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Report on the First Annual Poverty Review Conference


4. PAPER PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1. PRESENTATION ON THE POVERTY SITUATION IN ZAMBIA (1990 – 2000): EVIDENCE FROM HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, BY DR. A. KAPUNGWE, MEMBER OF THE POVERTY STUDIES CENTRE

4.1.1 PRESENTATION

Dr. Kapungwe began his presentation by stating that Zambia’s economy had been one of the most rapidly declining economies in Sub-Saharan Africa since the mid 1980s. He noted that the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1991 entailed, inter alia, liberalisation of the market, privatisation of firms, liberalisation of the exchange rate, devaluation of the local currency and restructuring of the civil service.

In order to monitor and evaluate the socio-economic impact of SAP on various vulnerable groups, Dr. Kapungwe said that, the government, through the Central Statistical Office (CSO), had conducted surveys between 1991 and 1998, namely:
  1. The Priority Survey I (1991)
  2. The Priority Survey II (1998)
  3. The Living Conditions Monitoring Survey I (1996)
  4. The Living Conditions Monitoring Survey II (1998)
Dr. Kapungwe explained that in its work, the CSO used an absolute poverty approach in measuring poverty. In this approach the measurement of poverty was based on the cost of a pre-determined food basket meant to serve a family of six members for one month. This food basket comprises the following items:
  1. One 90-kilogramme bag of breakfast mealie meal
  2. Two litres of fresh milk
  3. Three kilogrammes of groundnuts
  4. One 2.5 litre container of cooking oil
  5. Two kilogrammes of kapenta
  6. One kilogramme of dry fish
  7. Two kilogrammes of beans
  8. One kilogramme of salt
  9. Four kilogrammes of tomatoes
  10. Four kilogrammes of onions
  11. 7.5 kilogrammes of vegetables.
Dr. Kapungwe further revealed that the cost of the minimum food basket had risen from K60:00 in 1981 to K288,179 :33 in February 2001.

Citing data from the above surveys Dr. Kapungwe said that about 73 % of the households in Zambia were poor in 1998 and that the incidence of poverty was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. About 58 % of these poor people could be regarded as being extremely poor and over 70 % of these are in the rural areas. He revealed that Western Province had the highest incidence of poverty with a total figure of 89 %. Other provinces that recorded relatively high incidences of poverty were Luapula, Eastern and Northern Provinces in that order. At district level, he noted that Lukulu (Western Province) Petauke (Eastern Province), Chilubi (Northern Province), and Shangombo (Western Province) had the highest poverty levels. Others with elevated incidences of extreme poverty were Chavuma (North-Western), Luangwa (Lusaka Province), Samfya (Luapula Province), Gwembe (Southern Province) and Senanga (Western Province).

Dr. Kapungwe discussed other differentials in poverty. He made the following observations:
  1. In general, and except for North-Western Province, predominance of female-headed households among the extremely poor cuts across all the provinces of Zambia;
  2. The incidence of poverty increased with age of the head of the household with the highest percentage being found among households headed by those aged 50 years and above;
  3. Generally, and except for Southern and Eastern Provinces, the rest of the provinces exhibited a pattern of increasing household poverty with an increase in household size;
  4. At the national level, the incidence of poverty was highest in households in which the head was married;
  5. Nationally, the highest incidence of household poverty was recorded among households headed by those without any formal education and decreased with an increase in education. The lowest was recorded among households headed by those with a Bachelors Degree;
  6. The incidence of poverty was highest in households headed by unpaid family workers, the self employed, the unemployed, inactive or those who did not state their occupations. The lowest incidence of poverty was recorded in households headed by parastatal employees;
  7. Households headed by those employed in agriculture, forestry, fishery and those employed in the private sector had the highest incidence of poverty ranging between 74% and 84 %. On the other hand, households headed by those in financial institutions recorded the lowest incidence of poverty, estimated at 39 %;
  8. The proportion of households living in poverty in 1998 was substantially higher among households headed by those in informal-sector employment compared to households headed by those in formal-sector employment;
  9. In the agricultural sector, the highest incidence of poverty occurred in households headed by those employed in the informal agricultural sectors (85%) followed by those in the formal agricultural sector among which 81 % were poor. Overall, households whose heads were employed in agriculture experienced relatively high incidence of poverty compared to households headed by those employed in the non-agricultural sector;
  10. Households using torches for lighting and those using firewood for cooking comprised the highest percentage among the extremely poor households;
  11. Overall, poor households experienced difficulties in accessing social facilities and the most affected were the extremely poor among whom between 61% and 69 % had difficulties in accessing major social amenities such as banks, good markets, health facilities, hammer mills, police stations, post offices, primary schools and transport services; and
  12. The incidence of poverty increased for households headed by 12-19 year olds.
Dr. Kapungwe observed that in addition, chronic malnutrition was more common among poor households than non-poor households.

On poverty trends between 1991 and 1998, Dr. Kapungwe made the following observations:
  1. Overall, the incidence of poverty increased between 1991 and 1998;
  2. In Eastern, Luapula, Northwestern and Southern Provinces, the incidence of poverty declined between 1991 and 1998 while it increased in the urban provinces of Central, Copperbelt and Lusaka;
  3. Nationally, both female and male-headed households experienced an increase in poverty between 1991 and 1998 and the increase was higher among female-headed than male-headed households;
  4. Except for households headed by those without any formal education, the proportions of households living in extreme or moderate poverty declined;
  5. Except for households headed by those aged under 30, the rest experienced some increase in the incidence of poverty;
  6. Except for households headed by the separated, all marital-status categories registered a decline in the proportion of extremely poor households. The greatest decline was among households headed by the never married;
  7. Poverty declined among the self-employed, parastatal employees, the unemployed and those working for international organisations including embassies, but increased in households headed by unpaid family workers, central government employees, local government employees and private-sector employees; and
  8. Except for the agricultural/forestry, money, quarrying, electricity and gas sectors, the incidence of poverty increased in all the sectors, while it remained almost the same in the real estate sector.
In his conclusion, Dr. Kapungwe called for intervention among vulnerable groups whom he identified as those living in rural areas, low cost urban areas, the Western Province, in female-headed households, and in households headed by those with no or little education, the children and those aged 60 years and above. He appealed to researchers and other stakeholders to pay more attention to coping strategies, the revision of the minimum food basket and the gathering of qualitative data.

4.1.2 DISCUSSION

In the discussion that followed Dr. Kapungwe’s presentation participants raised some questions and made some comments and observations on the paper presented.

The participants asked the presenter to explain why roller meal and cassava were not included in the food basket. They explained that in some rural areas, cassava is the staple meal while some households only use roller meal. In response, the presenter acknowledged this deficiency and indicated that there was need for the contents of the food basket to be revised to include these items.

The presenter was also asked to explain whether the food basket took care of special needs such as the needs of pregnant women. On this the presenter gave a negative response.

The participants further asked the presenter to explain why he omitted the 1993 and 1996 data sources. It was felt that if these had been included they could have yielded insight into initiatives and efforts being made to alleviate poverty. Dr. Kapungwe explained that the 1993-1996 data were left out for a number of reasons. One reason was lack of uniformity in indicators. Furthermore, the data had not been used, as the researcher had opted for a comparison over longer periods as opposed to two-year periods. The approach and analysis used enabled the researcher to come up with a trend analysis rather than a comparison of the incidences of poverty in the years under consideration. However, he admitted that the need to include data from 1993 and 1996 had validity, as it would have helped to bring out what was actually happening and not just the trends.

The inclusion of the 12-year-old age group in the poverty categories was questioned by those who felt that at this age most children in Zambia are still dependent and have no independent livelihood. In response to this Dr. Kapungwe said that on the contrary, during the course of the research, some 12-19 year old boys and girls were found to be heading households. Hence they were interviewed.

The participants felt that the role played by the various stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations and civil society, in bringing to the fold incidents of poverty had not been indicated in the paper. The presenter replied out that the role of stakeholders was not included in the paper due to limitations in the terms of reference.

The participants requested the presenter to explain why small-scale farmers were prone to poverty. They wanted him to explain which small scale farmers were most vulnerable. In reply Dr. Kapungwe stated that suitable variables and indicators to explain this were not available in the data used. He explained that the statistical approach used in the survey may yield trends or patterns but cannot always provide explanations.

Some participants noted that the gender aspect was missing from the paper. Most statistics and tables were not gender segregated. It was pointed out that gender should have been inclusive throughout the paper. This was because poverty affects women differently from men; hence female-headed households needed to have been given specific attention. Inclusion of the gender aspect would have facilitated effective poverty eradication programmes. The presenter took note of the deficiency and promised to re-examine this aspect in future presentations.

The participants felt that a discussion of the coping strategies available should have been attempted instead of just mentioning them.

The paper had indicated that the incidence of poverty was lower in Southern and Eastern Provinces. It was suggested that this could be due to large families, which provide cheap labour and higher production in the agricultural activities that people in these provinces are engaged in.

There was a feeling that there was need to study the distribution of poverty with respect to population. This would entail consideration of poverty levels on the basis of population size in each region. On the other hand some participants felt that it might not be possible to obtain revealing data in some provinces if the study was based on comparison of population density and poverty.

It was observed that there was need to pay more attention to the poverty levels among the non-employed as poverty in the past has mainly been measured on basis of salaried persons. In response to this, the presenter said that non-income indicators were available but were not considered due to lack of time. This could be a matter for further research.

The participants also felt that the analysis should have considered nutritional status and age. This should have been in the form of a comparative analysis of poverty and nutritional levels by province.

4.2 PRESENTATION ON "POOR PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA SPEAK": PARTICIPATORY POVERTY APPROACH, BY DR JOHN T. MILIMO, PARTICIPATORY ASSESSMENT GROUP (PAG)

4.2.1 PRESENTATION

Dr. Milimo introduced his paper by explaining the methods used in his studies. He said that participatory research works towards enabling people, including and especially the less vocal, the poor and the disadvantaged, to express the realities of their life situation. He said that the participatory research methods, which were used in generating his data gave people an opportunity to systematically explore, analyse, describe and express to the outside world the realities of their lives and how they perceive them.

Dr. Milimo said that a total of 62 different studies were conducted during the 1990s using the above mentioned research tools. Seven of the studies were specifically on poverty.

Four of these were a follow-up to the 1994 World Bank supported Poverty Assessment Study for Zambia and were aimed at revealing trends and developments in people's welfare and livelihoods in the same sentinel sites as the 1994 Participatory Poverty Assessment.

Dr Milimo said that eight of the studies were for beneficiary assessment. Thus, they were meant to enable intended project targets/beneficiaries to express themselves and thus contribute towards the smooth and effective implementation of projects. These were carried out for the Social Recovery Project, the Micro-Projects Programme and the Rural Investment Fund (RIF).

Dr. Milimo revealed that the rest of the studies were sector specific and focused on poor people's access to, participation in and utilisation of, services in the agricultural, education, health and water sectors. All the provinces had been covered by these studies. In addition, the Participatory Research Study Teams visited all other districts, except for the districts bordering war-torn areas of the Congo and Angola.

Dr. Milimo discussed the way Zambians look at life. He explained that Zambians looked at life holistically. Thus a poor person is not just one who has limited access to property or money at their disposal, but one whose whole well-being is adversely affected by a whole combination of factors which may include a poor diet, poor access to clean water, to health and educational facilities, poor clothing and bedding, exclusion from such important functions as decision making, suffers from insecurity and so on. On the other hand, a rich person is described as one who has a big farm, keeps livestock, eats from morning till bed time, easily affords health and education costs, owns and drives cars, owns big businesses, travels freely and easily, buys clothes for his/her children every so often, is a master of his situation and so on.

Dr. Milimo identified the two major causes of poverty in rural areas in the early 1990s, as the drought and cattle diseases in the low-rainfall belt of Southern Zambia and changes brought about by the liberalisation of agricultural marketing policies in the higher rainfall areas of Northern Zambia. He cited other factors as depletion of fish stocks in the lakes of Mwelu and Bangweulu and inadequate employment opportunities in urban areas.

Among the crosscutting issues of poverty, he mentioned the issue of seasonality of poverty, monthly financial stress in the case of urban areas, water scarcity and gender. In rural areas, the period from November to March is the time when livelihoods are at their worst. In urban areas, families experience stress beginning from the middle to the end of the month due to inadequate income. Dr. Milimo said that the problem of water shortages was very common throughout the 1990s. This problem was ranked as the most important in 1994, 1996 and 1999. Women were the most affected by water shortages since they were the ones that drew water for home consumption.

Dr. Milimo noted the following regarding poverty levels:
  1. Poverty levels have been on the increase over the decade;
  2. Communities have perceived a steady decline in the quality of education which has been brought about by, among other factors, poor conditions of service for teachers and the high cost of education, which puts the latter out of reach for the majority poor;
  3. People's livelihoods are perceived not to have done any better in terms of health status than in education or food security. This is largely due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic;
  4. Water problems have persisted over the whole decade, especially in rural areas even though what has been said so far about water refers to its availability and quantity, and not to its quality. This has led to seasonality of diarrhoeal diseases, which occur mostly during the dry season in rural areas when water shortages are most common. The poor of Zambia experienced the high incidences of diarrhoeal diseases at the beginning of the rain season when all the dirt from the bushes which many use as latrines is swept into their sources of drinking water; and
  5. At the beginning of the decade, many people both in rural and urban areas fell into the rich and very rich categories and few in the very poor. By the end of the decade, very few qualified to be in the rich category while the very poor had increased greatly in number.
Dr. Milimo identified the following groups as the most affected by poverty:
  1. The indigent: These are people who cannot do anything on their own to alleviate their poverty. They include the very old, the chronically ill and the disabled.
  2. Orphans and other vulnerable children: These include the streets kids;
  3. Retrenchees and retirees;
  4. The women; and
  5. The out of school youth.
Dr. Milimo noted that there, had however, been positive trends in the last decade. He noted these as follows:
  1. Increased freedom: The overall perception of the poor in the 1990s is that there was more freedom of speech than ever before;
  2. Improved personal security: there was general reduction of hard core crime particularly on the Copperbelt;
  3. Reduced gender violence and improvement in women's social status;
  4. Planning introduced to farmers: small scale farmers had an opportunity to horde their agricultural products until the price was high enough such as during the period from November to February; and
  5. Improved public transport.
On social and cultural matters, Dr. Milimo stated that in spite of these developments, there was as much belief in witchcraft at the end of the decade as at the beginning.

In concluding, Dr. Milimo made the following recommendations:
  1. Churches, non-governmental organisations and public welfare assistance schemes (PWAS) should continue giving free assistance to the indigent and working closely with the families and communities which support these persons;
  2. Agencies which support orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) should initially work through the families that support the OVC and then the communities by encouraging farming and other income generating activities;
  3. Early payment of terminal benefits and provision of support services such as counselling and training in business management to retirees and retrenchees;
  4. Sensitisation of Zambian society, on issues related to women and their role and status in society should be undertaken and continued; and
  5. The economy should be revamped in order to create more jobs for the youth. The school curriculum should be adapted to include subjects that would enable school leavers make a meaningful living even if they are not in white-collar employment.
On areas of research, Dr. Milimo suggested the following:
  1. Issues of governance and how they relate to poverty and development;
  2. More research on agricultural issues, which should take into account marketing policy, credit and extension;
  3. Coping mechanisms among the unemployed out-of-school youth;
  4. HIV/AIDS, its causes and effects and public awareness of it, especially in the more remote parts of the country;
  5. Coping strategies among retirees and retrenchees.
Lastly, he said that there was need for collaboration between researchers using quantitative and those using qualitative research methods. He emphasised that the negative impacts of bad governance or retrenchment should be quantified and not only described.

4.2.2 DISCUSSION

In the discussion that followed, the participants asked the presenter to explain how the educational system related to poverty. The presenter stated that there was need to revisit the issue of educational system and poverty in future research.

The participants also wanted to find out what the research had found out on the effect of government policies on poverty. The response was that there was lack of planning on the part of government. For example, payment to retired civil servants is inadequate and usually late.

It was also noted that the presentation lacked adequate information on the current numbers of street children.

4.3 PRESENTATION ON THE ANALYSIS OF THE FOOD BASKET AND BASIC NEEDS: A CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE BY FR. PETER HENRIOT, JESUIT CENTRE FOR THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION/JUBILEE ZAMBIA

4.3.1 PRESENTATION

In his presentation Fr. Henriot indicated that the food basket could be analysed on the basis of its context, content and consequences.

On its context, he pointed out that the Catholic Commission was compiling the food basket for Peace and Justice, as part of the commission’s mission statement to provide social justice for the poor.

He pointed out that in helping to bring about social justice for the poor, there was need for the conference to be more meaningful and to talk radically to promote change and transformation, instead of just looking at figures. He noted that the New Deal changes in education cost sharing would have a positive impact on the food basket and livelihood of the people.

On the content of the food basket, he revealed that the research was conducted in certain areas. It is in the form of a snap survey, in which people are asked what they consider to be basic for the provision of three meals. In the year 2000 the basic food basket cost K300,000:00 while in 2001 this had increased to K370,000:00.

The earlier content only had very basic foods stuffs. On the discussions with various groups it was recommended that the basket include foods on the basis of nutritional content.

Fr. Henriot revealed that the food basket has been used for bargaining for better conditions of service in some institutions. Five years ago, the government declared the wages in the country as scandalous on the basis of the relation to the food basket. Various organisations use the food basket in determining wage levels and formulating policies relating to worker welfare.

According to Fr. Henriot, the JCTR had for some years been undertaking efforts aimed at capturing an adequate and accurate picture of the cost of living in Lusaka. Measurements of poverty had been undergoing changes over the years, moving from statistical considerations, to qualitative measurements based on monetary considerations, to qualitative measurements based on indicators such as access to basic needs, education, health, and other necessities. He said that in the six-year history of the food basket, the JCTR had made major changes to its methods of compiling the basket.

Fr. Henriot highlighted the link between poverty and development. In this regard, the term development could be understood differently by various groups. As defined at present, development includes the ability to lead a long and healthy life, to be able to accumulate knowledge and to enjoy a decent standard of living.

Fr. Henriot recalled that the history of the Food Basket dated back to the early 1990s and was closely associated with the establishment of the Economic and Social Development Research Project of the JCTR. The overall aim of this project was to gather facts through research and to use those facts to advocate change in policies and/or practices that inhibit attainment of sustainable livelihoods by the majority poor Zambians.

On the changes applied to the Food Basket, Fr. Henriot said that it had been necessary to refine it, but added that these changes had not been so great that comparability of data was impossible. The recent modifications to the food basket, effective January 2002, were a response to recommendations received at the end of 2001 during a workshop attended by users of the Food Basket. These included trade unions, economics groups, academics, nutritionists, Central Statistical Office and the media.

Because of the strong correlation between food intake and welfare, the JCTR found it imperative to include in its basic needs basket nutritionally based food requirements for a healthy family of six. Fr. Henriot said that one of the major changes introduced in the new format is the separation of food items from non-food items such as electricity, water and housing. Some additional costs that are a part of the daily lives of people have not been included in the calculation of the total for the basic needs basket. Included among them are transport, education and health. Estimates for requirements such as personal care, clothing, and recreation are not given because they are difficult to capture accurately. As at February 2002, the total cost of the basic needs basket was K823,510:00, out of which K324,510:00 was the cost of non-food items. Other changes include the expansion of the Lusaka sampling area to make the basic needs basket survey more representative. The current areas of data collection are Northmead, Matero, Chawama, Kabwata, City Centre (Shoprite), Soweto and Chainda.

Fr. Henriot listed the implications resulting from these changes to the Food Basket:
  1. At first glance the changes appear to result in an astronomically high figure for the cost of living in Zambia. However, a little thought leads to the acknowledgement that this figure is a realistic reflection of the cost of living in Zambia;
  2. Comparison of the new cost of the basic needs basket and its cost in the past is no longer exactly possible because the two formats differ in content and sampling; and
  3. The changes have no effect on the original idea behind the Food Basket, nor do they invalidate the previous Food Basket.
In his concluding remarks, Fr. Henriot noted that the Food Basket, which has now been transformed into the Basic Needs Basket, would continue being useful in poverty assessment. He also declared that Zambia had enough resources to reduce poverty levels, and called on policy makers to make poverty eradication a priority.

4.3.2 DISCUSSION

In discussing Fr. Henriot's presentation, participants noted that the food basket was based on the needs of people in formal employment and in urban areas. The participants wanted to know why this was the case and whether at some time the food basket would also reflect the needs of people in the informal sector and in rural areas. While acknowledging that there was need to establish how people in the informal sector are managing, Fr. Henriot explained that this had not been done because of non-availability of data from this sector. He admitted that no study had been conducted on the informal sector and the food basket. This was due to the following reasons. Firstly, the government tax collection is currently restricted to the formally employed and figures for this group are readily available. Secondly, the focus on urban areas was due to logistical considerations. It has not been possible for limited staff available to reach rural areas. However, efforts were being made through rural Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice offices to undertake similar programmes in their areas.

The participants also wanted to find out what recommendations the presenter had on how government could meet the K823,510:00 basic income. The presenter replied that the problem in Zambia was the setting of priorities. He believed that government could easily meet this basic income if the authorities identified priority issues and areas in the country and put money to those areas. The eradication of corruption could facilitate proper utilisation of resources.

The presenter was also asked to explain how the minimum food basket is arrived at. Fr. Henriot explained that the food basket is arrived at from the monthly needs of the people. Initially it was informally done. Eventually it became more sophisticated through workshops and discussions. The most important development came in 2001 when the calorie intake expectation was taken into consideration in order obtain a more nutritionally balanced basket.

The participants wanted to know whether any surveys had been done to establish how many households could afford the food basket and what coping strategies they were employing if they were not able to afford. The presenter answered that the issue of affordability had not been researched on. The obvious ones include doing without the need and abuse for material gain.

It was also suggested that in future food basket should research on how the barter system of labour translates to the food basket.

4.4 PRESENTATION ON ECONOMIC PLANNING AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN ZAMBIA: THE STRATEGIC OPERATIONS AND PLANNING UNIT (SOPU) OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING BY MR. J.S. MULUNGUSHI, DIRECTOR - PLANNING AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT, MOFNP

4.4.1 PRESENTATTION

Mr. Mulungushi started his presentation by describing the concept of economic planning. He stated that economic planning was a conscious attempt by government to bring about desired social and economic progress to its citizens through coordinated economic decision-making over a long period and to influence directly and in some cases control the level of growth of a nation's investment, savings, government spending, exports and inputs. He said some planning is particularly critical for Zambia, whose poverty levels have increased from 50 % in 1990 to 73 % in 2000. He bemoaned the lack of national consensus on development issues, which he said has been compounded by lack of a clear development vision for the country for over ten years.

In order to address the issue of economic growth and the problem of poverty, a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was initiated in 2000 to guide the development process and this has been followed by the re-establishment of planning under the Department of Planning and Economic Management (PEMD) in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MOFNP).

Mr. Mulungushi pointed out that economic planning is not a new phenomenon, as Zambia had adopted 5-year National Development Plans to guide the development process shortly after independence. After the change of government in 1991, the new regime adopted a liberalised and market oriented approach to development, which led to the abolishment of planning. Planning was left to exist at micro level. But the experience in the 10 years without a national plan had brought about an appreciation of the importance of planning in a developing economy. The absence of a central body to co-ordinate the planning process resulted in disjointed planning and implementation of programmes, thereby making it difficult to monitor and evaluate programmes and projects, especially at the provincial and district level. The PEMD is therefore faced with the task of first re-establishing planning at national, regional and local levels and making it effective.

The second task, he said, will involve building capacity for planning, including improving planning procedures, data collection, strengthening of monitoring and evaluation systems.

Mr. Mulungushi outlined the functions of PEMD as being the following:
  1. National planning in collaboration with other stakeholders;
  2. National long term visioning;
  3. Medium term development strategies consisting of:
    1. Planning, including the integration of sectoral development plans
    2. Operational planning and annual budgets;
    3. Macro - economic policy formation and analysis
    4. Model development and data base maintenance
    5. Public investment
    6. Project monitoring and evaluation
    7. Co-ordination of the implementation of a national population policy
    8. Integration of population factors in development plans and strategies; and
    9. Overseeing programmes and activities of the PRSP.
Mr. Mulungushi stated that in order to carry out the above functions, a total of four sections have been created in PEMD, namely, macroeconomic, tax policy, economic modelling and data base development, and the Strategic and Operational Planning Unit (SOPU). The Strategic Operation and Planning Unit is the largest of the four sections and comprises the following units:
  1. Administrative and Sovereign Sectors Unit
  2. Economic Sectors Unit; and
  3. Social and Population Sectors Unit.
According to Mr. Mulungushi SOPU will co-ordinate and analyse the proposed implementation strategies of various plans to ensure consistence and to take into account the aspirations of the people from the grass root, the civil society, non-governmental organisations and line ministries. It will also ensure that there is consistence in terms of crosscutting issues of gender, poverty reduction, population and environment. It will also be responsible for co-ordination of the national and regional strategic plans.

Mr. Mulungushi listed five projects being implemented, which fall under PEMD. Among these projects, the biggest is ZAMSIF, whose activities are being carried out with the full participation of staff under SOPU, particularly officers in the unit responsible for provinces. This is aimed at internalising all ZAMSIF activities so that they will be retained even after the completion of the ZAMSIF project.

Regarding the policy and planning process, Mr. Mulungushi said that the linkage between the Provincial Development and Coordinating Committees (PDCCs), the District Development Coordinating Committees (DDCCs) and the sub-district level planning with the line ministries and other stakeholders will be developed through participatory planning.

The Provincial Planning Unit (PPUs) and the District Planning Units (DPUs) form secretariats of PDCC and DDCCs, respectively. The DPU will send consolidated district plans to PEMD. The strategic regional plans and the ministerial sectoral plans will then be consolidated into national strategic plans as part of the overall-planning framework. Mr. Mulungushi said that the stakeholders would provide their inputs at the sub-district, DDCC and PDCC levels.

On the linkages in the planning process, Mr. Mulungushi observed that the PRSP has been developed as a medium-term programme with the long-term objective of reducing poverty and it needs to be transformed into the Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP). This work has since started.

The current draft of the PRSP articulates a linkage to the Long Term National Vision (NLTV), the Medium Term Expenditure (MTEF), the Provincial Plans, the District Plans and the annual budget. The PRSP, the Public Investment Programme (PIP) and the MTEF are the medium-term programmes, which will be operationalised through the annual budgeting process.

Mr. Mulungushi said that the draft PRSP contains the overall management of planning instruments and structures in PEMD, including monitoring and evaluation of PRSP implementation. As the first step in implementing the strategy, the PEMD has fully integrated the Poverty Monitoring Analysis (PMA) under ZAMSIF in its other structure that will, together with SOPU, carry out the following, among others:
  1. Review the nature and status of planning units in provinces and sectors and identify strengths and weaknesses of planning so that assistance could be provided to build capacity.
  2. Identify areas requiring capacity building (financial, human and physical) in order to provide a strong base for planning; and
  3. Review the current statistical system in Zambia and suggest means of developing a database that ensures the overall monitoring and evaluation of the plans.
In conclusion, Mr. Mulungushi said that the re-establishment of planning is a big challenge to MOFND and all other institutions in the country. He called on all development agencies to support the process, which requires both human and capital resources. 4.4.2 DISCUSSION

In discussing Mr. Mulungushi's presentation participants made the following notable comments.

Firstly, they wanted to know whether with the proposed new structure the importance of PRSP would not be lost. Mr. Mulungushi responded that this would not happen. He declared that the consultative process and arrangements would continue at district and provincial level.

Participants observed that there was need to remove contradictions between national and international conventions. The presenter acknowledged that certain agreements have been signed without regard to national agreements. Some agreements have been signed without assessing the government’s financial resource situation. This has cost the government a lot. There was therefore need for the harmonisation of national and international agreements.

Participants also wanted to know whether the international agreements Zambia entered into before the current arrangement were going to be respected. The presenter responded that in the past lack of national planning led to haphazard agreements. It is hoped that PRSP would correct this.

It was generally agreed that there was need to harmonise agreements being entered into by government and cooperating partners. These should be binding, in order to reduce conflict between ministries benefiting from funding. All agreements entered into should make sense and help to bring about development.

When asked whether the PRSP can work, the presenter pointed out that some countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda had made progress under PRSP.

He was confident that PRSP would be strengthened by the new arrangement, as information would come from all levels. PRSP would consolidate the submissions.

The need for cooperation between the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the Ministry of Local Government and Housing was emphasised. Such cooperation was necessary as planning for strengthening of district level planning continues.

4.5 PRESENTATION ON POVERTY MONITORING AND ANALYSIS IN ZAMBIA: THE CASE OF SOCIAL RECOVERY PROJECT (SRP) AND THE ZAMBIA SOCIAL INVESTMENT FUND (ZAMSIF) BY DR. BULETI NSEMUKILA, PMA MANAGER, ZAMSIF

4.5.1 PRESENTATION

Dr. Nsemukila began by saying that the activities of poverty monitoring and analysis in Zambia have been in existence since independence in 1964 even though they were not as well streamlined as the case is today. He said that his presentation was based on the activities initiated at the beginning of the 1990s under the Social Recovery Project I (SRP I), which became effective in August 1991 with the overall aim of assisting the management of Zambia's poverty reduction programme through financing of community initiatives and building of capacity for poverty monitoring and analysis. He reported that the International Development Association (IDA) and other collaborating partners such as Sweden, Finland and Norway supported the project. This project had three components namely, the community initiatives component, the survey component and the study fund component.

By the beginning of the Social Recovery Project (SRPII) in 1995, the poverty monitoring and analysis component comprised the Living Conditions and Monitoring Unit (LCMU) of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) (formerly surveys component), the Study Fund and the Participatory Assessment Group (PAG). By the end of SRPII in 1991, the Study Fund was implementing the poverty analysis component while the poverty-monitoring component was implemented by the LCMU and the PAG.

Dr. Nsemukila revealed that the LCMU was launched towards the end of 1995 with the purpose of collecting, disseminating and providing policy makers and planners with accurate living conditions indicators for Zambia. Overall, the CSO conducted the following surveys between 1991 and 1998: the Priority Survey I (1991), the Priority Survey II (1993), Living Conditions Monitoring (1996) and the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey II (1998). He explained that the two surveys of 1996 and 1998 were much broader than the earlier surveys of 1991 and 1993. The PAG formed the second part of the Poverty Monitoring component of the SRPII. He said that the PAG started its activities as a network of researchers associated with the Rural Development Studies Bureau of the University of Zambia. The PAG was launched in 1995 with a mission to contribute to poverty reduction through empowering the poor by giving them a voice. By the end of the year 2000, the PAG had become an independent NGO and consulting agency specialising in participatory approaches to studying poverty issues in Zambia.

According to Dr. Nsemukila the Study Fund committee has commissioned a total of 62 studies since 1991. Areas covered and the number of researches carried out in these areas are as follows: Health (2), Education (4) Poverty/Beneficiary Analysis (8), Nutrition and Food Security (5), Community Development (12), Agric/Agro Industry (2), Macroeconomics (6), Housing and Environment (4) and others (1). Dr. Nsemukila said that the extent to which findings of the small studies have impacted on policy has not been easy to assess while priority studies, on the other hand, have had some positive impact on policy making and implementation. In 1998, a separate environmental component was added to the study fund activities, whose areas of focus are air pollution, water pollution and inadequate sanitation, wildlife depletion, deforestation and soil degradation.

Dr. Nsemukila listed four lessons that were learnt from the Social Recovery Project, which was also considered successful in improving data collection and financing a number of studies critical for policy work. These lessons are as follows:
  1. There was no permanent focal unit or institution that had the mandate to systematically channel completed analysis to policy makers at different levels, thereby making it difficult to co-ordinate information generated by different sources;
  2. The household survey programme, built under CSO, was structured in a way, which contained redundancy and overlap among different surveys, lack of integration of the surveys, overload in capacity to deliver timely information and a high dependence on external funding;
  3. Districts did not have a database of local living conditions, which could assist them to design interventions; and
  4. The levels of use of poverty information by policy makers were lower than expected and were not systematic.
Dr. Nsemukila observed that the PMA in ZAMSIF was designed to build on the successes of the past. The PMA in ZAMSIF is meant to support the functioning of SOPU within MOFNP to co-ordinate poverty monitoring and analysis. Dr. Nsemukila reported that the PMA would finance a number of activities that would include the following:
  1. Conducting a pre-agreed cycle of household surveys, including the Living Conditions Monitoring Surveys (LCMS) and the Indicator Monitoring Surveys (IMS), conducted by the LCMU of the CSO;
  2. Preparation and dissemination of an Annual Poverty Review which provides a poverty update from different sources of information;
  3. Training, technical assistance, capacity building and support to the establishment of SOPU in MOFNP; and
  4. Development of Pilot District Data Bank (DDB) under the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.
Dr. Nsemukila said that the separate environmental component, also known as the Pilot Environmental Fund (PEF) would support community based programmes and environmental studies within the National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP).

Dr. Nsemukila stressed that PMA was important for policy, research and programme implementation. He observed that the successful implementation of the PRSP requires capacity to collect data on poverty trends in a systematic way, analysing them thoroughly and making sure that the analysis reaches the policy makers.

He added that under the PMA (ZAMSIF), special measures are being undertaken to further the linkage between poverty monitoring and analysis through hands-on training to researchers in data manipulation and analysis. Earlier programmes did not implement this aspect.

Dr. Nsemukila said that in spite of the achievements, a number of challenges had been identified. The challenges associated with the poverty monitoring and analysis system in Zambia are summarised from the observations of the PRSP workshop on data requirements that took place on 24 - 26 April 2001. Among the observations made were the need to market existing data at the CSO, the need for significant improvement in analytical skills and the need to establish a co-ordination mechanism in the Zambian statistical system. Dr. Nsemukila told the participants that the CSO in collaboration with the PMA of ZAMSIF had made available on CD-Rom all the four (4) data sets for the household surveys conducted during the 1990s.

In his conclusion, Dr. Nsemukila observed that even though a statistical system has existed in Zambia since 1964, the PRSP process enabled stakeholder assessment of the system within the context of new demands and challenges on the provision of data on poverty. He implored all stakeholders to support the urgent need of strengthening and supporting the current monitoring and evaluation system as proposed in the draft PRSP document.

4.5.2 DISCUSSION

The participants wanted to find out whether there was another poverty monitoring survey being planned since the last one was in 1998. Dr. Nsemukila answered affirmatively. While previous surveys had been conduced seasonally, future surveys would run for the whole year. They would be integrated surveys that would incorporate a household budget survey. The surveys would be in the form that allows trend analysis as was the case with previous surveys. The use of the same method would facilitate comparison of results.

The participants also noted that a lot of things could happen within a short time that could change statistics on poverty levels. Hence there was need for future surveys to be more focused and efficient.

It was observed that even though Zambia had improved on data collection there was still no coordination in the process of data collection. There was much duplication of data collection by different organisations and individuals. Thus there was need to have data collection standardised. In addition it was necessary for local people to know who was collecting what data and for what purpose. It was important to control statistical analysis to prevent researchers from nationalising regional survey findings.

4.6 PRESENTATION ON THE POVERTY STUDIES CENTRE: A RESEARCH CHALLENGE BY DR. P.C. CHISALE OF THE POVERTY STUDIES CENTRE, UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA.

4.6.1 PRESENTATION

In his introduction, Dr. Chisale alluded to the escalating poverty levels in Zambia, which resulted from among other things, under-utilisation of the country’s agriculture and tourism potentials, closure of manufacturing and industrial firms due to failure to compete with imports, and the effect of government policies.

Dr. Chisale noted that a number of surveys have been conducted on poverty between 1991 and 1998, the most recent being the LCM II which revealed a poverty level of 73 % among the Zambian population.

Dr. Chisale noted that the earlier government policy was to try and address the problem of increasing poverty levels by promoting rural development through various programmes, which included easy credit, re-settlement schemes and integrated rural development. From 1991, the government approach to poverty reduction has been based on open-market policies, with the expectation that an improved economy would result in reduced poverty levels. However, poverty levels have continued to rise. The government has since realised the need for good data in order to formulate sound policies.

Dr. Chisale observed that even though a number of poverty studies have been conducted since 1991, there has been no integrated approach to data collection. There has been no attempt to organise local expertise and academics to look at the issue of analysis, resulting in a situation where local experts and academics have continued working in isolation. Dr. Chisale said that there was therefore a need to bring these experts together to provide a pool of local expertise. The Poverty Studies Centre (PSC) at UNZA is intended to fill this gap.

The PSC intends to derive additional suitable poverty indicators, representative of both urban and rural communities as opposed to the food basket approach, which is biased towards the urban population. The PSC would also strengthen capacity in issues of poverty monitoring and analysis.

Dr. Chisale later spelt out the mission of PSC as that of contributing to the process of poverty reduction by identifying the effects of social, economic and environmental policies on the poor and vulnerable groups through research and analysis. In order to build capacity for purposes of monitoring the poverty reduction process under the PRSP in MOFNP, the PSC offers an opportunity for short-term courses and training in poverty data handling, methodology, monitoring and analysis.

In order to achieve its vision and mission, Dr. Chisale stated that the PSC intends to undertake the following:
  1. Analyse existing data collected through various household surveys, including LCMSs, in order to develop a country poverty profile and new priorities for poverty reduction;
  2. Identify existing gaps in poverty data and diagnostics in Zambia as well as how to address them;
  3. Provide consultancy on research design and data analysis in the area of poverty; and
  4. Provide training for planners and researchers within the context of the PRSP process.
Dr. Chisale explained that since poverty is multidimensional in nature, the Centre has assembled together a multidisciplinary, well-qualified and experienced core team representing various disciplines such as Demography, Sociology, Social Work, Education, Gender, Agriculture, Medicine, Engineering, Mathematics and Statistics. Specific areas of interest include the following: research design, computer simulation modelling, food, population and environmental interactions, rural development, implementation and management of poverty reduction strategies, social safety net programmes, community development, social policy evaluation, regional planning and development, agricultural economics, and soil, water and land management.

Dr. Chisale stated that one of the long-term perspectives of the PSC is to become an autonomous, regional centre for poverty studies and consultancy in the SADC region.

In his concluding remarks, Dr. Chisale emphasised that the PSC is a key institution for the people of Zambia in facing the challenges of poverty in the country. He assured the participants that the University of Zambia, in pursuing its objectives of contributing to national development, would rise to the occasion by organising academics to take part in poverty monitoring, analysis, and dissemination.

4.6.2 DISCUSSION

There were no questions and comments brought up on Dr. Chisale’s paper, as most of what it covered was only an outline of the institutional framework of the Poverty Studies Centre. However, there was a correction noted on page 3 of the paper to state that the Poverty Studies Centre should be ‘linked’ and not ‘located’ within the Poverty Monitoring and Analysis (PMA) component of the Zambia Social Investment Fund (ZAMSIF).

4.7 PRESENTATION ON HIV/AIDS IN ZAMBIA: BASIC SITUATION ON FACTS OF HIV/AIDS BY DR. ALEX SIMWANZA FROM THE NATIONAL HIV/AIDS/STD/TB COUNCIL

4.7.1 PRESENTATION

In his presentation Dr. Simwanza revealed that available statistics indicated that:
  1. The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the age group 15-45 years was 20%;
  2. The mother to child transmission rate was 40%;
  3. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS stood at 800,000;
  4. HIV/AIDS deaths were estimated at 650,000;
  5. HIV/AIDS orphans were around 700,000;
  6. Life expectancy stood at 37 years; and
  7. The percentage of people that were tested and knew their status stood at 7.3% in urban areas and 5.3% in rural areas.
He noted that the HIV/AIDS pandemic was being fuelled by some of the following factors:
  1. Poverty and overburdened health services;
  2. Prevalence of other sexually transmitted diseases;
  3. Low use of condoms;
  4. Gender inequality and cultural practices;
  5. Multiple sexual relationships; and
  6. Denial, stigmatisation and discrimination of HIV/AIDS patients.
He explained that the current government response to the impact of HIV/AIDS had been designed to help people understand the prevention of the pandemic. It therefore employs preventive and care intervention approaches. Some of the interventions engaged in are the following:
  1. Promoting the use and distribution of condoms;
  2. STI management;
  3. Screening blood for transfusion;
  4. Voluntary counselling and testing;
  5. Prevention of mother to child transmission;
  6. Community home based care;
  7. Strengthening existing projects for OVC/NZP+;
  8. Preventing opportunist infections such as tuberculosis; and
  9. Introduction of ARVs in the public sector.
The monitoring and evaluation process includes:
  1. Sentinel surveillance in 24 sites every four years;
  2. Sexual behaviour surveillance done every 2 years;
  3. Management of information systems through routine reports on cases of AIDS, STIs and TB; and
  4. Carrying out programme specific random studies.
To reduce the socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS programmes have been undertaken in the areas of:
  1. Macro-economy and the workplace – through monitoring and evaluation systems, evaluation of focal point persons, information on impact of intervention in the work place;
  2. Agriculture – by harmonising NGO activities, evaluating changing modes of extension service provision;
  3. Education – by harmonising NGO activities, evaluating changing delivery modes, effect on demand for education, effect on female school attendance;
  4. Transport and communication – by determining strategies with other projects in the border areas and establishing monitoring and evaluation systems;
  5. Mining – by establishing work place programmes and replicating RBM commitment to HIV/AIDS prevention;
  6. Health – by implementation of insurance policy, estimation of costs to the health sector, evaluation of providers in home based care, traditional healers KAP on ARC, effect of ARVs;
  7. Households – by alleviating pressure on HH with PLWA, intra-household roles in provision of home based care, retention of counsellors in home-based care. Costs of home based care, impact of food aid on H/H; and
  8. Communities – by studying the attitudes to HIV infected/affected H/Hs.
4.7.2 DISCUSSION

In the discussion that followed the participants asked what would be done about generic drugs, which were expensive. It was suggested that Zambia could use the South African and Brazilian approach to the acquisition of cheap drugs. The presenter replied that the issue of getting cheap generics was being followed up. Some people were last year sent to India to study the issue of ARVs.

The conference also wanted to know the position of the National AIDS Council regarding the Tian Immune Booster. On this, Dr. Simwanza pointed out that the National AIDS Council had a responsibility to protect the public. Hence whoever claimed to have a cure for AIDS needed to be ready to follow the laid down procedures for evaluation of his drugs. This had not been done for the Tian Immune booster. Tian had not revealed the contents of his medicine. It was felt that the Tian Immune booster was a traditional medicine and so far its ingredients had not been identified. The legal implications of this had not been studied. He however said that there was need to subject the drug to tests in order to establish its efficacy.

It was noted that there was a high dropout rate from rehabilitation programmes such as Tasinta. Participants wanted to know what alternatives the National AIDS Council had put in place for dropping out sex workers. Acknowledging this situation, Dr. Simwanza pointed out that this had been caused by the fact that the income generation programmes imparted at the rehabilitation centres do not compensate for the loss of business for many sex workers. Because prostitution is more lucrative, sex workers go back to the streets.

Participants also wanted to know why people who die of AIDS were not recorded as such. It was explained that the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS has not allowed for the recording of HIV related deaths as such.

In view of the large influx of refugees in some areas, where in some instances they have out numbered the local people, the participants wanted to know what measures had been put in place for the prevention of HIV/AIDS for these people. The presenter agreed that refugees were a high-risk group. He revealed that there were some organisations working with them such as the Lutheran World Federation that had programmes targeted at refugees.

4.8 PRESENTATION ON POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER (PRSP) FOR ZAMBIA: A GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE, BY J.S. MULUNGUSHI, DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AT THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING

4.8.1 PRESENTATION

In his presentation Mr. Mulungushi explained that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was a medium-term development plan developed by government. He pointed out that the need to develop the PRSP came out of the realisation that the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) of the 1990s did not address poverty reduction issues. The SAPs mainly focused on macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reforms aimed at ensuring efficient use of resources. They were insufficient to deal with the issues of growth, poverty and huge debt burdens that affect the majority of developing and underdeveloped countries.

In view of the above the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) adopted an enhanced framework for poverty reduction for low-income countries. They replaced the SAPs with the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). It was in the context of this that the Zambian government developed a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) based on a broad consultative process that brought to the core poverty reduction initiatives in the overall development framework.

Mr. Mulungushi stated that the development of the PRSP has involved an extensive consultative process embracing all concerned stakeholders such as various ministries, non-governmental organisations and civil society. This has been through the form of conferences and seminars. He revealed that these conferences and seminars were used as an awareness platform and gave an opportunity for the participants to have a say on the PRSP development process.

The presenter stressed that the most significant aspect in the consultative process and development of the PRSP was the involvement of civil society. He pointed out that civil society, which formed an umbrella organisation called the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR), which drew members from a variety of groups, was part of the PRSP working groups. Civil society also participated in the provincial consultations. Government had obtained a number of ideas for inclusion in the PRSP document from the civil society consolidated report entitled “PRSP, a Civil Society Perspective” which had been submitted to government.

Mr. Mulungushi reported that the development of the PRSP included the establishment of working groups comprising members from various ministries and institutions, non-governmental organisations, civil society, international organisations and the church, which helped develop sector-specific plans on how to tackle poverty in the areas of macroeconomic management, agriculture, tourism, industry, mining, education, health and governance. The working groups also identified the need to consider crosscutting issues such as the environment, HIV/AIDS, gender, energy, water, transport, telecommunications and roads in the PRSP.

Provincial consultations were conducted which were aimed at ensuring that the PRSP encompassed the views of all Zambians at community, district, provincial and national level. The views gathered from these consultations were incorporated in the PRSP.

It was reported that the consultative process on the future of the PRSP would continue. All stakeholders would be consulted during the monitoring and evaluation process.

The PRSP puts emphasis on agriculture, tourism, transport and energy infrastructure in the productive areas, and education, health and HIV/AIDS in the social sector. While the development of the PRSP document has been completed, its demand for substantial resource input may require the country to carefully prioritise PRSP interventions so that only those that are crucial to poverty reduction are adopted.

Mr. Mulungushi emphasised that the PRSP was Zambia’s development planning and resource programming tool. It is the overall framework for national planning both at governmental and non-governmental levels.

Mr. Mulungushi revealed that the consultations for the PRSP stakeholders emphasised the need for a long-term development framework and a coordinated approach to development and planning. It is hoped that the PRSP will be inter-linked and synchronised with other development and planning programmes like the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Public Investment Programme (PIP).

On the institutional framework of the PRSP, Mr. Mulungushi said that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MOFNP) would do the overall coordination of the implementation of the PRSP with the participation of line ministries, other government institutions, civil society and international cooperating partners. The Planning and Economic Management Department of the MOFND will coordinate the PRSP programme.

In conclusion the presenter identified two major challenges for the PRSP. These are making the PRSP accepted by all stakeholders and the mobilisation of resources to implement the PRSP.

4.8.2 DISCUSSION

In the discussion that followed the presentation, participants wanted to know what the government had done to bring in representation of civil society at higher levels of PRSP. In response Mr. Mulungushi revealed that the process of civil society involvement at higher levels has begun. He promised that the issue would be accorded greater importance in future.

The conference also wanted to know how government was going to effectively implement the PRSP in view of scarce resources. The presenter responded that there was need to refocus resources and programmes and to cut down on unnecessary expenditure. In addition the government will undertake reforms that could release more funds. It was hoped that cooperating partners would also help fund PRSP.

On some of the projects outlined to reduce poverty it was observed that the people from provinces such as chiefs, village headmen and people in the agricultural schemes hold the key. Hence for the PRSP to perform well, these people needed to know what tools of development to apply to improve agriculture. The prisons could also be tools of development. Hence civil society and government were urged to go to the villages instead of remaining at headquarters.

The participants noted that the presentation on the PRSP did not spell out the role and place of the media in this process. The presenter replied that the next stage of the PRSP would also involve the itemisation of programmes. Information technology and the media will be considered at this stage.

The participants wanted to find out what was being done about bringing stakeholders to consider the final draft of PRSP and why certain areas were not considered as priority.

Mr. Mulungushi stated that the consultative process will continue and civil society groups would be involved as they have ongoing programmes throughout the country.

The presenter was requested to explain how the opening of parliament speech, and the budget interim plan were related to PRSP. On this Mr. Mulungushi said that the view is that PRSP would be the basis for any national planning. The movement to the interim plan will involve inclusion of all sectors in PRSP.

4.9 PRESENTATION ON THE POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER (PRSP) FOR ZAMBIA: A CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE (CIVIL SOCIETY FOR POVERTY REDUCTION), BY MRS BESINATI MPEPO, COORDINATOR, CIVIL SOCIETY FOR POVERTY REDUCTION (CRPR)

4.9.1 PRESENTATION

In her presentation Mrs Mpepo declared that the existence of poverty in Zambia today was not a question. She stated that the challenge the country faces is not how to reduce poverty but how to eradicate it. She noted that the eradication of poverty was possible as poverty was not a natural phenomena, but a condition imposed on the Zambian people, and resulting from inappropriate or mismanaged policies, programmes, priorities and politics. She noted that the eradication of poverty could be made possible by not only concentrating on the treatment of the symptoms of poverty but by also fighting its root causes.

Mrs Mpepo reported that civil society has been involved in the PRSP on the basis of the principles that:
  1. The PRSP was addressing poverty, which was the most profound challenge facing Zambia today;
  2. PRSP is not a process only to solicit for funds to immediately meet the poverty challenge, but a process for long-term development planning to effectively eradicate poverty;
  3. PRSP is not a short-term process with a one-off outcome, but would continue for several years with constant evaluation and revision based on realistic assessment of results; and
  4. PRSP would not be a home-grown and country process unless civil society has effectively participated in the design and decision-making of PRSP at the initial and final stages.
She pointed out that civil society had participated in the formulation of PRSP at the levels of government working groups and provincial consultations. The civil society consultative process had been done through the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR). The CSPR was a network of civil society organisations in Zambia’s PRSP.

Mrs Mpepo said that the network was constituted out of the desire to ensure effective and meaningful participation of civil society organisations in diverse locations and with different backgrounds in the PRSP process. The network was a loose alliance with no formal structure regulating the participation of civil society in the PRSP.

Mrs Mpepo revealed that civil society carried out three main activities in the formulation of the PRSP. Firstly, they organised consultative group meetings in ten areas that were agreed upon as critical to poverty reduction. These were growth, agriculture, food security, education, youth and child, macroeconomics, gender, environment, governance, health and HIV/AIDS, mining, employment and sustainable livelihoods and tourism. Secondly, civil society had convened provincial consultative meetings in four of Zambia’s poorest provinces. Thirdly, it had compiled a comprehensive report, based on the previous two activities, which was handed over to government for possible inclusion in its PRSP.

Mrs Mpepo revealed that civil society has had a chance to look at the draft PRSP. She noted that it contained a good number of proposed interventions proposed by civil society.

She concluded that the PRSP formulation processes had brought about certain positive aspects. Among them are the following:
  1. A partnership among stakeholders on critical national issues was emerging;
  2. Through the PRSP process, civil society had exhibited better organisation on national issues and is now being taken more seriously by government;
  3. The process signalled the start of improved information exchange between the government and stakeholders;
  4. The CSPR consultative process helped to broaden participation and ownership in the PRSP;
  5. Civil society had shown a strong commitment to ensuring that the PRSP becomes a reality for Zambia; and
  6. The PRSP has proved that government can at least listen (through incorporation of a good number of civil society concerns in the first draft PRSP).
She however noted some constraints in the PRSP formulation for civil society. These included the following:
  1. Limited access to vital information and documents;
  2. Lack of civil society representation at higher levels of the process; and
  3. Despite sensitisation workshops by both government and civil society, levels of PRSP awareness are still limited among the population.
On the implementation of the PRSP, she proposed that there be transparency and accountability on the part of the government to enhance the spirit of broad ownership of the strategies and to ensure widespread participation for effectiveness. There should also be political will and commitment on the part of leaders to ensure that the PRSP does not end up as another document on the shelf but is used as long term planning document for the nation.

On monitoring and evaluation, she suggested that this should be viewed as a very important activity. This was because civil society has a commitment to the people it consulted at grass-roots level, and who are looking forward to the proper implementation of the PRSP.

In conclusion she pointed out that to be successful the PRSP required the following:
  1. Political will from the highest authority to implement the PRSP;
  2. An integrated framework where the PRSP must adequately address the many dimensions of poverty and not just income poverty;
  3. Capacity must be built among the various stakeholders on various aspects of PRSP implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
  4. Local ownership of policies to avoid alienation;
  5. Cooperation amongst the various stakeholders; and
  6. Effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The PRSP process must have built into it a commitment to implementation by donors, government and civil society. The PRSP, once in the process of implementation, must be subjected to on-going monitoring and evaluation.
4.9.2 DISCUSSION

At the beginning of the discussion the participants wanted to know who were in the loose alliance of civil society. In answer to this question the presenter revealed that there is a steering committee of 25 organisations. Overall 90 organisations based in the whole country were part of this alliance. They included churches, academic groups, trade unions, women and youth organisations and non-governmental organisations.

Some participants wanted to know whether civil society has the capacity and could be depended upon to carry out the PRSP. Mrs Mpepo stated the civil society was dependable. She noted that civil society comprises many groups, some of which were dependable while others were not. She noted that despite this the networking of civil society groups was forging ahead.

There was a question on what strategies had been put in place to ensure that people understood the requirements of PRSP. In response to this it was explained that the budget included information dissemination, except that this was not indicated as a sector on its own.

Some participants noted that the role of civil society in the implementation process of PRSP was not clearly spelt out. They wanted to know what role civil society would play in implementation. It was explained that strategies on implementation had not yet been specified. The role of civil society would be taken into account when these were specified.

Another question was what standards civil society had established to identify the eradication of poverty. Mrs. Mpepo stated that the government had already set certain benchmarks. It was hoped that civil society could use the same standards.

It was also noted that the CSPR document concentrates on monitoring and evaluation but not implementation. The existence of political will on the part of the government was questioned. It was pointed out that in the past, government had expressed commitment to programmes but had not disbursed promised funds. The participants hoped that this would not be the case this time.

4.10 PRESENTATION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISM, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF THE POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PROGRAMME, BY J.S. MULUNGUSHI AND LISHALA SITUMBEKO, OF THE PLANNING AND ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT AT THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING

4.10.1 PRESENTATION

In this presentation Mr. Mulungushi discussed the systems of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the PRSP from the perspective of the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the new department of Planning and Economic Management.

He began his presentation by noting that one of the major weaknesses of most developmental programmes was lack of systems for monitoring and evaluation as a management tool to improve on efficient use of scarce resources in projects. For this reason the aspects of monitoring and evaluation had been given a prominent place in the planning for the PRSP.

Mr. Mulungushi said that the PRSP would roll over every three years and would continue to solicit for broader stakeholder input in its planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. However, the PRSP was not independent of other public planning instruments and processes such as national development visioning, public investment programming, sector investment programmes and strategic frameworks, or the national budgeting process.

Mr. Mulungushi said that the PRSP had initiated the process of collaboration and it was intended that this dialogue would continue to shape other national development priorities, the Zambia Vision 2025, the Public Investment Programme (PIP), the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (METF) and the annual budget. The national budget would be the primary instrument for effecting expenditures for PRSP priorities during its programme cycle. In view of their inter linkage, the PRSP, MTEF and PIP would all be synchronised to roll over every three years. The PIP would be the medium term capital or developmental budget and the national budget’s capital expenditures would be derived from it. The PRSP was therefore a medium-term poverty reduction strategy, which would be linked to the Zambia Vision 2025, the MTEF, PIP, Provincial and District Medium Term Development Plans and the annual budget.

On the institutional framework of the PRSP, Mr. Mulungushi said that the overall coordination of the implementation of PRSP would rest with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MOFNP) with the full participation of line ministries, other government institutions, civil society and international cooperating partners. The Planning and Economic Management Department of the MOFNP would be the focal point for PRSP coordination, monitoring and evaluation. All departments in the MOFNP would participate in the planning and management of the PRSP process with the Planning Department taking a lead.

Mr. Mulungushi reported that in order to achieve a desired focus on poverty reduction strategies a Poverty Reduction and Analysis Unit had been established whose responsibility would be to coordinate the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PRSP. Appropriate mechanisms would be put in place to link the district and provincial planning administration systems and line ministries with regard to planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of PRSP programmes.

The presenter stated that the process of planning would eventually be decentralised to provincial and district level after the decentralisation policy is finalised and approved. At the provincial level, planning would be undertaken by the Provincial Planning Units (PPUs). The PPUs will come under the MOFNP. At the sectoral level, ministerial planning units will continue to produce sector plans, which will be linked to the district, provincial and annual operation plans of the PRSP. The provincial and sectoral plans and budgets will be consolidated by the MOFNP and translated into the annual budget.

Commenting on the planning units Mr. Mulungushi said that appropriate district planning structures guided by decentralisation policy would be established. The district planning units will be linked to the Provincial Planning Units at the higher level and the community based organisations (CBOs) at the lower level. The District Planning Units will be responsible for coordination and consolidation of all submissions for inclusion in the PRSP. District plans will be sent up to the PPUs for consolidation into the provincial annual work plans. Provincial budgets will be prepared based on the work plans. It was expected that the preparation of district and provincial work plans would draw on the participation of key stakeholders, including the private sector, NGOs and the civil society. This decentralised system of planning will ensure that developmental priorities, including crosscutting issues under the PRSP, are targeted at points of problem identification, formulation of priorities, operationalisation of strategies as well as allocation of resources and monitoring and evaluation.

On monitoring and evaluation Mr, Mulungushi pointed out that the overall poverty monitoring function would be done by the PEMD in the MOFNP. A new department, the Poverty Reduction and Analysis Section (PRAS) had been established. He stressed that in order to ensure that the implementation of the PRSP is on course and desired results are achieved, monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken. The monitoring would involve tracking key indicators over time and space with a view to seeing what changes have taken place to the indicators as a result of the implementation of the PRSP. Since the central objective of the PRSP is to reduce poverty, evaluation would enable the assessment of the impact on poverty of interventions under the PRSP. He pointed out however, that monitoring and evaluation of the PRSP would complement already existing monitoring and evaluation instruments such as the Annual Economic Report, the Mid-Year Economic Review, and the Annual Reports of ministries and provinces.

Contributing to the presentation, Mr. Situmbeko explained that the PRSP would use an appropriate mix of intermediate and final indicators. Intermediate indicators will be the signposts indicating whether the PRSP is moving in the right direction. The final indicators will include issues such as increment in enrolment levels in education. These would take a longer period to achieve. The monitoring system would also serve as a management system in order to take corrective measures in the process of implementation.

Mr. Situmbeko identified organisations that will participate in the monitoring of PRSP as ZAMSF and other organisations, including sector ministries and provinces. Furthermore the Living Conditions Monitoring Unit at the Central Statistical Office, the University of Zambia and the Participatory Assessment Group (PAG) will continue to participate in this activity. Sector specific (macro level) monitoring would be carried out by the implementing institutions using their administrative systems, which generate most intermediate programme indicators. Other participating institutions would be NGOs, civil society, academic institutions, research centres and donors.

On the monitoring mechanism and data sources, Mr. Situmbeko reported that PRSP would use the following:
  1. The Central Statistical Office Living Conditions Survey, which produces statistics on income poverty and various living conditions indicators. This would be the core monitoring mechanism for final level indicators on poverty, welfare and access and utilisation of social services. This survey would be adapted to ensure that key indicators requiring primary survey data are collected;
  2. The CSO Post Harvest Survey (PHS) for agricultural indicators;
  3. The Demographic and Health Surveys (HS) for social indicators on health;
  4. The CSO national census and household surveys;
  5. Administrative records obtained from various sector ministries;
  6. Management Information Systems (MIS); and
  7. Participatory assessments of qualitative indicators.
In addition to the above, systems will be developed to make use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This will highlight the geographical variation in incidence rates of poverty and the PRSP relevant indicators.

Mr. Situmbeko explained that the monitoring strategy of the PRSP would be in three major levels. These will be performance, intermediate and final indicators. He pointed out that the definition of these indicators had already been done and preliminary reports were available at PEMD.

He revealed that the monitoring frequency would differ at various levels. There will be intermediate indicators, which will be monitored annually. Final indicators will be monitored at longer intervals since they take longer to change.

Mr. Situmbeko stated that the evaluation strategy would be a systematic examination of the implementation and outcomes of PRSP programmes and policies compared to the set of indicators in the sector programmes and other institutional benchmarks.

4.10.2 DISCUSSION

The participants urged the presenters to ensure that the gender dimension is always included in surveys. In reply the presenters said that mainstreaming was still going on and that once the process is complete the gender indicator will be included.

Another recommendation was the need to consider making a distinction between qualitative and quantitative indicators. The presenters revealed that both types of data would be considered in PRSP.

The participants also wanted to know how long after the launch or implementation of PRSP the monitoring process would begin. The reply was that since the finances were available, monitoring would begin immediately.

There was a question on what the baseline for the PRSP would be. The MOFNP was urged not to use old statistics. In answer it was pointed out that currently departments and organisations have certain baseline data they are using for monitoring. These would continue to be used. But PRSP may not entirely depend on old statistics even though it would start from what is already in place.

4.11 PRESENTATION ON PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE 2000 CENSUS ON POPULATION AND HOUSING BY MR. MODESTO BANDA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTRAL STATISTICAL OFFICE

4.11.1 PRESENTATION

In his presentation Mr. Banda informed the conference that the government of Zambia through the Central Statistical Office undertook the 2000 Census of Population and Housing during the months of October and November in the year 2000. He said that the main objective of undertaking the 2000 census was to enumerate all the people in Zambia in order to provide the government, private sector organisations, individuals and other stakeholders with the number of persons in each district, township, village and other specified localities. This information is provided according to age, sex and other demographic characteristics. The data generated from the census is important for inclusion in any meaningful planning and monitoring of social and economic projects undertaken by various stakeholders. He pointed out that the responsibility of undertaking the population and housing census lay with the Statistics Division. Besides the censuses, the Statistics Division, through its Population and Demography Branch undertakes Demographic and Health Surveys and Sexual Behaviour Studies. He noted that since Zambia does not have an elaborate system of collecting information on the vital events such as births, deaths and migration, census data has been used to calculate various indices of national importance.

On the preliminary census findings, Mr. Banda revealed that a population figure of 10,285,631 was obtained from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing. He noted that the figure represented a total population growth rate of 2.9% between 1990 and 2000 intercensal period. He further said that high population growth rates above 3.0% were attained in Luapula, Lusaka, Northern and North-Western Provinces. On the other hand low population growth rates of below 2.0 % were attained in the Copperbelt Province with1.3% between 1990 and 2000 intercensal period. The Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Provinces recorded population growth rates of 2.0% and 3.0 %, inclusive.

Mr. Banda said that in the collection of the Census data the Census Mapping Frame was harmonised with the electoral boundaries in order to allow for statistical information to be desegregated by ward and constituency. The process of harmonisation ensured that the demarcation of data collection areas was done within the lowest administrative region, which is the ward. The main objective of harmonising the 2000 Census area frame with electoral boundaries was to come up with a census-sampling frame that would produce data, which was more useful for targeting programmes at various administrative levels. For example such mapping would be relevant in the disbursement of constituency development funds by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to constituencies. This would ensure that the development funds brought a more meaningful impact on the lives of the people if they were tied to population size and other specific demographic features. Community based projects in health, education, water supply, energy, tourism, transport and other social sector developments taking place in various constituencies could be planned, implemented and monitored using such important data.

Mr. Banda revealed that the other important aspect that came out of the 2000 Census on Population and Housing was that some constituencies were over-populated. It was recommended that such constituencies needed delimitation if there was to be any meaningful representation in parliament for them.

4.11.2 DISCUSSION

Participants observed that in some parts of the country there was rapid population growth. They asked the presenter to explain what fraction of this growth was indigenous growth and what was due to migration. They felt that some of the growth could be attributed to the refugee problem. In response the presenter acknowledged that some provinces such as the North-Western Province have a lot of refugees. He pointed out that in some instances there was no difference between indigenous /local people and refugees. It was difficult to state at the moment whether the growth noted in some provinces, especially border line provinces was largely due to migration or to the refugee situation. This was because the census data had not yet been analysed. He expected that the differences and reasons would be detected during the analysis of the data.

Participants were also interested in knowing whether there was a difference between the population projected from the 1990 census and the actual size in 2000. They asked the presenter to provide the reasons for any difference. Mr. Banda revealed that the projected population was higher than the actual figure. He explained that projected figures are based on assumptions that might be invalid. For this reason, they were frequently too high or too low.

The Central Statistical Office had recommended in its preliminary findings from the 2000 census on population and housing that some constituencies needed delimitation. The participants wanted to know when this delimitation would be done. Mr. Banda said that delimitation is the prerogative of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Such delimitation would probably not be done during the current seating of parliament.

The conference also wanted to know the explanation for the difference in growth rates for the two major urban areas, Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces. The presenter thought that this was attributable to economic activities. The Copperbelt has all along been dependent on mining, which had been scaled down during the last decade, resulting in the closure of some mines. As a result of this, migration to the Copperbelt could have reduced with Lusaka becoming a more attractive destination due to the greater investment it was drawing.

The conference also wanted to know whether Zambia had a population policy. The answer was affirmative. However, the policy needed updating, as it was old. It had been formulated in 1989. The policy should have been revised in the 1990s but was shelved due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic’s impact on the dynamics of population.

The conference wanted to know whether there would be additional indicators in the final report of the 2000 census to cover all objectives. Mr. Banda said that there would be additional indicators.

4.12 PRESENTATION OF PAPER ON MAPPING AS A TOOL FOR POLICY ADVOCACY: AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE BY VICTOR MBUMWAE, IT/GIS EXPERT, MINISTRY OF TOURISM, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

4.12.1 PRESENTATION

In his presentation Mr. Mbumwae showed how poverty mapping could be related to the environment. He explained that poverty mapping was necessary for the following reasons:
  1. To determine policy issues;
  2. To provide a clear definition of the problem;
  3. For the integration of poverty data under GIS;
  4. To simplify communication of poverty levels; and
  5. For resource mobilisation and allocation.
Mr. Mbumwae ascribed the importance of poverty mapping to the following factors:
  1. It captures heterogeneity within a country and community;
  2. It identifies geographical factors influencing poverty;
  3. It improves the targeting of interventions and resources available;
  4. It improves communication about the poverty condition; and
  5. It helps to illustrate the poverty situation.
Mr Mbumwae next outlined the uses of information obtained about the distribution of the poor with poverty mapping:
  1. It enables us to investigate and implement the best interventions;
  2. It enables us to investigate whether the disparities in living conditions have influence on poverty;
  3. It helps in assessing whether location influences poverty;
  4. It helps in targeting resources and interventions to reach many people; and
  5. It minimises the risk that a poor person may be omitted from the intervention programme.
In addition, Mr. Mbumwae showed a demonstration of mapping using the Mufulira district of the Copperbelt.

4.12.2 DISCUSSION

It was observed that the various different demarcations of towns by ministries make it difficult for NGOs to properly direct their interventions. Answers were solicited on how these could be harmonised. In response it was noted that something needed to be done about these differences. It was suggested that political boundaries could be the best alternative as they are the most clearly defined.

The conference wondered how much time it would take for the information using poverty mapping to be established and be accessible for use. It was pointed out that it took a long time, but this did not detract from its usefulness.

The participants wanted to know whether there had been any poverty indicator developed with the mapping system. The answer was negative. The possibility of developing such an indicator existed. However, it might be difficult for just anyone to use it.


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