I. INTRODUCTION

The Integrated Development Planning Project (generally referred to as the IDP) in Dominica is a unique and challenging task for two reasons. First, although many development plans have been prepared for Dominica, the people of the country have not been engaged in an organized or systematic way in the preparation or implementation of these plans. Second, although many of these plans have targeted sectoral needs, there have been very few attempts at consolidating the country’s response to these needs into one holistic national development plan. Our exercise seeks to change these aspects of planning in Dominica.

The Planning Framework that the IDP does four new and different things:

1. The values and vision of the people are treated as key determinants of the direction and strategy for national development, and as such, the IDP Framework reflects the priority issues as determined by the stakeholders themselves;

2. The IDP requires mechanisms for ongoing stakeholder involvement in the preparation of the plan, definition of programs and projects, implementation of associated actions and in the review of performance for possible corrective action;

3. The Framework encourages stakeholders to shift from a paradigm that is focused on narrow local, institutional or sectoral issues to an approach to development planning and implementation that is cross-cutting and takes national issues and priorities into account;

4. The resulting Plan is expected to influence the nature of public expenditure and transparency of expenditure controls at all levels of the economy.

We believe that IDP has the capacity to release the unexplored planning potential of the people of Dominica and to present new and creative arrangements among sectors and stakeholders that can respond to the development challenges facing the country. Our expectation is that this Framework will:

· Capture the emerging vision of the people;

· Reflect the values that shape that vision;

· Identify the key issues facing the people;

· Focus on areas for priority action at the local household and community level; the enterprise and sector levels as well as the inter-sector, national and regional levels.

As a Planning Process, the IDP facilitates the direct engagement of people of all sectors, (Public Sector, Private Sector and Civil Society) as stakeholders in the nation’s business, continuously performing the following functions;

· Identifying the key issues affecting their community/sector/country;

· Determining the priorities among these issues;

· Defining their vision for Dominica;

· Proposing measures (institutional, operational, legal, constitutional) for addressing these issues;

· Proposing measures for formalizing and institutionalising a participatory approach to planning for national development;

· Becoming involved in the design and implementation of the programs and projects;

· Staying involved in the monitoring, review and evaluation of the activities.

II. HOW THE PROJECT PURSUES ITS OBJECTIVES

The project is divided into three Phases. During Phase 1 (October – December 2001) the Team of Consultants undertook a series of sensitization, research, analysis and planning activities which were required for the design of the IDP. The Report of this Phase was submitted on January 7^th. 2002.

Phase 2 of the project (2 months) will shape a new process for IDP planning and develop the contents of a draft Integrated Development Plan.

Phase 3 will ensure that an implementation plan accompanies the approved IDP. This phase is also estimated to take 2 months.

III. PUBLIC SECTOR PREPAREDNESS

How prepared is the Public Sector for a new approach to Planning? We have recognized so far, three (3) factors that would contribute positively to setting the stage for their preparedness;

a) Recognition of the users of their services;

b) Interaction and collaboration among departments;

c) Sharing of resources and modification of the working conditions.

A sample consisting of 20 individuals was randomly selected from three departments each within three Ministries, namely, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communications and Works and the Ministry of Community Development and Gender Affairs.

a. Users of Services:

The customers of services of these Ministries were identified from all sectors of society. The Civil Society and Community groups/Village councils were the main users of these services representing 32% of the known clients. Farmers were the next largest group representing 18%.

b. Interaction and Collaboration among departments:

Interaction within Ministries is expected to promote unity and improve work atmosphere. It facilitates contacts and networking as well as allowing the staff to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. 23% of our respondents cited good staff working relationship and special efforts by various Ministries/Departments to work together as reasons for good collaboration.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry Division had the closest working relationship with its clients. There were also close internal working relationship between the departments of Environment, Administration and Lands and Surveys;
The Ministry of Communications and Works worked closest with construction-related firms and also with the Tourism and Hotel industry and had also developed good relationship with the Financial Institutions and the Merchants and Retailers.
50% of the interaction of the Ministry of Community Development and Gender Affairs was related to special education; 33% to Trust Funds. Interaction among its departments took place mainly during Policy Development, Heads of Department Meetings, Interpersonal Staff relations, Training sessions and Work Development Programs.

c. Sharing Resources

18% of all Departments shared training facilities/programs.
14% of all Departments shared conference facilities, equipment and material, information/data and staff/technical expertise.
20% of respondents felt that the quality of their services can be significantly improved through more effective hiring practices and computerization and systemitisation of work.

IV. CIVIL SOCIETY RESPONSIVENESS

How responsive would be the Civil Society? Several functions were identified as constituting the role of the Civil Society in the IDP process. Chief among these were:

§ Contributing to policy/programs/ projects;

§ Participation at all levels in the process and in the execution of plans and programs

§ Being a vehicle for facilitating more grass roots participation as well as more responsibility at the local government level.

The IDP Team also conducted a survey of those we considered to be key members of Civil Society. The sample selection consisted of Service Clubs, Professionals, Cultural Groups, Trade Unions, NGOs and Improvement Committees. At the micro or village level civil society organizations were drawn from Morne Jaune, Riviere Cyrique and Grand Fond. In a survey conducted by the IDP Team, 27% of the Civil Society respondents stated that participation in the IDP process would better enable their organization to make more informed decisions on issues affecting them.

We further surmised from the Survey that the most pressing issues affecting the preparedness of Civil Society to play a meaningful role in the IDP process are:

a) Their organizational life-cycle

b) Their financial base

c) Their planning/reporting capability

d) Their institutional strengthening needs

e) The quality of collaborative experience

The survey responses to these issues were very enlightening:

a. Organizational life-cycle

§ Out of total of 35 registered companies, 20% have been in existence for over 20 years, while 26% came into being within the last 5-14 years.

§ 74% have been in continuous existence since their inception while 14% had broken ranks at least once.

§ A number of the organizations had dual registration or were registered under more than one umbrella body.

b. Financing

§ 38% of financing came from general Fundraising activities.

§ 18% of financing came from Private Sector donations

§ 13% came from International Organizations

c. Reporting capability

36% of organizations produced regular financial reports
Programme planning is done on an ad-hoc basis
Participation in the planning exercise is limited to General membership and the Board/Executive Committee.

d. Needs Assessment

23% needed assistance in being able to schedule activities
20% needed support in implementing participatory planning
18% needed support in follow through commitments
Other areas identified as requiring attention are developing monitoring and evaluation indicators/success targets, writing reports and prioritizing activities.

e. Linkage and Collaboration

The general rating for quality of collaboration existing between civil society, the Private and Public Sectors was good.
56% cited positive responses to their requests for assistance/sponsorship by the Private sector and the Public sector.

V. COMMUNITY RESOLVE

As part of the Integrated Development Plan process, we held community level discussions on pertinent issues to ensure awareness and understanding of the process. Community meetings of a broad range of leaders and key individuals in communities constituted a very important mechanism for data gathering and information sharing. Zonal meetings were held in LaPlaine, Colihaut, Marigot, Grandbay, Portsmouth, and Roseau with persons from surrounding villages being bused in to these meetings.

From these meetings we received responses from the public on 19 categories of issues[1]. They presented us with 101 suggested solutions to these issues. 95% of the issues were raised once or twice. However, there were five (5) particular issues/solutions which occurred more than four times.

Table 1: Most popular problems & Solutions

# of times	Priority Issues/Problems	Suggested Solutions
9	Local government not involved/consulted on initiatives in their areas	Empower local government to manage, give them mechanism for support, e.g. technical expertise to enable implementation, decentralization of services, e.g. Road maintenance, building plan approval
6	Poor performance/low productivity of public sector	Create disciplinary procedures to ensure standards within the public service
5	Diversification	Tell farmers what to diversify to (there must be market for the new products), how much to produce and provide them with financial help/inputs for diversification.
5	Poor attitude toward work, lack of work ethics, low productivity	Change in mentality towards work
4	Political divisiveness	Give local government more authority so people can implement their own development projects without the divisions caused by political promises
4	Lack of patriotism, love for country & national pride	Integrate patriotism/values for nation building into the education system.

VI. WORKSHOPS

The Workshops have given us very much early insight into the economic and social priorities of the different stakeholders. We have concluded that programme of economic stabilization under an IDP process will have to answer the following five (5) questions:

· Political Directorate: Are the benefits worth the political risks? (Politically feasible)

· Public Sector Managers: Will we get the necessary cooperation to achieve our agreed targets? (Predictable)

· Private Sector: Can we see some new confidence in the future? (Return to Growth)

· Civil Society: Where do we meaningfully participate in it? (Transparency)

· Youth: Does it hold out hope for us? (Employment creation)

The Private Sector Workshop’s objectives were:

To arrive at a consensus on the definition/composition of the “private sector”.
To articulate a vision for Dominica within the framework of the integrated development process.
To examine the role of the private sector in national development
To identify priorities and areas for partnership within and between sectors.

The Civil Society Workshop’s objectives were:

To advance towards an acceptable definition of “Civil Society”
To fine tune and prioritize issues of sub-sector concerns for Civil Society organizations
To develop some consensus on issues to be given priority attention in the Integrated Development Plan for Dominica.
To develop proposals for a replicable process leading to an Integrated Development Plan.
To identify and develop possible areas of partnering among sectors for development.

The Public Sector Workshop’s objectives were:

To advance the IDP Process by engaging the public sector in an overview of the exercise with a view to articulating a vision for Dominica within the framework of an IDP process.
To provide feedback of responses from the wider community on views concerning the modernization of the public service in Dominica.
To discourse with Public Sector participants approaches to the achievement of a high degree of awareness, consensus and commitment by the public service t the IDP Process.
Undertaking an interactive session to determine how the private sector and civil society can best partner with the public sector in an ongoing IDP Process.

The Objectives of the Youth Symposium were:

To sensitive young persons to the Integrated Development Plan and Planning Process.
To facilitate young persons in defining their role in national development.
To stimulate young persons to become fully involved in the IDP Process.

A final Joint Workshop was held in which all stakeholders were invited to:

o share their perspectives on the key issues confronting the country,

o share their vision of the prospects for the country over the next 15-20 years;

o share their suggestions for measures that addressed the key issues and bring the vision closer to reality.

At this workshop 71 different issues/solutions were proffered. The key issues were:

a) People need to be more involved in the Budget Process:

b) Communities need to be engaged in a public awareness and education programme

c) There needs to be a national crusade to promote job creation

§ Buy local campaign

§ Use of culture and talent in public education

§ Better use of Cruise ship industry

§ Focused education on value of work and land

§ Lower duties

§ Special office for returning Dominicans desirous of investing.

VII. REFOCUSING ON DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

Our work has already pointed out some major actions required for the implementation of both the IDP process and IDP projects. These are:

a) Endorsement of the IDP process (essentially commitment and action) by the political directorate and its potential successors.

b) Reflection of the IDP target goals in the project content of the PSIP.

c) Involvement of stakeholders in the composition of the national budget (more appropriately in a medium-term public expenditure framework).

d) Understanding by Sectoral Ministries of how the IDP process can enhance their effectiveness.

e) Commitment of senior civil servants to inter-Ministerial cooperation along the lines of cross-cutting issues.

f) Acceptance of accountability and evaluation of Ministry performance as instruments for improving the quality of services and service delivery systems.

g) Involvement of Parliament in a broad-based (non-partisan) support of the legislative framework for implementing the IDP process.

h) Understanding by all stakeholders of the role of paradigms in shaping how we view our problems and solutions.

Donor support to this process is of course essential. We can conclude so far that what is needed is:

a) Alignment of donor support to serve the national development goals expressed in an IDP;

b) Technical assistance in the preparation and implementation of IDP programmes

o Strengthening data systems

o Building financial management capacity and accountability

o Respect for leadership and responsibility in determining the design, contents and implementation of our programme

o Sharing information of their staff assessment

o Sharing experience from other countries

o Aligning financial disbursement modalities and policy conditionality to strengthen the IDP implementation process

o Assisting us to overcome institutional and Human resource constraints.

The IDP process has begun to provide us with the “signature” of an IDP project. This includes:

Clearly defined commitments, responsibilities and benefits to stakeholders.
Capacity of various stakeholders to capture benefits from programs
Government Policy that serves not only as a guide to expected behaviour but also as a definition of target objectives
The cross cutting approach that follows the potential impact trail.
Project implementation through all different levels of Governance

VIII. THE STRATEGIC VISION OF THE IDP

As a national development Plan, the IDP will require coordination of missions and pricing policies of the major corporate structures with State ownership (partial and total). It will be incumbent of all these institutions to re-examine their operational policies and see whether their contributions to their mission goals can be enhanced through collaborative efforts with either local or regional partners. This may be particularly true for:

o State Enterprises (Dexia, NDC)

o Utilities with state participation

o Financial institutions with state participation

o Indigenous financial institutions

o Service delivery mechanisms in the social sector Ministries

It is also evident that the following Ministries/Departments[2] will have to re-formulate their approaches (mission statements) along clearer policy lines in order to improve on their capacity to make a positive impact on economic activity:

o Finance

o Planning

o Public Works

o Communications

o Agriculture

o Industry/ Tourism

o Enterprise Development

We also expect to see some measures to distribute some level of public expenditure responsibility to other levels of Government. These may take the form of financial transfers:

o Category transfers to provide the minimum level of services in health and education, with the participation of NGOs and CBOs (Community Based Organizations) in delivery, monitoring and evaluation.

o Equalizing grants to address resource endowment differences among different communities.

o Project specific grants to support communities in implementing their local development plans.

We also expect to see new fiscal liabilities that were not there before. These will arise from our particular circumstances as Government takes responsibilities for social recovery strategies (in banana/agriculture), social investment activities and disaster-mitigation plans to address the three vulnerability issues (external economic shocks, climate change and potential threat of volcanic activity).

We can speculate on some of the systems and instruments that would support the implementation of the IDP. The most obvious one is some broad-based participation in a “Medium Term Public Expenditure Framework”. This Framework will allow the major stakeholders (Private sector, Public sector and Civil Society) to agree on the desirable levels of public spending in selected thematic categories (not line-item budgeting) and also to indicate:

§ What programmes we would want to protect;

§ What entitlements we would want to maintain;

§ Where is the fiscal capacity for dealing with the vulnerability issues.

In terms of methods of operations we can visualize the need for Ministries to shift more towards the management of Policies than the execution of programmes. Management of Policy means performing two very important technical functions:

1. Managing the constructive involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of Policy

2. Managing the service support to policy goals and targets which cut across Ministerial and/or departmental lines (cross-cutting issues)

In this respect we can view our current Ministerial structure into two categories:

a) Economy-impacting Ministries:

i. Ministry of Trade, Industry & Marketing

ii. Ministry of Foreign Affairs

iii. Ministry of Communications & Works

iv. Ministry of Tourism

v. Ministry of Finance & Planning

vi. Ministry of Agriculture and Environment

b) Social Sector impacting Ministries:

i. Ministry of Education, Science & Technology

ii. Ministry of Health and Social Security

iii. Ministry of Community Development and Women’s Affairs

iv. Ministry of Agriculture and Environment

v. Ministry of Legal Affairs, Labour and Carib Affairs.

We would expect the Ministries which impact directly on the economy, to work with the private sector in building and implementing a set of cohesive policies which will enhance our global advantages (where possible), give us a competitive edge in the domestic market (read Caricom Single Market) and attract other sources of investment funds into our local financial market.

We would expect the Ministries which have a direct impact on social and economic well-being to work closely with civil society through the different levels of governance (local Government) in the design and delivery of critical social services (health and education), in the institutional management of social services (cost-sharing, maintenance of facilities; co-management of educational curricula; conservation of the natural environment).

Most importantly, however, are the changes in the Office of the Prime Minister, more specifically the Cabinet Secretariat. We would find it necessary that a “Technical Secretariat” be established within the office of the Cabinet [3] to assist Ministers and their Permanent Secretaries in evaluating the technical and financial needs for supporting critical Policy goals incorporated in the IDP.

IX. Strategies for Economic Recovery and Growth

Stakeholders have been very expressive when it comes to what needs to be done to get the economy moving again. We have distilled these into what appears to be three working models of economic recovery and growth. These models are not exclusive of each other and can be pursued simultaneously.

Export Growth Model

a) Increase Export Earnings à Investment Funds à Capital formation expenditures à Employment à Growth;

This strategy would seek, among other things, to:

§ Stabilize banana export earnings at EC$25 million with the participation of 1200 growers and yields approaching 8 tns per acre;

§ Broaden the participation of income earners in the tourism industry (opportunities for agriculture, agro-forestry; music/entertainment and sports)

§ Build on investment initiatives identified by “regional” development committees (e.g. South-West Tourism Development Committee) comprising local area private sector members, civil society organizations and local government in local area planning.

§ Spurn capital formation expenditures at a broad level of society.

Human Resource Development Model

b) Health/Education Services à Investment in Human Resources à Multiple levels of service exports à Earnings à Consumption à Growth;

This strategy suggests a key focus on mobilizing all human resources that are identified as Dominican, regardless of whether they are resident in the State or overseas. It will seek, among other things, to:

§ Utilize those health and education workers who have migrated or are being recruited abroad to support the improvement of the systems they left behind in remittances in cash or kind through the work of NGOs and other civil society organizations;

§ Invest in quality training in construction skills, agricultural support skills (private extension, marketing and farm-management support), personal service skills (tourism), performing arts skills (music/culture/art) and information technology skills.

§ Target the CARICOM Single market (as our extended domestic market) to export these skills or import them as opportunities in the country reveal themselves.

§ Spurn income-earning activities at a broad level of society.

Social recovery and Growth Model

c) Targeted Social & Economic Recovery Expenditures à Effective demand of poor & not-so-poor increasesà Indigenous enterprises addressing employment and production à new Global market niche à Growth.

This strategy is based on the fact that having 4,265 farmers loose an accumulated income of EC$29.188 million between 1990 – 2000, impacting on 14,000 farm work opportunities[4], is not only a serious blow to national economy, but also to the rural economy, agricultural workers, family households and community cohesion.

Table 2: Sources of Income in the Rural Economy

Agriculture

(Crops, Livestock, Fisheries, Forestry)

Rural Non-Agriculture

Transfers

Small Farmers

(Owner-Cultivators)

Permanent Wage Labourers

Temporary wage Labourers

Self-Employed;

Traders;

The Elderly;

Female Headed Households

Disabled;

Domestic Food Production;

Export Trade;

Input to Agro-processing;

Work on targeted banana farms;

Work in rural tourism;

Work on Community infrastructure;

Agro-processing;

Tourism;

Supplying Inputs to farms;

Social Safety Net;

Consumption Security;

Subsidized access to social services;

The Rural economy is more than agriculture. It encompasses all of the opportunities for creating income and wealth in a land-based environment. These opportunities have a supply side which includes the provision of infrastructural services which support production and employment, as well as the provision of education and health services which support the human resource component. There is also a demand side which is fueled by family incomes, need for input services, household products. But this demand side is currently tempered by perception of personal risks, low productivity of assets, age of head of households, availability of services and an inability to capture benefits from the available services.

This strategy puts heavy emphasis on rebuilding the level of effective demand in the rural economy. Is seeks to do so by utilizing the Social recovery programmes in the banana affected areas as a springboard for rebuilding economic activity in the rural economy. These programmes as recommended[5], fall into three categories:

The Social Recovery Fund is expected to provide;

§ an immediate response to direct poverty needs,

§ addressing social vulnerability at the community level and

§ increasing income-earning opportunities.

The projects will be executed by the Fund itself as well as through grants to:

o Ministry of Health & Social Security;

o Ministry of Community Development & Women’s Affairs;

o Village Councils;

o Area-wide development committees (when established);

o The New Banana Corporation;

Pro-Growth Initiatives of the Social Recovery Strategy are aimed at stimulating economic growth initiatives in the communities which have been hard hit by the continuing crisis in the banana industry. These initiatives are designed as the first step in seeking broad-based participation in stopping the continued decline in social and economic well-being in these communities. These funds will be made available to fund (partially or totally) projects which,

§ promote small agri-input supplies industry,

§ train persons for rural-based tourism industries and

§ promote area-wide development committees along the model of the South-East Tourism Development Committee.

Social Investment Fund will comprise a series of medium-term policy and programme objectives which are being recommended in order to institutionalize the strategy in a manner that continues to include the full participation of stakeholders not only as recipients but also as co-determinants of the contents of the strategy. Social Investment Fund should be financed:

§ By an entitlement of 10% of the value of the combined budget allocations to Health, Education and Community Development each year. [6]

§ Through endowments sought from corporate sources locally and internationally and from organized citizen groups in the Diaspora;

§ Joint contributions by other Donor groups including the World Bank[7].

X. Strategic Vision of Stakeholders

Our interaction with the over 600 stakeholders in community meetings, surveys and workshops points to a vision of their participation which is strategic to the successful implementation of an IDP process.

The Strategic Vision sees a Public Sector which:

a) Knows how to involve the Private sector and Civil Society in active partnership in formulating a Medium-Term Public Expenditure Framework;

b) Utilizes the mechanism of the Public Accounts Committee and creates its own reporting mechanism to demonstrate Transparency and accountability in the discharge of public business;

c) Reorganizes career development in the Service leading to higher skilled, better paid but a smaller staffed civil service;

d) Can effectively networking among departments in different Ministries in a comprehensive response to cross-cutting issues.

The successful implementation of the IDP’ goals in terms of economic recovery requires a strategic vision of the Private Sector which sees it:

a) Actively involved in deciding the elements of a Medium-Term Public Expenditure Framework from which the annual budgets can be determined;

b) Enhancing its own combined capability (finance, manufacturing and primary production) to service a dynamic domestic extended market of 7 million in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy in areas of primary food products; agro-manufactures, water; personal skills and services; joint tourism destinations and sports/events tourism;

c) Participating in the formulation of a more cohesive set of Policies relating to Trade, Utility and Port Costs, adoption of information technology and promotion of music, entertainment and art-form enterprises;

d) Seeing the formation of parallel representative organization to represent the informal businesses, farmers and vendors in comparison with the existing representations from the manufacturing, commercial and financial units of the private sector.

The Strategic Vision for Civil Society would require that NGOs, CBOs[8] and other major units in Civil Society to continuously:

a) Strengthen their organizational capacity to share information and mobilize their membership to capture the benefits of economic programmes;

b) Within their area of competence, participate in the delivery of health and social security services to targeted communities; in the management and maintenance of educational facilities; in the introduction of relevant content in the educational and training (human resource development) curricula;

c) Organize local area development committee to make an inventory of available skills and resources in the local area; initiate locally-based activities in agriculture, nutrition, land-resource management (forestry and watershed area) and rural based tourism;

d) Provide assistance through professional associations (architects, planners, engineers) to support local government in:

§ Improving their community service activities

§ Develop initiatives to attract more businesses to their communities;

Finally the Strategic Vision of the IDP includes constitutional change in which the size of Parliament as an institution of peoples’ representation is reduced to more manageable proportions and stronger vertical linkages are established between different levels of representation including:

§ Social and community organizations

§ Village council representations

§ Regional (local area) development committees

§ National (Parliamentarian) representation.

[1] These responses are detailed in Appendix 3 of our Report.

[2] For convenience we will refer to this group as the “Economy-impacting Ministries”; The other are more important in their impact on social and economic well-being.

[3] Currently we have “Cabinet Secretariat – Administration”; we are proposing adding “Cabinet Secretariat – Technical Support”

[4] The Social Impact Assessment Survey reported that the 1995 ratio employment opportunities (temporary and permanent) per banana farmer is reported at 3.45

[5] “The Repositioning of Ex-Banana Farmers and Workers into the National Economy of Dominica: The Social Recovery Strategy” Whitco Ltd. April 2002.

[6] Indicates Government’s willingness to take responsibility for the Social Recovery Strategy and provides external Funders with a credible “exit strategy”.

[7] It is assumed that the initial funding for the Social Recovery Strategy will come from the EU under STABEX allocations.

[8] Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

1. INTRODUCTION

What is challenging in an IDP approach?

First, although many development plans have been prepared for Dominica and are the subject of an equal number of Reports, the people of the country appear not to have been engaged in the preparation or implementation of these plans. Second, although many plans have targeted sector needs, there have been few attempts at consolidating the country’s response to these needs into one holistic national development plan. This present exercise seeks to change that. - p.4.

What signals the appropriate timing of this assignment?

This assignment has also been designed in the spirit and substance of the Cotonou Agreement (June 23, 2000) in which civil society and the private sector are required to become directly engaged with the public sector in the task of shaping and building the economy. Apart from the evident implications for policymaking and the management of the economy, this link to external development assistance has direct and important bearing on the prospects for successfully accessing the financing needed to implement the programmes and projects arising from the Plan. - p.5

What is Integrated development Planning (IDP)?

This approach to development planning seeks to facilitate the direct engagement of people of all sectors, the stakeholders of the nation’s business, in the following:

· Identifying the key issues affecting their community/sector/country;

· Determining the priorities among these issues;

· Defining their vision for Dominica;

· Proposing measures (institutional, operational, legal, constitutional) for addressing these issues;

· Proposing measures for formalizing and institutionalising a participatory approach to planning for national development;

· Becoming involved in the design and implementation of the programs and projects;

· Remaining involved in the monitoring, review and evaluation of the activities.

- p.5.

Why is the IDP chosen as an approach?

It is clear that national planning efforts to-date have not contributed to social and economic progress reflective of national aspirations. This approach defines a new planning process that responds to the aspirations and needs of the people of the country and this is more likely to occur if the principles of partnership, participation, transparency and accountability inform the process. – p.6

What is the vision that will guide the IDP?

People from all walks of life have indicated that they wish to see and help build a society where there is harmony among people and between people and their God and His creation. The consensus is for a country that is organized to meet the needs of its people without compromising the chances of future generations doing the same. The future Dominica has been described as a stable and just society where discipline and respect for the individual is assured by a participatory and responsible approach to economic and social tasks at the community and the national levels. – p.8

What guarantee is there that this approach will achieve progress?

One of the more effective guarantees of impact is that the population remains involved in all stages of the process through to implementation as all sectors take ownership of the Plan and ensure performance and accountability while accepting to share in the burdens and the benefits of national development. Other guarantees include measures to ensure that the IDP informs the national Budget and that the IDP timeline takes account of other projects and programs which are ready-to-go (Education Plan, Legislative Provisions for Improved Financial Management); projects being finalized for funding (Agricultural Diversification, Eco-tourism); and new projects being conceptualised (organic farming, renewable energy, affordable housing, air access, waste management, small enterprise development). – p. 8-9

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

2. Methodology

What was the Methodology employed during this phase?

The methodology employed during this phase included a review of literature, sensitisation of stakeholders and information gathering, utilizing various communication and data collection techniques. The principle of ensuring broad and sustained participation guided the design and conduct of the process. p. 11

The response rate of 32% (of total invitees) was realized for community meetings with a similar rate (35%) noted in respect of sectoral workshops. A gender analysis of participants reveals that 35% of attendees at community meetings and 45% at workshops, were female. p. 13

What were the major Team activities in Phase 1 (2 months)?

The methodology included a total of twenty-five (25) team activities and meetings, and three team workshops.

· Four (4) reference groups were formed. These included a broad based committee, and reference groups within civil society, economic planning, and the public sector. Consultative meetings were held with these groups.

· Sensitisation meetings were held with the following persons and groups: The President of the Commonwealth of Dominica, media workers, broad civil society group, three political parties, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the Committee of Permanent Secretaries, religious leaders, the private sector and the bankers association. The objectives of these meetings were to provide information on the concept of integrated development planning, to introduce the consultancy and it’s terms of reference, to receive feedback and to motivate persons to explore their role in the process, thus fostering commitment.

· Community meetings of a broad range of leaders and key individuals in communities constituted a very important mechanism for data gathering and information sharing. Zonal meetings were held in LaPlaine, Colihaut, Marigot, Grandbay, Portsmouth, and Roseau with persons from surrounding villages being bused in to these meetings.

· Four Sectoral Workshops were held: Youth, Private Sector, Public Sector and Joint Sectoral. These workshops provided the opportunity for more focused and detailed discussions on vision, priority issues and recommended solutions.

p. 11/12

What empirical data did the team collect?

· Empirical information was obtained from the public sector and civil society through small surveys, utilizing administered questionnaires. For the public sector component the survey was conducted in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, the Ministry of Communications and Works and the Ministry of Community Development and Gender Affairs. The objectives of the study were to determine the public sector’s perception regarding it’s role, modernization of the sector, level of linkages inter, intra and extra ministerial, and it’s knowledge of reforms undertaken in the sector.

· The study in the civil society sector was conducted among organizations at the micro or village level and at national level. The objectives were to determine the level of organization of groups at those levels, their functioning and linkages. The fieldwork was designed and conducted with technical assistance and utilized a team of interviewers.

· Media promotion of the IDP process was frustrated by the denial of access to the media during the initial half of the phase one period

- p. 15

How extensive were the Team’s reviews of previous documentation?

The Team mounted review sessions on all the documents identified in the terms of reference. Those were in many respects broad and very general. In addition team members undertook extensive reviews of 92 documents listed in the Bibliography of Appendix 1 to this Report. Those reviews were instructive in many important respects including the following:

Providing material which spoke directly to the steps required to make the shift from the present regime of exclusive domination by the public sector in planning and administration to one of partnering with private sector and civil society.
Measures that were available by way of draft legislation or otherwise for implementation but were subjected to undue delays endemic to the system.
Reviews and analysis of the economic situation in the country, and prescriptions for remedial action. Some of those needed adjustment in an IDP environment.
Reports containing approaches adopted by other countries that could serve as best practices for the IDP project. Many of those would need modification to suit our situation and this has in fact been pursued in some instances.

- p. 16

What is the sensitization work which is still outstanding?

Continuing sensitisation for wider and sustained public participation is currently being designed. This will of necessity involve greater utilization of the media in creative ways, and the engagement of already established community mechanisms including service clubs, professional associations and others. In this regard, the strengthening of communication links with the Diaspora to allow for their meaningful participation is being undertaken.

Other specific groups have also been targeted for dialogue - The Cabinet of ministers, Parliamentarians, the elderly, Dominicans returned from the UK and other countries, Women and gender affairs bureau, farmers, hucksters vendors, etc. More extensive consultation with the Committee of Permanent Secretaries is being planned for Phase 2.

Critically, the validation process must include a sharing of the findings of this phase with all stakeholders. This is essential for building ownership and fostering commitment to share in the burdens and benefits of development, and sustaining participation. - p.17

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

3. REPORT ON CROSS-CUTTING AND SECTORAL ISSUES

3.1 Macroeconomy

Observations

What are the basic observations about the economy?

· The entire economy (not simply the banana or tourism sector) is vulnerable to external shocks (Footnote: We are speaking of the vulnerability of production structures, income and employment opportunities and trade relations to natural disasters and external economic shocks which are beyond the control of national authorities.).It is collective and coordinated efforts that will build economic resilience.

· Debt servicing obligations are expected to rise from 10% of recurrent revenues in 1999 to about 34% in 2001. With personal emoluments and goods and services already accounting for 80% of current revenues in 1999, there isn’t much room to accommodate additional debt servicing obligations without a serious dislocation of other commitments.

· The private sector has observed that the “cost of doing business” in Dominica works against their efforts at becoming more competitive. Indeed, the private sector believes that Government Policies (energy, transportation and tax policies) are contributing to the un-competitive environment in which they must operate.

· There has been a fundamental shift in the approach of external donors. The paradigm has shifted to funding projects, which have their origin and rationale in a comprehensive development plan to which all stakeholders would have contributed. p. 19-21

The Macroeconomy in Pre-Crisis

What are the three major components of any economic recovery strategy?

The three major components of any economic recovery strategy, namely:

· The level of Export earnings;

· The level of domestic investments;

· The level of donor support for public sector investment

p. 22

What would be a simple quantitative recovery plan?

a) Increasing the level of export earnings: estimated at $370.2 m (2000); growing at average 5% over the next 4 years will put it at EC $472 m. by 2005.

b) Reversing the downward trend in private domestic investment; reportedly at $119.2 m in 2000; achieving 1997 level of EC $162.4 m by 2005 (average growth of 6.25% per annum)

c) Mobilize continued donor support for maintaining the public sector investment programme at approximately EC $130 million annually.

p. 22

Why setting quantitative targets is not an adequate response?

The economy is facing more than cyclical difficulties. The platform for recovery will not be found in a new export product or a new leading sector. The fundamentals of yesterday’s economy, preferential trade access, increasing development assistance and comparative advantage, are no longer present. The new fundamentals have to do with the provision of an adequate and credible structure and coherent policies to allow all of the economic actors in Dominica to achieve their economic targets. The absence of this structure leads us to observe that the economy remains in a “pre-crisis” mode. p. 22

What should be the Policy objectives for a resurgence of growth?

There is no simple universal blueprint for a successful development strategy. The Policy objectives, which will support a resurgence of growth, are well known. They include:

· Promotion of Tourism and Agriculture as major export earners;

· Promoting an environment, which reduces the cost of doing business in Dominica;

· Developing a programme approach to guide donor participation in capital investments

p. 23

What are some of the concerns in promoting an enabling business environment?

· The first is the concern about market demand. The future for growth of medium to large size businesses in Dominica is in the external market (both regional and international). Both Europe and the USA are experiencing a slow down in economic activity brought about by some decline in consumer confidence in the short-term future. We are really on our own trying to find that ray of hope in the global economy.

· The second concern is the competitiveness of the local manufacturing sector, both in terms of the domestic market, which is opening up to external competition and the world market where the playing field is definitely uneven. Expanding the class of entrepreneurs (particularly small and medium size enterprises) and building a more competitive structure of operations (flexible wage policies) are two policy objectives that require close attention.

· The third concern is that in a downward business cycle one does not expect to find a tremendous appetite for risk-taking and high interest rates do not help the problem. But it is precisely new ventures in the business sector that are needed to improve the prospects for an economic recovery. p. 24-25

What is the cornerstone of a Public Sector Response?

The Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) at EC$130 m., will continue to be a strategic expenditure in support of both physical and social infrastructure. Since revenue collection and the structure of taxation are an intricate part of any debt management strategy, it is unthinkable for such a strategy to be effectively formulated and implemented without a more open dialogue with stakeholders. Economic stabilization methods, as immediate short-term measures will require the full confidence and cooperation of the private sector. p. 25-26.

How must this Public Sector response become more visible?

The corner stone of these programmes must include in a visible way:

a) The enunciation of appropriate Expenditure Policy and Expenditure Control Policy;

b) Information Sharing to give substance to the approach of inclusiveness;

c) Accountability procedures in the administration of public finances.

p. 26

What operational changes Government must make?

a) Ensure that the PSIP funding objectives find their justification in the Integrated Development Plan. This is not only necessary for attracting donor support but will provide credence to the participation of many individuals and groups in the IDP process.

b) Become “intentional” in its enunciation of macro-economic policy in general and expenditure policy in particular. Stakeholders need to determine their course of action on some level of predictability in terms of the instruments that the Government will use and the results that can be expected.

c) Bring into the picture of debt management other types of assets and liabilities that the Government manages and which can influence the credibility of the Government.

p. 28

Are stakeholders willing to support better economic governance?

Our sensitisation process has revealed substantial support for seven specific directives for domestic policy in support of economic development. These include:

· Investing in people and building administrative capacity;

· Improving infrastructure facilities (both physical and social);

· Fostering enterprise competitiveness, regional economic integration and market access;

· Promoting sound banking system and financial development;

· Encouraging private investment;

· Promoting good governance.

p.28

Do Debt Management Policies affect Macroeconomic Management?

In an interesting discourse on whether Debt Management Policies do affect Macroeconomic management, Prof. Michael Dooley of the University of California, Santa Cruz gave the following response, “It all depends on where you live”. In the industrial world, the relationship between these two sets of policy is very weak. In the developing countries, however, the fact that poor debt management can force a Government into defaulting on its debt service obligations changes the entire role of debt management. p.31

What are some poor debt management practices?

There are five (5) well known poor debt management practices:

Using a captive investor as source of credit
Forced borrowing by non-payment of transfers
Wide interpretation of authority to borrow leading to contracting overdrafts and short-term high interest loans
Incurring contingent liabilities both explicit and implicit.
Collateralizing public debt with either shares in state-owned enterprises or by specific sources of future tax revenues.

p. 33

Is there evidence of poor debt management practices in Dominica?

The Government of Dominica has pursued at least four (4) of these practices;

The National Commercial Bank has been used as a captive investor resulting in an exposure to one borrower to the extent of 80 – 100% of its capital reserves;
The Dominica Social Security has become a creditor through non-payment of transfers and even arrears.
Overdrafts and high-interest loans (Trinidad debt) have become a significant instrument in the most recent past.

p. 33

What is the real cost of poor debt management practices?

If the cash-flow crisis of the Government, or the high interest rate or scarcity of available credit for the private sector, or increase in taxation and reduction in public expenditures are all related to attempts to restructure the public debt, then the cost of poor debt management policy is much more than the increase in interest payments. The loss in real output potential, in investor confidence and in the entrepreneur’s appetite for taking risks in our economy really swamps the narrowly defined cost expressed in terms of increased interest payments. p. 34

Why is Debt Management not a simple mathematical problem?

The Government portfolio is the largest financial portfolio in the country. In our situation in Dominica, the Debt Management Unit has to move up to the challenge of seeing the total bundle of assets and liabilities which the Government has to work with as the real decision variables and not each incremental debt instrument and its corresponding servicing obligations. Debt management is not a mathematical problem. It is about maintaining creditor confidence so that Government can meet its financing needs and its payment obligations at the lowest possible cost over the medium term (3-5 years) to long term. p.35

What is Good Debt Management?

Good debt management, therefore continuously asks the question: Is our Government generating a debt structure both explicit and implicit (the loan guarantees, the insurance that we are giving to domestic financial institutions) which can change investor expectations of our ability to make good on our promises? p. 36

Fiscal Stabilization

What does our baseline scenario (p.38) reveal?

A baseline scenario as presented in Table 2: reveals three important features of the fiscal imbalance:

a) The primary budget deficit has been totally supported in the past by Budgetary Grants from donors. This is not a situation that can be expected to continue indefinitely;

b) If we are to avoid any further default on our debt payments, and if we are to honour the current debt obligations, this (reliance on donor support) will be the major source of instability in the fiscal position.

c) Event if we reduce the growth in personal emolument on the expenditure side from 8% in 1999 to 1 % in 2003 we would still be in difficulties. The message is clear; the growth in personal emoluments has to be reversed.

p. 39

Why is a reliance on donor support also potentially destabilizing?

In a very interesting study done by Robert Lensink and Oliver Morrisey, the authors found the impact of Foreign Aid on economic growth to be negligible.[1] That was only half of the story. The other half is that they included in their regression a measure for Aid Uncertainty and found that not only was uncertainty about aid important but it was detrimental to economic growth. It is not uncommon for the commitments of donors to exceed their actual disbursement. In fact, the level of aid cannot be reliably predicted based only on donors’ commitments. It therefore makes no sense for us to increase the degree of aid dependency in our analysis of fiscal stabilization. p. 39

Is our current view of fiscal stabilization too narrow?

The second word of caution has to do with the narrow view of the issue of fiscal stabilization as one of simply getting the numbers right. Once we widen our perspective, it is easy to recognize that fiscal policy is at the heart of defining the role of Government in the economy. And since growth is the over-riding concern in the economy, fiscal policy will define the role of Government in fostering economic growth. p. 40

What Fiscal expenditures are necessary to stabilize the role of Government in promoting growth in the economy?

Government expenditures can influence growth in three ways. The first is by its contribution to spending on physical capital as reflected in the Public Sector Investment Programme of EC $130 million (2000/2001). Government expenditures also affect economic growth through its contribution to human capital formation. In fiscal year 2000/2001 these expenditures are estimated at EC $35.3 million in Education and EC $28.4 million in Health. Finally, even Government current expenditures can contribute to economic growth. Of particular importance are those directed at maintaining the physical and capital stock, influencing technological change in industry, commerce and the public sector and maintaining social cohesion and political stability. p. 40-41

Is it the size of our debt that is destabilizing the economy?

The third word of caution is in respect to how large can a sustainable deficit be? The answer is that it all depends on the confidence of your creditors. Getting the numbers right may be the necessary step to fiscal stability. But building creditor (or donor) confidence is the sufficient conditions for fiscal sustainability. p. 41

How do we improve the Quality of Policy Advice?

The accountability – driven system should be distinguished from the accounting system. The accounting system focuses advisers on short-term deliverable outputs. It has more to do with the short electoral cycle and the need to demonstrate impact. Impact, however, comes through medium to long-term actions. So one needs to focus on justification of present actions as complementing or countering those previous actions, which are ready to deliver some impact in the current short-term. p.42

What are the warning signs of poor quality advice?

The Quality of policy advice is directly related to the level of acceptance. However poor quality advice also gets accepted when it side-steps the issue and appeals to hidden political agendas of the Minister, or it focuses on personalities and confuses events with results. In Dominica we are very weak in having a diversity of inputs into our policy advice units. The IDP model should allow for advice streams coming from outside the Government on a quality-persistent manner. p. 43

Conditionalities

What role should Conditionalities play?

We have been tying three important aspects of the macro-economy together. These have been the debt situation, fiscal stability and donor support. Donor support becomes a critical factor when it is used to finance projects, which the Government would otherwise not have undertaken because of limited financial resources. What is important in mobilizing such resources is that there be some confidence by all parties in the predictability of both events and results. This is the context in which conditionalities should be applied. Refocusing on conditionalities, therefore, would mean looking at instruments of verification of progress in the right direction. These should emerge from the economic policy programme of the IDP and should be able to serve as conditionalities also for donor support, since this support will be based on the programme objectives and programme design as expressed within the IDP. p. 44

What are the program steps towards economic resurgence?

Currently, we can speculate on the process of moving towards a resurgence of sustainable economic growth as involving:

a) Meeting Government Financial obligations at the lowest possible cost

b) Giving credibility and sustainability to the Public Sector “Balance Sheet

c) Avoiding the Standard Pitfalls in Debt Management

d) Staying on top of what debt is outstanding.

e) Rebuilding Creditors’ Confidence

f) Reducing the exposure of the Banking System

g) Regularizing Payments to the Dominica Social Security

h) Bringing debt service obligation back to sustainable levels

i) Achieving Fiscal Stability

j) Promoting Economic Growth

p. 45

The objectives, verifiable indicators of implementation, time frame and integrated development planning process approach are detailed in the matrix table in pages 46-50.

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

3.2 ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

Introduction

What should be the direction in the modernization of the Public Service?

The measures proposed here represent some core essential steps in the adjustment needed for the Public Service to cope with the many challenges of the new process which involves the management of change in some key respects. Those include a new paradigm moving the practices from one where organization, planning and work programmes were undertaken on its own to one in which private sector and civil society become active partners. The other key shift in style of management subjects the service to closer scrutiny and more patent transparency in the discharge of the public business. Finally the modalities for selection and career development must be adjusted to meet these changing requirements. p. 51

What was the purpose of the Surveys of the Public Servants?

Surveys were held with the objective of canvassing the general public and the Public Service itself in connection with the following:

Inter-ministerial cooperation
The main customers served by selected Departments
The perception by the general public of the Civil Service,
The perception by the Public Service of its role .
Participatory planning
Relations with Ministers
Work attitudes
Suggestions for Departmental improvement
Suggestions for delegation to local authorities
Information technology and staff improvement
Making Public Service Commission more effective in staff appointments
Appraisal and assessment of staff performance

p. 60

What did Public servants think of the quality of their service?

41% thought it could be improved, 35% thought it was useful to the public and 13% thought it was efficient. p. 61

How did Public servants perceive of their role?

20% thought it was to help the general public and private sector, 20 % thought it was to fulfill objectives in the mission statement/workplan, 16 % thought it was to fulfill the duties of their job description and 12% thought it was to assist the Minister in implementing programs. p. 62

What did Public servants believe others thought of them?

22% believed the public thought they had job security, 20% believed the public thought they were lazy and inefficient, 11% thought that the public saw them as being helpful. p. 62

What are the recommendations by the Public Servants for transforming the Public Sector?

19% recommended more effective hiring practices, 19% recommended increasing efficiency, 17% suggested computerization and systematization of work and 14% recommended restructuring through contracts instead of “for life” appointments. p. 63

Findings

What are some of the modernization issues for the Public Service?

Transforming it into a customer-driven institution;
Encouraging innovation and initiatives;
Greater interaction among departments within the Public Service;
Greater involvement of staff in the preparation of mission statements, vision statements and corporate plans.

p. 65

How can the Corporate Plans of Ministries be more meaningful?

There needs to be a clearer definition as to the true purpose and objective of the corporate plan in the overall scheme of achieving the goals of the Department, Division or Agency. An IDP approach to corporate planning would entail greater involvement of staff so that ownership of the corporate plan would be that of the relevant Department. It also calls for a democratisation of the process by extensive consultation with the relevant publics so that the corporate plan truly reflects a national ethos. One prescription would be to require corporate plans to be published and made freely available for public scrutiny. Further review of the corporate plans will be completed at the next phase and in accordance with the terms of reference. Corporate planning undertaken under this new modality would be the result of a level of intervention and leadership based on a team approach and consensus building. p. 66

Why is the Customs Department so critical to the process of Public Sector Modernisation?

Its administration and functioning impacts on cost of living, cost of doing business, cost of exporting. It has a major adjustment to make in that, its principle task in a modern 21^st century Dominica is business facilitation. The proposal therefore, is for a far-reaching review and restructuring of Customs procedures to free up the proceedings. The objective must be to clear goods within a 24-hour or at most, a 48-hour period. As a matter of emergency, a Task Force must be appointed to review the functioning of Customs. One of its terms of reference should be urgent review of procedures for expedition in dealing with the customer. The clearing of goods electronically should also be considered. It should also reverse the present practice of clearing containers after 4:00 o’clock and have a dedicated staff. The major responsibility of these personnel would be to give priority to the clearing of containers in order to improve the climate for business in the country. p. 67

What is the major weakness in the Ministry of Finance?

Throughout the IDP Sensitisation Process, whether at private sector, civil society or public service, a major weakness identified in the public administration was the extent to which the Ministry of Finance was overburdened and overwhelmed. The surveys, workshops, interviews, reviews revealed that there is a considerable body of talent in the Ministry of Finance that is substantially under-utilized. This needs to be tackled with the utmost urgency and staff assigned and re-assigned to more effectively tackle the immediate and short-term priorities of the financial administration of the country. p. 68

What does the Consultant recommend?

The recovery and rescue operation that this country requires, demands a Ministry of Finance that is not fettered by the over-centralization that is now a feature of that Ministry. The consultant recommends, even at this stage of the IDP Process, that this be accorded the highest priority by Cabinet. p. 68

How should we approach our Regional (Caricom) obligations?

Most important also, was the capacity of the country to negotiate the best terms of trade and effective modalities for pursuing its external relations in a globalised in environment. The techniques for decision-making informed as they will be increasingly by information technology, call for a strategy to harmonize our approach to decision-making in regional matters. p. 69

What does the Consultant recommend?

Collaboration with our neighbours and even in terms of acquiring a larger economic space require us to be mindful of the regional import of the IDP Process in advancing our own vision for the future The conclusion here is that programmes such as the Single Market and Economy and other key aspects of the regional integration strategy should be given the widest possible publicity on an ongoing basis. p. 69

How do we promote Public/Private Sector/Civil Society Partnership?

Other approaches that could be advanced would be:

· For the Public Sector to draw on the knowledge and expertise of the private sector in certain areas such as procurement of goods and services.

· Similarly, the private sector could be invited to be on board with the public sector in such areas as trade negotiation and be more regularly involved in charting new paths for public sector management.

· The private sector needs to cultivate by various means a comprehensive understanding of the difference between public and private sector in their methods of administration and systems of accountability.

· This calls for a joint public/private sector/civil society task force to work out a programme of cooperation with the above as the operating guidelines. p. 70

How can we foster rewarding careers for members of the Public Service?
There should be a formal arrangement for introducing persons to the Public Service that provides them with a general oversight of what the Public Service is all about. The preparation of a Public Service handbook would be a step in that direction, a recommendation that has received the full endorsement during the sensitisation process. The Chief Personnel Officer has indicated that this process has already begun. Measures must now be adopted to have it finalized as part of an IDP orientation exercise for Public Service development. p. 71

How can the public service harness the significant body of trained personnel whose skills are now under-utilised?

A very important finding is that a large body of trained and professionally well-equipped cadre of Civil Servants find little satisfaction in the work they are doing and the work to which they are assigned. They have the skills, they have the interest (which is fast waning), and they have little job satisfaction and practically no sense of motivation by their superiors. A major deficiency is that they do not see the scope for advancement or a clear path for the pursuit of a career in the Public Service. The strong inclination is that they should plan for the use of their energies elsewhere than in the Public Service. The IDP Process calls for an urgent attention to this matter by a special committee headed by the Chief Personnel Officer. p.72

How can the exercise of public service modernization be advanced having regard to work already in progress?

The Establishment, Personnel and Training Department has spearheaded a number of change mechanisms aimed at improvements in the development of the Public Service at the head of which is the Reform Management Unit. Therefore, separate sessions were held with this Unit with a view to assessing its agenda and scope of work. The implementation of a number of the recommendations on that agenda, some of which are already mentioned above would begin the organized response to the changes necessary for the Public Service in the 21^st century. p. 76

The sessions held at the level of the Chief Personnel Officer and also with the staff at the Reform Unit clearly demonstrate that they have the motivation. The tools required for the tasks involved can be provided for on phased basis. Personnel, equipment but most important, an ability to persuade and also to cajole Departments into undertaking the necessary reforms are essential. Some measure will have to be taken so that they can have the clout and earn the respect of the Departments of Government so that their prescriptions will not be easily ignored. A recommendation is being made (see Committee of Permanent Secretaries) for reviewing and upgrading the role of the agency. It must be so designed that it becomes the nerve centre for carrying through the principal agenda for the modernization of the Public Service of Dominica in all its aspects. p. 86

How can we promote more openness and transparency in the Public Service?

· Advertisement for senior positions would be a step in that direction.

· Managers of the Public Service, namely, Permanent Secretaries and other Heads of Divisions should be subject to an annual review touching on their performance in the administration of the responsibilities under their charge.

· Departments should be mandated to prepare an annual report reviewing the functioning of the Department in the course of the year. p. 71

· There is need for more effective arrangements for monitoring and evaluation within the Public Service. p. 75

Shouldn’t transparency and openness also apply to the Public Service Commission?

The modalities of an IDP specifically that of transparency and openness require that the Public Service Commission should prepare an annual report to Parliament. This should follow the same pattern as proposed for Permanent Secretary. p. 72

What immediate steps can be taken to improve management practices in the Public Service?

The absence of clear and well-defined rules and regulations governing discipline in the Public Service results in a great deal of poor management practices in the Public Service. It is therefore considered of high priority that the draft of the Public Service Legislation and Public Service Regulations that have now been finalized should be promulgated. A small committee of three consisting of the Chief Personnel Officer, the Cabinet Secretary and an officer from the Attorney General’s Department could report within a matter of a week of what would be necessary to bring this into effect. Once this is done, a maximum period of say one to two months should be agreed upon as the timetable for putting these vital measures into force. p. 73

Shouldn’t the Constitution embrace more participation by the people in the business of the country?

There is an urgent call for a review of the Constitution to encourage greater accountability on the part of those who are charged with the responsibility for the public business. There is also an urgent call for greater public education and greater public awareness about the management of the public affairs of the country. p.74

What are some of the departments/activities requiring significant overhaul to become customer-driven?

Those mentioned included

· licensing of motor vehicles,

· issue of passports,

· decentralization of services to district levels, in the case of the Post Office and services at the Registry,

· Casualty and other sections of the Princess Margaret Hospital.

p. 77

What are some suggestions with respect to Decentralization?

The Constitution designates the Permanent Secretary as the Civil Service Head of the Ministry and by law, he is the Accounting Officer. There is overwhelming support for the view that many functions now undertaken by the Financial Secretary and the Ministry of Finance in keeping with the Constitutional and legal position of the country must now be properly assigned to individual Ministries. This will also have the effect of promoting greater efficiency in the public administration.

The Education Development Plan, recommends transfer of a number of functions from Ministry level to a School Board at the district level. This would also involve the local authority. This decentralization would also allow the community to be more involved in providing the finance required for school maintenance. The Ministry of Education has already been well advanced in experimenting with this System and should be authorized to have this fully operational by the next financial year. p. 78-79

What is the consensus on the Budgetary Process?

The following seems to emerge as having sufficient consensus to be part of a new IDP Budgetary Process.

· Organizing for inputs from the Private Sector and Civil Society into the budget process;

· Involving Private Sector and Civil Society in the procedures leading to the preparation of the Budget

· Linking the budget in a more structured way to the proceedings in Parliament and to address some of the weaknesses in the process

p. 80

How do we improve public accountability?

· Appoint a Select Committee of Parliament to undertake hearings with Permanent Secretaries and other public officials answering for the discharge of monies under their control; p.81

· Require Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Divisions to provide general information on the financial and managerial performance of Departments; p. 82

· Promulgate the new civil service regulations and finalize the new appraisal system. p. 83

· Permanent Secretaries and senior staff should be subject to open public scrutiny on a regular organized basis about their performance. p. 84

· Establish Complaints procedures at Government agencies to facilitate the public in raising and queries about the delivery of services. p. 85

How can the Committee of Permanent Secretaries be transformed to make the paradigm shift required to drive a modern 21century customer driven public service.?

The Committee of Permanent Secretaries, which is a forum for dialoguing and reviewing key concerns of the public sector, does not properly discharge that function as many Permanent Secretaries themselves admit. This should be the subject of an urgent review to fit this forum to play a new and critical role in an IDP customer driven environment. This exercise should have as its mandate a paradigm shift in the functioning of this forum. The aim should be to craft an agency that would be the springboard for jumpstarting the large number of critical recommendations that would quickly convert the Reform Unit into a catalyst for change in public service development. p. 83

What is required to ensure implementation?

It therefore becomes vital for the Public Sector Modernization Programme to be under the continuing scrutiny of a senior public official responsible to the Prime Minister with regular, (possibly quarterly) reports to Parliament on the work in progress. This means that the Public Sector Reform Unit, which carries the main burden for a new Public Sector ethos and culture, will have to be given a different status so that it becomes the main engine of a customer-driven Public Service. p. 85

What should be done to increase public awareness of the IDP?

· Widespread public awareness campaign conducted at the level of the press, TV and radio by outreach programmes of the various publics themselves.

· Statements advocating the change in methods and procedures by key Government officials, private sector and civil society leaders and members.

p. 87

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

3.3 THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Perspective

What is the fundamental perspective of the Private Sector?

Thus far any integration process has been largely a public sector phenomenon. The emerging liberalized economy requires enhanced competitiveness in exports, services, promotion and marketing and it is the private sector that will ultimately produce the competitive products/services in this new environment. Governments of Caribbean countries are forging new linkages with the private sector as they recognize the need to facilitate the efforts of the private sector, which is expected to play a major role in generating economic growth and development in the economy. p. 91

What should we mean by an “Enabling Environment”?

Facilitating the private sector goes beyond providing the so called “enabling environment” or for that matter ensuring that there is true convergence of macroeconomic indicators. A new dynamic must be fashioned between partners of public-private sector/civil society in which dialogue and cooperation become the focal of their relationship. p. 91

What should be the benefits to the Private Sector of this new dynamic?

· An opportunity to inform Government what their development needs are;

· An opportunity to determine the national development direction;

· A mechanism through which to communicate with the political directorate and the administrative staff;

· A mechanism through which they can measure the performance of Government and its machinery;

· The IDP serving as a guide to them in making decisions with regards to areas and sectors for investment.

p. 93

How do we define the private sector?

There can be no doubt that the country is made up of small private sector entrepreneurs that are either part of the formal institutional private sector or part of the informal private sector. By “formal” our definition include individual private sector agents belonging to representative organizations like DAIC, DHTA, DEF, etc. There is a strong support for the creation of an umbrella organization to represent the views of the wider private sector inclusive of the large farming community. p. 94-95

Common Issues Identified

How does the Private Sector view the Planning Process?

Planning process remains exclusively in the domain of central government and is considered wholly inadequate since it does not satisfy the following:

o Ensure the participation of all stakeholders;

o Be holistic and integrate economic, environmental, social, physical planning, spatial and other concerns;

o Link national planning with budgetary allocation system;

o Ensure greater transparency and good governance;

o Increase efficiency in use of resources;

o Ensure greater multi-disciplinary and multi sectoral collaboration.

p. 95

What is the objective of knowledge-based development?

There is a need for customer-driven efficient value-added services produced and provided in the public and private sector. Development must be looked at from the perspective of knowledge. The objective is to close the gap between acquiring and adapting knowledge already available in order to propel activity in the leading sectors. p. 95/96

How does the Private Sector see the role of different sectors in the economy?

Agriculture will continue to be the pillar for production with focus on all of traditional export, non-traditional export and non-export agriculture. However, there is need for diversification in the economy to stimulate growth. In this regard, tourism should be the nucleus around which services are developed. There is an ideal opportunity for meaningful partnership with all sectors lead by the private sector firms which have made substantial investments in the industry. p. 96

How can we improve the Macro-economic structure?

Macro-economic structure must articulate clearly defined policies, steps to be taken to implement these and more important the appropriate personnel given the resources and authority to achieve the delivery targets. A collaborative effort with civil society and private sector would facilitate the implementation and success of the measures and programmes. p. 96

Constraints/Challenges Identified

What are some factors deflecting the strong positive relationship between economic development and good governance?

o Unpredictable external factors, challenges from globalisation and vulnerability to external shocks and natural disasters.

o Party political structure and system inappropriate for continuity in development programmes

o The structure, attitude, legislation and regulations in the public sector seen as hindrance to decision-making process

o The slow, tardy and bureaucratic decisions making process in the public sector which increase costs and efficiencies.

p. 97

What are some measures to counter these?

· Organizations to articulate and provide advocacy for the public sector not identified/recognized;

· Views and interventions by individuals and special interest groups encouraged.

· The creation of a public sector department attached to the Prime Minister’s Office to liase with a Consolidated National Private Sector Body. p. 97

What are some of the factors hindering productivity and trade opportunities?

· Lack of knowledge regarding Regional and International trade issues and lack of involvement of private sector in negotiation of treaties render sector ill-prepared for competition. (CARICOM, CET, NAFTA)

· Low productivity and poor indifferent attitude to work by employees in public and private sectors. There is need for a Productivity Commission with membership from Public, Private Sectors, Trade Unions, Academics, Civil Society.

· Deficiency in the operationalization of copyright legislation, poor infrastructure and lack of incentive regime for the development & marketing of music, entertainment and art form as a viable enterprise.

· Labour laws are not relevant to changes in current work situation and industries mainly services. All Sundays are declared public holidays and attract overtime payment for any work performed.

p. 98

Concerns Identified

What are the Private Sector concerns with respect to Macro-economic Planning?

· What is the plan and vision of the Government and who will lead the process of implementation?

· What sectors will be given priority in light of reduced preferential treatment and subsidies extended to primary agricultural products?

· What specific plan will be developed to improve investor’s confidence?

· Need for physical infrastructure to support policies on agriculture and tourism with emphasis on sea and air transportation improvement and facilitation. p. 98

What are some of the supportive measures identified?

· Government willingness to facilitate the private sector through the provision of inducement to reduce risk and increase profit

· The institutional strengthening of the established private sector associations and the creation and support for representative body for small informal businesses, farmers, vendors etc.

· Provision of trainable labour force for the service sector with emphasis on technology usage and language skills

· Creation of a healthy industrial climate based on tripartite relationships underpinned with modern labour legislation.

· Incentives granted should be transparent, measurable, effectively and efficiently administered based on clear published objectives and policies. p. 99

What are the Private Sector concerns regarding the system of taxation and financing?

· Tax system should be effective, transparent and equitable with the introduction of VAT after massive public consultation and education to include public-private sector and civil society in IDP styled process.

· There is also the “crowding out” of private sector access finance for investment considering Government’s heavy borrowing from the local financial system and its effect on liquidity .

· Implications and impact of an IMF structured program and resultant effects on economic activities. p. 99

What are the Private Sector concerns with regards to service costs?

· High concentration on distributive trade with implications for balance of payments, foreign exchange earnings and protect currency value;

· High port charges and service delivery expenses with excessive labour cost based on contract arrangements with port workers. (Public sector took over labour operations at the Port in August last);

· Performance indicators established for Statutory Bodies and Government owned and controlled institutions and ensure “level playing field” treatment accorded to them (DOWASCO, DEXIA, NCB, AID Bank, NDC, et al). p. 99/100

Should technological capacity attract more attention?

Attention should be paid on developing a "New Cultural Climate" which reflects the, conviction that the technological capacity of a country's enterprises is the crucial variable determining its competitive performance and this capacity is essentially national and can be developed through national actions. Through this process, a national innovation system designed to strengthen individual and national capacity for negotiating, assimilating and learning technology and making innovations in these fields. p. 100

How do we forge a new Business Consciousness?

There is need to engage in a series of informational dissemination activities specifically targeted to business people, professionals, farmers; to capture as much of the private sector audience as possible. The process should include hosting of television information/community awareness programmes; Town Hall meetings where experts are invited to talk, field question and sensitise the general population on the issues affecting the planning process. p. 101

How could Public policy contribute to expanding our trading capabilities?

· Initiate specific programmes for achieving appropriate levels of competence in Spanish, French and other languages at the primary and secondary school level.

· Focus on developing production and marketing infrastructure through deeper forms of integration which facilitate the freer movement of all factors of production, the formation of regional companies and the building of strategic alliances nationally, regionally and then globally.

p. 101

How can we accelerate our ability to target the “global market-place”?

· Use research and development:

o to create time benefits through improved innovation management aimed at avoiding short product life cycles and eliminate the problems arising from imitation;

o to assure greater flexibility in dealing with the accelerated rate of technological change and the volatile nature of customer demand;

Increase market strength in sourcing materials;
Improve standardization and quality of incoming materials;
Establish a global brand/image. This is particularly important for the Tourism Industry – the country’s Nature Island, healthy lifestyle with high propensity for longevity in the population, pristine environment are examples.

p. 102

What are some of the programmes/activities that should be considered now?

· Sharing of information and networking of the sectors (public, private sectors and civil society).

· Representation at decision-making process at the highest level to promote public-private sector dialogue and cooperation.

· Improvement in education and training for the formation of human resource capital geared at sustained job-creation

· Using Information technology as a tool for integration and people empowerment.

· Improve and increase capital formation by effecting changes in the environment to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment. The development of Money and Capital Market, Securities Exchange, Venture Capital and other financial instruments.

p. 103

What are some of the pertinent recommendations of the Private Sector?

· The upgrading of the private sector to be more knowledgeable, more enterprising, more skilled, more flexible, more adaptable to market forces and more willing to embrace imperatives such as mergers, joint ventures, regional/international operations.

· Develop a national crusade geared at mobilization of enterprise development for self-employment.

· Create enabling environment for development of music, entertainment and cultural industries (legislation, regulations, regime of incentive, infrastructure-physical capacity, HR- Training).

· Constitutional reform for improvement in governance.

· Legislative, regulations reform of government planning and budgetary process.

· The introduction of VAT and national health insurance scheme.

p. 104

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

3.4 CIVIL SOCIETY

What does the IDP Project mean by Civil Society?

For the purposes of this IDPP Project when Civil Society is referred to we will mean Civil Society groups or organizations including Trade Unions. There are some sixty (60) organizations, which we categorized along the following lines mostly for ease of reference.

Professional Associations

Service Groups

Non-Government Organizations

Trade Unions

Cultural Groups

Sporting Groups or Association

Community Based Organizations

p. 106

What were the most important issues from the District Community Meetings?

· Empowerment of Local Government

· The credibility of Governance and the National Integrated Development Planning process;

· Efficiency and productivity in the public service;

· Building up our people;

· Revitalizing the rural agricultural economy

p. 108/109

How did the political parties and religious leaders see the IDP process?

They expressed concerns about:

· The IDP credibility, sustainability and potential;

· Educating the populace

· Governance

· Public Sector efficiency and productivity.

p. 109/110

What were the major ideas of our Youth?

· They held a vision of a Dominica that is transparent, democratic, accountable and proud.

· They declared themselves as a vehicle and force for change.

· They saw the need for more consultation, accountability and coordination, while calling for higher criteria for entering Parliament and closer linkages with representatives.

· The wanted more practical and job-related education; more positive attitudes to work, implementation of a National Youth Service, censorship of Television and continuing education after teenage pregnancy.

· They were concerned about our communities providing the right environment for family development.

p. 110/111

What were the ten top priority issues of Civil Society groups?

1. Lack of mechanisms for sharing information

2. Lack of bottom-up mechanisms

3. Weaknesses and fragility of civil society organizations

4. NGO sustainability

5. Public Education for IDP

6. Lack of mechanisms for input to budget implementation

7. Accessing support

8. Credibility and maintaining the momentum of IDP process

9. Poor coordination and implementation record.

10. New information data to drive partnerships.

p. 112

What are some of the insights from Civil Society that require continued attention?

· Genuine partnerships and a successful IDP could very well be just that inspirational initiative that spurs Civil Society Organizations themselves to higher levels of organization, democracy and transparency, so urgently needed especially in this period of fragility. p. 113

· IDP Institutionalisation of the Process seems to generate and offer so much hope to so much of Civil Society as a whole that its credibility and momentum must be seen as critical.

· Both Communities and CSO’s and to some extent Youth considered institutional strengthening of Civil Society and Private Sector organizations as very important given their weaknesses and the clear need for them to step up, get stronger, unite, collaborate if meaningful contributions are to be made to an ongoing IDP Process

· Decentralization is only strongly represented as a priority by Communities.

· Public Education, the need for more fora, better use of the media, the development of creative alternative popular forms all geared at building general awareness about development, and specifically about the importance of participation, self-reliance and the IDP were stated repeatedly and considered by many as a prerequisite for the success of this new initiative.

p. 115/116

What are some of the recommendations for consolidating the IDP process?

· Document every step of the Process, and get agreement/certification from participants;

· Involve others not present to ensure their views included;

· Ensure that all group representatives report back to their Groups and organizations including their rank and file in order to inform them and to seek their views and comments;

· Seek maximum publicity utilizing all Media including Call-In Shows, and in addition seek new creative ways to promote and publicize;

· Produce a Manual of the IDPP which should be incorporated in School Curriculum and disseminated in Churches;

p. 116/117

How do we ensure continuity of the IDP process?

Secure a written commitment/undertaking from all the Political Parties (present and future) to honour the IDPP;
Establish a legislated permanent independent Body/IDPP Committee for continuity independent of Government

to be put in place before the end of the Consultancy
to include Government Representatives
to include private sector and civil society representatives
but not Government Appointed
criteria to be established for membership
mandated to Report regularly to Nation
Committee to be fully resourced financially and otherwise

p. 117

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

3.5 PROCESS

What has been the most encouraging revelation from the IDP process?

The participatory approach has revealed that people throughout the community believe that they have a more direct role to play in the development process. The general consensus at every meeting was that the participatory process was fundamental to the sustained development of Dominica and that mechanisms for its institutionalising must be implemented. p. 118

Do people really have new ideas?

It was clearly demonstrated that people have ideas that they wish to see incorporated in the IDP and inform the national development process. This will foster a sense of ownership of the Plan and probably give rise to greater commitment to involvement in implementation. It was felt that there are skills in the local community that need to be mobilized and deployed more effectively to create enterprises at national and local levels that are consistent with holistic and participatory development. p. 118

Do we need more public education of the IDP process?

An important concern, which was articulated at several workshops, was the need to develop a continuous public education programme that would stimulate broad sustained participation of the population, well beyond the time frame of this consultancy and the definition of appropriate representation for the private sector, civil society and subgroups of the population. p. 118/119

What are some of the recommendations for institutionalizing the IDP process?

A national public education programme for national development to be implemented, targeting schools, youth, the general population, and with the full engagement of established community organizations, the media and a reengineered Government Information Service.
Simultaneous with the conclusion of the IDP Consultancy, a permanent national independent IDP Management Committee should be established to monitor both the process and the implementation of the plan
The enactment of the necessary legislative and regulatory provisions to allow for the full participation and representation of stakeholders in all national decision making functions.

p. 119

What do we want stakeholders to stay involved in?

· The National Budgetary Process

· Debt management and improved public financial management;

· Private enterprise development,

· Decentralization to local authorities of vital services, take root.

p. 120

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

4. FRAMEWORK FOR THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN

What is different in this planning framework?

Whereas other approaches to planning have excluded consideration of this issue of process, the IDP Framework presented here accommodates and requires mechanisms for ongoing stakeholder involvement in the preparation of the plan, definition of programs and projects, implementation of associated actions and, in the review of performance for possible corrective action. In addition, previous approaches to planning have managed to distil out the application of values and vision of the people as key determinants of the direction and strategy for national development, the IDP Framework reflects the priority issues as determined by the stakeholders themselves. p. 121

What does this framework mean to economic planners?

The Framework for the IDP that is presented here encourages stakeholders to shift from a paradigm that is focused on narrow local, institutional or sectoral issues to an approach to development planning and implementation that takes national issues and priorities into account. This new process of integrated development planning and the resulting IDP therefore influences the nature of expenditure and expenditure controls at all levels of the economy as suggested in the findings from the sections of the Report addressing macroeconomic and public sector reform. The Framework for the IDP that is presented here also addresses another critical element of the emerging new planning process, the need for an approach that is both cross-cutting and cross-sectoral. p. 122

What are the cost implications of this approach?

The Framework also suggests that action by stakeholders in one sector, say civil society, to improve the human resources available for community-based organizations, can and should be complemented by action from their counterparts in the private and public sectors. Practically, this can mean, that all sectors act together to identify the need for institutional strengthening as an important prerequisite for decentralization of certain centralized services to local authorities and organizations. Such a partnership approach is not only potentially more efficient and cost-effective, but is a central feature of the IDP that has been supported and embraced by the respondents and participants during this Phase of the Consultancy. p. 122/123

What is the unexplored planning potential that the IDP will magnify?

IDP has the capacity to release new and creative arrangements among sectors and stakeholders that can respond to the development challenges facing the country. The Framework suggests that the IDP, as an approach can:

· Capture the emerging vision of the people;

· Reflect the values that shape that vision;

· Identify the key issues facing the people;

· Focus on areas for priority action at the local household and community level; the enterprise and sector levels as well as the inter-sector, national and regional levels.

p. 123

What is the structure of the Framework for Integrated Development Planning in Dominica?

The framework matrix considers four major sources of action/contributions: The Public Sector, the Private Sector, Civil Society and the Youth. The framework will identify their substantive contributions to:

· Opportunities for sustainable growth

· Equity in the improvement of income distribution and inclusion;

· Institutional strengthening for governance for opportunity and equity;

· Dignity of the national community.

p. 125

[1] “Aid Instability as a Measure of Uncertainty and the Positive Impact of Aid on Growth” Robert Lensink and Oliver Morrisey, Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 36, No. 3 (February 2000) pp. 31-49

Introduction | Methodology | Cross-cutting and Sectoral Issues | Framework for IDP

IDP

a) Strengthen their organizational capacity to share information and mobilize their membership to capture the benefits of economic programmes;

THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROJECT

IDP

What empirical data did the team collect?

Observations

What are the basic observations about the economy?

The Macroeconomy in Pre-Crisis

Why setting quantitative targets is not an adequate response?

Do Debt Management Policies affect Macroeconomic Management?

There are five (5) well known poor debt management practices:

What is the real cost of poor debt management practices?

Why is Debt Management not a simple mathematical problem?

What is Good Debt Management?

Fiscal Stabilization

What are the warning signs of poor quality advice?

Conditionalities

What are the program steps towards economic resurgence?

b) Giving credibility and sustainability to the Public Sector “Balance Sheet

c) Avoiding the Standard Pitfalls in Debt Management

d) Staying on top of what debt is outstanding.

e) Rebuilding Creditors’ Confidence

f) Reducing the exposure of the Banking System

g) Regularizing Payments to the Dominica Social Security

h) Bringing debt service obligation back to sustainable levels

i) Achieving Fiscal Stability

j) Promoting Economic Growth

Introduction

What did Public servants think of the quality of their service?

How did Public servants perceive of their role?

What did Public servants believe others thought of them?

Findings

What does the Consultant recommend?

How should we approach our Regional (Caricom) obligations?

What does the Consultant recommend?

How do we improve public accountability?

What is the objective of knowledge-based development?

What are some of the supportive measures identified?

What are the Private Sector concerns with regards to service costs?

Should technological capacity attract more attention?

How do we forge a new Business Consciousness?

What does the IDP Project mean by Civil Society?

What were the ten top priority issues of Civil Society groups?

How do we ensure continuity of the IDP process?

What do we want stakeholders to stay involved in?

What is different in this planning framework?

What does this framework mean to economic planners?

What are the cost implications of this approach?