Decree for Participatory Budgeting (CI0036)

Brief description of the commitment

The budgets of local governments are most often drawn up by elected officials and their advisors according to their own policies, without always informing about the budget content, without reporting on the state of budget execution and without taking into account the opinions and real needs of citizens. This commitment aims to change the approach of local governments to budgeting by introducing a new dynamic of collaboration between representatives and represented. Therefore, with this commitment, the participatory budget will be mandatory in all local governments in the country.

Definition of the problem

1. What problem is the commitment intended to address? - Ignorance of the population regarding the content of the local budget; - The non-effectiveness of citizen participation; - The non-redeemability of elected officials towards their populations in their actions; - The problem of transparency in the management of local affairs; - The exclusion of a part of the marginalized population according to the political side of the local elected official: This can undermine social cohesion when the supporters of the elected officials are privileged in terms of community investments and lead to a lack of understanding of social and governmental policy; - The inadequacy between the needs of the populations and the projects carried out for their well-being; - Insufficient information for the population, especially women, and for local authorities on the preparation, execution, monitoring and evaluation of their community's budget, a situation that can encourage corruption in the management of local community affairs; - The low involvement and participation of population in the budgetary management of their community. The commitment is aimed at improving citizen participation, which is prescribed in several texts in force, including Law 2012- 1128 in its articles 32 and 35, Law 2001-476 in its article 32.

1. What are the causes of the problem? Article 32 of Law 2012-1128 of December 13, 2012 on the organization of local authorities enshrines the public nature of Council meetings. As a result, the populations are authorized to attend these meetings. However, their participation is passive as they have neither advisory nor deliberative voice. Decree No. 82-1092 of November 24, 1982, establishing the rules for programming and budgeting development actions and operations of the communes and the city of Abidjan, as well as their budgetary nomenclature, institutes the three-year program, which is an official document in which development actions and operations aimed at improving the living environment of the inhabitants of a given territory are listed in order of priority. Specifically, it is up to the municipal authorities to design and program facilities and services of local interest in order to enable local development. Logically, it must be drawn up taking into account the opinions of the citizens of various districts and villages of the commune. This is not currently the case. In short, at no stage of the identification of investment priorities and the elaboration of local government budgets can consultation with the population and consideration of their needs be proven.

Description of the commitment

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem? Before Côte d'Ivoire joined the OGP initiative: In the early 2010s, the General Directorate of Decentralization and Local Development implemented or supported initiatives and programs for the institutionalization of the participatory budget in Ivorian local governments. Thus, USAID (United States Agency for International Development) supported the implementation of the participatory budget in some communes including Yopougon and Divo. Unfortunately, this pilot phase failed due to insufficient training, lack of knowledge of the implementation process, lack of ownership of the participatory budget in its principles and values by local governments, and many other factors. After Côte d'Ivoire joined the OGP initiative: After Côte d'Ivoire officially joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on October 28, 2015, and in light of the values of transparency in the management of public affairs and citizen participation, the TC-OGP has included as commitment 6, in NAP 2: Promote participatory democracy in local governments (commitment carried by the DGDDL). Following various pleas, international institutions (European Union, UNICEF) and Civil Society Organizations (Akwaba Foundation), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Interior and Security through the DGDDL, have conducted participatory budget implementation programs. Thus, thanks to this support, participatory budget implementation programs have been piloted in 16 communes (Daoukro, Ouellé, Prikro, Bongouanou, M'bahiakro, Abengourou, Bondoukou, Daloa, Divo, Duékoué, Ferkessédougou, Gagnoa, Korhogo, Man, Tiassalé and Yamoussoukro). Furthermore, in addition to these operations, the DGDDL received support from PAGOF in 2019 to hold training and capacity building sessions for Ivorian communes on participatory budgeting. As such, from 1 er to 9 April 2019, 15 auditors from 08 communes, consisting of municipal service executives and Civil Society actors received rudiments on the concepts and institutional frameworks, the stages of implementation of the participatory budget, the methods and techniques of facilitators, the principles and dimensions of the participatory budget. From May 9 to 17, 2020, it was the turn of 11 communes to see their capacities strengthened in participatory budgeting. To date, Côte d'Ivoire has more than 30 communes (out of 201) that have had their participatory budgeting capacities strengthened. Among these communes, 24 are actively experimenting with participatory budgeting, 15 of which have adopted deliberations instituting participatory budgeting. The observation is that citizen participation remains low. Indeed, the underlying reasons for low citizen involvement are: - the absence of a guide to the practice of participatory budgeting (guideline), - the absence of tools to monitor the process and measure the real impact on the quality of life of population; - the low level of ownership of this process by elected officials; - the launching of actions in isolation from the municipalities. Indeed, there is no real network that would have allowed to exchange on good practices, failures on the participatory budget and to lead common reflections; - the problem of the initial investment and set-up time required to acquire and create a digital platform (or an offline participation project); - Weak funding for large-scale infrastructure and weak budgets; - a strong ideological obstacle: the idea that only the elected representative of the general interest should decide and the refusal of the principle of accountability, which leads to political and sociological constraints on the intermediate functions of central administrations, in favor of effective participatory budgeting.

1. What solution do you suggest? Direct consultation with citizens from all walks of life, i.e., Civil Society and representatives of different sectors (including women, youth and other underrepresented communities) to express their needs and priorities. These consultations will be included in the Three-Year Program and their execution will be documented in minutes. Therefore, the commitment will be to: - The creation of a legal framework for the participatory budget to further involve the population and make the actions of local authorities in their favor more effective, which will strengthen citizen participation already provided for in certain texts such as Law 2012-1128 in its articles 32 and 35, Law 2001-476 in its article 32; - Sensitize all the actors to facilitate their appropriation of the participatory budget; - The development of a tool for the practice of participatory budgeting for communities and all other actors of participatory budgeting. The objective of the modification of the decree n° 82-1092 of November 24, 1982 will be to formulate recommendations to the local actors, aiming at reinforcing the citizen participation and to make obligatory certain actions for the effective improvement of the participative budget. The decree will help ensure the implementation of the participatory budget process by recommending, for example, the inclusion of minutes attached to the attendance list of the various forums in the same way as the opinions of commissions, and to prioritize and specify the needs of the population in the operations sheets in the programming and budgeting of community development actions and operations.

2. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? For citizens: - Participation in the concrete transformation of local authorities through their ideas; - Participation in the choice of investment priorities; - Improvement of the well-being of population by materializing their needs in projects carried out with a gender perspective. For elected officials: - Better knowledge of citizens' needs; - Choosing high social impact investments; - Opening and maintaining dialogue with the citizens as a guarantee of transparency, social cohesion and peace. By creating a monitoring body for the implementation of the participatory budget and sensitization and building capacity, this inclusive and effective management tool, local authorities will be much more willing to take ownership of it by following the details of the participatory budget implementation guide that will be developed. This monitoring body could initiate various other initiatives and actions to further motivate local authorities and governments to practice participatory budgeting by evaluating the rate of citizen participation, by establishing a prize to reward those who have distinguished themselves and even worked to increase funding for participatory budget projects and the organization of forums. Finally, in addition to these initiatives, the way in which budget documents are communicated could be changed and improved in order to attract the attention of population from a gender perspective, so as to generate more interest on their part in their right to be effectively involved in the management of their local affairs: For example: - Lead local authorities to effectively make their annual activity reports and any other budgetary documents available to the population in accordance with Law No. 2012-1128 of December 13, 2012 through an information system accessible to all (through postings, broadcast radio programs, websites). At the end of the process, it will be: - To amend Decree No. 82-1092 of November 24, 1982; - To issue a decree on the creation of a monitoring body for the participatory budget; - Elaborate an Ivorian Guide for the implementation of the participatory budget.

Engagement analysis

1. How will the Commitment promote transparency? As citizens are involved in the implementation of priorities (accessibility of information), they have the elements to monitor and evaluate investments. Managers are therefore forced to manage transparently.

1. How will the commitment help foster accountability? The fact that citizens' priorities are taken into account in the definition of investments by elected officials, a duty of accountability is imposed on the latter.

2. How will the Commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing and monitoring solutions? Participatory budgeting is a mechanism or process by which people decide on the allocation of all or part of the available local public resources or are involved in decisions about these allocations. It is therefore no longer a question of elected officials deciding for the citizens, but rather of the two groups working together.

Planning the Commitment (Milestones | Expected results | Expected completion date)

1- Modify Decree No. 82-1092 of November 24, 1982 | The decree is modified with the integration of provisions related to the institutionalization of the participatory budget | June 2023

1- Drawing up a decree on the creation of a monitoring body for the participatory budget | The decree on the creation of the participatory budget monitoring body is drawn up and signed | June 2023

2- Develop the Ivorian guide for the implementation of the participatory budget | The Ivorian guide for the implementation of the participatory budget is developed and operational | September 2023

3- Popularize the texts and documents produced through awareness caravans, workshops, radio and television communications, and publications on the DGDDL's communication channels | The texts and documents produced are known | January 2024 - June 2024

Action Plan Review

Commitment 1. Institutionalize participatory budgeting in Ivorian local authorities by amending the decree on decentralization

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Substantial

Commitment 1: Institutionalize participatory budgeting in Ivorian local authorities by amending the decree on decentralization [Ministry of Interior and Security / Executive Management of Decentralization and Local Development (DGDDL)]

For a complete description of the commitment, see Commitment 1 in the action plan: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/cote-divoire-action-plan-2022-2024/.

Context and objectives:

This commitment aims to move local governments towards collaboration with citizens by mandating participatory budgeting in local governments across the country. Currently, local authorities’ budgets are most often drawn up by elected officials and their advisors, without always informing citizens of the budgetary content, and without reporting on and considering the views and needs of citizens. There is a law [1] that enshrines the public nature of council meetings and allows citizens to attend these meetings, but their participation is passive as they have neither a consultative nor a deliberative voice. Since Côte d’Ivoire joined OGP, successive commitments have sought to promote participatory budgeting (PB). Indeed, Commitment 6 of Côte d’Ivoire’s second action plan aimed to promote participatory democracy in local authorities.

Thanks to the support of partners such as the European Union, UNICEF and civil society organizations such as the Akwaba Foundation, participatory budgeting implementation programs have been carried out and have resulted in more than 30 communes (out of 201) having their participatory budgeting capacities strengthened. Among these communes, 24 are actively experimenting with participatory budgeting, 15 of which have adopted deliberations instituting participatory budgeting (Bondoukou, Odienné, Biankouma, Boundiali, Korhogo, Soubré, Duékoué, Yakassé-Attobrou, Grand-Bassam, Dabou, Grand-Béréby, Sassandra, Man, Tiassalé, and Abengourou). The third action plan sought to consolidate this achievement by institutionalizing participatory budgeting by issuing a decree and subsequent texts, in particular a decree on the creation of a PB monitoring body and the development of an Ivorian guide to implementing PB. This commitment was not completed, although the process has been initiated and draft decrees and orders have been proposed. Based on public consultations, the Technical Committee and civil society agreed to amend Decree No. 82-1092 of November 24, 1982 that sets the rules for governance and budgeting for communes and the city of Abidjan, to institutionalize participatory budgeting. A representative from the Ministry of the Interior, the implementing ministry, reported that the commitment will be carried out in partnership with civil society, starting with the development of the relevant documents. [2]

It is important to note that the Executive Management of Management of Decentralization and Local Development (DGDDL) expressed their intention to go beyond the commitment as written. DGDDL intends to undertake a broader and more strategic approach to local level open government, beyond participatory budgeting. Specifically, the DGDDL aims to enshrine open government norms in the draft decentralization law under development. The IRM will take these activities into account when assessing results at the end of the implementation period, should implementers undertake a more ambitious version of this reform than written in the action plan.

Potential for results: Substantial

This commitment has a significant potential to continuously improve citizen participation, budget transparency, and accountability of local governments in Côte d’Ivoire. The improvement of the legal framework by amending the decree to mandate the participatory budgeting for local governments offers guarantees for the sustainability of the practice. Endorsing this decree with an order setting up a monitoring body and a guide to facilitate understanding of the budget can facilitate the effectiveness of the practice and informed participation.

Côte d’Ivoire’s record on citizen participation in budget processes has been mixed. According to the Open Budget Survey, Côte d’Ivoire’s level of public participation in national budget processes dropped between 2019 and 2020. [3] However, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire has made progress through the inclusion of civil society in drafting Multi-Year Budget and Economic Programming Documents and publication of simplified citizens budgets under the previous action plan. [4]

Despite previous efforts, the status of participatory budgeting in local authorities has not changed in recent years. Mr. Hugues Koffi, Head of Studies at the DGDDL, stated that participatory budgeting practices have not changed since the last assessments made in 2020. The study conducted by the Ministry of the Interior in 2020 found that “on the institutional and regulatory level, it appears very clearly that the laws, decrees and other texts foresee the exclusion of the population in the management of local affairs” and that “citizen control, citizen participation in general and particularly budgetary participation have no anchoring or institutional basis.”

It is within this context that the previous national action plan included a commitment of the Ministry of the Interior to institutionalize participatory budgeting through a decree. [5] In the meantime, a change in leadership at the DGDDL resulted in a shift in approach. The administration preferred to amend Decree No. 82-1092 on the governance and budgeting in communes and the city of Abidjan. The commitment holder perceives that this process will take less time. It is easier to amend the decree than to draft a new one. Therefore, it is easier to complete promised reforms during the implementation period. Talks have started with the Technical Committee and civil society members on the content of the decree to be modified. The representative of the DGDDL [6] reassured that the entire process is expected to be participatory and inclusive and will involve civil society and the Senate. He also confirmed that an expert has been recruited to develop the guide and talks are underway.

Mr. Hugues Koffi stated that the content of the previous participatory budgeting decree drafted under the previous action plan would inform the amendments to the decentralization law. The discarded draft decree can therefore be taken as a guide to the expected changes under the amended decentralization law. [7] The draft decree outlined participatory budgeting “as a mechanism for citizen participation and control in the management of local finances in the municipalities and regions.” The decree outlined direct channels for public participation in local budget processes in stating that “participation (…) is devoted to the development of the three-year program taking into account the priorities chosen by the population in consultation with local elected officials, state actors and the private sector of local development.” To do so, the decree specifies that local executive authorities establish citizen participation committees as well as neighborhood, village, zone, and thematic forums, including people living with a disability.

The draft decree also laid out a legal framework for public monitoring of budget implementation. It stated that “accountability (…) is devoted to monitoring the execution and monitoring-evaluation (citizen control) of the budget, raising awareness of fiscal civic-mindedness and the realization of participatory projects(.)” The draft decree also called for the establishment of a national-level Monitoring Committee for the Implementation of Participatory Budgeting in Local Authorities. The committee would include representatives of the ministries responsible for local authorities, budget, economy and finance, and planning as well as local authority umbrella organizations and civil society organizations. The draft decree stated that the committee would be funded by the government.

To implement this commitment, four milestones have been planned: (1) the modification and adoption of the decree, (2) the elaboration and signing of the decree on the creation of a monitoring body, (3) the development of the participatory budget guide, and (4) the dissemination of all these documents. At the time of writing this report, proposed documents have been submitted to the Executive Management of Decentralization and Local Development (DGDDL) and are awaiting internal validation before the organization of a public workshop, according to the representative of the DGDDL. He explained that these proposals are based on documents already developed during the implementation of the previous action plan. According to him, the period foreseen for the modification of the decree in action plan 4, namely June 2023, will be respected and he anticipates that the commitment will be completed by the end of the implementation period. The action plan outlines intended activities to disseminate the amended law, including awareness caravans, workshops, radio and television communications, and publications on the DGDDL’s communication channels.

This commitment has a substantial potential to open government if the decentralization law is amended in alignment with the previously drafted decree. However, for these results to be considered substantial, evidence of concrete actions must be provided. This includes, in the short term, documents (decree, order, and guide) approved by the competent authority; in the medium term, evidence that participatory budgeting is being practiced in a greater number of local authorities; and in the long term, evidence that local authorities’ budgets reflect citizen contributions. The IRM will take the reform as a whole into account when assessing results at the end of the implementation period, including amendments to the law that open government beyond participatory budgeting.

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

Both the government and civil society’s commitment to participatory budgeting is demonstrated by its inclusion in the previous three OGP action plans. [8] Reformers have continuously reflected on and adapted the commitments’ design in each iteration to best advance the reform. Activities started under the previous action plan, such as drafting the decree and guide, have created a foundation for comprehensive implementation of this commitment.

Two potential obstacles to implementation include a lack of understanding of participatory budgeting and financial constraints in local authorities. The 2020 assessment of participatory budgeting in Côte d’Ivoire noted that local authorities’ financial constraints inhibit their ability to respond to citizens’ needs. The study highlighted that there are often not sufficient resources to implement projects requested by the public. [9] The study also noted a low level of understanding among local officials and the public on the process and purpose of participatory budgeting. The study indicated that there is a “weak vision of the local elected officials who initially considered Participatory Budgeting as an instrument for seeking external funding” [10] and the “relatively low level of training of some municipal councilors limits their ability to act as a relay to the municipal council for the dissemination of information in the neighborhoods and villages.” Therefore, government and civil society’s provision of training and awareness-raising in local languages will be important to explain and set appropriate expectations around participatory budgeting. Specifically, the IRM recommends the following:

● Ensure that civil society organizations are well represented in processes to draft texts and allocates budgets at both the national and local levels, with particular attention to ensure inclusion of marginalized groups.

● Use local languages in awareness-raising on participatory budgeting, such as through the planned caravans and media, and dissemination of the participatory budgeting guide. People Powered offers a Participatory Budgeting Outreach Toolkit to help execute outreach campaigns. [11]

● Support informed participation and project design through guidance for participants and implementers on budget, documentation, and technical considerations for feasible project design.

● Extend assessment of participatory budgeting across all participating local authorities. In Côte d’Ivoire, 15 communes have undertaken participatory budgeting. The study commissioned in 2020 by the Ministry of Interior and Security only considered 3 communes. A new evaluation for all 15 communes would provide an informed view and allow for iterative implementation. Chapter 7 of “Participatory Budgeting in Africa: Learning Guide for Francophone Countries” provides examples and tools to assess projects instigated by participatory budgeting and the processes of participatory budgeting itself. [12]