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UPDATE: Local Governance Program in Iraq
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-4320
2003-071
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2003
Following the cessation of major hostilities in Iraq, the U.S. Government has been working alongside the Iraqi people in a variety of sectors to rebuild and reconstruct Iraq's infrastructure and civil society. As part of that comprehensive effort, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a contract to North Carolina-based Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in April 2003 to implement a local governance program throughout the country. The program, part of the U.S. government's overall reconstruction efforts, promotes citizen participation in Iraq's post-conflict reconstruction. It places an emphasis on underrepresented and "at risk" groups such as women, youth and minorities.
Since their arrival in Iraq in May, RTI representatives have worked closely with the Coalition Provisional Authority and U.S. government agencies to foster participatory, transparent government that is responsive and responsible to the Iraqi people. The newly formed Iraqi citizen advisory councils represent the views and interests of the community. Neighborhoods serve as the basic level of municipal representation. The councils provide a forum in which residents can interact with the Coalition Provisional Authority, the ministries and municipal government in order to maintain stability, ensure the delivery of essential services, and facilitate economic recovery for the Iraqi people. Program objectives include:
- Strengthen capacity of local administrators to deliver essential services, such as potable water, education, and sanitation;
- Increase participation of local government decision-making by building internal democracy, accountability, and capacity to interact constructively with those in authority;
- Prepare for a transition to representative local governance by supporting the development of a framework for decentralization at all sub-national level; and
- Establish more effective neighborhood and community advocacy and participation of civil society organizations.
In order to achieve these objectives, USAID provides services in the following functional areas:
- Building the capacities of sub-national administrations;
- Building the capacities of civic institutions to participate in political processes; and
- Provision/Administration of rapid response grants and technical assistance.
Program successes to date include:
- Operating nearly countrywide with hub offices in Basrah, Baghdad, Al Hillah, and Arbil and representation in outlying cities;
- Processed more than $1 million in grants through rapid response mechanisms, including the reconstruction and rehabilitation of all twenty schools in Umm Qasr, health clinics in Basrah, and providing adequate water supply for Basrah City and its surrounding area;
- Preparing for interim representative councils and assisting in budget and payroll development through representative councils in the Iraqi cities of Dahuk, Ninawa, Arbil, Sulaymaniya, Salah ad Din, Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala, Babil, Quadisiyah, Najaf, Muthanna, and Basrah;
- Facilitating the implementation of interim local governance structures for Baghdad including the creation of 88 Neighborhood Advisory Councils (NAC) and nine District Advisory Councils (DACs), representing over five million Baghdadis. These efforts culminated in the official creation and first meeting of the Interim Baghdad City Advisory Council on July 7, 2003. Similar programs are beginning in Kirkuk, Mosul, Basrah and smaller cities throughout the south;
- Advising each governor in the South Central region on procedures for establishing the first provincial and district budgets in each governorate. Two workshops were presented for over 100 department directors and their key finance people reviewing last year's budget, including salaries, recurrent costs, and capital investment; and
- Assisting the Basrah city council in administering utilities and creating a public budget.
RTI received an initial award from USAID on April 11, 2003 of $7.9 million. Total U.S. funding obligated to date to RTI is $19 million.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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