the Supreme Military Council, LPCs are not exercising their roles either on the governorate, district or the village levels. The local councils together with the dissolved People’s Assembly and the Shura Council are considered to be the product of fraudulent elections and should be dissolved in order to avoid any challenge to the legitimacy of legislative or constitutional amendments issued by the parliament. Local Government units at district and village levels don't provide proper services to citizens.
  • An overall sense of insecurity after the breakdown of security, with few police on the streets and the army unable to fill the vacuum, people established neighbourhood organized 'Popular Defence Committees' to prevent looting, criminal activities,protect properties, and organize traffic.
  • Youth Centres are dysfunctional due to a lack of financing and a lost sense of belongingness to the National Council for Youth (NCY), which was established by a presidential decree issued by the former President.
  • A growing fear of 'counter-revolution' following a series of deadly political and sectarian clashes blamed on diehards of the former regime.

Egypt is embarking on a new era of a 'modern strong civil state' in which the legislative system that regulates and operates aspects of life in Egypt is reformed, particularly with respect to laws pertaining to triggers of freedom, expansion of democracy, deepening of political and party multiplicity and practice of political powers. Political pluralism is becoming a reality in Egypt.