Purpose To ensure quality teaching and learning materials, including
textbooks, are available to all primary school children in Kenya.
Context The Government of Kenya announced a Free Primary Education policy
in January 2003. With the removal of tuition fees, an additional
1.3 million children enrolled in school during the first year of
implementation. There are currently approximately 18,500 primary
schools.
Means
Government grants are sent directly to special school bank account
and managed by a school committee composed of the head teacher, teachers
and parents. The funds are used to procure books and materials, selected
by the committee from approved lists with accredited suppliers. The
management of the grants by school-level committees has increased
capacity in the areas of tendering, procurement and accounting and
has reduced elements of collusion between the publishing industry
and education officials often found in textbook procurement and distribution
systems . Details of the funds provided and expenditures are posted
in a public place so that students, parents and other members of the
community can monitor spending.
The Government, encouraged by the successful introduction of the
School Instruction Material Bank Account, introduced a General Purpose
Account to provide additional ring-fenced finances at the school
level. In addition, the Kenya Education Sector Strategic Plan 2005-2010
will build on the success of the text book initiative with other
"direct grant" programmes, including for infrastructure
rehabilitation and water/sanitation facilities.
Main lessons learned
The direct transfer of funds from central government to individual
school bank accounts reduced opportunities for corruption that
normally exist when funding mechanisms are decentralized and increased
accountability at all levels. This programme "cut out the
middlemen" at the provincial and district levels.
Starting with a discrete programme enabled donors to test the
waters with the new government. The sound design and successful
implementation of the text book initiative proved that Kenya's
Ministry of Education could handle large amounts of money effectively
and subsequently proved very attractive to other donors.
The committed team in the Ministry of Education has been vital
for the programme's success. Notably, the Minister, PS and Director
of Policy and Planning together form a formidable and proactive
force driving reform initiatives forward, including the roll out
of a results-based management system. Incentives for quality performance
are strong.
Coordination between DfID, the World Bank, CIDA and others in
terms of joint planning and analyses, fiduciary risk assessments,
reviews and funding for the 2005-2010 strategic plan has reduced
transaction costs for both donors and the Government.
Quotes
from Louise Banham, DfID Education Adviser:
"With the introduction of
school based accounts, accountability is strengthened and
if things do go wrong the potential losses are much smaller
than they would be using traditional textbook procurement
systems, where huge sums of money are involved."
Participating in the U4 Advanced Education
training "enabled us (my colleague in the Ministry of
Education and myself) to become more sophisticated in our
understanding of corruption and in the way we think about
and discuss issues associated with corruption".
Support to Tanzania Revenue Authority Tax Administration Project
(1999-2007)
Purpose The purpose of the project is to assist the Government of Tanzania
in raising its tax revenues without increasing tax rates by (i)
improving the legal framework, (ii) broadening the tax base, and
(iii) strengthening the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to increase
the efficiency and effectiveness of Tax Administration and (iv)
improving the administrative infrastructure.
Context
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) was established in 1996
as an agency of Government under the supervision of the Ministry
of Finance. The authority is responsible for collecting all tax
revenues on behalf of the Government of Tanzania. With World Bank
support TRA designed a major modernisation programme, the Tax Administration
Project (TAP). DFID contributed approximately £4.2 million
to assist in the TAP initiative between 1999 and 2004. Specific
anti-corruption elements of this project include reform of the personnel
compensation scheme, institution of a code of conduct in the TRA,
and an integrity review (upcoming). A lack of awareness among tax
payers on rules and regulations, in addition to the fact that operations
are mainly manual, are considered obstacles to anti-corruption reforms.
Means
From 2006 the programme will be financed fully from a joint donor
basket fund using government systems for procurement and reporting.
Main lessons learned
Strong government leadership and ownership for the reform process
is essential if politically sensitive issues such as tax administration/reform
has any chance of success. Without strong domestic ownership
efforts are unlikely to be successful or sustainable
One strategy for decreasing corruption is to strengthen interaction
between the private sector and the TRA. Soliciting private
sector perceptions and feedback on the TRA's performance can improve
transparency over the long-term.
Donor coordination is essential for reducing transaction
costs, aligning fully behind government reform efforts and ensuring
a comprehensive programme approach. However, too many donors
involved at the beginning contributed to overloading the capacity
of the TRA, and slowing down the implementation of the administrative
reform.
A common basket approach helps facilitate donor coordination
as well as being more responsive to programme demands
Regular and structured joint partner discussion on progress
is useful for monitoring purposes and to ensure that the programme
is flexible to changing demands
"….pay level
is only one of several factors affecting the behaviour of
tax officers. In an environment where the demand for corrupt
services is extensive and the monitoring ineffective, wage
increases may end up functioning as an extra bonus on top
of the bribes taken by corrupt officers. The situation requires
strong internal control mechanisms and effective sanctions
that make it easier to dismiss staff".
experiences by GTZ project staff -
Gabriela Neumann:
"Project interventions could imply personal
risks for staff members of the partner institution if the
needed protection mechanisms for whistleblowers of corruptive
practices are not effective."
Purpose This GTZ-supported project aims to help COCA fulfil its state
auditing duties prescribed by law
Context As the Supreme Audit Institution of Yemen, COCA provides oversight
over the use of public funds and property. However, its independence
is severely limited: it reports directly to the Presidential Office
with copy to the Parliament. There are no binding accounting standards
in place. The law regulating the mandate of COCA is currently under
review.
Means
The first major activity was to conduct an in-house baseline study
to assess the quality of COCA audit reports produced during the year
2004. GTZ will support COCA in implementing the internal action plan
to overcome identified weaknesses.
Main lessons learned
Conducting a baseline study to identify problems together
with the partner helps to establish transparency, trust and consensus
on next steps.
It is essential to listen to local experts and use entry
points which carry the least personal risk for institutional agents
of change. Project interventions can jeopardize the safety
of partner institution staff if whistleblower protection is not
provided.
Instead of directly attacking corrupt practices, it can be more
effective to create awareness about the discrete opportunities
for corruption which exist within the system. By breaking
down complex issues into smaller segments, leadership can prioritize
action more easily.
It is important to agree with partners on capacity development
measures from the beginning: what are the objectives, what
resources are required, and what procedures will be put in place
to ensure that trained staff can actually apply what they have
learned?
- experiences by GTZ project staff,
interviewing Dirk
Thompson:
"One of the main lessons
learned is that the Institution of the Parliament is often
neglected from the international community..." [more]
Purpose This GTZ-supported project aims to support the Government of
Montenegro in establishing a Supreme Audit Institution in order
to strengthen financial transparency and good governance through
provision of necessary skills and conditions.
Means Main input from GTZ is technical assistance aiming to:
compile the legal framework for such an independent SAI
safeguarding the accordance of the SAI's structure and political
position with international standards
advice on organisational structure, auditing techniques and
human resources management.
Main lessons learned The importance of cooperating with the Parliament. In Montenegro,
the Parliament proved to be the institution underpinning the establishment
of the new SAI. [read more
in interview]
U4 Issue paper: 
