UNDP Zanzibar: Alignment with MKUZA and National Processes

The UNDP Zanzibar facilitates implementation of programmes and other activities in Zanzibar managed from the Country Office. The programme focus on upstream policy advisory and technical services in the practice areas of

• Poverty Monitoring
• Development Management
• Aid Coordination and
• Democratic Governance

At first stage in the implementation of Vision 2020, RGOZ launched a 3 year Zanzibar Strategy for Poverty Reduction (ZSRP) in May 2002 focusing on reducing income poverty; improving human capabilities; survival and social well being and containining extreme vulnerability. A community development component being implemented to feed into the upstream policy advisory services, experiences and lessons learned.

UNDP assistance to ZPRP (2001-2006) through UK-DFID partnership ended and was extended at no cost for another year while generating the second phase of of poverty reduction strategy – the Zanzibar Strategy for Growth and Reduxction of Poverty (with the Swahili acronym MKUZA). MKUZA builds on the lessons learned from the implementation of ZPRP 1 where high growth rates did not translate into significant poverty reduction.  The MKUZA is MDG-based developed through a highly consultative and inclusive process culminating in the three outcomes of:

• Governance and National Unit
• Growth and Reduction of Income Poverty
• Social Services and Social Well-being

Associated with the MKUZA are the Growth Strategy, MKUZA Monitoring Master Plan and Communication strategy all launched in January 2007. The MKUZA is being implemented in line with the principles of the Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania (JAST) to ensure government leadership and national ownership.

Within the context of MKUZA, the Programme will continue to play a number of key roles including support to the development of national policies and thrive on setting global norms and standards, national capacity development and support to reforms and national processes to fulfilling government mandate of reducing poverty and improving the well-being of the people of Zanzibar.
Strategies focus on creating a supportive environment for economic growth and continuing with the socio-economic reform programmes in the context of poverty reduction through policy reforms, institutional strengthening and capacity development. Activities are also implemented towards improvement in public finance management, development and operationalization of a robust poverty monitoring system, enhanced aid coordination, building of governance institutions and systems. A community development programme complements the upstream services and contribute to scale up participation of the poor in their own development. End results for current interventions are expected to achieve significant improvement:

• Pro-poor and gender sensitive national and sectoral policies and strategies developed, resources (budget/MTEF) aligned to priorities, and implementation at national and sub-national levels supported
• Strengthened public financial reporting, aid coordination and debt management and greater harmonization and alignment between Zanzibar and the Mainland. 
• Efficient monitoring system that guides evidence based advocacy, planning and decision making with enhanced public access to and use of data and information
• Effective civil society and private sector participation in public expenditure reviews and other national dialogue and decision making processes

Additioally, the Office facilitates other UNDP programmes managed directly from Country Office such as the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Programme, the Deepening Democratic Government Programme, Disaster preparedness and the Environment and Energy Programme to enhance national ownership, capacity for national development management and development of durable democratic governance. It is expected the end result would be significant improvement in capacities to tackle poverty, environmental degradation, governance deficit, conflict management as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Outside the mainstream UNDP programme area, the Office supports coordination of UN activities in Zanzibar, given that UNDP is the lead agency of the DPG for Zanzibar

 There are a number of challenges to enhance coherence between different policy areas, among different sectors, policy actors and partners in order to make policies and reforms better able to promote devewlopment. In the past few years, the Government of Zanzibar has implemented several aspects of the core reforms, which have created an enabling environment needed to promote pro-poor growth and development of poverty-reducing policies. The Government has also taken measures to promote effective participation of NSAs including the Private Sector in national development processes such PERs, MTEFs and Poverty Monitoring. Public Private Partnership has been enhanced through the establishment of the Zanzibar Business Council.  In the process, UNDP recognize the strong government commitment to address the economic, social and governance challenges in Zanzibar on one side and limitation due to inadequate management, technical, as well as financial capacities on the other side. In the implementation of core reforms, the government is constrained by inadequate national expert to provide technical guidance for the implementation of the reforms. Similarly capacities in aid coordination and management of external resources are necessary.

 Action plan for 2008 focus on well informed and well considered strategic choices banking on the goodwill and commitment of government. Millenium Declaration emphasise development as a shared responsibility to commit to good governance, good policies and conflict resolution. There is committment to supporting national priorities in partnership with others government, civil society, private sector, while relying as far as possible on national systems and processes already in place.

Effective implementation of programme will rely significantly on successful completion of ongoing costing exercise on MKUZA financed by UNDP and Governement of Zanzibar and institutionalising an effective monitoring system at all levels . The costing exercise that started in September 2007 is ongoing focusing on 4 sectors to begin with. These include:

• Health Sector
• Water and Sanitation Sector
• Education Sector and
• Growth Sector (including Agriculture, Trade, Manufacturing, Tourism and infrastructure)

A 3 man team from MDG Unit in HQ provides major technical support and inputs to understand the MDG tool application to align national development strategies within MKUZA framework and the MDGs Needs Assessment costing tools. This first phase of costing exercise is coming to and end a Technical Committee/expert will synthesise the report before January 2008.

Apart from ensuring finalization of MKUZA costing and dissemination, the specific focus areas of interventions will base on giving support to identifying actions within wider framework for the implementation of core reforms, capacity building and skilling human resource as identified in the capacity needs assessment, scaling up investments to meet MKUZA/MDG targets and mainstreaming human rights, HIV, environment, gender, and other vulnerability issues. Within all these processes, introduction on the use of ICT to enhance productivity is enevitable. The ongoing UNDP support to 4 Higher Learning Institutions  for enhancement of service delvery is strategised to trickle down  to  other institutions.Target objectives will see to activities that aim to strengthen national mechanism for measuring, monitoring and analyzing trends and strategies that inform national policies; institutionalizing an efficient ZSGPRP Monitoring and Evaluation system,  automate data processing in MOFEA through IFIM and AMP and operationalize an M & E system.

As part of a more coherent and effective UN, the UNDP Zanzibar is turning into a focused substantive and operationally expanding programme. It is meeting the demand to shift from inward looking to a more focused outward looking aspect of envisioned programme.