SECTORAL GUIDELINES

1.      SECTION A: Institutional Arrangements for Programme Planning

G.A.1: The National Planning Commission Secretariat has the primary responsibility for the organisation, preparation and conduct of sectoral consultations. The Secretariat acts as both a lead and a coordinating agency for this activity and accordingly has the authority to issue directives, guidelines and procedures to other implementing agencies, departments and ministries.

G.A.2: The co-ordination of the sectoral consultation process shall be vested in the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations under the chairmanship of the National Planning Commission Secretariat. It shall include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Prime Minister (Public Service Division) and the Bank of Namibia. The Permanent Secretary of the NPC shall be the Chairperson of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations and its Chief Administrative Officer.

G.A.3: Line-ministries, departments and other implementing agencies of government shall be represented in the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations on an ad hoc basis at senior management level whenever preparations were being undertaken for the design, implementation and management of sectoral programmes.

G.A.4: Other stakeholders, such as civil society groups, private sector organisations and religions groups, shall also have representation in the Consultative Committee on an ad hoc basis. They will be encouraged to make written as well as oral submissions to the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations on sector programmes of interest to them and their members. However, the Government shall first consult the civil society groups prior to the consultations with the donors to avoid contradictions during the consultation meetings.

G.A.5: The Directorate of Development Co-operation shall provide all substantive and operational support to the work of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations. The Director of Development Co-operation shall act as Secretary to the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations.

G.A.6: All recommendations, decisions or resolutions of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations shall be submitted to the Director-General of the National Planning Commission for transmission to the National Planning Commissioners. The Planning Commissioners shall ensure that the recommendations, decisions or resolutions of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations on a sector programme are in line with the objectives and strategies of the National Development Plan as enumerated by Government from time to time.

G.A.7: The National Planning Commission shall designate the bilateral and multilateral donors that shall be invited to take part in the consultations process on specific sectors or programmes for which donor funding was being sought. Donors are expected to actively participate at all stages of the sectoral consultations.

G.A.8: Existing formats for discussions with donors should be used. Consultative meetings should be small and should be limited to donors that have expressed interest in a particular sector or programme. This will allow for a more frank and substantive exchange of views and a more careful review of the sectoral programme.

G.A.9: The recording of conclusions reached at consultative meetings with donors should be prepared in an action-oriented manner and made available to the relevant parties that attended the consultative meetings. This will ensure effective follow-up with respect to decisions taken at the donor consultative meetings.

G.A.10: The National Planning Commission Secretariat shall be responsible for translating the decisions reached on sectoral programme at donor consultative meetings into action plans. Permanent members of the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations (G.A.2) shall undertake specific tasks with a view to implementing the action plans in collaboration with ad hoc members (G.A.4).

G.A.11: All the above institutional arrangements shall not circumvent the legal process of obtaining Cabinet approval for any activity that results from consultations with donors on sectoral programmes.

2.      SECTION B: Identification and Planning of Sectoral  Programmes

G.B.1: The National Development Plan is the basic document that sets out the objectives, goals and strategies of the Government’s development plan.  It is the framework within which programmes with both bilateral and multilateral agencies have to be elaborated.

G.B.2: Documents such as the Development Budget, the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Namibia, the Namibian National Capacity Building Assessment Report and other policy documents issued by line ministries, departments and other governments, could serve as useful sources for the identification and planning of sectoral programmes.

G.B.3: In the process of identifying sectoral issues for consultation, it is important to take into account other aid instruments such as technical cooperation and project financing, especially for infrastructure and productive sector programmes. All these instruments are basically complementary and should be used to assist in the planning of sectoral programmes.

G.B.4: Any decision to conduct sectoral consultations must be preceded by the preparation of a Sector Support Programme. The sector support programme shall contain, as a minimum, the following: an identification and an analysis of the major sectoral issues relevant to Namibia’s needs; the resources available within the country to implement it; the corresponding external funding requirements, the administrative and technical means necessary for the implementation of activities within a specified period; the likely beneficiaries of the programme and the role, if any, of other non-governmental stakeholders in the realisation of the objectives of the programme.

G.B.5: The National Planning Commission in collaboration with line ministries, departments and other agencies of government shall have the responsibility to prepare all sector support programmes.

G.B.6: Line ministries, departments and other agencies of government shall not engage in direct negotiations with donors for the purpose of preparing sector support documents or documents of any other character that can be reasonably construed as a sector support programme.  When line ministries, departments and other agencies of government are approached directly by donors for the submission of projects or programmes, they should promptly inform the National Planning Commission so as to comply with the need for the preparation of a sector support programme by the National Planning Commission Secretariat.

G.B.7: After preparation of a sector support programme, the National Planning Commission Secretariat shall convene the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Sectoral Consultations to discuss the sector support programme and to establish the relevant budget for the sector to be included in the Development Budget.

G.B.8: The approval process set out in G.A.5, G.A.6, G.A.7, G.A.8., G.A.9 and G.A.10 shall be put into place immediately. It is the responsibility of the National Planning Commission Secretariat to ensure that this approval process goes into effect without delay.

G.B.9: From time to time, the National Planning Commission Secretariat shall inform interested line ministries, departments and agencies of government of the progress of the sectoral consultations. Such information can be sent electronically unless there is a compelling reason to do so otherwise.

G.B.10: Other stakeholders with a direct interest in the sector support programmes should also be informed by the National Planning Commission Secretariat of the progress of the sectoral consultations. Where these stakeholders have been invited to take part in the donor consultative meetings on an ad hoc basis, there will be no need for them to be separately informed.

3.      SECTION C : Programme Implementation

G.C.1:  Planning Units (sometimes called Planning Implementation Units) are to be established in key ministries at the central government level. They will be charged with the implementation of the sector programmes. They would have also been involved in the formulation of the sector programme itself.

G.C.2: Government’s present policy of decentralisation should lead to the establishment of planning capabilities at the regional level. These regional planning units must have responsibility for economic/social planning that directly relates to the implementation of sector programmes.

G.C.3: A formal link must be established between the Directorate of Development Planning in the National Planning Commission Secretariat and the Planning Units in the line ministries. It should be a matter of policy to second staff from the National Planning Commission Secretariat to the line ministries for specific tasks related to the implementation of sector programmes.

G.C.4:  Sector programmes would normally contain a series of activities that in some instances could best be implemented through a project or a series of projects.  This would be particularly true of sector programmes that produce marketable outputs, especially in industry and transport. Where this occurs, Planning Units will be required to do cost/benefit analyses for such project activities prior to the commencement of the implementation activities.

G.C.5: The cost/benefit analyses will use conventional methodologies (shadow pricing, rates of return analysis, risk and sensitivity analysis) in order to establish the viability of projects or elements of a sector programme that could best be delivered through the project mode.

G.C.6:  For elements of the sector programme for which quantitative estimates of economic costs and benefits could not be made, a systematic effort should be undertaken to set out the expected costs of the programme in aggregate terms and to identify the benefits to all beneficiaries.

G.C.7:  The following measurements can be used to test the beneficiaries assessment method: the number of people to be covered by the activity, the comparative cost per beneficiary, the unit cost of services rendered and the benefits obtained.

G.C.8:  Since donors will seek the above quantitative and qualitative information on sector programmes, it is essential that the National Planning Commission Secretariat secure the requisite information prior to undertaking sectoral consultations. Evidence from elsewhere has shown that donors are interested in following-up on activities that might have an investment potential as well as those that might have a strong social and environmental impact.

G.C.9: The execution of sector programmes shall be the responsibility of line ministries in collaboration with the National Planning Commission Secretariat, departments and other agencies of government. Multilateral agencies and some bilateral donors have accepted this principle of national execution. It establishes government’s authority over the sector programme.

G.C.10: The practice of signing basic implementation agreements between Government and multilateral agencies should be extended to bilateral donors.  This legal document should be part of the outcome of the sectoral consultations.  During its consideration, assistance must be sought by the National Planning Commission Secretariat from the Attorney General’s Office.

G.C.11:  Established steering committees, now based in line ministries and those to be set up, should be the principal medium for Government and donors to discuss implementation of sector programmes. The chairmanship of the committee should go to the line ministries and the deputy chairmanship to the National Planning Commission Secretariat so that the emphasis of a sector/programme approach could be sustained throughout the operational life of the sector programme. Representation at steering committees shall be at the level of Deputy Directors and above.  In cases where they are unable to attend, they shall designate alternatives.

G.C.12:  Sector programme implementation by other local agencies such as private sector organisations, non-governmental organisations, educational and research institutions and civil society groups should be facilitated where it is deemed that such bodies have capacity to implement the sector programme as a whole or in part.  The decision to use them rests solely with the National Planning Commission.

G.C.13:  NPCS must give special attention to the number of overseas missions and external advisory services that are used in connection with sector programme implementation.  Invariably, such services are charged to the overall aid budget.  Some control is, therefore, necessary. Donor agency ‘programming missions’ should as far as possible not be charged to aid projects but must be borne by the agency wishing to undertake the mission. Other types of mission costs should only be allowed with the consent of NPCS.

G.C.14:  In certain circumstances, implementation of a sector programme is carried out by an external agency (e.g. energy sector).  Some donors use their own agencies to deliver existing technical co-operation services to this country.  Many use them to deliver investment related project activities. The sectoral consultations must consider the implications of these and persuade donors to move to a practice of national execution.

G.C.15:  For national execution to be successful, there has to be sufficient, trained personnel to implement programmes and policies that are embodied in a sector programme. Since capacity is lacking in many areas in this country, the principle must be accepted that all donor interventions in the realisation of sector programmes must contain a sizeable training component (at least 30% of programme costs).

G.C.16:  The National Planning Commission and the Office of the Prime Minister (Public Service Division) will conduct periodic reviews of the training requirements of staff attached to sector programmes. An incentive pay scheme should be instituted in order to retain exceptional staff that have been trained and who have remained with the sector programmes. These incentives should however be time-bound. At all times, they should be granted under clear and transparent arrangements and should offer equal opportunities to all.

4.      SECTION D :  Financial Management and Procurement

G.D.1:  The Development Budget shall continue to be the principal management tool for the financial management of sector programme funds. The National Planning Commission Secretariat shall continue to prepare it.

G.D.2: Existing Government financial regulations for the receipt of donor funds through the State Revenue Fund shall be maintained in sector programmes.

G.D.3: Existing Government financial regulations for the disbursement and accountability of funds received through the State Revenue Fund shall similarly be maintained.

G.D.4: Cost estimates for sector programmes should be featured in the Medium Term Expenditure Plan to be instituted by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the National Planning Commission Secretariat. Annual sector programme estimates will continue to be published in the Development Budget.

G.D.5: The majority of donors will continue to use the State Revenue Fund to channel their official aid to the country. During the sectoral consultations, the Government would strive to convince those donors who operate largely outside the State Revenue Fund to utilise the facility.

G.D.6: The co-ordination and delivery of Government counterpart funds shall be the responsibility of the National Planning Commission Secretariat in association with the Ministry of Finance.  NPC and line ministries must work out clear financial obligations within sector programmes and ensure that these are communicated to donors during sectoral consultations. The obligations of Government in cash or in kind must be spelt out in detail and any trust fund arrangements set out in a clear and transparent form.

G.D.7: The principles of sound financial management shall govern the implementation of sector programmes. Therefore, internationally accepted standards of accounting, auditing and inventory control shall be upheld at all times.

G.D.8: Donors shall have the right to request special audits when a majority of them participating in the implementation of a sector programme deem this to be necessary. Local independent auditors shall conduct such audits. This is seen as a confidence-building measure that will persuade donors over time to rely on local accounting and auditing institutions to give professional certification on the use of their funds.

G.D.9: In certain circumstances, it might be possible for external audits to be used to do special audits. Such circumstances will be warranted by a determination that there had been a case of gross financial negligence or impropriety. Such a determination will be made by the Steering Committee set up in line ministries for the purpose of monitoring the operations of the sector programme.

G.D.10: The Steering Committees are to ensure that the financial management of sector programmes are in line with Government regulations and the procedures agreed with donors during sectoral consultations. The Planning Units are to take the necessary steps to make sure that there is quick and easy access to programme funds by line ministries, departments and other agencies of government.

G.D.11: A sector programme or parts thereof may be cancelled if circumstances arise in which it is patently obvious that the programme was being mismanaged or that its expected outputs would never be attained.  If this occurs, a financial closure report will be prepared by the auditor and sent to all donors.

G.D.12: The National Planning Commission Secretariat would urge donors, during sectoral consultations, to accept the principle of international, regional and national competitive bidding for the procurement of goods and services for programme execution. All procurement provisions in a sector programme should not have a restrictive condition. This will enable providers of goods and services, especially at the local level to bid for procurement contracts on a competitive basis.

G.D.13: In circumstances where aid is tied, the Government would seek the following information from the donor: the price, quantity (if applicable), and quality of the goods or services to be procured, the timeliness of their delivery; after sales service and repair (where necessary) and the price quotations from other sources.

G.D.14: Where the aid is tied and procurement restrictive, the Government must seek contractual guarantees that all the goods and services provided follow good commercial practices. This is especially required in cases where equipment and spare parts are to be supplied under the programme. In the sectoral consultations, the Government must also make sure that the donor understands that the Government retains the right to inspect the quality of goods supplied and to evaluate the services provided. This right should be specified in the original supply contract or in any other document such as the Standard Basic Agreement that would govern the implementation of the sector programme.

G.D.15: In accordance with the DAC Principles, procurement rules are to be seen as positive instruments to develop local capacity. Technical co-operation consultants should be used to build capacity within the country and not just to provide short-term help or fill a human resource gap. National competitive bidding will build up industries and services within the country and thereby enhance industrial capacity and market competitiveness.

5.      SECTION E :  Monitoring and Evaluation

G.E.1: A monitoring and evaluation plan should be included in the sector programme at the time of the preparation. This plan must set out the standards and benchmarks against which the programme will be evaluated for success. All donors who participate in the sector programme would have to agree to the evaluation plan.

G.E.2:  The responsibility for designing an evaluation plan shall rest with the National Planning Commission Secretariat. The staff of the Directorate of Development Planning and the Directorate of Development Co-operation will prepare the evaluation plan in collaboration with planning units in line ministries, departments and other agencies of Government.

G.E.3: Regional planning officers, who are under the control of the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing and who have responsibility for donor-funded sector programmes or parts thereof, will be answerable to the National Planning Commission Secretariat at the time the evaluation exercises are conducted.

G.E.4:  The present practice of using steering committees in line ministries to do monitoring should continue. However, evaluation must be done by independent agents who are not responsible for the day to day operations of programmes. They need not be external.

G.E.5: An evaluation section within the National Planning Commission Secretariat is already in place. It should be strengthened by the inclusion of statisticians from the Central Bureau of Statistics so that the evaluation section will be able to do technical work requiring quantitative skills. A management information system should be put in place to facilitate the tracking of the performance of sector programmes. The project software from the European Union (the database) could be expanded to include this function.

G.E.6: A number of donors have their own evaluators who sometimes conduct evaluations for them. As far as possible, donor evaluators should be incorporated into an evaluation team to do an evaluation of the sector programme along the lines of UNDP’s tripartite review arrangements. The evaluation section within the National Planning Commission Secretariat should manage the evaluation process but donor evaluators will be given a free hand to propose their own specific ideas for evaluation.

G.E.7:  In certain circumstances, donors might be more comfortable with the use of independent consultants to do evaluations. This should be allowed, as it would make it easier for donors to accept the evaluation’s findings. Many multilateral donors use independent consultants to do evaluation and their experience should be tapped.

G.E.8: The Namibian Government has formulated guidelines for monitoring and evaluating the National Development Plan in 1996. These should be used as a basis for preparing monitoring and evaluation plans for sector programmes.

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