Empowering Communities to Access Devolved Funds
In Mombasa, Kenya, the Urbis program capitalized on the unique opportunity presented by the Government of Kenya’s devolved funding mechanism, established in an effort to enhance transparency and increase accountability for public service delivery. The goal of the Urbis program was to amplify the voice of the urban poor in the Kisauni Constituency of Mombasa, while contributing to the government’s poverty reduction effort. The program focused on informing communities about the municipal funding processes and by organizing civil society organizations so they could participate in resource allocation. As a result, the Urbis program helped the population access over USD 2.5 million in Kenyan government funding for infrastructure projects of their choice, benefiting almost 600,000 residents throughout the Kisauni Constituency of Mombasa.
Although national legislation requires public participation in programming the use of the devolved funds, the decision-making processes have often been opaque and unrepresentative of community needs. Inadequate information on the funds, exclusion of citizens in decision-making, apathy among the population and poor government-civil society coordination have prevented the decentralized funds regime from operating successfully.
DIG partnered with two NGOs – the Coast Development Transparency Initiative and Kituo Cha Sheria -- to provide residents with information on the devolved funds. They started by publishing and disseminating 3,000 Devolved Funds Toolkits, which describe the 17 different funds and provide guidelines on how to access each one. Next, the Urbis team conducted trainings on community planning and advocacy for approximately 700 leaders representing 330 CBOs from all 11 wards in Kisauni. During these training sessions, community members prepared over 100 Community Action Plans, which reflected their funding priorities (including schools, water and sanitation facilities and health clinics). Finally, they submitted the proposals for funding and tracked them by interacting with the devolved funds representatives in unprecedented ways.
Results: The Urbis capacity building approach – combining information with project design and advocacy skills – led to tangible results for the urban poor in the Kisauni Constituency of Mombasa: over USD 2.5 million of devolved funds for community projects designed by community members. In 2009, the Kisauni Constituency recorded the highest number of loans under the Youth Enterprise Development Fund in the country, further illustrating the success of the program’s trainings.
Urbis also led to the emergence of a new community-based organization in 2009, the Kisauni Community Development Initiative (KICODI), which serves as a Kisauni-wide voice for the urban poor. KICODI, consolidated with Urbis support, is an independent and democratic organization that is giving ongoing voice to the needs and priorities of Kisauni’s citizens, as well as providing a repository for legal advice for the community. KICODI will continue to promote sustained consultation between community groups, private organizations and government officials, and will allow for consistent interaction between the government and the urban poor to ensure that the devolved funds are allocated in response to community needs.
Over time and as a result of the Urbis capacity building interventions, the citizens of Kisauni improved their relationship with their representatives in government, and unlocked government spending for carefully planned poverty-reduction infrastructure programs
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