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Bolivia
>> Regional Overview >> Bolivia Overview Activity Data Sheet
PROGRAM: Bolivia
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Citizen Support for the Bolivian Democratic System, 511-001
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $2,821,000 (DA), 1,993,000 (ESF), 2,000,000 (INC)
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $2,500,000 (DA), $5,000,000 (ESF), $7,000,000 (INC)
STATUS: New
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 2001 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2005Summary: The Democracy Strategic Objective promotes increased citizen support for the Bolivian democratic system, and helps support a fragile democracy. USAID assistance shapes judicial reform and accelerates decentralization through increased participation, greater transparency, and improved institutional performance in the judiciary, the legislature, and municipalities. This objective is assisting in the implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CCP) and improving the quality of municipal governance in assisted areas. The ultimate customers are Bolivia's poor through increased participation in municipal and community government, improved representation before national-level government bodies, and greater legal security through a fairer and more accessible justice system.
Key Results: Two intermediate results will be achieved under this objective: (1) decentralized community based health care will be provided; and (2) access to quality reproductive health services will be expanded.
The Government of Bolivia's (GOB) strong leadership in implementing the CCP has placed this major reform back on track. However, larger investments in legal infrastructure and personnel are needed, if criminal justice reform is to succeed. Municipal governments, working under a new municipality law, are receiving improved performance and citizen satisfaction ratings. Municipal associations have greatly facilitated the replication of USAID's municipal strengthening program to over 70 of Bolivia's 314 municipalities.
Performance and Prospects: The GOB is firmly committed to the full implementation of the CCP by May 31, 2001. CCP preparations are on track in the key areas of legal and institutional reform, training, case backlog resolution, and public awareness. Successful implementation will require a substantial resource investment by the GOB, especially to create a new Institute of Forensic Investigation. The recent congressional approval of a new Public Ministry Law represents a major step forward in legal reform. This law professionalizes the selection of prosecutors, adapts their roles to the new procedures, and creates a training institute and career path. Also, USAID and the International Criminal Investigation and Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) assisted in drafting a new Police Law, which is under congressional review.
A computerized case-tracking system has been integrated among courts, prosecutors, and police in a major district. The Drug Enforcement Agency will integrate the anti-narcotics police into this system. In 2001, the system will expand to three more districts, followed by a nation-wide expansion. All judicial institutions have incorporated the requirements of the CCP into their operating plans and budgets.
In FY 2000, USAID supported the training of trainers for 120 judicial operators (judges, prosecutors, defenders, and investigators) in new CCP procedures. These operators then trained 3,000 of their colleagues throughout Bolivia. In 2001, they will receive additional CCP training to ensure its effective and full implementation, and will pass on this training to their colleagues.
The public's awareness of CCP has grown. This is reflected by the fact that two million Bolivians were reached in a public education campaign and 400,000 citizens were reached through a network of seven non-governmental organizations. According to the DVS survey, about half of all Bolivians heard of the CCP and a majority are in favor of the concept of citizen judges. However, support for judicial institutions has not shown an increase. Other USAID-funded surveys suggest that the public is supportive but still skeptical of the reform process and perceives judicial corruption as a potential obstacle. The Supreme Court resolved 700 of 1,800 cases, demonstrating steady progress in reducing the case backlog.
Progress toward municipal decentralization has been steady as municipalities take greater leadership in implementing the Popular Participation Law in spite of weak GOB support. USAID facilitated the creation of municipal associations in eight of nine departments. Women council members increased from 128 to over 500 due to stronger provisions in the Electoral Code. In contrast, the percentage of women participating in municipal budget meetings declined. USAID funded the creation of an Association of Women Council Members. The departmental associations and the women council members association have in turn formed a Federation of Municipal Associations, which emerged last year as the recognized representative of the municipalities in national policy discussions.
Bolivian citizens increasingly recognize the importance of the municipality in their political and economic life. This is reflected by civil society leaders active involvement in the National Dialogue, which was conducted as an essential process for securing debt relief. Although GOB and church leaders initially downplayed the importance of municipalities, the participants, who consisted mostly of civil society leaders, concluded that the entire $1.3 billion of debt relief should be channeled through municipalities. In the DVS survey, 46% of respondents declared that the municipality should receive more resources and responsibility, while only 16% identified the central government. In spite of a year of political crises, this endorsement of municipalities was significantly higher than in 1998.
USAID has made a significant impact on decentralization policy. At the GOB's request, USAID funded the development of the methodology and framework for the National Dialogue, assisting all departmental consultations and assuring that input was received from all levels of society. The GOB and Inter-American Development Bank shared with USAID the publishing costs of these participatory methodologies, which will also be utilized by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). Moreover, the GOB is drafting a resolution to make these methodologies public policy for implementing the Popular Participation Law. To date USAID's, DDCP program has applied these methodologies in 76 of Bolivia's 314 municipalities, and plans to reach an additional 100 municipalities over the next two years. USAID also supports the training of nearly 500 women mayors and municipal council-members (more than 80%) in effective municipal management and leadership.
Coupled with the rise in importance of municipal associations, Bolivia has witnessed an explosion of self-initiated "mancomunidades" (partnerships) of municipalities. These partnerships have grown from seven in 1998 to 44 in 2000. USAID contributes directly to support the long-term viability of 16 mancomunidades, while creating a mechanism to provide on-going technical assistance to municipalities to address the frequent turnover in municipal leadership and administration.
Citizen participation and support for municipal government continues to grow in USAID supported municipalities, while at the national level support remains relatively steady. Citizen satisfaction with municipal services rose from 45% in 1998 to 49% in 2000 in DDCP-assisted municipalities. Citizen participation in municipal government rose from 16% in 1998 to 18% in DDCP municipalities, but dropped from 14% to 12% at the national level. Women participation in municipal budget meetings dropped from 10% to 8% in DDCP municipalities, and from 9% to 6% at the national level. USAID will continue to explore methodologies for increasing and measuring women's participation.
During FY 2001 and FY 2002, USAID justice reform assistance will focus on full implementation of the new Code of Criminal Procedures and complementary legislation using $2,000,000 of INC funds and $1,993,000 of ESF in FY 2001, and $7,000,000 of INC in FY 2002 (of which $500,000 will go to ICITAP). USAID's justice reform efforts will include professionalizing prosecutors, computerization of additional case tracking systems, widespread public awareness and instruction on issues of rights and responsibilities under the Code which touch on ethics and anti-corruption themes. USAID will ensure that citizen demands are effectively channeled and national legislative representatives' ability to respond are strengthened ($500,000 DA in FY 2001 and $500,000 DA in FY 2002). USAID will also continue its decentralization efforts, including the expansion of political skills training and organization-building activities to the growing number of women council members and department representatives; establishment of an internet platform to assist several municipal associations in internal and external communications and private sector partnerships ($2,321,000 DA in FY 2001 and $2,000,000 DA in FY 2002). USAID will use $5,000,000 in ESF in FY 2002 to continue to strengthen the legislature and municipalities, and to strengthen Bolivia's democratic political culture.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: USAID will assist in broadening the participation of civil society in strengthening the rule of law and increasing congressional responsiveness to constituents. An internet platform will assist several municipal associations in internal and external communications and private sector partnerships. Also, municipal-strengthening activities will be expanded to the Yungas area as part of a new alternative development program there.
Other Donor Programs: Donor coordination remains strong, although better communication with the World Bank is needed in the justice sector. The Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) new civil society program complements USAID efforts in the justice sector. USAID participated in the World Bank's design of a decentralization loan planned for 2001. USAID and he German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) share a common implementation plan, jointly financing training and technical assistance. The Netherlands provides decentralization assistance. A coordination group for legislative strengthening consists of USAID, the German foundations, the IDB, and Bolivian congressional institutions.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID implements its democracy activities primarily through the following U.S. organizations: Management Sciences for Development (for justice reform); Chemonics and International City Managers Association (for decentralization); and the University of Pittsburgh (for the DVS). A Bolivian survey firm is also involved in the DVS.
Bolivia 511-001
Performance Measures:
Indicator FY97
(Actual)FY98
(Actual)FY99
(Actual)FY00
(Actual)FY00
(Plan)FY01
(Plan)FY02
(Plan)Indicator 1: Key justice sector institutions adapt their Annual Operative Plans to the new legal reform 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 Indicator 2: Improved quality of contacts between "uninominales" and their constituencies in DDCP electoral districts NA 0 0 16 50 NA NA Indicator 3: Increased female participation in DDCP municipal meetings including Annual Operating Plan preparation. NA 10 11 8 12 14 16 Indicator Information:
Indicator Level (S)or(IR) Unit of Measure Source Indicator Description Indicator 1: IR Number of institutions Annual Operating Plans of institutions involved Institutional strengthening is one of the key work areas for the successful implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedures. This indicator measures level of GOB commitment, and also contractors' ability to assist judicial institutions to adapt to the new requirements of the reform. Note: Indicators have been changed since the FY 2001 Budget Justification to better measure program performance. Indicator 2: IR Percentage of agreed-upon actions completed by "uninominales" in 15 districts Contractor's reports This indicator measures the quality of uninominales - constituents contacts by keeping track of the number of "agendas for action" jointly agreed in the 15 districts, and the percentage of completion of these agendas. The baseline for 1998 is zero, as no actions had been jointly identified yet. Note: Indicators have been changed since the FY 2001 Budget Justification to better measure program performance. Indicator 3: IR Percentage of women participating in municipal budget meetings Democratic Values Survey (DVS) This indicator measures the level of participation of Bolivian women in local politics. This is a percentage of women in DDCP municipalities who said they have attended a municipal meeting in the last year. Note: Indicators have been changed since the FY 2001 Budget Justification to better measure program performance. U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 13,470 DA 8,897 DA 4,573 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 12,838 INC 10,085 INC 2,753 INC 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 3,100 DA 1,919 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 2,000 INC 1,658 INC 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 16,570 DA 10,816 DA 5,754 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 14,838 INC 11,743 INC 3,095 INC 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds* 0 DA 0 CSD 0 INC 0 ESF 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 2,821 DA 0 CSD 2,000 INC 1,993 ESF 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 2,821 DA 0 CSD 2,000 INC 1,993 ESF 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 2,500 DA 5,000 DA 26,891 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 7,000 INC 10,000 INC 33,838 INC 5,000 ESF 4,000 ESF 10,993 ESF 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
