ReliefWeb

Juba, March 16, 2022 - The South Sudanese Government, the World Bank, UNOPS and IOM concluded a week-long mid-term review from March 8-15, 2022 of the Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project. The latest review aimed at taking stock of the project’s achievements as well as the lessons learned during implementation.

The review process included field visits to Wau, Ibba and Juba County where infrastructural sub-projects are being implemented by UNOPS and IOM. Meetings were also held with community members, elders, local chiefs, and Payam and Boma Development Committees that are benefitting from these interventions.

Speaking at the opening of the review mission, the Acting National Steering Committee Chair and Executive Secretary of the Local Government Board, Del Rumdit, appreciated the collaboration between the implementing partners and the government, which has enabled project implementation.

“The working relationship with all partners of the project has been good and has enabled us to successfully resolve emerging issues. We hope that this project will be as successful as the predecessor Local Governance and Service Delivery Project,” he said.

Representing the World Bank, Country Manager Firas Raad expressed his institution’s appreciation for the civil works that have already been initiated and completed across the country and emphasized that community resilience and citizen empowerment are important elements of the World Bank’s country engagement in South Sudan.

“Promoting community resilience and strengthening local governance are tremendously important as South Sudan continues to transition, nationally, to a new phase of political and economic development. During this period of national transition, the country has also been buffeted by external shocks – namely record-level flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic – which also underscores the importance of efforts to boost resilience and governance capacity among local communities,” he said.

Peter Mutoredzanwa, Country Director and Representative of UNOPS in South Sudan underscored the role of the government in the implementation of the ECRP and reiterated that the project will aim to ensure greater levels of sustainability going forward.

“As implementing partners, we want our projects to be sustainable. We want to ensure that whatever we do through this project is for the benefit of the people of South Sudan,” he said.

The Acting Head of Operations of IOM South Sudan, Kristina Uzelac, said that the ECRP is a good example of combining infrastructure work while also addressing immediate issues related to disaster reduction.

“We are trying to build community resilience and transition from emergency response. This project is a good example of combining infrastructure work with efforts to address immediate issues related to disaster reduction,” she said.

As a local governance project, the ECRP works closely with local chiefs and helps establish Boma and Payam Development Committees that support the implementation and monitoring of sub-projects at the community level.

“We do not want the local government and the community to carry a heavy burden. As members of the PDCs and BDCs, we share the burden with them,” said Angelina Apollonia Sulemen, BDC Committee member in Bagari Payam, Wau County in Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

The Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance Project (ECRP) builds on earlier World Bank (WB) activities implemented through the Local Governance and Service Delivery Project (LGSDP) from 2014 and 2019. The successor project, ECRP has been implemented in partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (GOSS).

ECRP aims to address the immediate needs for basic services in selected areas of South Sudan, while strengthening the capacity of local institutions to better manage the country’s development and to alleviate intercommunal tensions over services. Priority is given to areas with high vulnerability as defined by the WB’s composite vulnerability index. In order to maximize its impact and sustainability, the project has a strong focus on strengthening local institutions and the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the infrastructure provided.

The Project will be implemented over a period of three years (from 3 September 2020 to 31 July 2023) in a total of 20 counties in 10 states.

For further information, contact: Janet Maya Logo, Communications Officer, ECRP Project Management Unit, UNOPS, Juba, South Sudan / Email: janetl@unops.org / Tel: +211926592713