NGO Perspectives on the PRSP

Chair: Kathy Selvaggio, Catholic Relief Services

Participants: Lisa Wright, National Council of Churches, Elena McCollim, Bread for the World, Patricia Forner, World Vision, Gerry Flood, Counselor, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Carol Welch, Friends of the Earth-US, Pam Foster, Halifax Initiative, Paul Tennassee, World Confederation of Labour, Barbara Unmuessig, WEED Germany, Rick Rowden, Results Educational Fund, Oliver Buston, Oxfam International, Pat Scheid, Aga Khan Foundation, Ann Hudock, World Learning Institute; Senior World Bank and IMF staff

Summary of discussion:

On October 24, 2001, representatives of a broad cross section of international NGOs met with management of the PRSP Initiative from the Bank and Fund for a discussion on NGOs perspectives on the initiative to date. Discussion also emphasized proposed adjustments to the PRSP process to respond more effectively to concerns raised both by the NGOs and by their constituencies. Ms. Kathy Selvaggio from Catholic Relief Services chaired the session.

1. PRSP guidelines require minimum standards
2. JSAs judge the adequacy of participation, instead of simply describing it
3. Governments be obliged to disclose input received from CSOs and explain how it was considered in the preparation of the PRSP
4. Consideration be given to allowing for a separate section in the PRSP where CSOs themselves assess the adequacy of the participation process.

The OXFAM representative noted that civil society is not taken seriously in many countries, and that the PRSP provides a good opportunity to involve them. The representative added that civil society needs to be integrated in a timely way, lest their non-engagement at the early stages results in their total withdrawal from the PRSP process.  A World Bank speaker noted that other groups have often been underrepresented, including the business community, research institutes, and public policy institutes (although this does not appear to be the case in Nicaragua and Honduras where the business community has been active). 

With respect to other issues, NGOs cannot grapple effectively with PRSP issues in an environment of poor information disclosure. In addition to poor disclosure policies in-country, the NGOs highlighted the failure of the IFIs to move ahead with a more robust and transparent disclosure policy, especially in the case of the Bank. Beyond the NGO community per se, key members of parliament are generally unaware of the poverty-related policy and financial implications of issues on which they are expected to approve. NGOs and parliamentarians often perceive that key macro and structural issues including trade liberalization, deregulation and privatization, which have an important bearing on poverty reduction, are not open to discussion in national PRSP dialogues. Evidence was borne out in the following examples - e.g. Ghana – PRSP on separate track to PRGF which included major privatization program; Dutch Oxfam’s  survey of PRSPs and Trade; and Uganda, where there is a disconnect between lending conditionality and the PRSP.

A question was raised with respect to the linkage and coherence of the PRSP Initiative with other important development initiatives, including the UN Financing for Development and the LDC III programs. The Fund speaker noted that the first phase of PRSPs needed to focus on the use of public resources and the delivery of better services for poverty reduction, and that the Fund and Bank were actively engaged on developing instruments for strengthening the pro-poor focus for the future. He noted that most of the PRSP countries had limited capacity to engage fully on bigger (pro-poor) issues, and will need policy and technical support from donor partners to move forward in this area. It was noted that, because of the initial linkage of PRSP to the HIPC Initiative, there was a  misunderstanding that PRSP was about spending incremental resources. It was also noted that both institutions were looking closely at the links between the PRSP, ownership and conditionality and would share the outcome of this analysis. The World Bank speaker said that the Bank is currently developing a Poverty and Social Impact Assessment toolkit for the use of countries in their PRSP work, and that efforts will be made to draw out best practice results as they emerge.               

NGOs asked if I-PRSPs had tended to constrain the quality of participation in full PRSPs. It was noted that I-PRSPs create a baseline statement of existing policies against which progress might be judged in the content of the full PRSP.

A concern was raised about the coherence, or lack thereof, between the PRSP and other Bank policy initiatives -- especially the Private Sector Development strategy.