Enhancing Municipal Responsiveness and Social Accountability of local authorities in the OPT

Project completed
Training of Municipality staff, Gaza Strip, Local governance Project, February 2015, © SDC

This programme aims at strengthening Palestinian local authorities’ capacities to perform their mandate through enhancing municipal responsiveness and social accountability in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). This intervention in line with the SDC cooperation strategy for the oPt that aims at contributing to the establishment of a democratic Palestinian State through addressing access and quality of basic services delivered to Palestinian citizens (refugees and non-refugees) and strengthening the Rule of Law.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Governance
Other
nothemedefined
Rule of Law - Democracy - Human rights
Decentralisation
Public finance management
01.07.2012 - 31.12.2017
CHF  4’500’000
Background

The Palestinian Authority (PA), established in 1994, is responsible for the provision of services in the oPt. In the emerging State of Palestine, subject to continuous Israeli occupation and internal factional political divide, the task is daunting. The political and geographical fragmentation affects the PA ability to govern in area C and East Jerusalem, and to some extent in the Gaza Strip. In this context, the Palestinian local authorities play an important role in ensuring continuous service delivery and developing the bound between the State and its citizens.

Objectives

Female and male citizens (refugees and non refugees) living in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) receive public services from local authorities that are efficient, accountable and socially inclusive.

Target groups

Citizens (female and male, refugees and non refugees, especially marginalised groups, women and youth) living within municipal boundaries, civil society organisations, 134 municipalities, state and semi state institutions working in local governance (Municipal Development and Lending Fund-MDLF, Ministries of Local Government – MoLG and Finance-MoF at central and district level), research institutions, and private sector in the oPt (West Bank and Gaza).

Medium-term outcomes
  • Municipal management practices are more effective, efficient, accountable and transparent, including in the Gaza Strip.
  • Policies and programmes in the Local Governance (LG) sector are informed by successfully tested novel approaches and practices, especially in the field of Social Accountability.
  • Policy making initiatives related to the LG sector are informed by research-based and field tested evidence.
  • SCO WB & Gaza increases its policy influence on LG issues, especially on Social Accountability.

 

 

 

Results

Expected results:  

  • Increased responsiveness of municipalities through municipal innovations enhancing social accountability.
  • Municipalities’ capacities are improved through providing capacity development packages increasing effectiveness and transparency.
  • Citizens’ Customer Service Centres (OSS) are established in at least 3 Gaza municipalities.
  • Lessons learned and recommendations from pilot projects contribute to the drafting of a participatory budgeting guideline issued by GIZ-LGP and prepared for up-scaling in MDLF-MDP3 to all municipalities.
  • The municipality as well as the community understand participatory budgeting mechanisms and are able to repeat the process independently.
  • Pilot municipalities have established Local Economic Development (LED) activities according to their SDIP priorities.
  • New policy concepts and analysis is produced and used by SDC to influence LG Sector Working Group discussions, policy dialogue with MDLF, MoLG, and MoF.

 


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Credit area Development cooperation
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
Private sector
Foreign state institution
  • Central State of South East
  • Other international or foreign NGO North
  • Foreign private sector North
  • SDC Field Office
  • Municipal Development and Lending Fund (MDLF); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); Research institutions/consultancy firms


Other partners

SDC will cooperate with all LG stakeholders at the national and local level (government and civil society) as well as with the donors in the sector, in particular Germany (GIZ/ BMZ), Denmark (sector lead), and the World Bank (MDLF co-lead).

Coordination with other projects and actors

This programme is in line with SDC cooperation strategy, which aims at improving access and quality of basic services delivered to Palestinian citizens (refugees and non-refugees) as well as combining the efforts to synergise different activities within the Rule of law (RoL) domain, and with the Employment & Income (E&I) domain.

Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    4’500’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    4’459’756
Project phases Phase 3 01.07.2023 - 30.06.2027   (Current phase) Phase 2 01.09.2017 - 31.12.2022   (Completed)

Phase 1 01.07.2012 - 31.12.2017   (Completed)