Study Tour on Participatory Budgeting and Planning

Transcription

1 Study Tour on Participatory Budgeting and Planning An initiative by the Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh. Organized by the and UNDP Brazil, with support from Claudia Jardim Verdolin D'Abreu, Consultant on Participatory Budgeting and Planning. Report by Claudia Jardim Verdolin D'Abreu and Francisco Filho (IPC) September 1st, 2008

2 Introduction The hosted the Study Tour on Participatory Budgeting and Planning for representatives of People's Republic of Bangladesh from 17 to 22 August The mission was composed by four senior Bengali government officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives. The Study Tour successfully aimed at providing training sessions and knowledgesharing opportunities on Brazilian experiences with local governments and participatory budgeting. The meetings took place in Brasilia and Belo Horizonte and involved the academia, representatives from the Brazilian government, international organizations, NGOs and several other stakeholders involved in participatory planning processes. In all engagements the focus of the discussions was the impact of increased popular participation in the decision making process and its impacts on sustainable development and poverty reduction. Participants The Bengali delegation was composed by the following four senior officers from the government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh: Mr. Swapan Kumar Sarkar, Director General, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mr. Arastoo Khan, Joint Secretary, Finance Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mr. A.M. Badrudduja, Joint Secretary, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance Mr. Saleh Ahmed Mujaffor, Senior Assistant Secretary, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives

3 Brasília 18 August 2008 Upon their arrival in Brasilia, the delegates of the Study Tour were received by the Director of the International Poverty Centre (IPC), Mr. Degol Hailu. They were briefed on the work developed by IPC and engaged on the discussion of social protection and the cash transfer programs being developed in Brazil by the national government. Picture 1: Mr. Degol Hailu, Director of the, welcomes the representatives of Bangladesh to Brazil. A meeting with Mr. Mário Lisboa Theodoro, Director of Cooperation and Development, Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), and Mr. Milko Matijascic, Head of IPEA at IPC, followed the welcome of IPC. The discussion focused on the budgetary organization in Brazil, Brazilian Constitutional budgetary restrictions and allocations, and on the decentralisation of tasks, powers and resources to local government. After meeting the IPEA representatives, the Bengali delegates went to the Representation Office of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brasilia. The gathering counted with the presence of Mr. Fernando Guedes, Executive Secretary of the Representation Office of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brasília, Mr. André Petry da Silva, Director of the Department of Regional Development and Popular Participation of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and Mr. Mario Nogueira, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Representation Office of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brasília among other administrative staff of the Representation Office of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brasília. The discussions centred around the State s experience with popular consultation on the formulation of the investment budget. The representatives of Rio Grande do Sul detailed the methodology and outcomes of their work and also heard from the Bengali Mission about their experience with local participatory budgeting.

4 In the afternoon, a brief meeting with Evilásio Salvador and Eliana Magalhães, researchers from the Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (INESC), a Thirds Sector organization, elucidated how popular participation is an important factor for strengthening democracy, human rights and good governance. INESC is an institution that analyses socioeconomic issues through budgetary lenses and therefore is very active on the study of participatory budgeting and planning. They regard the participatory budgeting processes as forms of educating people for action and effective citizenship. Immediately after the encounter with INESC researchers, the Bengali officials were received in the Legislative Council of the Federal District by the head of protocols and Mr. Carlos Magno Santana, Assistant to Dep. Batista das Cooperativas, who briefed them on the configuration of the Legislative Council and their importance in budgetary approval and allocation. Before retiring for the day, the group was received by Minister Paulo Wanger de Almeida, Acting Director-General of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Ministry of External Relations, and exchanged ideas regarding Bangladesh s and Brazil s current economical and social conditions, and opened up spaces for future cooperation among them. 19 August 2008 The second day of the Study Tour started with a meeting with Maristela Baioni, Assistant UNDP Resident Representative for Programmes. Ms. Baioni reasoned on her experience of observing and influencing public policy. She expressed her praises and concerns on the topic of participatory budgeting and planning in Brazil, and linked it to the Brazilian representative democracy. She sided with participation as a right and highlighted the need of strong local leadership and political will for the success of programs such as participatory budgeting and planning in any given context.

5 Picture 2: Representatives from the People s Republic of Bangladesh meet Assistant UNDP Resident Representative, Maristela Baioni. After leaving UNDP s building, the Bengali delegation was engaged in a discussion round on Participatory Budgeting: Advantages and Disadvantages with Prof. Lúcio Remuzat Rennó Jr, Deputy Director, Latin America and Caribbean Research and Graduate Centre (CEPPAC), University of Brasília. The debate explored Prof. Rennó experiences with participatory processes throughout the country and focused on critical aspects for successful experiences with participatory budgeting and planning. Thinking of participatory planning, the Bengali delegates went on a field visit to a middle-income housing projects in the satellite city of Águas Claras, Federal District. The region was developed by employers of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) through cooperatives. Projects of both housing and commercial buildings were developed by the group that has been very active on funding themselves and enhancing property values in the area. The afternoon started with a brief discussion with Mr. Rogério Boueri, Researcher at the Division of Regional Studies of IPEA. The talks focused on the state of the economy in Brazil and on how social and economical development is impacted by the current economic figures as inflation and interest rates. Just before leaving Brasilia, the Bengali committee heard from Mr. Gerson Luiz de Almeida Silva, National Secretary for Social Mobilisation and Mr. Davi Schmidt, Advisor at Secretariat for Political and Institutional Studies, Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, an explanation on the participatory budgeting process in Porto Alegre, city that pioneered the programme in Brazil. The debate highlighted the cultural trace of the local population for social mobilization and organizing that made it possible for the participatory process to succeed.

6 Belo Horizonte 20 August 2008 Soon after arriving in Belo Horizonte, the Bengali group went on a city tour to learn about the city, its people and socioeconomic conditions before meeting the Vice-Governor of the State of Minas Gerais, Prof. Antonio Augusto Anastasia, the Secretary for Social Development of the State of Minas Gerais, Mr. Juliano Fiscaro, and the Superintendent for International Affairs of the State of Minas Gerais, Chyara Sales Pereira, at the Liberty Palace in Belo Horizonte. The discussions centered around the current status of social and economic development in the state of Minas Gerais and on the possibility of knowledge exchange that the Study Tour opens for both parties. After the audience with the Vice-Governor, the group from Bangladesh met Ms. Érica Drumond, Secretary of Tourism of the State of Minas Gerais, Ms. Christiane Dominique Kunzi, Chief of Cabinet to the Secretary of Tourism of the State of Minas Gerais, and Ms. Lilás Nascimento, Assistant to the Secretary of Tourism of the State of Minas Gerais. The group exchanged ideas on a project of popular participation and poverty alleviation in Vale do Jequitinhonha, situated in the north region of the State of Minas Gerais. The projects aim at poverty reduction and sustainable development through the export of arts and crafts and the stimulus of tourism in the region. The community organized itself in cooperatives and has received grants from the State of Minas Gerais, the World Bank and from themselves to develop the tasks they have proposed for a specific timeframe. The project is on its fourth year and has shown substantial poverty reduction.. Picture 3: Meeting with the Vice-Governor of the State of Minas Gerais, Prof. Antonio Augusto Anastasia, and the Secretary of Social Development of Minas Gerais, Mr. Juliano Fiscaro Borges

7 21 August 2008 In the morning of the fourth day of the Study Tour the Bengali mission was greeted by Mr. Bernardo Tavares, Sub- Secretary for Planning and Management of the State of Minas Gerais, and heard from Mr. André Barrence, specialist in crisis management from the Secretariat for Planning and Management of the State of Minas Gerais, on the management plans for social and economic change in the State. Mr. Barrence explained how the State has succeeded to reduce the level of poverty, illiteracy and social exclusion, for example, by implementing new shock management methodologies designed to be high on impact and feasible within the time frame proposed. The policy matrix aimed at generating commitment from other governmental organizations to do the developmental work, and to attract investment for the development of the State. The committee from Bangladesh continued to hear about the policy matrix for development of the State of Minas Gerais in a meeting with the Secretary of Economic Development for the State of Minas Gerais, Mr. Raphael Guimarães Andrade, and the Coordinator for International Affairs of the Undersecretariat of International Affairs of the State of Minas Gerais, Mr. Helder Guimarães. The group discussed the economic scenario in the State of Minas Gerais, its exports and potentials, plans for the future, and also learned that the shock management plans had as inputs strong and decisive local government leadership followed by strong ethics, accountability and professional public service. The combination of all factors enabled the success of the poverty alleviation and sustainable development the State is living now. After a typical mineiro (from Minas Gerais) lunch, the delegates headed to the Federal University of Minas Gerais where they spoke to Prof. Leonardo Avritzer, Coordinator of the Participative Democracy Project of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Mr. Alexandre Cambraia and Ms. Debora Rezende, researchers in the same institution. The delegates heard about cases of participatory budgeting and planning developed in Brazil, its advantages and disadvantages, cases of success and failure in Brazil and the world, and what would be the conditions for successful implementation and continuity. The delegates questioned the researchers on practical issues they face on the design of their own participatory budgeting and planning process in Bangladesh and received words on advice on how to prepare for budgetary allocation and participation without straining local government on the necessary maintenance budget. 22 August 2008 The last day of meetings of the Study Tour on participatory budgeting and planning was reserved for contacts with local government institutions in the City Hall of Belo Horizonte and for field visits to see the work of participatory budgeting and planning in the city.

8 After being greeted by the Mayor of Belo Horizonte, Mr. Fernando Pimentel, the representatives of the People s Republic of Bangladesh participated in a round table of discussions regarding local governance. In the meeting were present Mr. Rodrigo de Oliveira Perpétuo, Municipal Sub-secretary, Municipal Sub-secretariat of International Affairs of Belo Horizonte, Mr. Lucas Radicchi Dell Isola, Assistant to the Sub-secretary of International Affairs of Belo Horizonte, Ms. Ana Luiza Nabuco Palhano, Municipal Sub-secretary, Municipal Sub-secretariat of Planning, Mrs. Maria Auxiliadora Gomes, Coordinator from Rede Orçamento Participativo, Municipal Subsecretariat of Planning, Mrs. Veronica Campos Sales, Manager of the Regional Participatory Budgeting Processes in Belo Horizonte, Municipal Sub-secretariat of Planning, and Ms. Joana Bauer, Communication and Outreach Assistant from Rede Orçamento Participativo. Picture 5: Delegates from the Study Tour on Participatory Budgeting and Planning meet with the Mayor of Belo Horizonte. The meeting started with Mr. Perpétuo s presentation of the municipality, the role of the Municipal Subsecretariat of International Affairs in the city, and the achievements of Belo Horizonte as a hub for international coordination of the cities of Mercosul, for studies on the Millennium Development Goals, and as a center for international events such as the InterAmerican Development Bank s annual meeting in Mr. Perpétuo s presentation was followed by Ms. Ana Luiza Nabuco s presentation of the participatory budgeting and planning processes in the city. She explained that there three different modalities of participatory budgeting in the city: regional, housing and digital. She and her team, very didactically, have explained the methodology for decision making, the process of monitoring and evaluation and the unique characteristics of each modality of participation in budgeting and planning before showing the results of increased popular participation, poverty alleviation and higher degree of development in city.

9 Picture 4: The participants of the Study Tour on Participatory Budgeting and Planning visit completed and in progress work decided by popular participation. After a lunch with representatives from the Municipality of Belo Horizonte, the delegates were accompanied by Mr. João Santiago and Ms. Verônica Campos Sales, Managers of the Participatory Budgeting Processes in Belo Horizonte, Municipal Sub-secretariat of Planning, in visits to the slum area of Serra to see the achievements of Programa Vila Viva, created by the demand of the population for resettlement from risky areas, the Cultural Center Vila Marçola and the Municipal Child Education Unit Padre Cícero (Umei), works of participatory budgeting. The delegates had the change to interact with local executers of the projects and with community members before returning to Bangladesh.