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Senegal

Promoting Local Participatory Budgeting (SN0009)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Senegal Action Plan 2021-2023

Action Plan Cycle: 2021

Status:

Institutions

Lead Institution: Ministry of Territorial Collectivities, Development and Land Use Planning/ Local Government Direction

Support Institution(s): Other actors involved in the implementation of the commitment • Ministries of Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Youth and Women • National Assembly, High Council of Territorial Communities, • National Commission for Territorial Dialogue (CNDT) • UAEL, AMS, ADS • RCTB, CONASUB, COSEF, Local Authorities Network on Participatory Budget, Enda-Ecopop, ONG3D • Development partners • MFB/ DGCPT/DSPL • PNDL (National Programme for Local Development) • MCTDAT Training Department

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, Fiscal Openness, Local Commitments, Public Participation, Public Participation in Budget/Fiscal Policy

IRM Review

IRM Report: Senegal Results Report 2021-2023, Senegal Action Plan Review 2021-2023

Early Results: No IRM Data

Design i

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to OGP Values: Yes

Ambition (see definition): High

Implementation i

Completion:

Description

What is the public issue that the commitment will address? Senegal has made a lot of progress in budget transparency, including in terms of citizen participation at the local level. Indeed, the issue of participation is well taken into account in the General Code of Local Authorities which, in addition, requires local authorities to make their budgets and administrative accounts public. Therefore, local authorities hold a budgetary orientation debate open to the public and proceed to the vote and publication of the administrative account. However, citizen participation is still weak in the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of the budget at local level, as the creation of consultation frameworks, which act as forums for citizen participation, remains optional.

What are the objectives of the commitment? The main objective of this commitment is to promote the participatory budget approach at local level. In this respect, it aims at : • raising awareness of local authorities on the challenges of the participatory budget approach • encouraging the setting up of consultation frameworks • improving the handling of the population's concerns and the use of resources at local level.

How would the commitment contribute to solving the public issue? The commitment will help strengthen citizen participation in the budgetary process at the local level and improve the management of local government resources.

Why is this commitment relevant to the OGP values? The commitment contributes to the implementation of the principles of transparency, participation and accountability.

Further information The participatory budget is already being implemented in some local 35 authorities.

Important activity with a verifiable deliverable Agenda Start Closure 1. Raise awareness of local and regional authorities (AMS and UAEL) on the challenges of the participatory budget approach January 2022 December 2023 2. Advocate for the internalization of Directive n° 01/2011/cm/waemu on the financial regime of local authorities within the WAEMU. January 2022 December 2023 3. Update and popularize the citizen participation guide January 2022 September 2024 4. Create a local government portal January 2022 December 2023 5. Revitalize the Local Budget Monitoring Groups (LBMGs) and set up 10 new LBMGs January 2022 December 2023 6. Advocate for the adoption of an implementing decree organizing the consultation frameworks January 2022 December 2023 7. Set up 20 new consultation frameworks on the participatory budget January 2022 December 2023 8. Build the capacity of 200 local government and civil society actors January 2022 December 2023

IRM Midterm Status Summary

Action Plan Review


Commitment 9: Promoting the Participatory Budget Approach at the Local Level

  • Verifiable: Yes
  • Does it have an open government lens? Yes
  • Potential for results: Substantial
  • For a complete description of commitment 9, see the action plan: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Senegal_Action-Plan_2021-2023_EN.pdf

    Context and objectives

    While Senegal made significant progress in budget transparency over the past decade, according to the Open Budget Survey, there is need to strengthen budgetary control and citizen participation, which was evaluated as very low in 2019. [53] This commitment seeks to enhance citizen participation in local public finances.

    The OGP action plan states that the lack of consultation frameworks is an obstacle to participatory budgeting. The commitment seeks to expand the participatory budget approach countrywide by improving the regulation of consultation frameworks, setting up monitoring groups and building capacities of local governments and civil society actors. It also includes the creation of a dedicated internet portal and a guide.

    Increasing participation in budget processes is a government priority in line with the national development plan and the ongoing decentralization process, according to the Director for Local Authorities at the Ministry of Territorial Collectivities, Development and Land Use Planning. [54] The Technical Committee endorsed this commitment under the leadership of the Citizen Network for Budget Transparency (RCTB) [55] and “absolutely reflects the priorities of civil society organizations” as well. [56]

    Potential for results: Substantial

    This commitment holds a substantial potential to strengthen civic participation in local budget processes by strengthening the national legal framework and participatory budgeting tools.

    Senegal lacks national level legislation on participatory budgeting. At the local level, the General Code of Local Authorities provides, to a certain extent, for citizens’ access to information and participation in the management of local affairs. [57] The Code requires local authorities to hold a budgetary orientation debate, open to the public, and to vote and publish their actual accounts (comptes administratifs). [58] However, the Code does not currently require mayors to provide opportunities for citizen participation in developing, implementing and monitoring of local budgets.

    So far, a limited but increasing number of local governments across the country have employed participatory budgeting. In a context of development partners' ever-growing interest, civil society organizations are co-ordinating and nurturing a favorable environment for citizen control over the management of public finances. In 2016, several organizations such as CICODEV, ALPHADEV, Action Solidaire International and Enda ECOPOP launched the Citizen Network for Budget Transparency (RCTB). Since then, according to the Director of Local Authorities, at least 40 projects have been documented following the approach proposed by the National Program for Local Development and Enda ECOPOP. Other reports indicate over 100 participatory budgeting experiences at local level, out of 558 “communes” (municipalities) and 46 departments in Senegal. [59]

    The initial participatory budgeting experiences in Senegal have helped local governments collect higher revenues from municipal taxes and increase their budget, by improving confidence between citizens and authorities. Citizens have seen an impact on the way resources were used in services and investments, according to their interests, and have tended to reelect mayors who introduced participatory budgeting. [60] Some of the general challenges associated with participatory budgeting are the inclusion of disadvantaged or traditionally more excluded groups, such as women, youth, elderly, less educated, persons with disabilities, etc. who might face greater barriers to participating and to having their priorities reflected. However, according to UN Habitat’s analysis, participatory budgeting has proven to be an overall positive process for the building of inclusive localities, “where those who are traditionally marginalized are breaking out of the cycle of exclusion”. [61]

    Therefore, the main challenge addressed by the commitment is how to expand the practice of participatory budgeting for impactful and sustainable results throughout the country. In line with the action plan's initial assessment, the President of COSEF (Senegalese Council of Women) stated that participatory budgeting is not extended because “there is no legal requirement for the mayors to set up consultation frameworks. These remain optional.” [62] She explained that “this has been a commitment of the state for a long time linked to the decentralization process, but more ambition is needed to change Article 7 of the Local Authorities Code. Where it states that the mayor "can" appoint the members of the consultation framework, it should be changed by "must". We have to formalize these consultation frameworks.” [63]

    Consultation frameworks are public participation forums that include political representatives and civil society members across all sectors. These frameworks define priorities for community budgets, through interaction with elected officials and the local government. Consultation frameworks need to be officially recognized and established so that they don’t depend on political will. [64] The commitment establishes quantitative targets, such as 20 new consultation frameworks, and 10 Local Budget Monitoring Groups. More significantly, it seeks to institutionalize participatory budgeting by adopting an implementing decree that would regularize the systematic set up of these frameworks in the communes.

    More broadly, another obstacle to participatory budgeting is due to the lack of public understanding of the budget process, and of civil society monitoring capacities. The commitment seeks to increase access to relevant information. [65] The internet portal for local authorities to be established “will contain data on the decentralization’s legal framework, share information on capitalization of experiences and statistics on local finances”. [66] Implementation also includes awareness-raising and training programmes on the participatory budgeting approach for a number of local governments and civil society actors, delivered together with civic organizations. Capacity-building activities will cover topics such as “participatory development of the various planning tools (town and land-use planning) and budget processes,” and “dissemination activities will be undertaken through workshops” for 200 persons and the popularization of the guide. [67]

    Taken together, these objectives make the commitment relevant to the values of access to information and civic participation, and with substantial potential to open government. Most significantly, the aim to establish a national legal framework promises to address the central obstacle to the expansion of participatory budgeting across Senegal, which is currently dependent on the political will of local leaders. Furthermore, the creation of an information portal and training programme begins to address the lack of citizen budget literacy and officials' understanding of participatory budgeting. Therefore, with a strong coalition of government and civil society reformers, the commitment has substantial potential to increase citizens’ ability to participate in shaping and to influence local investments and public services.

    Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

    From a civil society perspective, commitment 9 could strengthen past achievements and engage more municipalities in participatory budgeting. They perceive political will and expect that the commitment will effectively translate into a regulatory change and contribute to a collaborative environment for participatory budgeting at the local level. The President of COSEF anticipates that regulating consultation frameworks may integrate civic participation in the budget process at the local level, as long as these frameworks become mandatory. [68] Both Action Solidaire International and COSEF stressed that CSOs will oversee the implementation of the commitment. [69] The involvement of experienced organizations forming the RCTB through awareness-raising and trainings is as well an opportunity to achieve concrete results.

    Adopting the necessary regulatory change will likely present the greatest challenge. The Director of Local Authorities expressed that “with elections to be held at the beginning of 2022 and expected changes in local teams, forecasts may be upset.” [70] Another challenge mentioned by COSEF President is the need to train not only elected officials, but also the population in budget literacy, so citizens can interact with elected officials and get involved in the management of local affairs. [71]

    In OGP action plans, participatory budgeting and, more broadly, fiscal openness is a popular area which has delivered good results. Among them, commitments at the local level are particularly effective: over a quarter of local fiscal openness commitments show strong early results, and over 80% of local participatory budgeting commitments are highly ambitious. [72] Therefore, Senegal can look to some of these commitments. For instance, in 2016, the Madrid city council enabled the public to allocate 100 million euros and propose potential expenditures. The population voted on the final proposals. [73] Côte d’Ivoire introduced local participatory budgeting in its first action plan (2016), piloting this approach in 10 municipalities. The government established local committees to monitor community projects and budgets, and offered training opportunities to 350 leaders in civil society organizations and women’s groups on social accountability, budgeting, and facilitation. Its third plan for 2020-22 foresees to create a participatory budgeting decree and a guide to standardize civic participation in budget formation across Ivorian communes. [74] Likewise, the government’s inclusion of civil society in validation sessions for budget guidelines begins to increase civic participation in fiscal processes. At the national level. Recently, Nigeria (2019) [75], Tunisia (2018) [76], Tbilisi (2018) [77] and Scotland (2018) [78] have made commitments related to enhanced participation in local budgets.

    With these opportunities, challenges, and examples in mind, the IRM specifically recommends to:

  • Ensure that consultation frameworks are made mandatory, by modifying the Local Authorities Code.
  • Actively seek out and invite civil society representatives to take part in consultation frameworks as well as monitoring groups, and ensure that representatives from traditionally excluded and marginalized communities are present throughout the budget cycle including planning, execution, and oversight.
  • Ensure that capacity-building activities also target organizations representing the groups that face more barriers in accessing and influencing participatory spaces, including women and youth (in connection and co-ordination with commitment 10).
  • Publish documentation of the discussion and decisions made during the budget cycle, specifically highlighting how civil society input was considered and incorporated.
  • Conduct a joint assessmentby government and civil society on the participatory budget experiences in Senegal.
  • Use offline dissemination and awareness-raising activities when disseminating the participatory budgeting guide to reach rural and marginalized community members.
  • [53] In terms of transparency, Senegal progressed from 10 points (out of 100) in 2011 to 46 points in 2019 in the Open Budget Index, just above the global average. However, these results highlight as well the importance of strengthening budgetary control and especially citizen participation, in which the country scored 0 out of 100 points.
    [54] Fatou Bintou, Director of Local Authorities (Directrice des Collectivités Territoriales), written response to IRM researcher, 17 November 2021.
    [55] The Citizen Network for Budget Transparency (RCTB) is a collective initiative of four civil society organizations “with the mission to contribute to the improvement of transparency and citizen participation in the elaboration, implementation and monitoring of public budgets in Senegal, so that they meet the basic needs of citizens, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable”. See “Senegal and SDG 16: What are the results after 5 years?”, Enda ECOPOP, June 2021, p.27: https://oidp-afrique.org/oidpdisque/2021/11/SENEGAL-and-SDG16-JUNE-2021-en-us_Vu.pdf
    [56] Action Solidaire International (ASI), written response to IRM researcher, 9 November 2021.
    [57] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [58] Senegal OGP National Action Plan 2021-23
    [59] A recent report by Enda ECOPOP stated that the participatory budget approach had reached more than 105 local governments throughout the country, while the Participatory Budgeting World Atlas, supported by the World Bank, refers 123 participatory budgeting processes, all at local level. On participatory budgeting experiences, see “Senegal and SDG 16: What are the results after 5 years?”, enda ECOPOP, June 2021 and the World Participatory Budget Atlas (https://www.pbatlas.net/senegal.html).
    [60] “Participatory Budgeting in Senegal: Interview with Mamadou Bachir Kanouté”, Africa Research Institute, 5 February 2015: https://www.africaresearchinstitute.org/newsite/blog/participatory-budgeting-senegal/
    [61]Participatory Budgeting in Africa: A Training Companion with cases from eastern and southern Africa, Volume I, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa, 2008, p.11-12.
    [62] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [63] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021. “In order to guarantee a good participation of the populations in the management of public affairs, the local executive body can institute, within the local community, a consultation framework (...)”, Law No. 2013-10 of December 28, 2013 on the General Code of Local Authorities, Book I, Section 2. – Citizen participation, Art. 7.: http://www.jo.gouv.sn/spip.php?article10120
    [64] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [65] Fatou Bintou, Director of Local Authorities, written response to IRM researcher, 17 November 2021.
    [66] Fatou Bintou, Director of Local Authorities, written response to IRM researcher, 17 November 2021.
    [67] Fatou Bintou, Director of Local Authorities, written response to IRM researcher, 17 November 2021.
    [68] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [69] Action Solidaire International (ASI), written response to IRM researcher, 9 November 2021. Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [70] Fatou Bintou, Director of Local Authorities, written response to IRM researcher, 17 November 2021.
    [71] Interview with Rokhiatou Gassama, Conseil Sénégalais des Femmes (COSEF), 22 November 2021.
    [73] OGP Fiscal Openness Factsheet, May 2019.,
    [75] Nigeria OGP action plan 2019-22, participatory budgeting commitment: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/members/nigeria/commitments/NG0015/ .
    [76] Tunisia OGP action plan 2018-20, participatory budgeting commitment: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/members/tunisia/commitments/TN0044/ .
    [77] Tbilisi OGP action plan 2018-20, participatory budgeting commitment: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/members/tbilisi-georgia/commitments/TBI0007/ .
    [78] Scotland OGP action plan 2018-20: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Scotland_Action-Plan_2018-2020.pdf. “In 2017 Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Government worked together to develop and agree a framework whereby at least 1% of local government budgets will be subject to participatory budgeting by the end of 2021”, see: https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/participatory-budgeting/ .

    IRM End of Term Status Summary

    Results Report


    Commitment 9. Promoting the Participatory Budget Approach at the Local Level

  • Verifiable: Yes
  • Does it have an open government lens? Yes
  • Potential for results: Substantial
  • Completion: Not started
  • Early results: No Notable Results
  • The main objective of this commitment was to promote the participatory budget approach at local level. In this respect, it aimed at: (i) raising awareness of local authorities on the challenges of the participatory budget approach (ii) encouraging the setting up of consultation frameworks and (iii) improving the handling of the population's concerns and the use of resources at local level.

    The commitment holder [27] states that no activities planned under this commitment have been carried out. The Director of Local Authorities stated that the commitment was not properly designed to align with the way in which participatory budget reform should be carried out in Senegal. [28] She noted that priority should have been given to consultation frameworks encompassing both the participatory budget and other dimensions at local authority level, and not to the participatory budget itself, which is limited to fiduciary aspects. She believes that in the next action plan, this commitment should be renewed by setting milestones in line with the approach to transparency and citizen participation that the Department aims to put in place at local authority level. However, the Director received reports from municipalities on the testing of the participatory budget approach showing that 121 municipalities have tried it out with the support of financial partners.

    [27] Ms Fatou Camara, Director of Local Authorities and Mr Yero Farba Sy, Head of Research, Local Authorities Department, interviewed by the IRM researcher by WhatsApp call on November 2, 2023.

    [28] Ms Fatou Camara, Director of Local Authorities, interviewed by the IRM researcher by WhatsApp call on November 2, 2023.


    Commitments

    Open Government Partnership