| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The project was divided into 3 phases which included
The main activities in phase 1 included assembling assessment team, assembling reference team, training for the assessment and reference team on various aspects of the assessment including the toolkit. The reference group was set up to provide guidance and advice to the assessment teams work. The reference group composed of members from the council, development partners, members from the office of the ombudsman and traditional leaders. The assessment team was composed of five members from the Office of the Ombudsman.
The main activity in phase 2 was the actual assessment which included focus group discussions, key informant interviews, desk research, data analysis and report writing. The research was conducted in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu City Councils, Lilongwe and Blantyre District Councils and Kasungu Town Council. Participants in the focus group discussion composed of Community Development Block Leaders. A total of five focus group discussions were conducted, 2 in Blantyre, 2 in Lilongwe and 1 in Mzuzu. 22 key informant interviews were conducted. Key informant interviewees were drawn from the following institutions: Ministry of Local Government, Town/District/City Assembly Staff, Member of Parliament from the Environmental Affairs Committee, key members of the Civil Society Organization (CSOs), and lecturers from the University of Malawi’s Polytechnic.
The main activities in phase 3 included validation and consultative meetings, report dissemination, action-oriented dialogue and the final report writing. The third phase is still underway with the final report writing remaining. The validation meeting was involved members of the reference group assembled in the first phase. The consultative meeting involved various stakeholders in Solid Waste Management who included Member of Parliament, Traditional Leaders, Market chairperson, members of the media, Council Staff, Members from various Ministries and members from other constitutional bodies.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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The assessment study was conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman. The study area was identified by the Office of the Ombudsman. The assessment toolkit was developed by International IDEA. An agreement was entered into between the two organisations in April 2013 to co-operate in conducting a Pilot Study: Democratic Accountability in Service Delivery Toolkit in Malawi- Solid Waste management by Local Councils.
Before the actual assessment, the Office engaged a reference group( composed of members from the council, development partners, members from the office of the ombudsman and traditional leaders) that provided valuable direction on how the study could be conducted.
The office of the ombudsman provided the human resource and other material resources for the operations of the project which included office space, internet and vehicles.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The pilot project was solely funded by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance to pilot a toolkit on Democratic Accountability in Service Delivery. The total cost of the project is MWK 8,338,349. MWK1909859 was budgeted for the first phase, 1747,240 was budgeted for the second phase and MWK4,681,250 were committed to the third phase of the project. Funds were disbursed separately for each phase upon the submission of an intermediate financial report at the end of each phase.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The study results gave an insight into the accountability mechanisms at play in as far as solid waste management service delivery was concerned and how mechanisms at the district council work. Some of the results of the study showed that citizen participation was not to a large extent facilitated by the council, access to information was limited, no funds were committed to solid waste management as an item in the budgets and in addition the finances that are provided are inadequate. The recommendations that were made from the results ensured that democratic accountability in local councils is improved.
Engagement with various stakeholders and the reference group was one of the important outputs in the project. The meetings and workshops provided a platform for dialogue. The meetings ensured that various views are expressed and that each party was able to hear the concerns of the other. These meetings also clarified some of the issues that the results of the study brought up. These meetings composed of city council staff, members of the media, member of parliament, traditional leaders, duty bearers(council staff)
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Owing to the nature of the project, very little was required in terms of M&E. However to monitor and evaluate progress, activity reports were produced and the end of each activity. At the same time, at the end of each phase, financial reports were produced. The reference group was used as a platform to inform of the developments and progress on the implementation of the project.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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The officers implementing the project had to this in addition to their normal duties and at the same time implement another different project. The combined workload meant that most of the deadlines could not be met as planned. As such the work plan as well as the contract between the two organizations had to be amended.
For the second phase, there was a delay in the release of finances which led to a delay in the implementation of the actual assessment. This also contributed to the decision to amend the work plan.
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