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Rudo Grace Gwata-Charamba Correspondent

The application of Results Based Management (RBM) principles for planning and executing programmes is recorded in many devolution success stories.

For the allocation of resources for all projects and programmes, this ensures the sufficiency of resources as well as alignment with the achievement of clearly defined measurable changes that lead to improvement in people’s lives.

In addition, such changes that would be closely tailored to development needs and priorities of citizens, and also in line with national development goals and priorities. Relatedly, progress towards these changes (target results) is consistently monitored to ensure the occurrence of real development through and through.

Progress towards devolution itself and the associated benefits can also be constantly assessed with considerable accuracy.

One way of such assessment is to apply the results-based notion of causality and determine whether or not a milestone or a result would have been achieved without devolution.

This helps to promote the success of devolution as it facilitates early detection and solution of implementation problems. In general, the RBM emphasis on maximum stakeholder participation fosters buy-in, commitment and ownership of the devolution agenda as well as associated initiatives.

Human capacity building is essential for all stakeholders and should not be limited to training, as is usually the case in most institutions.

For civil servants, within both the central and devolved units, capacity building should aim at nurturing or strengthening a wide range of aptitudes encompassing new capabilities, attitudes associated with citizen-focused service delivery plus turning the public sector into a growth driver as well as management techniques towards the creation of a more service-oriented practices.

Moreover, this group of stakeholders also requires new skills relating to efficient implementation, performance measurement, and citizen interface during participatory processes.

In the same contest, providing councillors with the aptitude they need to understand business issues and processes helps to avoid their reliance, for the same, on their supervisees and the associated compromise of the oversight function.

Furthermore, all stakeholders require full understanding and appreciation of the purpose and benefits of devolution to foster buy-in, commitment and ownership of the associated programmes. In addition, all groups need capacities for effective engagement as well as meaningful participation in development programme processes as well as awareness and efforts to prevent partisan divisions intensified.

In fact, all stakeholders need to appreciate that they have a role to play and taking such responsibility is actually for their own good. It is also essential for stakeholders to appreciate that devolution is not an end in itself but is a process, that takes time, and can lead to different outcomes, including fuelling the risk of conflict, albeit typically in the short term.

This helps them to be prepared for mitigating the risks and any other negative outcomes as well as remaining motivated while waiting to enjoy the benefits in the long term.

In the same context, institutions need to be created or modified towards high levels of inclusivity and accountability as well as enhanced ability to deliver quality services for all, while also reducing the pressures and inequalities that cause conflict. Creating platforms for interaction between the devolved government among themselves, to allow them to learn from each other, as well as interaction with the centre often proved to be highly beneficial for the improvement of service delivery plus building national consensus for accelerated development.

For example, several devolved governments (counties) in Kenya were setting up industrial plants after learning from the Makueni county which set up a thriving multimillion-dollar mango processing plant.

The Makueni plant was aimed at helping the 12 000 mango farmers in the county who were struggling to earn a decent living because they could not access the market and the returns from fresh mango sales could not sustain the businesses.

Similarly, the effective implementation of the devolution policy, through the Community Based Health Insurance programme (CBHI), in Rwanda was reportedly facilitated by the setting up of intergovernmental and inter-organisational institutions that bring together ministries, agencies and non-state entities that played different roles towards improving the implementation processes.

However, cases, reported in several devolved governments in different nations, where the strengthening of ethnic identification leading to the exclusion of minorities and promotion of inequalities were attributed to the devolution agenda.

That is, identity had become the primary concern rather than policy in the implementation of the devolution agenda. Also, most societies do not provide adequate space for youth to participate in decision-making, relating to development issues, which often leads to their exclusion in programmes.

Similarly, resources, exclusive service delivery and development opportunities were allocated to individuals and groups based on identity or political patronage or other forms of corruption, again instead of policy.

Consequently, different groups pitted against each other and new possibilities for conflict at both the devolved and central levels, were introduced leading to adverse impact on the devolution agenda. In fact, literature shows that exclusion, regardless of its nature, is one of the most likely causes of conflict and thus needs to be consistently and effectively guarded against.

Ensuring adequate capacity and performance management, equal opportunities, and political empowerment of local level institutions is, therefore, essential for the success of devolution. This entails establishing or strengthening capabilities and institutional arrangements for result-oriented coordination on policy formulation, implementation and learning lessons, at all government levels. Essentially, applying the key elements of RBM, namely planning, execution with emphasis on monitoring and reporting as well as learning and adjustment, in all the devolution processes can significantly enhance its chances of success.

Dr Rudo Grace Gwata-Charamba is an author, development project/programme Management Consultant and Researcher with a special interest in Results Based Management (RBM), governance and leadership. She can be contacted via email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>