Progress & Challenges in Aid Co-ordination & Delivery Presentation to Sudan Consortium Juba, March 2007 Moses Mabior Deu Director, Aid Co-ordination MoFEP, GoSS

Overview Effective Aid Co-ordination & Delivery requires a joint approach from Government and Donors Operating without co-ordination is ‘least cost’ in terms of effort (no effort required on any side) But is ‘maximum cost’ in terms of service delivery to the people of Southern Sudan (interventions are unco-ordinated & unprioritised)

Challenges of Aid Co-ordination Challenges of Aid Co-ordination in a post-conflict setting include: Developing Government ownership Ensuring Donor participation Putting in place systems for information sharing between Government & Donors Establishing a system for Monitoring & Evaluating aid delivery, so that attention is paid to outcomes, not just processes

Starting Point in Southern Sudan Prior to establishment of GoSS, aid co-ordination was limited to humanitarian efforts led by the UN, and certain joint donor mechanisms for development assistance (CBTF, MDTF) There was no overall mechanism for co-ordination in place, and no complete overview of donor activity in Southern Sudan

Establishment of GoSS Establishment of GoSS brought its own challenges for Aid Co-ordination, including the need for: Establishment of a Framework for Aid Co-ordination Assignment of Roles & Responsibilities of different GoSS Agencies Initiation of systematic GoSS – Donor dialogue & partnership at operational level

First Steps in Aid Co-ordination An early step towards GoSS Aid Co-ordination was the establishment by the Minister of Finance of the Inter Ministerial Project Appraisal Committee (Dec 05) It was followed by establishment of the GoSS Budget Sector Working Groups (Feb 06) and development of the GoSS Aid Strategy (Aug -Nov 06)

Key Elements of GoSS Aid Co-ordination Framework GoSS Aid Strategy; guides the overall GoSS approach to Aid Co-ordination Inter-Ministerial Appraisal Committee; central GoSS appraisal/approval mechanism for donor projects GoSS Budget Sector Working Groups; mechanism for donor participation in GoSS planning & prioritisation at sectoral level

Objective of GoSS Aid Co-ordination The objective of the GoSS Aid Co-ordination is: ‘To co-ordinate development aid from international donors, so that it is used effectively and aligned with the priorities of the Government of Southern Sudan’ (GoSS Aid Strategy Nov 2006)

Aid Strategy Principles Alignment; of donor assistance with GoSS priorities Co-ordination; of aid delivery with GoSS programmes, to avoid duplication, concentration or neglect Predictability; of the volume and timing of aid flows Harmonisation; of donor activities and programmes Institutional Development; using aid to enhance GoSS capacity Mutual Accountability; between GoSS and donors

Status of the Aid Strategy Aid Strategy endorsed by the Council of Ministers in November 2006, and presented to donor partners GoSS has received a joint response from donors; key aspects of the response were discussed in the first GoSS-Donor Quarterly Forum in Juba, February 2007 MoFEP to incorporate donor comments into the Strategy where feasible Final Strategy to be presented by the Minister of Finance to the Legislative Assembly, as a GoSS Policy Document

Roles & Responsibilities of GoSS Agencies in Aid Co-ordination Guided by the Aid Strategy: All Ministries; identification of donor projects based on sectoral priorities Regional Co-operation; external liaison with foreign Governments & international organisations Ministry of Finance; aid co-ordination, management & approval Legal Affairs; approval of legal agreements relating to aid

Role of the Inter Ministerial Appraisal Committee Appraisal of proposed projects to ensure consistency with GoSS priorities & aid strategy principles Mechanism for ensuring GoSS awareness/ownership of projects beyond the Ministry concerned Approved projects are recommended for legal review & signature Only the Minister of Finance has the authority to sign donor project agreements

Composition of Inter-Ministerial Appraisal Committee Core Members; Ministry of Finance (Chair), Presidential Affairs, Legal Affairs, Regional Co-operation, Centre for Statistics, Environment All other Ministries are invited on an ad hoc basis, depending on the project being discussed All Ministries within a Sector are invited to discuss a project that falls within their Sector

Appraisal Committee Progress to date 12 meetings held since February 2006 Over 20 Ministries/Spending Agencies have attended 14 Projects have been appraised, of which: 9 MDTF 2 EC 1 ADB, 1 UNDP, 1 Global Fund

Role of Budget Sector Working Groups Drafting rolling 3 year Budget Sector Plans, in order to Prioritise sector activities & set measurable objectives for service delivery Guide annual budget allocations Feed into the GoSS Development Framework Sectoral level co-ordination between GoSS and donors, including identification & formulation of donor projects & mapping of existing activities Monitoring & evaluation of sectoral performance

Composition of Budget Sector Working Groups There are 10 GoSS Budget Sector Working Groups Each group has a Chair from a GoSS Ministry/Spending Agency within the Sector, and a Donor Co-Chair Secretariat functions are undertaken by a GoSS Ministry/Spending Agency within the Sector All other GoSS Ministries & Spending Agencies within the Sector are members of the group Other Donors & UN agencies can also participate

Progress of Budget Sector Working Groups to date Budget Sector Plans for 2007-2009 were drafted between July and September 2006 19 donor & UN agencies participated in the drafting process Drafts included Sector objectives & activities for 2007-2009, as well as mapping of donor activities in each Sector However, drafts tended to over-estimate GoSS resources & capacities, and therefore were ambitious in many cases

Next Steps for Budget Sector Working Groups Objectives from existing Budget Sector Plans will be synthesised into an outline for the GoSS Development Framework Specific training sessions will be provided prior to the commencement of the forthcoming Planning cycle, so that: Plans are more realistic Plans can begin to act as tool to guide annual budget preparation Monitoring & Evaluation and donor project formulation functions also need to be developed over time

Donor Mapping Donor mapping in draft Budget Sector Plans provided a useful snapshot of current donor funding However, donor review/verification of the data was weak Further work is needed on a sector by sector basis, to establish the details of the activities financed by the ongoing projects, to avoid future duplication & identify gaps

GoSS & Donor Funding 2007 - $m

GoSS-Donor Dialogue & Partnership The MDTF is currently one of the main vehicles for GoSS-Donor partnerships However, MDTF and its Oversight Committee has a specific project focus GoSS has therefore instituted quarterly donor forums to enable more broad-based dialogue with donors and UN agencies Donor & UN Agency participation in Sector Working Groups will also enhance partnership at Sectoral level

Aid Delivery Challenges include difficult operating environment relatively weak capacity of counterpart GoSS institutions But challenges should not preclude systematic reporting on Aid Delivery to GoSS Some progress with MDTF reporting GoSS needs to institute standardised reporting format & timetable for other donor & UN agency projects

Challenges Going Forward Capacity of GoSS institutions to work with donor/UN Agency counterparts Participation of donors/UN Agencies in GoSS processes for Aid Co-ordination, including Budget Sector Working Groups, quarterly Donor Forum etc Compliance – ensuring all donor/UN agency projects are presented to the Inter Ministerial Appraisal Committee Information & Reporting – ensuring systematic information flow to GoSS on donor/UN activities & outputs

Conclusion It takes time to institute an effective, Government-led system for Aid Co-ordination It is essential that GoSS and all donor/UN partners to work together, with roles & responsibilities clearly identified We believe we have started to make progress, but sustained effort is required Improvements in aid co-ordination & improvements in aid delivery go hand in hand

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