Memorandum submitted by The Welfare Association
Consortium—(WAC)—(Project Management Organisation—PMO)
THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY, INCLUDING NGOs,
IN ENSURING A BROAD POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF
PALESTINIAN SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
Palestinian NGOs and other components of civil
society in the Occupied Territories have a distinctive reputation
of strength, flexibility and creativity in comparison with their
counterparts in neighboring countries in the Middle East region.
The NGO sector in particular has long been renowned for its traditionally
influential role as a major service provider within the local
community, with services covering a wide diversity of sectors.
This was clearly evident during the period preceding
the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
in 1994, following the Oslo Agreements of the year before. Many
sectors of Palestinian society, and particularly in remote, underdeveloped
areas were totally reliant on direct aid and essential services,
such as education and health, that were totally provided by active
NGOs and other community based organizations.
BACKGROUND
Since the Israeli occupation of the remaining
part of historic Palestine in 1967, the Palestinian population
suffered another severe blow that all but wiped out the modest
economic and social gains achieved during the relatively quiet
and peaceful years of the Jordanian and Egyptian rule.
A gradually strengthening NGO sector began to
emerge in the seventies and eighties, influenced to a large extent
by the fluctuating political climate, and major regional events
such as the 1982 Israeli invasion of South Lebanon and the subsequent
dissolution of the PLO structure in Lebanon, and the Palestinian
leadership's exodus to Tunisia.
The first Palestinian uprising (Intifada) in
1987, and the formal dissociation of Jordan with the West Bank
and Gaza, marked a new era in the Palestinian civil societies'
prominence, as large numbers of new NGOs were initiated to subsidise,
and compensate for the total cessation and absence of welfare
services' delivery by the Israeli Civil Administration.
As the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, and
the PNA's "birth" in 1994, the role of NGOs and civil
society institutions was temporarily diminished, as the PNA initially
envisaged the Sector as an undermining element to its authority.
The high level of awareness, a conscientious civil society leadership
and a strong national conviction amongst all parties eliminated
the potential for competition in favor of a complementary partnership
of public service provision.
THE ROLE
OF NGOS
IN PALESTINIAN
SOCIETY
Today, and after three years of yet another
Intifada, and greater suffering and deprivation for the Palestinian
people, and with no end in sight for an extremely vicious cycle
of violence, the establishment of an independent Palestinian state
in the foreseeable future seems as distant as ever. Consequently,
and with the inability of the PNA to assume its desired commanding
role as a strong and able body, the NGO sector role has again
emerged in the forefront as a major service provider for the local,
and increasingly impoverished population.
The work of development NGOs has been supported
through targeted aid in fields that were related to building and
strengthening human resources, and the economic capacities of
poor rural and urban communities. It has become a priority for
the NGO sector to seek the empowerment of the marginalised sections
of the population in order to enhance a sustainable self reliance
for survival and development, and a broad popular participation
in the development of Palestinian society.
The NGO sector is also faced with the tremendously
challenging task of implementing programs that complement services
provided by the PNA, with a significant input into shaping up
future government policies in the areas of their expertise, in
addition to strengthening links and establishing a participatory
mechanism in order to articulate the needs and required development
programs of the community, and also playing a much larger role
in programs of poverty reduction, particularly in the rural and
marginalized communities.
FUNDS AND
FOREIGN AID
TO NGOS
IN PALESTINE
Following the Israeli re-occupation of Palestinian
areas previously under PNA control in March/April 2002, and the
subsequent extensive damage to civilian property, and the ongoing
strict closures and mobility restrictions imposed on the Palestinian
population, the local economy was devastated, and reached unprecedented
levels of deterioration. Poverty and unemployment were at an all
time high, and many businesses were terminated with no sources
of income at hand for the vast majority of the population.
The international community was swift in its
intervention, and responded with immediate aid packages that were
mostly channeled through operating NGOs and civil society organisations
that were able to innovate means of reaching the hardest hit communities
for aid delivery. With increasingly improved professional capacities,
skills and expertise, community outreach and a healthy, complementary
working relationship with the PNA, the NGO sector today represents
a significant and capable service deliverer to the local Palestinian
population. The sector also enjoys a very favorable status enabling
it to assume an influential role in directing strategic policy
making on the national level.
THE DFID GRANT
AND THE
IMPLEMENTING PALESTINIAN
AGENCY
The Welfare Association Consortium's Project
Management Organisation (PMO) manages the Palestinian NGO (PNGO)
Project under direct contract with the World Bank. The (WAC) was
initiated in 1997 as a partnership between the Welfare Association(WA),
the British Council and The Charities Aid Foundation.
The lead partner, the WA, was established in
1983 by a group of prominent Palestinian business and intellectual
figures to provide humanitarian and development assistance for
Palestinians. The primary beneficiaries are Palestinian NGOs,
community institutions and charitable organisations in the West
Bank and Gaza and the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, making
the Association the largest and most important source of private
funds for Palestinian development.
THE PNGO PROJECT
The PMO is mid-way through the completion of
Phase II of the PNGO project, which started in 2001 as a continuation
to PNGO I Project. During phase I of the Project, the WAC committed
more than US$7.8 million to Development Grants with 109 projects
funded; along with US$3.5 million allocated to 196 sub-projects
under the Block Grant program. In addition to its other regular
programs such as research grants, the consortium has been entrusted
with managing emergency employment generation programs for a total
of US $ 1.0 million.
PNGO II funds amounted to about US$22 million
that were allocated to the following components:
(1) The Partnership Grants Program.
(2) The Development Grants Program.
(3) The Sector Support Program.
(4) Technical Assistance, Monitoring &
Evaluation.
(5) The Emergency Grants Program for Job
Creation.
PNGO II is being implemented as a comprehensive
program of capacity building and service delivery. It has focused
on meeting the needs of the poor by improving the quality, impact
and sustainability of service provision schemes.
THE DFID GRANT
The International Development Agency acting
as administrator of the grant provided by the Government of the
United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, through its Department
for International Development (DFID), signed the Agreement with
the World Bank, and the Bank consequently signed an agreement
with the Welfare Association on 9 April 2002 to assist in financing
the second Palestinian NGO Project. DFID provided a grant amount
of four million nine hundred thousand pounds sterling (£4,900,000),
equivalent to around US$7.75 million.
The grant amount was allocated to the following
categories:
No |
Category | Amount of the
Grant
allocated (£)
| % of
Expenditures to
be financed
|
1 | Sub-Project Grant
| 4,300,000 | 100 % |
| 2 | Consultant's services and training—Project management and Sector Support components
| 570,000 | 100 % |
| 3 | Project Management Cost
| 30,000 | 100 % |
| TOTAL | | 4,900,000
| |
| |
| |
SUB-PROJECT
GRANTS
In response to the emergency situation prevailing in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, since
the beginning of the second Palestinian Uprising in September
2000, it was agreed to allocate US$2.3 million of the DFID grant
to the Emergency component of the project, whereby (a) US$1.8
million were allocated to emergency employment generation projects,
and (b) US$0.5 million were allocated to funding NGOs for furniture
and equipment items that were either damaged or destroyed during
the Israeli Army's re-occupation of Palestinian areas in March/April
2002.
The Damage Repair allocation was of extreme importance
in enabling NGO's to resume their activities, and deliver their
services to the beneficiaries all over the Palestinian areas.
The balance of the amount allocated to sub-project grants
was allocated to the grants components—Partnership and Development
Grants of Phase II of the Project.
The Partnership Grants Program awarded grants for
service delivery projects to be implemented by lead NGOs in partnership
with smaller ones. The program targeted the poor and marginalized
communities through a mix of projects that addressed the needs
of the under-served sections of the population. The program also
aimed at enhancing the availability, quality and sustainability
of services provided to these communities.
The Development Grants Program awarded grants to NGOs
that have already demonstrated the ability to manage quality projects
during the first phase of the Palestinian NGO Project. The grants
represented an incremental support to the enhanced sustainability
of project activities financed during Phase I.
The Sector Support Program provides support at the sectoral
level, drawing on technical expertise of stronger NGOs and NGO
networks. The program was comprised of four sub- components that
corresponded to its objectives:
(a) Networking, information sharing and supporting a culture
of learning.
(b) Policy articulation for the sector and its role in
development.
(c) Longer term financial sustainability of the sector.
(d) Support to the networks, unions and associations.
The Technical Assistance, Monitoring and Evaluation
component was aimed at supporting organisational capacities in
areas that related to effective management of the other programs,
developing monitoring, evaluation and targeting tools, and conducting
overall program evaluations.
PRELIMINARY OUTPUTS
AND IMPACT
The impact of the DFID assistance to the Palestinian civil
society has been very significant. So far the program has produced
thousands of square meters of new construction of such facilities
as Kindergartens, health clinics, community centres and other
public use buildings.
In addition, so far almost 100,000 person days of employment
were generated through the implementation of the various grant
components. The DFID funded programs also contributed immensely
to the empowerment of the civil society, and contributed to the
alleviation of suffering and reduction of poverty levels in the
West Bank and Gaza.
September 2003
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