A framework to integrate provincial, community driven and constituency based planning processes is vital for infrastructure development throughout the country.
The recently completed World Bank report on the findings of how the different forms of funding programs have performed over the years is quite intriguing.
The Provincial Constituency Development Fund (PCDF), Rural Development Program(RDP),Rural Advancement Micro Project(RAMP) and the Rural constituency Livelihood Fund(RCLF).
With their different approach towards identifying sub-projects to finance it has created duplication, mismanagement and overlapping of projects.
This has resulted in the waste and misuse of project funds that could in some circumstance used on other development projects.
The report identifies that RDP’s bottom up participatory planning does not inform provincial planning and provincial government sector knowledge is not well utilised to guide the identification of the best solution to community-level problems.
It further found the duplication of emerging constituency based planning mechanisms and ward and provincial data collection and planning which resulted in an uneven quality due to limited human resources.
Inclusion of women in village and ward level planning processes should be recognised to be able to establish a more balanced perspective on infrastructure developments in the rural area.
The report therefore spells out clearly the need for a framework to integrate provincial, community driver and constituency based planning processes to minimise duplication of effort and to develop strategically distinct plans.
It further demands a greater clarification and institutionalisation of ward level governance and decision making processes to allow for more robust ward plans and monitoring of outcomes.
And calls for constituency plans to be derived primarily through structured consultations with constituencies and avoid duplication of data gathering at the ward and provincial level.
Meanwhile the report further recommends that instead of practicing the involvement of individual woman representation in ward development committees and villages groups, it is better to involve groups of women.
By DANIEL NAMOSUAIA
