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Report 4 (of 5): Breaking
Even - Zambia
Introduction
Large numbers of new urban dwellers
require space, security and services in towns and
cities, and the pressures of increasing population
are felt most acutely in developing countries. Overcrowding
and unsanitary conditions are already common in these
countries and adversely affect human health, welfare,
dignity and income-earning opportunities. Poverty
is the norm. The responsibility for dealing with these
problems in urban areas ultimately lies with the local
authorities, and yet many urban governments are not
experienced enough or do not have adequate resources
to deal with them.
In many developing countries, urban
development programmes are often run by local or international
NGOs rather than the local authority. This approach
to poverty alleviation frequently provides only short-term
solutions, and therefore initiatives that involve
local government working with civil society - community
organisations - are seen as more sustainable. One
international agency, the UK government's Department
for International Development (DFID) is attempting
to bring together these two groups under a new initiative
- the City-Community Challenge Fund or C3F.
The goal of C3F is to reduce poverty
in poor neighbourhoods in the cities of the developing
world. It does this by attempting to direct resources
where they are needed most. * * * The Fund is distributed
in the form of many small investments for a variety
of community-driven urban development projects. The
aim of C3F is to encourage and support effective working
relationships between the urban poor and their local
government by forming long-term partnerships between
the community, the local authority and the private
sector.
It is the managing organisations,
rather than the beneficiaries themselves that publicise
the projects and report back to the donor agency on
their impact. The projects provide real outputs that
are of value to the urban poor, and they help to build
trust as well as developing the ability of local governments
to respond to local needs. The process of managing
the local fund is just as valuable as the projects
that get funded.
The donor agency benefits too. The
cost of managing many small projects means that donors
are reluctant to support this type of programme even
though they know that small amounts of money are what
the urban poor need to initiate local projects. This
local fund mechanism means that the donor's unsustainably
high 'transaction costs' are transformed into capacity
building gains for local groups involved in managing
the fund.
Pilot Projects in Africa
The City-Community Challenge Fund
is currently being piloted in Zambia, managed by Care
Zambia, and in Uganda, managed by the Local Association.
As this is a pilot programme, DFID is also paying
for advisers in the UK to guide the work in each country.
The Local Government International Bureau UK (LGIB)
supports Uganda while CARE International UK supports
Zambia.
The Fund contributes up to half the
total funding requirement through existing local resources
and funding sources, and uses local information, resources
and expertise in the whole process. The pilot projects
represent two very different socio-economic, political
and institutional environments. Uganda, for example,
is one of Africa's least urbanised countries with
only 13 per cent of the population living in urban
areas. In contrast, Zambia's urbanisation has been
a defining feature of the country's growth, with around
50 per cent of the population now living in towns
and cities, and so this pilot provides more examples
of the project's implementation.
Urban Poverty Reduction in Zambia
In Zambia, urban poverty is widespread,
and poverty reduction strategies have failed to meet
expectations. This failure is largely the result of
economic reforms and weak government. Yet, despite
the political fragility (perhaps because of it), many
local community organisations together with international
NGOs have been effective and gained much experience
in urban poverty reduction. This provided the C3F
project with an ideal opportunity to engage all local
stakeholders.
CARE Zambia, working through its Lusaka-based
learning programme, Urban INSAKA, has been co-ordinating
the project in the cities of Lusaka and Ndola. In
the medium-term, it is planned that the project will
become a local 'institution' of its own. The experience
gained by distributing money in these cities has meant
some of the key ideas and methods have at least filtered
into local practice.
Urban INSAKA provides administration
and back-up staff for the programme. Its shape and
direction are guided by a National Advisory Group
chaired by the Town Clerk of Lusaka City Council,
and comprises volunteers from community, public and
private sector organisations. In Lusaka and Ndola
the programme also has Local Advisory Groups to assess
the applications and approve the projects. These are
people who know the city well and come from all walks
of life, including the local authority.
One of the most important features
of this programme is the idea that beneficiary groups
are not expected to account to the donors as is traditionally
the case. Instead, Urban INSAKA reports on their behalf
to DFID in London. In Zambia the organisation's function
is to ensure that the funds are fairly and openly
distributed to worthwhile projects, and so it is downwardly
accountable to local people. It does this by spreading
information about the fund and the projects throughout
the city. That way the urban poor get to know what
is possible and what is being done in their name,
and they can complain if the projects do not seem
to be working. It also means that the poor do not
have endless forms to fill in, but can instead focus
on what they want and need.
What makes the programme unique is
the fact that funds are not targeted at any one particular
group. Most development projects start with a baseline
study that typically tries to ask local people about
their problems. A project is then designed and a year
or so later funds may be found to carry it out. But
local institutions and politics and the poverty profile
of a city are ever-changing, so the resulting project
may not be relevant and will not be recognised or
'owned' by the beneficiaries. Urban INSAKA has adopted
a non-targeted approach and has designed the fund
management procedures so they are as simple as possible
for the applicants.
The Local Advisory Group, with its
in-depth knowledge of the current situation and close
contacts throughout the city, can ensure that funds
are wisely allocated. Local groups design their own
projects and apply for a grant to carry them out.
Almost anything and everything is possible, provided
it is something that the local council could, should
or would be doing if it had the capacity. Drains have
been dug to reduce flooding, some projects help AIDS
orphans, others are funding small new businesses to
start rubbish collection services where there have
been none before. A theatre group has received money
to put on plays about the fund in the poorest areas,
and the Group has acted generally to fill some of
the gaps in Council services.
Managing the Fund
Urban INSAKA co-ordinates and reports,
but it does not control the money. In Ndola the City
Council took on this task from the beginning. They
have integrated the fund within the Council's normal
(rather small) budget and they have adapted their
own procedures to fit the C3F approach. Council staff
are in charge, and are learning new ways of working
by administering a community fund. A Local Advisory
Group makes decisions and the council has to keep
local people informed about the programme and the
projects. In Lusaka, the Council has been closely
involved from the start but was not immediately able
to manage all aspects of the programme, so Urban INSAKA
began by running the Lusaka secretariat.
There are three distinct funds:
- The Small Projects Fund:
This is intended for low cost (less than $1000),
tightly focused projects of short duration. The
aim is to encourage applications from groups that
don't want to or cannot manage a large project.
- The Projects Fund:
This is intended for medium ($1000 - $5000) and
high cost (over $5000) projects. Applicants need
to show that their idea is supported by other residents
and they must have agreed its feasibility with the
local council. Partnerships between neighbourhood
groups, local government and/or private sector are
particularly encouraged to apply.
- The Marketing and Innovations
Fund: This pays for projects that support
the whole programme. The Council may apply, for
example, to run workshops in poor neighbourhoods.
So too can local businesses. With hundreds of applications,
it has become clear that some groups need help to
plan their projects and so grants also pay for local
research and training. Importantly, innovation and
marketing projects have to be assessed and approved
by the Local Advisory Group.
The Application Process
In applying for a grant, some general
criteria have to be met - projects should support
activities that would normally be the responsibility
of the Council; they must have tangible results; and
groups must contribute some of the value of the project
from their own resources. For small grants, only groups
are considered but these do not have to be formally
registered or have a bank account to apply. For medium
and large projects (over $1000) applicants must be
registered groups and, for grants over $5000, they
need to involve a formal partnership with another
agency or organisation.
Application forms have been designed
to make it as simple as possible for groups to apply.
A one-page concept note may be submitted first so
that groups know whether their idea is eligible. Those
that are approved by the appraisal committee (which
sits fortnightly for small projects and monthly for
larger projects) receive the first instalment of funds
within two weeks, or as soon as they have opened a
bank account (help is provided to do this). Those
that are not approved are told straight away and may
be offered training to help improve their proposals.
They are not excluded simply on one rejection, but
instead are encouraged to apply again. Since not everyone
can read and write, some groups can have small amounts
of money approved verbally.
The application process has been designed
to help applicants recognise and add value to their
own contributions. Methods are used to place a monetary
value on in-kind contributions such as labour, and
use of their own resources such as tools, and premises.
This enables those with little money to spare to be
able to contribute in other ways. Urban INSAKA also
run a weekly 'open house' session at the City Council
office so applicants can get advice. Although applicants
do not have to write reports explaining how they have
spent the money, they do have to agree to let anyone
visit their projects. This 'open access' clause reduces
any possibility that money will go missing.
The Prison Fellowship in Zambia
One project that received funds from
C3F was for rehabilitation of prisoners in Ndola,
so that they could learn new skills while contributing
to public amenities. The Prison Fellowship (PF) Zambia
is a Christian NGO that applied for and received funds
to renovate an overgrown park. Prison Fellowship workers
noticed urgent health, employment and reintegration
issues for prisoners and began to expand their services
as a result. They now have a number of programmes
to serve prisoners, ex-prisoners and the prisoners'
wives and families.
At the heart of the PF's work is the
reintegration programme, helping prisoners and ex-prisoners
to fit back into society. This is achieved through
skills training and securing small loans for recently
released prisoners, via local Rotary Clubs.
The park renovation is PF Zambia's
most ambitious project so far. The City of Ndola had
no outdoor recreational parks where people could gather
as a community and for leisure. The park, once complete,
will have enough water for maintenance, a fountain,
toilet facilities and a large meeting hall. The Fellowship
also hopes to move its restaurant to the park to attract
more people.
The park is cleared by inmates from
two local prisons and PF pays for the inmates' work,
allowing them to use the money to pay for food and
health care inside the prisons. Those prisoners who
are near to release are also trained in various gardening
and landscaping skills that will give them a better
chance of being employed once they are released.
In addition to the park, PF Zambia
also has a tailoring school next to its offices, where
some prisoners are learning the trade. They also run
a restaurant which provides prisoners' wives and ex-prisoners
with a job and wages. PF is campaigning to allow the
courts to sentence offenders to do community service
as an alternative to a prison sentence for minor crimes.
For further information on C3F, please
contact:
Urban INSAKA
P.O. Box 36238,
Plot 11038 Chozi Road,
Lusaka,
Zambia
Tel +260 1 291011/294044
Fax +260 1 293962
E-mail: bullkamanga@urbaninsaka.org
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Care International UK
10-13 Rushworth Street
London SE1 0RB
England
Tel. +44 20 7934 9334
Fax +44 20 7934 9335
E-mail: info@ciuk.org |
| City-Community Challenge
Fund Pilot Project (C3F)
http://www.c3f.org.uk/
This is the official DFID
website of C3F project, which has more information
on the pilot projects and links to practitioners
and policy makers working with community-led
small-scale projects. |
For information on micro-finance:
Asian Coalition for Housing
Rights
73 Soi Sonthiwattana 4
Ladprao 110
Ladprao Rd Bangkok 10310
Thailand
Tel: 662 538 0919
Fax: 662 539 9950
E-mail: achr@loxinfo.co.th
Website: http://www.achr.net/
The ACHR, based in Thailand,
has a website that contains a lot of information
on community funds. There is also a special
newsletter on community funds, which can be
obtained for free by contacting the organisation.
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| Eldis Microfinance Gateway
nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/fin/micro.htm
The Eldis Microfinance Gateway
lists many organisations involved with micro-credit.
It also has many country profiles, where papers
from different countries can be viewed, and
organisations working in those countries can
be found. |
| MicroFinance Network
www.bellanet.org/partners/mfn
The MicroFinance Network is
a global association of leading microfinance
practitioners. The members of the MicroFinance
Network are committed to improving the lives
of low-income people through the provision
of credit, savings and other financial services.
|
| The Microfinance Gateway
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/
The Microfinance Gateway is
a public forum for the microfinance industry
at large that offers a wealth of tailored
services for microfinance professionals, including
resource centres on specific topics in microfinance,
a searchable library of electronic documents,
a consultant database, a jobs listing service,
and specialised discussion groups. |
Further Reading:
Local Funds; Some Notes on What
has been Learnt over the Last Fifteen Years and
Local funds, and their potential to allow donor
agencies to support community development and poverty
reduction in urban areas: Workshop report
David Satterthwaite, IIED
These papers can be obtained by contacting
IIED's Human Settlements Programme at:
IIED
Human Settlements Dept.
3 Endsleigh Street
London
WC1H 0DD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7388-2117
Fax: +44 (0)20 7388-2826
E-mail: humans@iied.org
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Latin America and the Caribbean
The following books are available
to buy from Earthprint or
you can download them as pdf files from IIED's
website.
Participation and sustainability
in social projects: the experience of the Local Development
Programme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua
A. Stein
US$9, IIED, 2001, ISBN: 1853394211
Urban Poverty Reduction Experiences
in Cali, Colombia: Lessons from the Work of Local
Non-profit Organisations
Julio D Dávila
US$9, IIED, 2001, ISBN: 1843690225
Africa
You can download the following documents
by clicking on the titles:
Hope
for the Urban Poor: DFID city-community challenge
(C3) fund pilot in Kampala and Jinja, Uganda
Environment and Urbanisation Journal, Vol 13,
No 1, Pages 115-124.
Asia
The
Urban Community Environmental Activities Project,
Thailand
Environment and Urbanisation Vol 11, No 1,
April, Pages 101-115
This document is an output from
a project funded by the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) and the European Commission (EC)
for the benefit of developing countries. The views
expressed are not necessarily those of DFID or the
EC.
Acknowledgements
ITDG would like to thank Nick Hall,
Elizabeth Ndhlovu at Urban INSAKA, and David Satterthwaite
at IIED for providing the original material on the
C3F project.
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