DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COORDINATION OFFICEThe Poverty Alleviation Strategy Coordinating Office (PASCO) coordinated the preparation of the Sierra Leone Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (SL-PRSP) under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning (MODEP) until January 2004. In February 2004, a Technical Working Group chaired by the Director of the Development Assistance Coordination Office (DACO) was established to supervise and fast track the completion the SL-PRSP. Since then, DACO has been key in all activities relating to the completion of the SL-PRSP. The final draft of the document was circulated in March 2005 and subsequently launched in April 2005. To facilitate the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, DACO will be expanded to incorporate a Monitoring and Evaluation unit alongside a Poverty Reduction Coordination unit. The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit will be primarily responsible for coordinating the Monitoring and Evaluation activities with regards to the PRSP whilst the Poverty Reduction Coordination Unit will coordinate PRSP implementation activities of MDAs and track development assistance to Sierra Leone. This unit will also support the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy through providing technical and secretariat support to the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) and the National Technical Committee (NTC). Finally, the unit will develop an effective communication strategy and action plan for the dissemination of information relating to development assistance as well as the implementation of the PRS. DACO will continue to be under the Office of the Vice President for a period of one year. Within that period, a comprehensive functional review of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development and Economic Planning (MODEP) will be undertaken. The findings and recommendations from these reviews will determine the permanent location of DACO and its related activities. NEW MANDATE FOR DACODACO will be mandated to perform the following key functions: Coordinate the activities of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) and the National Technical Committee (NTC) for steering the implementation of the PRS. Set up and coordinate a system for monitoring and evaluation of programmes identified in the SL-PRSP. Coordinate and analyse development assistance into Sierra Leone. Facilitate Government/Donor dialogue through the DEPAC, CG and other appropriate structures/mechanisms. Coordinate the formulation of an Aid Policy for Sierra Leone. Support capacity building for the implementation of the PRSP. Develop a communication strategy to facilitate greater dissemination of development assistance as well as the activities of the PRS to the public. 1. Coordinate the activities of the NTC and IMC. Clearly, at the national level, the central government will play the leading role as MDAs already have the statutory responsibilities for formulating and implementing sectoral programmes. However, in line with the Government’s decentralization programme, coordination structures are being set up to support planning, implementation and monitoring of the SL-PRSP at the district level. The IMC and the NTC are being set-up to guide the implementation of the PRS. The IMC chaired by the Vice President will have the overall responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the PRS. The IMC will provide the necessary policy guidance for programme implementation. At the technical level, the NTC comprises professional heads of MDAs as well as representatives of NGOs and Civil Society. The NTC will provide overall technical and professional guidance by reviewing sector progress at both the national and district level. In addition, the NTC will promote the participation of civil society in the implementation and monitoring of the SL-PRSP. 2. Coordinate the monitoring and evaluation of programmes identified in the SL-PRSP. The SL-PRSP was prepared against the backdrop of widespread poverty and an environment of competing demands on limited resources. The Government is committed to instituting a robust system for monitoring and evaluation of the programmes/activities identified in the SL-PRSP. The line ministries will be primarily responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the sectoral programmes while DACO will coordinate the monitoring of the programmes to ensure that the specific pillar objectives are met. DACO will use the Consultative Group results matrix as the basis for the monitoring of the targets in each sector. DACO will rationalise data generated by SSL and Line Ministries for input into the annual PRS Progress Report. 3. Support capacity building for the implementation of the SL-PRSP. As the SL-PRSP is both the planning and resource-programming tool, its implementation cannot be divorced from the capacity building in the widest sense. The public systems of service delivery and human resources capacity are recognized as key obstacles to effective implementation of the SL-PRSP. This is underscored by the fact that the requisite capacities for programme design, implementation, and economic and financial management in the public sectors have declined progressively over the years. Reversing this trend is crucial for the successful implementation of the SL-PRSP. DACO will support the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in the development of a comprehensive capacity building programme to enhance the implementation of the PRS. This programme will take into account all on-going capacity building initiatives and ensures that a holistic approach to capacity building for the implementation of the PRSP is developed. Presently, with the support of UNDP and DFID-UK, DACO/SLIS is providing specialized capacity building support to the Ministry of Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Lands and Country Planning and the Freetown City Council. DACO will continue to provide such support through the end of 2006. 4. Coordinate Development Assistance and Facilitate Donor /Government Dialogue related to PRSP. The coordination of development assistance has been done by DACO. This function will continue to be carried out, as it is crucial in the implementation of the PRS. Specifically, DACO is expected to do the following:
Sierra Leone Information System (SLIS)The UNDP SLIS is a component of the Development Assistance Coordination Office (DACO). The unit is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions in support of the Government of Sierra Leone’s increasing eGovernance demands. These solutions are primarily geared toward enhancing informed decision-making and policy formulation for key government ministries, donors, UN organisations and their implementing partners. UNDP SLIS was established by UN-OCHA in 2002 to coordinate the collection of data that will give an indication of the level of socio-economic destruction down to the chiefdom level. In addition, a Who, What, Where data bank was also established to identify the various actors with the chiefdoms. The information analysed by SLIS gave birth to the district data packs, sector data packs and the CD encyclopedia. These products formed the basis for the Consolidated Appeals Process during the Humanitarian and Relief phase. In 2004, as Sierra Leone was transitioning from Relief to Development, the role of UNDP SLIS was examined and re-adjusted. It was agreed that the UNDP SLIS products should shift focus from a statistical approach to humanitarian and relief to development to eGovernance. Resources have since then been commissioned to provide specialized capacity skills development for certain MDAs. SLIS key activities are listed below:Assisting the Decentralisation Secretariat, DACO and other key Ministries in developing capacity at Local Councils and within the Ministries in the area of information management, work process flow, spatial data analysis and usage of information products in strategic planning and policy formulation. Develop a National Spatial Data Infrastructure and enhance the capacity of government institutions in spatial data digitizing, analysis and sharing. Build capacity within the different Ministries in order for them to facilitate information exchange and provide analytical information products for the humanitarian and development community, aimed at improving efficiency of PRSP implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Develop specialised administrative systems for GoSL to enhance efficient administration of the mining sector, allow for disaster management mitigation and early warning systems and mobilize revenue at local council levels.
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