| Grant Profile: |
| Project Title: |
Liberia Transition Support Fund |
| PCF/LICUS/SPF: |
LICUS |
Status: |
Closed |
| File Number: |
38
| Region: |
AFR |
| Sector: |
Transportation |
Country: |
Liberia |
| FY approved: |
2006 |
Grant Theme : |
Rural development |
| Keyword(s): |
Administrative and civil service reform;Civil society / NGOs |
Approved Amount: |
$8,500,000.00 |
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Grant Recipient:
UNDP |
Grant Purpose:
The Transition Support Fund is intended to support the government in providing flexible assistance to help consolidate peace and recovery through support to governance reform, government accountability, and the delivery of and access to key social services.
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Grant Activities:
The project will continue to support three types of interventions which are already in place due to an ongoing Transition Support Fund:
(1) Infrastructure and basic services projects
These projects will be quick-impact, high visibility activities that facilitate the provision of basic services. It is expected that a number of these projects will build on the first TSF, expanding or replicating successful projects. For example, Oxfam is currently running a school rehabilitation program in the highly populated West Point community of Monrovia, and it has been suggested that this project could be repeated in other communities. The same applies to the rural infrastructure project being implemented by the INGO Concern in Lofa. In addition, new projects could include labor-intensive public-works activities, such as repair of rural roads, installation of small bridges, construction of public health and education facilities, and water and sanitation projects. Projects will be concentrated where they will have the largest impact: ideally, areas with a high population density but little assistance from Government/donors.
(2) Technical assistance to key units in government supporting urgent reform activities, including, but not be limited to:
(i) Establishment of Geographic Information System (GIS) software within a chosen unit of Government. This will facilitate identification of bridges and roads in need of repair, and allow for the major drainage, water, and electricity networks to be laid out on a computer. This activity complements several of the transport and urban projects taken place, and can build on the ongoing cooperation between the National Information Management Centre (NIMAC) at UNDP and the GoL;
(ii) Strategic interventions in support of the implementation of a functioning IFMIS, particularly capacity building for local staff working alongside the internationally recruited RMU;
(iii) Leadership capacity building, including leadership training, workshops, and mentoring for senior members of Government;
(iv) Support for anti-corruption reform, investment climate reform, contracts and concessions review, or PRSP activities;
(v) High-level international advisor(s) to key ministries and public agencies, along the lines of the current TA to the Ministry of Finance. For example, the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) would benefit from assistance on revenue and expenditure matters;
(vi) Short-term technical consultations to underpin infrastructure works;
(vii) Supervision consultancies for infrastructure works.
(3) Governance stakeholder support
This component will continue the process of developing the critical underpinnings of governmental oversight and building blocks of private sector recovery. This could include training for members of the Legislature in budget formulation and oversight, training and equipment for key civil society groups to help advance key aspects of recovery in the non-governmental sector, and other activities.
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Results:
The project aimed to help the Government of Liberia to consolidate peace and recovery through supporting the government in undertaking governance reform, promoting government accountability and the delivery of social services. In reality, the grant was intended as a measure to address the gap in funding until larger-scale assistance unfolded.
Structured to provide a rapid response to small-scale infrastructure needs, the Transition Support Fund offered demand-based assistance focused on bringing instant relief to urban and rural areas across Liberia. Sub-projects included activities in WATSAN, feeder roads, and local workmanship.
Results from the project include:
• Although the project was designed as a short-term intervention, it is relevant today, as schools and WATSAN rehabilitation sub-projects continue to be in use by communities
• The technical assistance provided by the project influenced subsequent reforms under ongoing assistance
• The project assisted the Government to maintain high visibility and support from the population during a very critical two-year period after the end of the conflict when humanitarian aid was being phased out and development assistance was not yet available
• The project provided men, women and young people throughout the country with employment
• Project-financed activities provided cash to communities and provided local economy with a boost as initial steps toward more sustainable aid
• The pilot used to maintain and rehabilitate rural roads that was developed under the Transition Support Fund project proved to be very successful in terms of the quality of engineering work by military battalions and employment of local communities. The activity was scaled up through another project worth US$6 million.
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Lessons Learned:
Lessons learned during the project include:
• Short-lived emergency aid interventions aimed at preserving stability are needed in the initial years after armed conflicts
• Flexible arrangements such as the Transition Support Fund are very helpful in post-conflict environments – they address ad hoc needs and release the pressure on more traditional sources of funding
• Short-term stability-related interventions should be constantly re-balanced with interventions seeking to achieve sustained development objectives; immediate relief programs operate outside the larger sector dialogue and have little relation to sector reforms
• Labor-intensive techniques utilized in civil work contracts meet the immediate goal of engaging the population. However, these do not present sustainable employment opportunities.
• Shift to a longer-term development attitude should take place as soon as stability is achieved. If stability-promoting aid needs to continue over a longer term, it should be complemented by development programs that unfold in parallel
• Emergency interventions have a high transaction cost
• The light governance structure of the TSF allowed fast approval of project applications, high disbursement rates, quick impact, visibility, and labor creation. Consequently, the project became an excellent interim mechanism until larger programs, requiring detailed design and complex implementation structures, unfolded.
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News:
A road rehabilitation project developed as part of the Liberia Transition Support Fund has proved effective in providing employment for hundreds of people in the country. Aiming at improving road conditions throughout the rainy season in Liberia, the rehabilitation of Voinjama-Zorzor Highway project has also turned instrumental in creating synergies and maximizing joint efforts among the Government of Liberia, local communities, UNMIL, UNDP and other involved agencies.
The Liberia Transition Support Fund (TSF) was established in 2006 with the objective to support quick-impact, high visibility projects facilitating the provision of basic services in the country. The rationale behind the Fund was that immediate, tangible improvements in citizens’ everyday lives would help them believe that positive change was taking place. To fulfill this objective, the TSF has supported a number of infrastructure projects throughout Liberia. These projects have included construction and rehabilitation of roads, water and sanitation services, schools, markets, culverts, and provision of uniforms and equipment to schools. All of these projects have proved impressive in their ability to increase communities’ access to basic infrastructure and services.
Rehabilitation of rural roads has turned into one of the most visible activities implemented by the Transition Support Fund, with a number of objectives key to humanitarian assistance and development efforts in the country. The rehabilitation of Voinjama-Zorzor Highway connecting Lofa County with other parts of the country, implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program and UNMIL, has achieved substantial progress in a short time span. Initially, the Voinjama-Zorzor Highway was a 95-km two-lane unpaved road, going through a rolling terrain in a high-rainfall area with dense vegetation, consisting of a completely worn-out earth embankment with water-related damages. The road conditions had placed thousands of people in Lofa County, including returning refugees, at risk of isolation from humanitarian services, especially during the rainy season. The project aimed at maintaining the road open during the six-month rainy season, in order to support logistically humanitarian and recovery interventions, and facilitate the transportation of goods and productive inputs for local recovery. Keeping the road open would also facilitate the continued return of refugees from neighboring countries, thus enhancing the arrival of people while preventing logistical constraints, and preserving security in the country.
The project has proved successful in employing labor-intensive techniques and providing communities with short-term employment opportunities throughout the rehabilitation activities. It has provided jobs for more than 700 skilled and unskilled workers. Activities have included labor-intensive works for manual rock quarry operations, road side brushing, de-shading of trees alongside the road, road surface grading and clearance, soil stabilization, layering, and construction of a drainage system. In addition to activities alongside the road, rock quarry sites established during the project have provided construction materials for the road works as well as jobs for around 400 people. Child-care centers at the quarry sites have provided mothers with an opportunity to work while their children are attending these centers and receiving basic education services free of charge.
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