United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) Executive Secretary to Visit Yemen
Consultations with Government and Representatives of Local Authorities on Progress made in Implementing the National Decentralization and Local Development Support Programme
NEW YORK, 6 February 2007: The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Capital Development Fund, Mr. Richard Weingarten, will visit Yemen from this week in order to consult with Government Officials on the progress made so far in the implementation of the National Decentralization and Local Development Programme supported by UNCDF. During his mission, Mr. Weingarten will meet with the Minister of Local Administration; the UNDP Resident Representative and UN Coordinator in Yemen; UNDP/UNCDF District Facilitation Team members; the Governor of Ta'iz Governor & the General Secretary of the Local Council and other Local Authority representatives.
UNCDF has worked in Yemen for several years, supporting the Government in its efforts to advance decentralization and strengthen local governments. The "Decentralization and Local Development Support Programme" (DLDSP) is a national programme managed by the Government of Yemen (GOY) with assistance from UNCDF, UNDP and the Danish International Development Agency (Danida). DLDSP is currently being implemented in 6 governorates and 28 districts providing support to decentralized planning and financing of local development. The programme has three essential features:
- Transparent and predictable fiscal transfers that aim to (i) reduce inter-district resource imbalances, (ii) provide a minimum of general-purpose programmable resources to support local choices in development spending and (iii) act as incentives to local-level fiscal effort and improved administrative performance.
- Appropriately simple procedures, techniques and organizational arrangements for district-level revenue mobilization and public expenditure management, including participatory strategic planning, investment programming, annual budgeting, project implementation and procurement, local assets management, accounting and reporting, and monitoring and evaluation.
- Strong central, governorate, and community-level structures, that aim to support and supervise the emerging Local Authoritiy sector, through legality controls, performance monitoring and social auditing.
The programme provides both technical assistance and capital support with the objective to enhance policies and institutions as well as support investments in local infrastructure and social services. Furthermore, the programme aims at protecting the local environment and promoting local economic development. Additionally the project is providing analytical support and advisory services to articulate the national strategy for the implementation of decentralization reforms and for improving the legal and regulatory framework related to decentralization.
The programme has to date achieved a number of tangible results. For example, District Facilitation Teams have been created at the governorate level to provide targeted technical support to the programme districts with a view to improve the capacity of these districts to perform their duties and functions according to the local authority system in Yemen. Furthermore, the districts have been provided with office facilities, furniture and equipment to enable district authorities to perform their functions in a more effective manner.
During Mr. Weingarten's visit, interviews can be arranged with Mr. Aladeen Al- Shawa, UNCDF Chief Technical Advisor, at (mobile) +967711622269, or email: aladeen.shawa@undp.org.
