12.0  Recap of day 2

A role play depicting a mock CSO monitoring process was done during the recap of day 2. Each zone prepared a role play, but only one zone was chosen to show it in the plenary session.

Following a raffle to choose which zone will show the role play, the Southern Highlands zone group was chosen to show the role play. Details of the role play is attached in the annexes.

13.0 Presentation on the Role Of CSOs in Monitoring Poverty and PRSP at Community, District and National Level

PRSP Process in Tanzania

In order to participate in monitoring the PRSP, it is important for CSOs to reflect on the composition, and types of CSOs that are represented in our networks. The following are the major types of CSOs operating in Tanzania:

1. Service delivery CSOs
   ·    Education, income generation services delivery CSOs (These are normally found at the local-level)
2. Support to Social Welfare CSOs
   ·    These are CSOs which represent disadvantaged groups that are not able to articulate their needs/interests individually (e.g. the disabled, blind, etc.)
3. Research CSOs
   ·    These deal with research, information generation, documentation and dissemination
   ·    They sometimes identify policy gaps
4. Policy analysis and Advocacy CSOs
   ·    These CSOs monitor policy development and implementation. They identify policy gaps and advocate for changes.

It should be noted that there are interlinkages in the work of all the above-mentioned categories of CSOs.

CSOs participation in the PRSP Process
It is important for the Government to realize that CSOs are supporting the Government to reach its goals. CSOs are trying to serve the same population as the Government CSOs are looking for various development/policy gaps so as to generate various recommendations so that the Government could deliver its promises, as well as realize it development goals.

CSOs also assist the Government to challenge the various macro-economic frameworks that are prescribed to Governments by the World Bank and IMF. We all know that our Governments are not empowered to decide on the type of macro-economic frameworks that it wants to have since it has a budget deficit, therefore depending on donors to bridge the gap and sustain its core activities. The Government is therefore not in a position to critically engage with the World Bank and IMF.

It is surprising to see that even though CSOs support the Government, the Government shuns away from inviting CSOs to participate on issues related to the macro-economy. Few of the so called "vocal" advocacy CSOs were invited in the Zonal and National Workshops on the PRSP.

A number of constraints were faced by CSOs in the PRSP consultative process. We found-out that not only CSOs, but also Government personnel and parliamentarians did not know enough about the PRSP. How can CSOs be expected to participate in the PRSP process if they do not have sufficient knowledge about the process itself? Luckily, CSOs got the opportunity to meet and strategies prior to their participation in the national PRSP workshop. This was a very useful empowerment strategy.

According to TGNPs experience, there are two levels where CSOs can monitor poverty. CSOs can network in monitoring poverty at the national and local levels. For CSOs, the entry point for monitoring poverty is the budget, and budgeting process. Identify budget gaps (versus submitted plans) and demonstrate how budget gaps affect the lives of ordinary people. Also, find-out why money is not coming for implementation?

We have been asking how can we know if debt relief money has been sent to the District level? There is no data that traces resources that are taken to the districts to implement the PRSP!! We recommend that the Government should set a vote in the District budget which records the amount of PRSP funds that has been disbursed to a particular District.

Regardless of these efforts, the final PRSP document approved by the Government has a lot of weaknesses, with many gaps even on important aspects such as gender disaggregation. The inputs provided by CSOs had not been incorporated and many feel to be cheated by both the Government, donors and particularly the World Bank and IMF.

Constraints of CSOs

In general, all CSOs are involved directly or indirectly in poverty reduction initiatives. They are more concerned about the life, status and welfare of the poor particularly children, youth, women and the disabled who are generally regarded as marginalized groups. They have a comparative advantage of knowing and understanding the poor because they work with them at the grassroot level in different parts of the country. But there are many constraints that CSOs face in the course of participating in monitoring the PRSP processes

Poverty and PRSP Monitoring Process

Regardless the above constraints, CSOs have the duty and role to play in directly participating in monitoring the poverty reduction/ PRSP process. They are a number of approaches to do this:

A number of strategies could be used to realize civil society goals of monitoring the PRSP by doing the following

Monitoring Process

CSOs need skills and knowledge to actively participate in monitoring Poverty and the PRSP.

For effective participation in monitoring to take place, there must be functioning monitoring structures in-place. The opportunities for CSO participation in the poverty/PRSP monitoring process are great. It can be done through the following ways:

13.1 Plenary Discussions

13.2 Recommendations