Despite steady economic reform during the second half of the 1990s, poverty remained very high: more than a third of the total population lived beneath the poverty line. In Senegal, poverty is essentially a rural phenomenon. In addition, over the 1990s agriculture stagnated; attributed in part to limited basic infrastructure, continued state involvement in subsectors, poor quality farm support services, and a lack of empowerment of rural populations in planning, financing and managing local development.
In its strategy for development and poverty reduction, the government identified decentralization as critical to improving the living conditions of rural populations. The National Rural Infrastructure Project was designed as the first–or testing phase–of a potentially 12-year program to help strengthen rural Senegal’s local governments and their ability to operate and maintain infrastructure investments – starting with the building of roads. In addition to institutional support, IDA provided financing for local investments.
About 2.2 million people in 110 rural communities included in the first phase of the program reported marked improvements in living conditions, access to essential services, and incomes.
Highlights:
- Under the Local Investment Fund, each of 110 rural communities set up its own forum for the planning and implementation of projects–298 water supply projects, 141 schools, 140 health centers and health posts, 60 for women’s empowerment, among many others.
- An impact study using panel surveys of 850 households over 2002-05 showed a 25 percent increase in household incomes in project areas, and measurable progress in the weight and height of children under three years old.
- 247 kilometers of roads were rehabilitated; this measurably improved access to essential services, for example reducing the time needed to reach schools.
- The fiscal revenues of the rural communities covered by the project increased by a multiple of 2.8.
- Among the improvements to local governance and participation: transparent procurement for public services, improved management of local public finance, establishment of a transfer system for public funds from the center to local governments.
- The participation of marginalized groups at the local level–including women and young people–has increased considerably.
- Total project cost was US$47.5 million, of which IDA provided US$28 million from 2001 to 2005.
- Through this project, IDA had a large impact on the landscape of the country’s rural communities.
- IDA’s institutional support catalyzed the improvements in local governance, participation, and management of public finances.
- The project design provided the opportunity for rural communities in Senegal to engage in “learning-by-doing” practices, which, with adjustment, were internalized and sustainable.
- The project built a notably successful–and therefore replicable–system for the transfer of public resources to local governments.
International Fund for Agricultural Development, African Development Bank, OPEC
Although beneficiary communities have set up maintenance committees and set aside funds for operation and maintenance, operation and maintenance capacity is still weak and will require additional efforts by local governments. The subsequent phases of this program and the social development fund program were merged into the Participatory Local Development Project in the context of a national community-driven development program. The weak capacity and other related issues will continue to be addressed in order to ensure the sustainability of infrastructure.
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