CHAD: STRENGTHENING DIALOGUE WITH LOCAL ACTORS
Within the framework of the “Territorial Approaches/Nexus” thematic group, the Sahel Alliance members in Chad have pooled the Integrated Territorial Approach (ATI), led by the Sahel Alliance, and the Triple Nexus Approach, led by the European Union.
To ensure a better efficiency of their actions in priority areas, the members of the thematic group “Territorial Approaches/Nexus” met on December 7, 2022 for a technical workshop to monitor the operationalization of the Territorial Approaches in priority areas.
Co-chaired by the Ambassador of the European Union and the Director of AFD, this meeting was attended by 12 members of the Sahel Alliance and 14 local actors from the CPA (Provincial Action Committees) of Kanem and Barh el Gazel province, local authorities and donors who are members of the thematic group[1].
In his introductory words, the EU Ambassador to Chad recalled that:
“The methodology of the group aims at finding synergies between the different areas. One of the objectives of this meeting is to see how our projects can be aligned for the implementation of the priorities of the Provincial Development Plans.”
For the Director of AFD:
“The field mission in September 2021 with a mixed group allowed for very fruitful exchanges in Moussoro and Mao. The basic idea was to converge between the Nexus approach promoted by the OECD and the ATI promoted by the Sahel Alliance. Thus, this meeting will make it possible to enhance the efforts made over the past year by local actors with the support of the PAMELOT project.”
Local bodies to support development
To better equip members, the attributions and mission of the CPA (Provincial Action Committee), CDA (Departmental Action Committee) and CLA (Local action Committee) were presented by the delegate of Agriculture for the province of Kanem.
“The CPA is a monitoring body created in 2017. It was originally responsible for monitoring food security and has evolved to support local development. The decree gives the CPA a number of responsibilities, including regular monitoring of project interventions at the provincial level, verification of the adequacy of projects in terms of objectives, and reorientation if necessary. The CPA is chaired by the Governor and the Delegate of Agriculture as technical chair. Its members include all the delegates of the deconcentrated services, local CSOs and NGOs present in the area. The CDA and CLA are a representation with the same missions as the CPA at the department and sub-prefecture level. It is a participatory and collective function.”
Mai Ali Taher
Discussions
The 2023 priorities of the PDL (Local Development Plan) of the two provinces were presented by the Delegate of Agriculture for Kanem and by the Delegate of Economic Prospects for Barh el Gazel.
The priorities of these two provinces can be summarised as follows:
- Enhancing the value of the Ouaddis: Awareness-raising work for reforestation actions is undertaken by the CPA and deserves to be supported by the members.
- Involvement of women’s organisations in development support activities.
- Nutrition with a focus on the production and processing of products to encourage people to take charge of their own lives.
- Economic development of the provinces: professional training, opening up to several partners, etc.
Results
This meeting enabled the members of the group to:
- have details on the development planning structures at the local level as well as on their functioning.
- be informed about the priorities of the provincial development plans of the two provinces for a better coordination of their implementation, responding to the immediate and long term needs of the populations, as well as to their resilience.
- identify synergies and complementarities of actions between the different members of the Sahel Alliance in these areas.
- define the next steps for a better operationalisation of ITA in priority areas.
To local actors:
- present the priorities of their provincial action plans to the donors members of the thematic group.
The members of the thematic group were satisfied with the meeting.
“The group is on an interesting path that allows us to continue our efforts and gradually reach our goal. The union of these two approaches, the first by the actors and the second by the territory, is not a coincidence. One year later, we have precise and usable documents thanks to the support and excellent work provided by the PAMELOT project.”
Philippe CHEDANNE, Director of AFD Chad
For the representatives of the provinces:
“This kind of meeting is always welcome. They allow us to evaluate the work done by the provinces. They show a real desire to move forward. No one can improvise development any more, the best way remains consultation and complementary actions.”
Gal BRAHIM Seid, Governor of Kanem Province
For the supervisory ministry:
“The ministry has changed its name, but the work has remained the same, with the same challenges. The Ministry is working on a new project with AFD to modernise the Ministry with the objective of “Better Coordination for Better Results”.
Frédéric MILLET, Advisor to the Minister of Economic Prospects and International Partnerships
The next actions will be:
- A field mission to assess the progress of the operationalization one year after the first joint mission.
- Programming of support for the implementation of PDP (provincial development plans) priorities.
- Mastering the mapping of actors in the priority areas for better decision-making.
- Support for the financing of these plans and the setting up of a monitoring/evaluation system.
An article by DAOUD Souleyman Adam, Sahel Alliance liaison expert in Chad.
[1] UNDP, European Union, ECHO, UNICEF, World Bank, AFD, GIZ, IOM, UNHCR, CNC, Governor of Kanem, SG of Barh el Gazel Province, Association of Women of Grand Kanem, and advisors to the Minister of Economic Prospects and International Partnerships
