Increasing community participation of community in the CSDF implementation

We believed strengthening the participation of local and indigenous communities in the CSDF process is a key element for success.  This is why we are organizing innovative consultative dialogues sessions on effectively understanding of CSDF processes. These sessions enable participants – including community members, NGOs and local media – to acquire skills for understanding CSDF and validated Bil Lander CSDF research report. The photo (Ziah Town, Grand Gedeh County)

CITIZEN'S GUIDE UNDERSTANDING COUNTY SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS

INTRODUCTION
Liberians living in the rural parts of the county have the opportunity today to change the old ways development business used to go on in the county. For more than one hundred and fifty years, people living outside of Monrovia were left out of the decision-making processes about the development of their communities or counties. People in the rural parts are the true owners of the natural resources (minerals, forest product, iron ore, etc.) from their communities. It is these natural resources that central government take away through big big companies (extracted) and see, but the people in the rural part of the country never took part in the decisions about what, as community, they should benefit from and what the companies that are taking their resources should do for them. In the past all decisions about developments in rural Liberia, and all monies collected from the big big companies for the natural resources were made and kept by the central government in Monrovia. Rural Communities were only getting what the people in Monrovia say they should get or the kind of development the people in Monrovia think is good for them.
Since the coming into power of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in 2006, the Government of Liberia decided to change that and get the rural people involve in the decision-making process of their community/county development and companies working in their areas. All of this is to make sure that the rural people can directly benefit from the natural resources (minerals, forest product, iron ore, etc.) taken away from their communities.
So in order to do this, the Government of Liberia in 2007 passed a law and setup a program called the County Development Fund (CDF) and the Social Development Fund (SDF). Under this program the government agreed to always put some monies in the big money paper of the country called “National Budget” for each county in the country to do development work in their county. This will be done every year and this money is called “County Development Fund (CDF).” Also the government agreed that all big big companies working in a county and taking away some of the county natural resources, like gold, forest product, iron ore or using the people land to plant oil palm, etc. should give that county some money for development work every year. That money is called “Social Development Fund (SDF).”
The same law that the government make for this to happen also says that it is the citizens or people living in a county that should meet and decide on how
4 Understanding CDF and SDF
and what project (s) the monies should be spent on. The citizens are support to meet in the county and make those decisions. The idea behind this was for plenty development to take place in each county quick quick.
Since that law came into being in 2007 the Government of Liberia has been giving that money to every county in Liberia, but we still cannot see the development work going on the way we expected in the counties. People have been giving plenty different reasons for the lack of more development. Some say some big big people from the county in the government are “eating” the money that is sent to the counties for development, others are saying the rural people who support to make the decision as to how the money should be used are not involve in the decision making process, while others are saying the rural people themselves do not even know more about the CDF and the SDF or what to do so that their counties leaders will not “eat” their money which is for the development of their county.
One sure way to solve the problems around the CDF and the SDF is to give the rural people more information about the CDF and the SDF so that they understand their roles and responsibilities in the decision-making processes that leads to the use of CDF and SDF and it is them (rural people) that support to make the decision as to how the CDF and SDF should be used.
As a way of helping, the Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI), a non- government group that like working with women and young people and Society for Environmental Conservation (SEC) has decided to produce this small book called “Citizens’ Guide to Understanding the CDF and SDF” to explain in simple English the whole story behind the CDF and the SDF and encourage the citizens and people living in each and every county that the CDF and SDF is for the development of their county and not for any community, county or government officials to take and eat. If they the citizens decide on a particular project to be carryout with the CDF and SDF, they should see to it that the project is carryout the way they want it and within the time they agreed on. If for any reason(s) the project is not carried out they should ask their leaders to make report before they can make any other decision on another project.
The Citizens’ Guide to the County Development Fund and Social Development Fund is a simple way to tell the ordinary citizens about the money government is giving to the different counties, every year to help with their development.

For more information, click on link  below

https://www.docdroid.net/9GbHCxR/citizens-guide-booklet-design.pdf

Or contact Society for Environmental Conservation Liberia
Mr. Henry Smith
Email: info@secliberia.org
Tel: +231 886 938 813

Resolutions by participants of the National Round-Table Dialogue on County Social Development Funds (CSDF)

We, the participants (including local government officials, leaders of women and youth groups, civil society organizations and the media,) of the National Round-Table Dialogue on key issues affecting the implementation County Social Development Fund (CSDF), after a two-day deliberation on key issues affecting the implementation of the CSDF held on 14-15^th December 2017, have hereby resolved on the following as key issues affecting proper management of CSDF since its establishment in 2006.

Whereas the County Development Fund (CDF) and County Social Development Fund were established by an Act of Legislation in 2006 for the purpose of promoting and enhancing participatory development at the county level until they were merged in 2012,

Whereas the budget law which provides the legal framework for administering the CSDF is not detailed on a number of issues including, level of literacy, capability, and gender disaggregation of participants attending the County Council Sitting and related functions,

Whereas the Budget Law gives undue leverage to Legislative Caucuses overseeing decision-making processes regarding project formulation, implementation, and evaluations,      which  continues to undermine effective management of the CSDF and implementation of projects supported by it,

Realizing that information dissemination about the County Sitting is poor and that most individuals who attend the County Council Sitting do not report back to their community members on decisions reached at those meetings,

Further realizing the difficulties usually encountered by County Development Fund Management Committee (CDFMC) members in accessing, administering, and monitoring the CSDF as well as the challenges associated with those processes including conflict of interest, corruption, and delayed project implementation, we, the participants of the National Round-table Dialogue on “Key issues affecting the implementation of the CSDF” call for immediate implementation of the following actions:

1. That the Government of Liberia reviews and strengthens the Budget Law to ensure gender disaggregation and the caliber of persons attending the County Council Sitting to ensure maximum participation at all levels;
3. That the revised Budget Law ensure reduction in undue leverage of Legislative Caucuses during the County Council Sitting to ensure unbiased selection of people representing various districts and that projects formulated response to critical needs of communities, and that the processes are free of conflict of interests, corruption, and undue delays in project implementations;
4. That the mode of information dissemination about the County Council Sitting is clearly defined to enhance selection of the right kind of people representing community interests to ensure that participants feedback to their communities on decisions taken at County Council Sitting to enhance participation of community in project, selection implementation and evaluation processes;
5. That  difficulties associated with accessing, administering, and monitoring  the CSDF are addressed to ensure that the funds are not compromised as a result of kickbacks paid by individuals responsible for accessing the fund;
6. That blue prints of projects including bill of quantities be prepared far ahead of the County Council Sitting and copies shared with participants to avoid miss understating or overstating of project costs;
7. That projects supported by CSDF and / equipment bought with same carry sign boards or labels for the purpose of promoting visibility and accountability;
8. That there is increase in women and youth participation to play pivotal role in forming part and parcel of decision making as delegates rather than  observers during the county Council Sitting but delegate.
9. That new CSDF management body is established to be comprises of youth, women, district commissioners and elders.
10. That a resolution monitoring team be constituted to ensure that resolutions formulated at the County Council Sitting are exactly the same as the ones  that are released to the public after the County Council Sitting or implemented; and
11. That local communities establish and maintain cordial relationships with media institutions by getting their contacts and reporting all anomalies occurring in the various localities so as to promote peace and development of our beloved Liberia.

Group photo during the round table dialogue on the County Social Development Funds at  Crown Hotel -Paynsville city-Liberia funded by OXFAM Liberia