Current Context and LIFE
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| a) Community and population
participation |
The activity of both structured and
unstructured poor population is very up to national
context and number of population of cities. It
is possible to state that Osh and Bishkek new
-built area`s inhabitants are most active. The
very important fact that these people forced municipal
authorities to adopt their special status. Of
course, this activity has no connection to the
ideology of community and population participation
and structuring of population rose up on the basis
of antagonism to authorities. The stimulation
of this activity means the stimulation of illegal
activity. Thus the goal of LIFE programme can
be to use structures that originated in poorest
areas ( Public councils, groups of mutual aid,
informal leaders) in order to cooperate with local
bodies of selfgovernance. It is new perspective
for LIFE methodology to establish practical partnership
between authorities and population and mutual
trust. Legislative base for such partnership exists
now in Kyrgyzstan, we need practical implementation.
In urban type areas, where the comparative and
absolute level of poverty is more higher than
in Osh, Bishkek and small towns we should emphasis
on social mobilization, stimulating of public
activity, clarification to population their rights
and powers.
In small towns, up on conditions, one of tendencies
or their combinations is going to prevail
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| b) Urban local governance |
| The problem of urban
local governance (in Kyrgyzstan most cities became
to be self-governing, thus the term of Urban Self-governance
is used more frequently) is in contradiction to
their authorities, responsibilities and resources.
From the self-governing bodies point of view main
obstacle is that wide scope of their duties is
not provided with resources and powers. As they
judge, local budgets, to be clearer - their renewal,
is going to be their main task which would help
them to solve other problems, including urban
poverty. But according to international experience,
even sources are sufficient (e.g. New York city
annual budget more times bigger than of whole
Russia's one), urban problems remain to be unsolved.
So that LIFE`s goal is, taking into account it's
small funds, not a direct financing of any activity
on which municipality lacks funds, but stimulating
of activities, which would develop the process
of governance through creation of dialog between
population and communities, through participation
of population in decision taking with further
sharing of responsibilities, through development
of managerial skills. |
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c) urban environment needs
|
As it was previously mentioned, problems
of urban environment in populous poor areas differ
from city to city. It is same as for different
group cities as for cities in one group. Nevertheless
these problems can be divided for three groups:
· which are solved for internal sources;
· which are solved for internal and external sources;
· which are solved only for extarnal sources.
Usually the policy of urban self-governing bodies
is directed on receiving of external resources
(through budget-lines of upper level authority)
in order to satisfy urban environmental needs
and to use internal resources for more urgent
needs (salaries, pensions, support of energy and
heating system, transportation etc.). It is merely
possible to change this kind of policy within
a short period and, presumably, LIFE activities
accent should be concentrated on stimulating of
decisions, which provide a satisfaction of environmental
needs of urban poor for local resources and for
attraction of external resources.
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| d) urban poor |
The "urban poor" term is
not so clear not only in regulation acts but even
in scientific and learning literature. So in different
cities local authorities and local population
differently adopt this term and apply different
category of people into urban poor. For example
in Osh there is special ethnic group named "luly",
life style of which is very close to gypsy one,
that is main source of income- cadging, guess-working,
mystics etc. They don't accept themselves to be
poor because this is their ethnic lifestyle. City
authorities also don't judge them as poor, because
these people never apply nor receive for unemployment
benefits. Moreover majority of them possess quite
good houses and able to afford very expensive
jewels.
Another group - such called marginals or vagrants
( without any definite residence). They exist
in reality, but no social programme, except of
free lunches) can reach them, cause of these people
don't have any documents certifying their identification,
thus these people don't formally exist for official
bodies. Nevertheless in every municipality there
is list of socially vulnerable groups, there are
districts with high level of poverty. It sounds
as a paradox, but municipal authorities are not
interested in work with poverty. As a rule, extreme
poverty is not structured and can not demonstrate
their own interests as population group. From
political point of view it is more suitable for
municipal authorities to bring arrangements into
reality which have wide public resonance and influence
active part of population. E.g. the upturn of
one or two central streets would bring more political
dividends, than the construction of water pipeline
in some poor suburban area.
From this point of view, taking into consideration
the programme on poverty alleviation, LIFE could
increase the rating of measures directed on urban
poverty by stimulating the illumination of these
measures in media or by other activities.
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| e) Existing programmes directed on
urban poor and local governance |
The list of international
and foreign organizations and companies activating
in the republic takes many pages- the list of
programmes takes more. No doubt that this programme
abundance is better than their absence, but problems
of duplication, conflicts etc. may arise.
The creation of one separated register of all
programmes including their aim groups, methodology,
places of implementation, provided funds, attempted
measures would be an ideal mean for planning.
But in practice it is impossible to build up this
list, cause of time required for this process
would be the same with time of implementation
of separate measures within some programme. In
other words this list would not come up with the
current activities.
The problem of coordination and synenergetics
in these conditions can be solved only in coordination
with most related programmes. They are UN Programmes
united in Local Political and Administrative Governance
cluster (largely focusing on local self governance
and decentralization) as well as social governance
cluster are most directly linked to the LIFE objectives.
Among national programmes "Complex Development
Framework" and " Development of Small
Cities" can be pointed out.
Among international and foreign programmes "Soros-Foundation-Kyrgyzstan"
and "Bishkek-Urban-Institure" can be
pointed out as well. .
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|
LIFE Strategy for the phase IV
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| National priorities and strategic windows
of opportunities for LIFE |
All big cities in Kyrgyzstan
passed to self - governance management structure.
That`s why big cities have not united national
programme for development. We can say programmes
for development of Osh and Bishkek are national
ones. In spite of different conditions in these
cities the prior directions are: improving new-built
areas and creation of job opportunities there.
National concept of development for small cities
and urban type settlements has been elaborated.
According to The Government, economic development
of these areas would be a key point to solve all
problems, including poverty.
As it was previously mentioned above in 1995 LIFE
was a pioneer small grant programme which used
a principles of partnership and local-local dialogue
and local self-governance. Nowadays this methodology
is widely used by other programmes. On one hand
it is positive factor because the same methodology
provides mutual understanding, on the other it
complicates LIFE activity identification.
Thus, also taking unto account lack of own funds,
LIFE programme could take upon itself functions
of mediator or link among different programmes,
which use the principles of partnership and local
self-governance in work with city poverty.
The existence of national programme on small cities
development provides a chance for LIFE to be a
very important partner of authorities. In small
cities and urban type settlements intervention
of LIFE methodology, supported by grants, can
totally improve whole social-economic situation.
And this changes can attract interests of target
group (urban poor) stakeholders and donors not
for LIFE`s funds only but for methodology as well.
LIFE programme in its previous phase became to
be a strong accelerator for establishment and
development of whole variety of NGOs. From the
point of view of "organizational memory"
these NGOs should be a conductors of LIFE methodology
and its main partners.
The privatization process in Kyrgyzstan has turned
to be a long term one. In spite of all problems,
the private sector is dynamic and its GNP share
is increasing every year. In this process LIFE
programme opportunities are in stimulation of
private initiatives within LIFE Environmental
Areas of Support at the Community Level. The second
opportunity in private sector is cooperation with
support programmes of small and medium size enterprises
in order to sign out needs of urban poverty as
possible area of interest for small and medium
size businesses.
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| Vision for phase IV |
| LIFE programme concentrates
it's efforts on solution of urban poor problems
in big and small cities and also in urban type
settlements by improving and supporting of participatory
local governance. The strategy of financing will
be directed to co-financing, attracting other
donors funds and provision of projects sustainability.
Upscaling and upstreaming processes will be in
priority for big cities. Downstreaming processes
with an objective to upstream positive experience
will be in prioroty for small cities, urban type
settlements, new-built areas of big cities. |
Goals for phase IV:
1. To have influence on improving of local self-governance
policy
|
| Vision: Favour the real implementation
of existing self-governance legislative norms
and laws |
| 2. Ensuring of local economy development
(LED) through community and population participation |
| Vision: changes in approaches
for local economic development (LED) which should
turn from program documents of local authorities
to townspeople's programs. Thus local authorities
stop to be unique participant of this process
though keep a role of the main developer of development
strategy and also the responsible body for financing
and realization of accepted programs. The new
conceptual approach of LED, first of all helps
strengthen among people such definition as: "we
are masters of our city", "we manage
our city ", "we renew and develop our
city". |
| 3. Support Participatory Local Governance
approach in solving problems of environmental
needs |
| Vision: to help to local self-governance
bodies and population to identify their environment
problems, to understand reasons, to formulate
a strategy of improving environment not only with
external help, but with self-organizing, changes
in culture of behavior, life, use of resources.
|
| 4. To mainstream LIFE into national
and international programmes realized in Kyrgyzstan |
| Vision: LIFE participation in national
programmes of "Small cities development",
"Complex Development Framework" and
UNDP programmes united into Local Political and
Administrative Governance and Social Governance
cluster for normative and legislative consolidation
of methodology through the advocacy of successful
projects experience, supported by small grants
and for amendment of awareness of other programmes
about LIFE. |
| 5. Institutionalization of LIFE Programme
in Kyrgyzstan |
| Vision: Gained LIFE Projects
experience of different stakeholders regularly
systematized through information and learning
network ( e-Mail , Web-pages, regular meetings
and courses). In order to support informational
and learning network and to coordinate consolidated
activity in internal resource mobilization and
attraction of donor funds, Association of urban
NGO, community based organization "LIFE-KYRGYZSTAN"
(in form of public union or public foundation)
should be established |
| The role of National Steering
Committee in execution of National Strategy |
National Steering Committee
is main body of LIFE programmer in Kyrgyzstan,
supporting and reviewing main strategy directions
through:
· Control over and support to measures
· Development of programmer participants potential
· Selection and confirmation of measures, realized
in cooperation with other partners
· Development of contacts with other programmer
partners.
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