2022 Government of the Republic of Malawi SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS PROJECT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PLAN – UPDATED FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING - MARCH 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................ ii 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 3 2. PREVIOUS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES..................................................................... 6 3. STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 6 3.1 Affected Parties ............................................................................................................................. 7 3.2 Other Interested Parties ............................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Individuals or Groups ............................................................... 13 4. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM .................................................................................... 13 4.1 Purpose and Timing of Stakeholder Engagement Program........................................................ 13 4.2 Proposed Strategy for Information Disclosure ........................................................................... 14 4.3 Proposed Strategy for Consultation ............................................................................................ 16 4.4 Proposed Strategy to Incorporate the View of Vulnerable Groups ........................................... 17 4.5 Timelines ...................................................................................................................................... 18 4.6 Summary of Stakeholder engagements to date ........................................................................... 18 4.7 Review of Comments ..................................................................................................................... 19 4.8 Future Phases of Project .............................................................................................................. 19 5. RESOURCES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR IMPLEMENTING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ...................................................................................................................... 19 5.1 Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Management Functions and Responsibilities ............................................................................. 20 6. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM (GRM) ................................................................................... 21 6.1 Institutional Setup of the GRM for SSRLP ..................................................................................... 22 6.2 Grievance Redress Procedure ...................................................................................................... 23 6.3 Key Activities in the Grievance Redress Process ......................................................................... 26 6.3.1 Complaints Uptake ................................................................................................................... 26 6.3.2 Case Assessment, Analysis and Response .................................................................................. 26 6.3.3 Case Resolution and Closure .................................................................................................... 27 6.3.4 GRM Registry and Reporting .................................................................................................... 27 6.3.5 GRM Monitoring and Evaluation.............................................................................................. 27 7. SEP MONITORING AND REPORTING ............................................................................................. 27 7.1 SEP PERFOMANCE MONITORING INDICATORS ............................................................................ 28 8. LANGUAGE .................................................................................................................................... 28 9. CONSULTATIONS UNDERTAKEN TO DATE .................................................................................... 28 ANNEXES ........................................................................................................................................... 29 ANNEX 1: COMMUNITY GRIEVANCE LOG & RESOLUTION FORM ................................ 29 ANNEX 2: AREA GRM LOGBOOK ............................................................................................... 31 ii ANNEX 3 : DISTRICT GRM LOGBOOK ..................................................................................... 33 ANNEX 4 : DISTRICT GRM REGISTER ..................................................................................... 35 ANNEX 5: SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND ISSUES FROM FIELD STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS ..................................................................................................... 37 iii LIST OF ACRONYMS ADC : Area Development Committee CMC : Catchment Management Committee COMSIP : Community Savings and Investment Promotion DESC : District Environmental Sub-Committee DSSC : District Social Support Committee DTT : District Training Team EAD : Environmental Affairs Department EPWP : Enhanced Public Works Programme MoA : Ministry of Agriculture MGCDSW : Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare MFEEA : Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs MLYMD : Ministry of Labour Youth and Manpower Development MNREM : Ministry of Natural Resources energy and Mining MASAF : Malawi Social Action Fund SSRLP : Malawi Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project SSRLP AF ; Social Support for Resilient livelihoods Project Additional Financing NGO : Non-Governmental Organisation NLGFC : National Local Government Finance Committee SCTP : Social Cash Transfer Program UBR : Unified Beneficiary Register VDC : Village Development Committee ii 1. INTRODUCTION The Government of Malawi is implementing the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project with a US$142 million grant from the World Bank. The SSRLP is for five (5) years and runs from 2020 to 2025. Development Objective of SSRLP is to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable populations and strengthen the national platform for safety nets. The project supports the Malawi National Social Support Program II and it is entirely devised around the MNSSPII strategy and Implementation Plan, reflecting strong government ownership. The SSRLP has three main components: (1) Improving Social and Economic Inclusion: The Improving Social and Economic Inclusion component will have two subcomponents: (a) Enhanced Core Programs and (b) Financing Scalable Safety Nets. The Enhanced Core Programs subcomponent will focus on the consolidation of an appropriate package of support for beneficiary households with a mix of program interventions, including social cash transfers (SCT), livelihoods support, and enhanced public works (EPW) as well as an option for scalable financing in times of crisis. (2) Strengthening Harmonized Delivery Systems: Under strengthening harmonized delivery systems component, the project will establish systems that will promote harmonization within the social safety net sector and potentially link to other sectors to improve effectiveness of delivery. Such systems will include an institutionalized national social registry (Unified Beneficiary Registry), electronic payment and citizen’s engagement and social accountability including grievance redress (3) Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening Support: The capacity building and institutional strengthening support component will support the enactment Tof the MNSSP II, the setting up of the necessary institutional structure for its implementation, as well as the general management and evaluation of the SSRLP. The Government of Malawi has applied for Additional Financing (AF) from the International Development Association to cover the financing gap as well as scale up coverage of core components of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP. Project Development Objective of SSRLP Additional Financing remains “to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable populations and strengthen the national platform for safety nets�. The indicative budget for the additional financing is US$175 million and these resources are expected to be utilized from 2022 to 2025. The specific objectives, areas of focus, and breakdown of resource allocations for the SSRLP Additional Financing are as follows: (1) Covering the existing financing gap in SCTP: The AF is expected to fully cover the gap in Subcomponent 1.1: Enhanced Core Programs, and specifically in its activity 1.1.1: Social Cash Transfer Program. This activity originally received US$59 million equivalent from the IDA grant, had a US$41 million original gap plus another US$10.5 million spent for Covid 19 Urban Cash Intervention (CUCI) that was not included in the original project design. This gap was recently reassessed by GoM to be US$34.5 million, which is the amount needed to cover the SCTP in 11 districts covered by the World Bank until the project closing. Therefore, US$35 million from the AF has been 3 earmarked for the SCTP to fill the program’s financing gap in full. (2) Scaling up EPWP to mitigate the risk of ex-AIP beneficiaries falling into deeper poverty: This is to address the risk of transitioning Affordable Input Program (AIP) beneficiaries falling into even deeper poverty. Thus the Enhanced Public Works Program/ Climate Smart Public Works Program (EPWP/CSPWP) is expected to be expanded over the 35,000 beneficiaries covered by the original financing to ensure comprehensive and efficient social safety net packages for different profiles of poor beneficiaries, and to establish pathways to graduation. The EPWP, which currently has US$20 million allocated under the original IDA, will be topped up with another US$108 million. During the predecessor MASAF IV project the regular public works intervention was drastically reduced and then discontinued until an enhanced program was designed, piloted and evaluated. Under the AF, the EPWP will reach out to . 400,000 beneficiaries who will work for 6 months per year for two years in all the 28 district councils. These would be households transitioning from the AIP. For comparison, it should be noted that the traditional MASAF IV public works program used to reach regularly around 450,000 beneficiaries per operational cycle, and at times of emergencies this number surpassed 900,000. In terms of design of the EPWP, the Government of Malawi will continue with the Catchment Management approach where focus of the public works is on catchment rehabilitation and restoration activities such as afforestation, forest regeneration, soil and water conservation technologies, river bank protection and disaster risk reduction measures. (3) Scaling up Livelihoods Support to ensure success of the SCTP and EPWP and provide a path to graduation: The Livelihoods Support would be allocated US$13 million from the AF to allow the inclusion of more of the SCTP and EPWP beneficiaries in graduation and skills programs. This program has proven very effective in providing a sustainable pathway out of poverty for the beneficiaries of the other core programs. It is a necessary element of the effectiveness of the core programs package. (4) Increasing the IDA allocation for the Scalable Social Safety Nets subcomponent: The Scalable Social Safety Nets will receive an additional US$10 million from the AF. This will expand the coverage from the scalable mechanism from three to six districts for the next two agricultural seasons. The additional funding will be used to increase the contingent financing instrument, complimenting the US$10 million premium financing provided by GRIF, which will be procured across all six districts under scalable safety nets. Adding additional resources to the contingent finance instrument will allow flexibility to respond to shocks that don’t meet the insurance payout trigger. (5) Ensuring proper systems building and project management: Finally, US$5 million will be allocated to Component 2: Strengthening Harmonized Delivery Systems, to expand the use of e-payments for all core safety nets activities table; and US$4 million will be added for capacity building, project management, and operational costs for the expanded core programs 4 Table 1: Summary allocation of the AF by components/activity Component Original amount AF amount (IDA) Purpose Subcomponent (IDA/RETF) (400,000 EPWP Activity beneficiaries working 6 months per year) Subcomponent 1.1: US$59 million equivalent US$35.0 million Filling in a financing gap Enhanced Core Programs, IDA grant and US$41 equivalent IDA Details: 147,000 beneficiaries activity 1.1.1: Social Cash million financing gap grant/credit in 11 districts receiving social Transfer Program cash transfer payments for (SCTP) the whole duration of the project Subcomponent 1.1: US$20 million equivalent US$108.0 million Scaling up Enhanced Core Programs, IDA grant equivalent IDA Details: activity 1.1.2: Enhanced grant/credit 400,000 transitioning Climate Smart Public beneficiaries from the AIP, in Works Program (EPWP) 28 districts working for 6 months per year, for a period of 2 years Subcomponent 1.1: US$20 million equivalent US$13.0 million Scaling up Enhanced Core Programs, IDA grant equivalent IDA Pilot Graduation program for activity 1.1.3: Livelihoods grant/credit 1000 SCTP beneficiaries; Support (Social and complementary livelihood Economic Inclusion) support for groups of beneficiaries of SCTP and EPWP. Subcomponent US$27 million equivalent US$10.0 million Scaling up 1.2: Financing Scalable of which US$10 million equivalent IDA Increasing the available Safety Nets equivalent IDA grant and grant/credit financing to cover additional US$17 million GRiF beneficiaries in three new Trust Fund districts Component US$11 million equivalent US$5.0 million Scaling up 2: Strengthening IDA grant equivalent IDA Migrating the payment Harmonized Delivery grant/credit system to e-payment for the Systems, Subcomponent delivery of both SCT and EPWP programs , and delivering safety nets benefits to beneficiaries for a period of 3.5 years, including targeting of scaled-up EPWP program; Component 3: Capacity US$5 million equivalent US$4.0 million Scaling up Building and Institutional IDA grant equivalent IDA Providing sufficient financing Strengthening Support grant/credit to manage expanded core programs Component 4: Contingent US$0 Emergency Response (CERC) TOTAL US$142.0 US$175.0 million million (US$125.0 million IDA and US$17.0 million GRiF) From the description above, It is clear that the additional Financing will not lead to introduction of new activities into the SSRLP but will just support the expansion of the existing activities 5 within the project components. The AF will therefore utilize the same Stakeholder Engagement Plan which was developed for the initial financing of the SSRLP AF with minor updates. SSRLP is a multifaceted project which involves different individuals, groups and institutions who are expected to play key roles at national, district and community levels to achieve the objectives of the project. In achieving the goals of the project there may also be stakeholders whose interests may be affected by the activities of the project either positively or negatively. A clear understanding of the nature, interest and concerns of such role players will be crucial for effective design and delivery of project interventions. This Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) seeks to contribute to a coordinated and continued engagement of relevant role players as well as affected persons and interested parties throughout the project cycle of the SSRLP AF. The purpose of the SEP is to present a strategy for engaging stakeholders of the project to ensure that they understand the project and are able to provide feedback and input into the project. This SEP describes the nature of anticipated stakeholders as well as their information requirements, timing and methods of engagement throughout the lifecycle of the SSRL project. The development of the SEP has been guided by requirements of the World Bank’s environmental and social standard 10 (ESS 10) on stakeholder engagement and information disclosure. The standard stresses that the nature and level of stakeholder engagement should be commensurate with the level of the risk and impact anticipated in the project. The Environmental and Social risks of the SSRLP are expected to be moderate. The Project is expected to generate positive results for the poor and vulnerable populations in Malawi through the provision of a social safety net. As the project components are being developed, it is clear that the project is likely to include a relatively small portion of funds that would be directed to public works elements (which were significantly larger in previous projects such as MASAF IV and were regarded to be higher risk in terms of World Bank safeguards). However, the public works element remaining in the project design will still have the potential for risk and impact, which have to be screened and addressed accordingly. 2. PREVIOUS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES The additional financing for Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project builds on the foundation laid down by MASAF IV and the parent SSRLP interventions. As such it will benefit from the consultations that were undertaken during the preparation and implementation of the parent SSRLP and the MASAF IV. 3. STAKEHOLDER IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS The interventions under the SSRLP are expected to reach out to approximately to 622,0001 households with core safety net programs of social cash transfers, enhanced livelihood support packages and public works. The design and delivery of each of these core programs will involve several supporting partners led and coordinated by the government of Malawi through relevant ministries, departments and agencies. The social cash transfer program is seen as an anchor program for the SSRLP and as such implementation of the some project activities will initially 1 This is an estimated working figure which includes 35,000 and 400,000 beneficiaries from the EPWP under the original and additional financing respectively; 147000 beneficiaries from SCTP and about 40,000 from Scalable Safety Nets Component. 6 start in the 11 districts that are being supported by the World Bank and thereafter extended to the remaining districts. The eleven districts whose SCTP is funded by the World Bank include Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhatabay, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Lilongwe, Dowa, Dedza, Blantyre and Chiradzulu. SSRLP will build on existing decentralised implementation structures and arrangements built under MASAF IV with strong reforms. The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) will be the main implementing agency for the SSRLP AF, working in close cooperation with several key implementing partners, including Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ministry of Lands, Community Savings and Investment Promotion Cooperative Union, and Local Authorities. Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, jointly with NLGFC, will implement the SCTP to be funded under the proposed project in 11 districts. For the Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP), NLGFC will work with the existing Technical Task Force for EPWP involving several line ministries. The livelihood and skills development activities will continue to be implemented with the participation of existing structures, including Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Civic Education, Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP), with NLGFC support. At the district level, project activities will be managed by the offices of the district commissioners. The district commissioners will oversee all activities related to SCTP and EPWP and will provide support to the implementation of the livelihoods and economic inclusion. At community level, the implementation process for the variety of SSRLP AF activities will be led by the Community Social Support Committee (CSSC) within the Village Development Committee (VDC). 3.1 Affected Parties In this Project, the beneficiaries and the communities who are expected to be targeted by the interventions will constitute the project affected parties. The core safety net programs of SSRLP AF will mostly target the members of the ultra-poor and vulnerable households in selected communities with an aim of providing consumption support and where possible some livelihood development opportunities to lift them out of poverty. There will be some slight variations within the target groups from one safety net program to another depending on the objectives of the respective program. For instance, SCTP will target the ultra-poor and labour constrained households while the enhanced public works will target the ultra-poor households with labour capacity. Livelihood interventions will target ultra-poor households who voluntarily express their interest to participate regardless of their labour capacity status. Ultra- poor households have on average 1 meal per day and/or their survival depends on begging and/or are undernourished and/or do not have valuable possessions/assets and/or receive no external help such as money, food and gifts. Labour-constrained means the household has no member between 19-64 years fit for work and/or, household has a dependency ratio of more than 3, school going members in the age bracket 19 – 25 years. The environmental and social risks of the activities of SSRLP AF are generally expected to be moderate because of the nature of activities that have been incorporated in the project design. A lot of lessons from the challenges encountered in MASAF series of programs have been built in to keep the potential risks from the project as low as reasonably achievable. The main one being the proposed reduction in scale of the public works component in the project as well as 7 reformed approach in its delivery. The vulnerable groups that are being targeted by the project interventions will however still be adequately engaged in order to ensure that their views regarding the project are taken on board for enhancement of project benefits. The nature of this project and the level of anticipated risks project does not warrant special methods of engagement other than those that are normally used. 3.2 Other Interested Parties Other interested interest parties include various individuals, institutions and organisations that will be directly involved in the delivery of the project from National, district to community level. At national level there will be the NLGFC as a coordinating institution and government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as described under 3.0. At district level, the District Commissioners of the target districts, Members of the council, the executive committee and its sub-committees and nongovernmental organisations working in such districts will be direct interested parties. The traditional leaders, area and village development committees and their subcommittees and community volunteers constitute some of the direct interested parties at community level. On the other hand, the Development Partners at national level, representatives of NGOs at district and community level, religious groups and their leaders and communities in areas where the project will be implemented are some of other interested parties. Table 1 highlights the various stakeholders for SSRLP AF by project component at National, District and Community Level. Table 2 provides a description of each of the key national, district and community level stakeholders including their roles and interests. Table 1: List of SSRLP AF stakeholders at National, District and Community level according to project components and subcomponents Project Component Stakeholders at National, District and Community Level Component Sub-component National level District level Community Description level Component 1: Social Cash - Social Support steering District Council Targeted Improving Social Transfers committee DEC beneficiary and Economic Program - Social Support DSSC households and Inclusion (SCTP) technical committee NGOs communities, - MFEPD ADCs, VDCs Sub-component - MGCDSW/SCTP CSSCs, 1.1. Enhanced - NLGFC Traditional and - Development Partners religious leaders Core Programs (World Bank, EU, DFID, GiZ, Irish Aid, KfW, UNICEF) Enhanced - MFEPD - District Targeted Public Works - NLGFC Council beneficiary (EPWP) - MENRM Members households and - MAIWD - DEC communities, - MLGRD - DESC ADCs, VDCs - MCECCD CSSCs, - MLUPD Traditional and - GIZ religious leaders - World Bank Livelihoods - COMSIP - District Targeted Support - NLGFC Council beneficiary Members households and 8 Project Component Stakeholders at National, District and Community Level - National Savings and - DEC communities, Loans Group Technical - DESC ADCs, DCs Working Group - DCDO and CSSCs, - MLYMD CDAs Traditional and COMSIP religious facilitators leaders, (Nutrition and ESS promoters), aggregators and book keepers Sub-component Financing - MFEPD -District Council Targeted 1.2. Financing Scalable Safety - DoDMA Members beneficiary Scalable Safety Nets - MGCDSW/SCTP - DEC households and Nets - NLGFC - DSSC communities, - Development Partners - DESC ADCs, DCs (World Bank, EU, CSSCs, DFID, GiZ, Irish Aid, Traditional and KfW, UNICEF) religious leaders Component 2: Sub-component - NLGFC District Council Targeted Strengthening 2.1. Social - MGCDSW/SCTP Members beneficiary Harmonized Registry - MoFEA - DEC households and Delivery Systems - UBR Team - DSSC communities, - NRB - DESC ADCs, DCs - NRB CSSCs, Traditional and religious leaders Sub-component - NLGFC District Council Targeted 2.2. E-payments - MoFEA Members beneficiary - Service Providers - DEC households and (including commercial - DSSC communities, banks, security and - DESC ADCs, DCs logistics firms, mobile - service provider CSSCs, money networks) reps Traditional and - Development Partners religious leaders Sub-component - NLGFC District Council Targeted 2.3. Citizens’ - MGCDSW Members beneficiary Engagement - Media houses - DEC households and - Development partners - DSSC communities, - Civil Society - DESC ADCs, DCs organisations - DGRM CSSCs, committees Traditional and - religious leaders Component 3: Capacity - NLGFC - DEC Targeted Capacity Building Building and - Government MDAs - DSSC beneficiary and Institutional Institutional - Training institutions - DESC households and Strengthening Strengthening (local and international) -DGRM communities, Support Support - Development partners Committees ADCs, DCs CSSCs, Traditional and religious leaders Table 2: Description of Stakeholders and their roles, interests and needs Description of Stakeholder Expected Role Information needs and interests A. Community Level 1 Targeted Project Beneficiaries Contribute to the design Information on of the project in order to program 9 - These will be ultra-poor and vulnerable maximize the benefits adjustments, households identified through the UBR and open from the project Payment schedules, community validation process interventions Contact details of program focal persons, program enrolment figures 2 Members of Project target communities Support the Information on - These will be members of the communities from development and program which beneficiaries of the -project will be implementation of the adjustments, identified project Payment schedules, Contact details of program focal persons, program enrolment figures 3 Local leaders Support implementation Involvement in - These may be traditional, religious or political of programs program leaders (including ward councillors and Members implementation of parliament) who have influence in the communities where the project will be implemented 4 Development committee members Support the Project - These are members of Area Development development and implementation Committees (ADCS) which are operational at implementation of the work plans and traditional Authority (TA) level and Village project progress reports Development Committees (VDCs) which are operational at Group Village Head level. This also includes members of the various relevant sub- committees of the VDC which are operational at this level. 5 Community Extension Workers Facilitate delivery of Project - These are staff of government departments and project interventions to implementation agencies who work directly with communities and communities work plans and act as a link with district officials involved in the progress reports project. These include community development Assistants (CDAs), Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs), Agricultural Extension Development Officers (AEDOs), Forestry Assistants (FAs), and COMSIP volunteers. B. District Level 1 District Council and Its subcommittees It’s a decision making Project - This is a political arm of government at district body on all development implementation level and is constituted by elected councillors and matters taking place in work plans and members of parliament from the district. It also the districts progress reports includes Traditional Authorities who however do not have do not have voting rights. The Council is chaired by Chairperson elected from among the councillors. The District Commissioner serves as secretary to the council. 2 The District Executive Committee and its Sub- Provide technical Project committees guidance on all implementation - This is the technical arm of the government at development matters work plans and district level and is comprised of heads taking place in the progress reports government departments, Representatives of district NGOs and service providers working in the district, and representatives of interest groups. It is chaired by the district commissioner. The committee has several thematic sub-committees focusing on areas such as agriculture, health, environmental and natural resources, monitoring and evaluation, education, training and capacity building and social support. 10 C. National Level C1 National Level Committees 1 Social Support steering committee Policy oversight Program updates - Chaired by the Chief Secretary and challenges requiring attention 2 Social Support technical committee Direction, guidance on Program updates - Chaired by Permanent secretary for EP&D implementation and challenges requiring attention 3 National Savings and Loans Group Technical Program updates Working Group and challenges - requiring attention 4 Parliamentary Committee on social support Inform, guide and lobby Program updates - Committee of parliament comprising of elected the National Assembly and challenges members of parliament on national policies, requiring attention legislation and development projects related to the social support sector C2 Government Ministries Departments and Agencies 1 National Local Government Finance Committee Implementing agent District reports and (NLGFC) -manage MIS requirements - NLGFC is a funding agency of the Malawi -Develop Government through which funding for implementation and development projects and other recurrent training materials transactions to district councils is channelled and -Oversee managed. implementation 2 Ministry of Financeand Welfare -Coordinator of the Financial Social Protection information from programs the project 3 Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Implementation Social Welfare Coordinate reports - This is the implementation coordination ministry implementation of of the social cash transfer program SCTP, Manage MIS for Community SCTP, develop mobilisation reports implementation and challenges for Carries the Department of Community Development materials and Oversee action which is a key player on community sensitization and implementation mobilization through their District Community Development Officers Community Development Community Assistants sensitization and mobilisation for project implementation of community development projects - 5 - Ministry of Local Government This ministry is Provide guidance on Project updates and in charge of decentralized institutions and local governance issues challenges functions that are part of the local government set affecting the project requiring action up at district and community level. 6 Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change Support planning, Information on - Hosts the Environmental affairs Department implementation and Safeguards which has a regulatory mandate on Management monitoring of of environmental and social issues associated with environmental and Projects social safeguards in the project 7 - Ministry of AgricultureMinistry responsible Provide policy and Program promotion and management of agricultural related technical guidance on implementation activities agricultural related updates 11 livelihood activities envisaged in the project 8 Ministry of Labour Provide policy direction Program and technical guidance implementation on project matters updates relating youth and Labour C3 Development Partners 1 World Bank - Provide technical Program support on project implementation design and updates implementation - Provide project funding 2 European Union - Fund SCTP Program implementation updates 3 GiZ - Technical support Program to social protection implementation updates 4 German Government Through KfW 5 Irish Aid - Fund SCTP Program - Technical support implementation to social protection updates 6 UNICEF - Technical support Program to social protection implementation updates 7 ILO - Technical support Program to social protection implementation updates C4 Non-Governmental Organisations and other - Community Based Organisations 1 Community Savings and Investment Promotion - lead the Program (COMSIP) implementation of implementation - Is an institution that was formed from within the the livelihood updates MASAF series of projects as a concept aimed at support program of promoting community development through the project mindset change, investment culture and asset creation by community based groups 2 Concern Worldwide - Share experiences Program on implementation implementation of graduation updates models 3 Save the Children - Share experiences Program on implementation implementation of e-payment updates systems 4 United Purpose - Share experiences Program on implementation implementation of cash plus updates interventions 5 Citizen Engagement, Human rights advocacy and - Support citizen Collaboration and Social Accountability CSOs such as NICE, CCJP, engagement and program CHRR etc social information updates accountability initiatives 6 Community and Faith Based Organisations - Support citizen Collaboration and engagement and program social information updates 12 accountability initiatives 3.3 Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Individuals or Groups Much as the project is largely expected to have positive impact among beneficiary members of the target communities, there is still a possibility of individuals, families and communities that might be negatively affected by activities of the program. These may come from among the beneficiaries or non-beneficiary members of the target communities. The women and children, the youth, elderly, disabled and chronically ill are often times the most vulnerable because of their limited access to information due to physical, social, cultural and structural barriers within the communities. These categories of people will be particularly targeted with adequate information to understand the nature of project activities and anticipated positive and potential negative impacts of the project. They will also be provided with information on how to access the grievance redress mechanism of the project whenever the need arises. Members of the community that are old might have mobility challenges to access venues for program activities such as meetings. There will be consideration to organize meetings within manageable distances for such people. Another envisaged challenge is high illiteracy levels in some of the target communities that will make it difficult for beneficiaries to read and understand written information pertaining to the project. Appropriate methods such as public meetings, visual media (posters, billboards, community videos), will be employed to reach out to such groups of people. Hearing challenges (due to age or birth) by some beneficiaries might require use of sign language aides in outreach and visibility tools as well as Public Address systems or megaphones, especially where the meetings attract large crowds of people. Extra effort will be undertaken to reach out to non-beneficiating members of the target communities in order to make them understand the project targeting processes and capacity limits so that they do not feel disadvantaged. 4. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM 4.1 Purpose and Timing of Stakeholder Engagement Program The purpose of the engagement program for this project is to: a. Consult stakeholders on the proposed project design, anticipated environmental and social risks and impacts, mitigation measures, the draft engagement plan and the draft environmental and social risk management instruments. b. Provide regular information and feedback to stakeholders related to project implementation progress and any other emerging issues throughout the project cycle. Table 3: Stakeholder Engagement Program No. Project Phase Engagement Objective Targeted Time Frame Activity Stakeholders 1 Project National Collect views on the Representatives of April 2019 Preparation Phase stakeholder design of the project, Government MDAS, consultations environmental and Development social risks, mitigation Partners, and NGOs measures, grievance redress mechanisms 13 No. Project Phase Engagement Objective Targeted Time Frame Activity Stakeholders and Stakeholder engagement plan District level Collect views on the Members of the April 2019 Stakeholder design of the project, District Executive consultations environmental and Committees and its social risks, mitigation Subcommittees measures, grievance redress mechanisms and Stakeholder engagement plan Community level Collect views on the Members of ADCs, April 2019 Stakeholder design of the project, VDCs, CSSCs, consultations environmental and COMSIP groups, social risks, mitigation Traditional and measures, grievance religious Leaders, redress mechanisms AECs, Ordinary and Stakeholder members of the engagement plan community including women, youths, the elderly and disabled 2 Project Project inception Provide feedback on Members of the January 2020 Implementation meetings with approved project design District Executive Phase District Councils and orient district level Committees stakeholders on their roles Community Mobilize and prepare Members of target February 2020 mobilization target communities for communities, ADCs, project implementation VDCs, traditional, religious and political leaders, development sub-committees such as CSSCs, COMSIP groups and marginalized groups Project Provide and obtain on National, district, and Ongoing at least implementation going information and community level on quarterly monitoring and support on project stakeholders basis through out supervision performance missions Project review Provide and get Selected National, Twice a year meetings with periodic feedback on District and from December selected project implementation Community level 2020 to stakeholders from progress and any stakeholders December 2025 National, District emerging issues and Community level 3 Project Close Out Project close out Engage stakeholders on Beneficiary 2025 Phase meetings project exit strategy communities and groups, national and district stakeholders 4.2 Proposed Strategy for Information Disclosure Appropriate information will be provided to stakeholders depending on the stage of the project and the identified stakeholder information needs. This will include information on the nature of the project design, the anticipated environmental and social risks and impacts, the proposed mitigation measures, the stakeholder engagement plan, grievance redress mechanisms and how 14 stakeholder views were incorporated in the project design and management of environmental and social risks. The Project will use a combination of methods to disclose information pertaining to the project in a manner that is commensurate with the nature of the identified stakeholders and environmental and social sensitivity of the project. For community level stakeholders, information will mostly be disclosed through public meetings organized within the communities. Deliberate efforts will be made to ensure that vulnerable groups of people such as women and children, the elderly and disabled are adequately represented and heard in such meetings. At national and district level, disclosure of information will be done through meetings with the representatives and members of relevant MDAs, committees and sub- committees. Printed and electronic copies of relevant project documents will be made available to stakeholders through appropriately designated places within reach of stakeholders. Communication to stakeholders on information disclosure programmes will be conveyed through relevant means depending on targeted audiences. Mostly, the project will use written forms of communication such as letters and electronic mails, community radio stations where available, and mobile public address system. Where possible social media platforms and groups will be created assist in information dissemination to targeted stakeholders. All these processes, platforms, and channels will be linked to the NLGFC website. Table 4 summarizes the key methods that will be used for disclosure of Project information at different stages of the Project. 15 Table 4: Methods for Disclosure of Project Information Project stage List of Methods Timetable: Target Percentage Responsibilities information proposed Locations/ stakeholders reached to be dates disclosed Project Project Design Community Selected Members of About 40% NLGFC in Preparation summary, Meetings, communities, target percent of Collaboration Stakeholder Events, and April– communities target with District Engagement gatherings September in target audience Councils Plan, 2019 and districts Environmental After Bank and Social Approval Commitment Plan, Grievance Redress Mechanism setup Community After Bank Community 60% of Project and National Approval members in target preparation Radio stations target audience team members Billboards, districts banners, leaflets, Make available April– National and 95 % of NLGFC printed and September District level target electronic 2019 and stake holders stakeholders copies at After Bank National, and Approval District level focal offices as well as online portals Project Project Review Annually Stakeholder 100 % of NLGFC implementation Progress Meetings throughout representative target Reports the project at national, stakeholders Community life span district and radios, national community radios, level billboards, banners, newspaper placements, freebies etc 4.3 Proposed Strategy for Consultation The Project will mostly employ interviews, focus group discussions, open meetings, and workshops as a means of carrying out consultations. These will be done right in the target districts and communities to enable easy participation of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups of people. Table 5 summarises the key consultations that will be undertaken. 16 Table 5: Summary of Key Consultations and Methods to be used Project stage Topic of Method used Timetable: Target stakeholders Responsibilities consultation Location and dates Project Project design Workshop with Kumbali Lodge, Representatives of Malawi Preparation elements target 24 March -2nd Government MDAS, Government stakeholders April, 2019 Development Project Partners, and NGOs Preparation Team and World Bank Project preparation team Project design, Meetings with Six District Members of DSSC, NLGFC in Environmental District Social Councils (two collaboration and Social Support from each with Safeguards Risks, Committees and region) from Task team Mitigation District 22nd to 26th Measures, GRM Environmental April, 2019 and Stakeholder Sub-Committees Engagement Plan Project design, Community Selected Representative NLGFC in Environmental Meetings and communities in Members of ADC, collaboration and Social focus group six project target VDC, CSSC, with Safeguards Risks, discussions Districts GRMCs, VNRMCs, Task team Mitigation Councils (two COMSIP Groups, Measures, GRM from each Disabled people, and Stakeholder region) from SCTP and PWP Engagement 22nd to 26th beneficiaries, Plan April, 2019 religious leaders, political leaders, Project Project Community Project target Representative District Councils Implementation implementation Meetings communities, Members of ADC, with support Progress Review Quarterly VDC, CSSC, from central level meetings throughout GRMCs, VNRMCs, stakeholders project life span COMSIP Groups, Media Bi- Disabled people, annually, SCTP and PWP including beneficiaries, quarterly media religious leaders, tours political leaders, Project phase Exit strategy Community Project target Representative District councils out preparation Meetings communities, Members of ADC, with support of Final year of the VDC, CSSC, National Project project GRMCs, VNRMCs, coordination COMSIP Groups, team Disabled people, SCTP and PWP beneficiaries, religious leaders, political leaders, 4.4 Proposed Strategy to Incorporate the View of Vulnerable Groups Appropriate and clear methods of communication will be used to inform in a timely manner, all participants about the meetings. This will include invitation letters where possible, stipulating the type and number of community stakeholder groups expected to come to the meetings. Where possible and necessary, separate consultations will be done with select interest groups during community meetings. The community meetings will be properly 17 facilitated using a pre-designed discussion guide which will carry specific questions targeting vulnerable groups. Well experienced moderators will be used to conduct community meetings to ensure equitable participation and contribution of marginalized groups. The facilitating teams will have skilled note takers who will record the deliberations verbatim with the aid of voice recorders. Consent (verbal) or and otherwise, will be sought from meeting participants before recorders are used in recording of proceedings. After completion of consultations, the field notes and transcriptions will be consolidated, analysed and key issues incorporated into the relevant project documents. 4.5 Timelines Table 6: SSRLP- AF Project Phase Timeline Activity Project Bank Bank Project Project Project Preparation Appraisal Decision Implementation Implementation Phase out Preparation Timeline September February May 2022 July 2022 - Oct November 2025 2021- 2022 - 2022 2022 December March, 2021 2022 4.6 Summary of Stakeholder engagements to date As already mentioned before, the SSRLP AF stands to benefit from the stakeholder engagement experiences from the parent SSRLP and the EPWP under the MASAF IV. To date a number of opportunities have been utilised for engagement with stakeholders at national, district and community level. National level stakeholders have largely been engaged through annual program reviews, planning and budgeting sessions undertaken at least once every year. Through the reviews key stakeholders were being brought together to share experiences and feedback for improvement of program delivery. Furthermore, several program coordination meetings were being arranged as and when required by specific programs within the project such as SCT, EPWP, E-Payment, Livelihoods, and CUCI to discuss and review program related issues. The implementation support missions undertaken since the effectiveness of the SSRLP also helped to provide additional platforms for periodic engagement with key central level stakeholders. The annual program reviews, planning and budgeting sessions did not only serve national level stakeholders. They also facilitated engagement with district level stakeholders who were made to be part of the sessions and brought valuable feedback from the ground in their respective localities. Periodic program monitoring and supervision exercises undertaken to the local authorities also availed opportunities for further engagement with district level stakeholders. Case management visits and field level monitoring and supervision visits to communities, for example, during pay parades provided direct interaction and instant feedback collection and provision opportunities with community level stakeholders including beneficiaries. Such mechanism have proven effective as they ensure direct and speedy delivery of feedback to influential entities key policy holders at national level. For instance, current considerations for possible upward adjustment of transfer levels for CSPWP in the AF is as a result of such direct interactions with beneficiaries who could raise their concerns and feedback directly to policy holders. This is in addition to those concerns channelled through the formal GRM structures. 18 4.7 Review of Comments Upon disclosure of project information, provision will be made for secure portals where the general public and concerned stakeholders may submit their comments, observations and questions regarding the project. Considering the moderate degree of environmental and social risks that are anticipated in this project, these will mostly constitute lockable boxes where written comments regarding the project will be deposited. For information disclosed through meetings, instant feedback will be collected through designated rapporteurs who will be available during the meetings. Participating stakeholders will also be given freedom to take their own minutes of the proceedings and share a copy with the rapporteurs. Comment boxes will also be placed in designated places within the communities for use by community members to submit views and reactions after information disclosure meetings. After the deadline for submission is passed comment boxes will be collected from the sites for consolidation, analysis and inclusion into the project documents. A summary of how comments were taken into account will be made and shared with the stakeholders through project implementation inception meetings once the final decision on the project is made by the Bank. 4.8 Future Phases of Project This stakeholder engagement plan has established a continuous stakeholder engagement program for the project to ensure that stakeholders are kept informed throughout the project phases. The stakeholder engagement program includes annual project review meetings, quarterly community interface meetings, and regular project monitoring and supervision visits. These platforms will provide avenues for exchange of information between project implementers and other stakeholders regarding the progress of the project and issues related to management of environmental and social risks including the grievance redress mechanism. 5. RESOURCES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR IMPLEMENTING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 5.1 Resources The Project has allocated an indicative amount of funds amounting to US$1 Million (about MK730, Million) to facilitate citizen engagement activities including stakeholder engagement and grievance redress mechanism for the entire project period of five years. Table 7 provides estimated budget for key stake holder engagement activities. Table 7: Budget Estimate for Stakeholder Engagement Activities No. Project Engagement Objective Targeted Stakeholders Budget Phase Activity (MK) 1 Project Project Provide feedback on Members of the District 26,500,000 Implementati inception approved project design Executive Committees on Phase meetings with and orient district level District stakeholders on their roles Councils Community Mobilize and prepare Members of target 60,000,000 mobilization target communities for communities, ADCs, project implementation VDCs, traditional, religious and political leaders, development sub- 19 No. Project Engagement Objective Targeted Stakeholders Budget Phase Activity (MK) committees such as CSSCs, COMSIP groups and marginalized groups Roll out and Provide a systematic way Project Affected People at 250,000,000. Manage the of receiving, recording community, District and Grievance and resolving grievances National levels Redress from Project Affected Mechanism Persons (PAPs) Project Provide and obtain on National, district, and 135,700,000 implementation going information and community level monitoring and support on project stakeholders supervision performance missions Project review Provide and get periodic Selected National, District 85,000,000 meetings with feedback on project and Community level selected implementation progress stakeholders stakeholders and any emerging issues from National, District and Community level 2 Project Close Project close Engage stakeholders on Beneficiary communities 20,940,253 Out Phase out meetings project exit strategy and groups, national and district stakeholders 3 Project Communication Engage beneficiaries and Communities, district and 55,000,000 Implementati and Information implementers and national level stakeholders on Phase – visibility and document progress. documentation Disseminate to achieve visibility through systematic outreach activities 5.2 Management Functions and Responsibilities The Stakeholder Engagement activities will form part of the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP). This is a tool which will commit Management to ensuring that planned activities are implemented and form part of project approval documents which will be monitored by the World Bank. The monitoring and evaluation framework for the project will also have indicators on the ESCP whose implementation progress will be tracked and reported accordingly. ESCP Implementation progress report will be periodically produced and shared with stakeholders for review, deliberation and action. The implementation arrangement for the project is piggy backed on the decentralized government structures at District and Community level. As such, stakeholder engagement activities at community level will mostly be done by extension workers who will be supported by the district project coordinating teams comprising of representatives of relevant departments at district council level. At national level, the Implementation of the SEP will be coordinated by NLGFC in collaboration with members of the project preparation team. The project preparation team is comprised of qualified and experienced people drawn from various relevant ministries that have a stake in the PNSS project. These include the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ministry of Lands, Community Savings and Investment Promotion Cooperative Union, and Local 20 Authorities. The National Local Government Finance Committee will facilitate the implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan. Overall management responsibility for implementing the SEP will rest with the Executive Director of the National Local Government Finance Committee. The contact details for the Executive Director are as follows: The Executive Director National Local Government Finance committee Red Cross House, Area 14 Private Bag 352, Lilongwe 3, MALAWI Phone: +265 1775 666 E-mail: nlgfc@nlgfc.gov.mw 6. GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM (GRM) The SSRLP is a multifaceted project having multiple interventions which are mostly expected to have positive impacts in the target communities and the country at large. While considerable effort and forethought has been made to include safeguards in the design and implementation of the project in order to minimize and prevent potential adverse impacts from the project, there is always a possibility that interests of some individuals, groups and institutions may still be negatively affected by activities of the project. It is therefore expected that such instances may generate complaints from individuals, groups and institutions that may be affected. As such, provision of a mechanism for receiving, recording and resolving potential concerns and complaints that may arise from Project affected persons is necessary. Such a mechanism would assist to provide early remedies to grievances so as to avoid unnecessary project implementation delays and obstructions. The Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project Additional Financing will strengthen the Grievance Redress Mechanism that was established under MASAF IV. The Grievance Redress and Management Committees which were established at Village, Area, and District Level will be reorganized and adequately capacitated. The GRM will also be extended to the national level and be expanded to handle all types of grievances arising from implementation of all the programs under the SSRLP including work related grievances. Typical grievances that are anticipated from the implementation of SSRLP Programs include claims and complaints about cash transfers, poor service delivery including delays, unfair treatment by program staff, lack of information, restrictions on land use, loss of property, disruption of access paths, corrupt practices, Human rights violations, child labor, gender based violence and sexual exploitation and abuse. Legitimacy, Accessibility, Predictability, Fairness, Rights Compatibility, Transparency and Capability are the key tenets that will underpin the grievance redress mechanism2 for the Malawi Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project. 2 World Bank. 2014. The World Bank's Approach to Grievance Redress in Projects. Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/20119 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO. 21 6.1 Institutional Setup of the GRM for SSRLP The GRM for the SSRLP provides for negotiation and agreement by consensus between the community and affected persons as the first avenue to resolve grievances expressed by the people affected by the project. This is because the implementation of sub projects will be community driven and resolution at the earliest point possible would make the process faster and cost effective. Thus, the process of grievance redress mechanisms will initially be handled by grievance redress committees which operate within the community settings themselves. However, in events where some aggrieved parties are not satisfied by decisions made at village grievance redress and management committee (VGRMC) levels, the cases will be referred for review and re - consideration to higher level grievance redress committees at Area (Traditional Authority) (AGRMC), District (DGRMC) Levels. In cases where the grievances are not resolved at district level, the case will be referred to national level grievance redress and management committee (NGRMC). In the unlikely case that issues are not resolved at the national level the case will be referred to Court. The GRM for the SSRLP is complimentary to other existing traditional grievance redress mechanisms within the communities and the country at large. Such existing mechanisms include traditional chiefs, Courts, Police, Anti -Corruption Bureau, Human Rights bodies and Civil Society Organizations. As such communities shall be informed about the other existing mechanisms and be allowed to make use of them when and where ever they find it necessary. This would also assist in creating alternative space for PAPs who would otherwise not be able to voice out their concerns through the main GRM structure for fear of reprisals despite repeated assurances of protection. The Project will therefore also identify and engage institutions that provide alternative grievance redress mechanism services in project target areas in order to create linkages that would provide necessary feedback to the Project GRM. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of grievance redress mechanism institutional set up from village level up to national level. 22 Figure 1: Institutional Arrangement for the SSRLP Grievance Redress Mechanism 6.2 Grievance Redress Procedure 1. Sub-project Committee Level. For interventions having subproject implementation committees, the GRM for the SSRLP provides for negotiation and agreement by consensus between the community subproject implementation committee and affected persons as the first avenue to resolve grievances expressed by the people affected by the project. The project in collaboration with District Councils and their extension staff shall orient all the subproject implementation committees on the GRM. The committee at this level shall record, vet and hear cases as submitted to them by PAPs. If the PAP will be satisfied with the resolution, the case will be closed. If not, the case shall be referred to the village grievance redress and management committee (VGRMC). 2. Village Level. At this level, the Village Grievance Redress and Management Committee (VGRMC) shall record, vet and hear cases as submitted to them by 23 PAPs as well as referrals from the subproject implementation committees. If the PAP will be satisfied with the resolution, the case will be closed. The Village Development Committee will be appraised on the resolution made by the VGRMC. Membership of the VGRMC will include Youth representative, elected PAPs representative (SCT, EPWP, Livelihoods), Community Based Organization /Faith Based Organization representative, women representative from groups/committees, chairperson of the VDC as an ex-officio member, representative of the community social support committee, and member of the area land management committee. 3. Area or Traditional Authority (TA) Level. If cases at the VGRMC are not closed, the grievances shall be referred to the Area Grievance Redress Management Committee (AGRMC). The PAP shall be communicated that his/her issue was referred to the upper committee for hearing. The AGRMC shall receive and record the cases as referred to them by VGRMC. This committee shall hear the case from the PAP and review the decision made by VGRMC. If the PAP will be satisfied with the decision, the case will be closed. The ADC will be appraised on the decision made by the AGRMC. Membership of the AGRMC shall include chairperson of VGRMC specific to the area where grievance has come from, Faith Based Organization representative, women representative (from groups or committees), NGO representative doing related work and working in that particular TA, Chairperson of Area Executive Committee (AEC), Chairperson of Area Development Committee (ADC), Lands clerk and Chairperson of the Youth Network of the area. 4. District Level. In the event that the case was not closed at AGRMC, the case will be referred to the District Grievance Redress and Management Committee. The DGRMC shall invite the affected person to hear the case and also review the decisions made earlier by the two lower committees. If the PAP shall accept the resolution made, the case shall therefore be closed at this level. The ADC will be appraised on the outcome of the hearing by AGRMC. Membership of the DGRMC will include the Director of Planning and Development (DPD), District Gender Officer, District Social Welfare Officer, District Labour Officer, Director of Administration (DoA), District Community Development Officer (DCDO), District Labour Officer (DLO), Judiciary Representative, Victim Support Unit Representative, District NGO Network Representative, and Technical Specialist to be co-opted depending on the issue. 5. National Level. In the event that the case was not closed at DGRMC, the case will be referred to the NGRMC. The NGRMC shall invite the affected person to hear the case and also review the decisions made earlier by the three lower committees. Where need be, the NGRMC shall liaise with Project Steering Committee (PSC) so that a resolution should be made for the case at hand. If the PAP shall accept the resolution made, the case shall therefore be closed at this level. Membership of the NGRMC will include representatives of the key collaborating institutions of the SSRLP. 24 6. Court Option. Where the case was not closed at national level, the PAP shall be advised to seek justice from the Court of Law and the decision made by the Court of Law shall be final 7. Criminal and Other Special Cases. All cases recorded by the GRM that are found to be criminal in nature shall immediately be reported to the police. Communities will also be sensitized to report criminal cases directly to the police. Furthermore, the project will sensitise communities to make use of the existing Tipp-offs anonymous facility established under MASAF IV program to report suspected cases of fraud to the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The contact details of the facility are as follows: Ground Telephone (MTL): Dial 80000 847 Cell Phone (TNM/Airtel): Dial 847 E-mail: reportssqm@tip-offs.com Postal Address: Box 1726, Blantyre 8. Gender Based Violence Cases Since Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse cases are substantively different from other complaints that are typically handled through the grievance redress mechanisms, their information will be handled in a special way within the GRM to ensure that the information is confidential. The GRM committees will be oriented on how to approach survivors and make referrals of such PAPs to a safe and ethical GBV service provider in the area. Options for handling GBV/SEA cases shall include:  A criminal case can be instigated or the PAP can report directly to community based victim support unit, police victim support unit or One Stop Centre.  If reported to a committee member, the case should be referred to a community based victim support unit, police victim support unit or One Stop Centre  Other referral points are health centres, child protection extension or community development assistant (CDA).  Reporting can also be done through other GBV and child protection platforms (like the national toll free line 116). Principles to be followed when handling GBV/SEA cases include:  The victim should be treated with respect and dignity and should be given adequate referral information.  With the victim’s consent, the committee member can accompany the PAP to the referral point.  The victim should be assured of confidentiality and the name of the victim should not be recorded on the GRM Form. However, if given consent the committee member will collect all the information on the perpetrator for redress 25 6.3 Key Activities in the Grievance Redress Process The GRM process for SSRLP will consist of five key activities which will be performed in managing the grievances for the project. These key activities include: (i) Complaint uptake (ii) Complaint assessment, analysis and response (iii) Resolution and closure (iv) Registry and monitoring (v) GRM Evaluation. 6.3.1 Complaints Uptake The SSRLP GRM has provided multiple options for submission of grievances by project affected persons in order to minimize barriers that may prevent other PAPs from forwarding their issues. These channels include the following: (a) Face to Face: This may be verbal or written submissions through face to face interactions with members of committees, programme officials, local structures (chiefs, councilors, MPs) done at any time. (b) Grievance Box: Grievance boxes will be placed in strategic places of target project communities where PAPs would drop in their grievances at any time. These will also be made available at pay-points when payments are being delivered. (c) Toll Freeline: The existing government call centre which was established and used under the Covid 19 Urban Cash Intervention (CUCI) will be scaled up for use in all components under the SSRLP. PAPs dial 351 to report the grievances to the national call centre for free. (d) Phone Call or SMS: This will be at PAPs own discretion and capability. Where possible, details of relevant immediate contact persons in the project area will be made available. 6.3.2 Case Assessment, Analysis and Response When a complaint is received, a maximum of fifteen Days (15) days has been provided for the VGRMC to respond to the PAP. This is so to make sure that grievances/complaints are resolved as early as possible. Where possible, provision of instant feedback will be done depending on the nature of the cases. Once complaints are received, the GRM committees shall assess the issues by looking at, among other factors, the following: - Whether the complaint or grievance is related to the project or not, - Whether the case can ably be handled at their level or another, - Whether the case can effectively be handled through the project GRM or alternative mechanisms. If for whatever reason the committee determines that it cannot ably handle the complaint, PAPs shall be advised to channel their complaints to the right alternative grievance redress levels or institutions. Otherwise, it will proceed to hear the cases and make necessary investigations to establish the truth of the matter. 26 6.3.3 Case Resolution and Closure Where a resolution has been arrived at and the PAP accepts the resolution, the PAP shall be required to sign the resolution and closure section in the Grievance Log and Resolution Form as attached in Annex 1. Two members of the VGRMC (preferably Chairperson and Secretary) shall also be required to counter sign. This shall signify that the complaint or grievance which was presented has been fully discussed and closed. 6.3.4 GRM Registry and Reporting All grievances received will be publicly entered into an accessible recording system known as the GRM registry that shall be maintained at all the GRM committee levels. The Village log and resolution form shall be in triplicate. For any case heard, closed or referred, a copy of this case shall be sent to the two upper levels for records, i.e. the AGRMC and the DGRMC. Similarly, if a case is handled at AGRMC, a copy shall be sent to District Grievance Redress Mechanism Committee (DGRMC) and another to VGRMC to notify them how the referred case was handled. This shall enable the district to keep a register (Annex 2), of all cases recorded and handled by any GRM committee in their district. Using this information, councils will be able to generate a matrix of cases and agreed resolutions and be able to follow up if the resolutions are being implemented. 6.3.5 GRM Monitoring and Evaluation The SSRLP GRM monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken alongside any other evaluation exercises for the project. This will be possible using copies of registers that Councils and GRM committees will be keeping. This will assist to establish the levels of functionality and identify areas for improvements to achieve optimum efficiency of the GRM system. 7. SEP MONITORING AND REPORTING The monitoring process will be done both by the district officers and central level officers. At district level the District Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (DMEC), headed by the Monitoring Officer, will be in-charge of project monitoring. They will be supported by the DSSC, various project secretariat staff, the district extension workers and community social support committees. District level monitoring and evaluation unit will be linked to main project monitoring and evaluation unit which will be based within the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC). As indicated earlier on, this unit will also lead the monitoring and reporting on the SEP. Where relevant immediate feedback will be needed as result of stakeholder consultations, it will be provided through regular correspondence channels to concerned stakeholders. However Feedback on how comments were incorporated into the project document will be provided through project implementation inception meetings once the project is approved by the bank. Further feedback on issues raised during project implementation will also be provided through the quarterly and annual progress review meetings. 27 7.1 SEP PERFOMANCE MONITORING INDICATORS The key indicator which will be used to assess the performance of the SEP is the percentage of grievances reported and resolved. This has been included in the results framework of the project. Other process indicators will include number inception meetings, number of project and program review meetings, number of coordination meetings, number of community interface meetings, number of radio programs aired and number of GRM committees created. 8. LANGUAGE The language of communication in stakeholder engagement activities will be tailored to the type of stakeholders. For community level stakeholders, use of Chichewa or other local languages widely spoken in the particular area shall be encouraged. This is to ensure that barriers to effective engagement are minimised or eliminated where possible. 9. CONSULTATIONS UNDERTAKEN TO DATE The SSRLP AF will largely build on the consultations which were undertaken during preparation of the parent SSRLP. In the preparation of the ESMF of the SSRLP, stakeholder consultations were carried out in the districts of Chitipa and Karonga in the North, Dowa and Nkhotakota in the Centre, and Balaka and Phalombe in the South. Target stakeholders included members of the DESC and District Social Support Committees (DSSC) at district level and selected members of community development committees and their relevant subcommittees, MASAF IV core program beneficiaries, and representatives of community based organizations and vulnerable groups of people available at community level. A total of about 300 people were consulted. The consultations were carried out by teams comprising of members of the government project preparation team, representatives of collaborating institutions and environmental and social safeguards personnel from the NLGFC and the Environmental Affairs Department. The consultations solicited stakeholder views and inputs on the proposed project design, their expectations from the project in terms of the potential positive and negative impacts of the project, and the kind of approaches they wished to see being implemented to avert the negative impacts and enhance the positive impacts. A summary of the outcome from the field consultations has been presented in Annex 5. The responses provided to the questions which were being asked came from the facilitating teams upon consultation with the project preparation team. The strengthening of the livelihoods component within the project design is as a result of feedback from the consultations just as an example because stakeholders were keen to see some beneficiaries graduating from the program in the near future. Further to the District consultations, the project preparation team also undertook several stakeholder consultations with key institutions organizations at national level including other development partners. Outputs from the consultations assisted to define and refine the components and design of the project. The institutions and organizations consulted include Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Ministry of Lands, Community Savings and Investment Promotion Cooperative Union, and Local Authorities, Department of Disaster Management Affairs, Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, , National Registration Bureau, Community Savings and Investment Promotion, DFID, GIZ, CARE Malawi, and members of the Academia. 28 ANNEXES ANNEX 1: COMMUNITY GRIEVANCE LOG & RESOLUTION FORM Boma La Dziko La Malawi Harmonised Grievance Redress Mechanism for Social Support Programmes Bukhu Lolembamo Madandaulo La Komiti ya Kumudzi ` Unduna wa Mapulani a Zachuma ndi Chitukuko Nthambi yoona Zitukuko Zochepetsa Komanso Kuteteza Anthu ku Umphawi P.O. Box 30136 Capital City, Lilongwe 3 Telephone: +265 1 788 888 Telefax: +265 1 788 093/247 Telex: 44648 Email: epd@Malawi.net, mepd@globemw.net 29 FOMU YOLEMBAPO MADANDAULO YA KOMITI YA KUMUDZI Nambala GAWO LOYAMBA: ZOYAMBILIRA KUDZIWA ya fomu: BOMA LA: ___________________________________ TA:______________________________ GVH:_______________________________ Dzina la polojekiti, gulu kapena kalasita Dzina la Mudzi Tsiku la ripoti :____________________________________________ :_____________________________________________ ………. …………….. …………….. Dzina la odandaula Pologalamu ya odandaula Nambala ya foni: Chizindikilo (ID) cha Khomo SCTP COMSIP/VSLEPWP EMail:………………………………………………………. Palibe GAWO LACHIWIRI: ZOFOTOKOZERA DANDAULO COMSIP Ndilatsopano (N) kapena Pologalamu yodandaulidwa SCTP EPWP /VSL Ena:……………… Iachokera kwina (K)? N K Ref No. Tsiku dandaulo laperekedwa Tsiku lomwe dandaulo lafufuzidwa Yemwe anatumidwa kufufuza Tsatanetstane wa dandaulo mwa chidule Chigamulo chomwe chaperekedwa Dzina la yemwe wapereka dandaulo:…………………………………………………. GAWO LA CHITATU: UMBONI OSONYEZA MAPETO A DANDAULO GAWO LACHINAYI: KUTUMIZA DANDAULO KWINA Ngati dandaulo lafika kumapeto, odandaula komanso wa komiti akuyenera kutsimikizira posayina mmunsimu Latumizidwa kwa: Ref No: Tsiku lotumiza Mkulu wa Komiti ya madandaulo:_____________________________________ …...………../…………/…… Yemwe watumidwa kulondoleza: Dzina komanso kusayina kwa Odandaula:…………………………………………………. Ndemanga: Dzina:………………………………………………………..Sig:………………………………………… Mlembi wa Komiti ya madandaulo:______________________________________ Tsiku: ___________________________________________________________ GAWO LACHISANU : UMBONI OSONYEZA KUTI DANDAULO LINAPEREKEDWA Dandaulo : Nambala ya fomu:………………….. Nambala zafoni zaulere Nambala (ID) ya khomo: TA: Zili pati? zolondolezera dandaulo Athana Latumizidwa GVH: Pologalamu: nalo Kwina 1 Dzina la Odandaula: 2 Dzina:…………………………………….. Olandila Sayini ya odandaula:………………………………………………… dandaulo Sayini:………………………………Tsiku:……………../………../………… 30 ANNEX 2: AREA GRM LOGBOOK Government of the Republic of Malawi Harmonised Grievance Redress Mechanism for Social Support Programmes Grievance Logbook for Area Level Committee ` Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division P.O. BOX 30136 Capital City Lilongwe 3 Telephone: +265 1 788 888 Telefax: +265 1 788 093/247 Telex: 44648 Email: epd@Malawi.net, mepd@globemw.net 31 AREA LEVEL GRIEVANCE LOG AND RESOLUTION FORM Form SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION Number: District Name: ___________________________________ TA:______________________________ GVH:_______________________________ Name of Project Location/ Village Cluster: Name of Community/ Village: Reporting Dates: :____________________________________________ :_____________________________________________ ………. …………….. …………….. Name of Complainant Complainant Program: Phone Number: Household ID: SCTP COMSIP/VSLEPWP EMail:………………………………………………………. Non-Ben SECTION B: DETAILS OF THE GRIEVANCE COMSIP Is grievance New or Program complained about: SCTP EPWP /VSL Other: Refferal? New Refferal Ref No. Date grievance is reported Follow-up/Investigation date Person Assigned Description of Grievance Resolution Made Name of person reporting the issue:…………………………………………………. SECTION C: GRIEVANCE CLOSURE SECTION D: GRIEVANCE REFERRAL If case is closed, GRM Committee members & complainant to sign below Referred to: Ref No: GRM Committee Chair:_____________________________________ Date of Receiving a Referral: …...………../…………/…… Person assigned to do follow up: Name & Signature of Project Affected Person /Beneficiary: Remarks: Name:………………………………………………………..Sig:………………………………………… GRM Committee Secretary_________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________________________________ SECTION E: GRIEVANCE SUBMISSION RECEIPT Complaint : Form #:………………….. Household ID: TA: Case Stutus Toll free lines for follow up District: Program: Closed Referred 1 Reported to Name of Complainant: (name of :…………………………………. 2 officer and Signature of complainant: signature): :………………………………… Date:……………../………../………… 32 ANNEX 3 : DISTRICT GRM LOGBOOK Government of the Republic of Malawi Harmonised Grievance Redress Mechanism for Social Support Programmes Grievance Logbook for District Level Committee ` Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division P.O. BOX 30136 Capital City Lilongwe 3 Telephone: +265 1 788 888 Telefax: +265 1 788 093/247 Telex: 44648 Email: epd@Malawi.net, mepd@globemw.net 33 DISTRICT GRIEVANCE LOG AND RESOLUTION FORM Form SECTION A: GENERAL INFORMATION Number: District Name: ___________________________________ TA:______________________________ GVH:_______________________________ Name of Project Location/ Village Cluster: Name of Community/ Village: Reporting Dates: :____________________________________________ :_____________________________________________ ………. …………….. …………….. Name of Complainant Complainant Program: Phone Number: Household ID: SCTP COMSIP/VSLEPWP EMail:………………………………………………………. Non-Ben SECTION B: DETAILS OF THE GRIEVANCE COMSIP Is grievance New or Program complained about: SCTP EPWP /VSL Other: Refferal? New Refferal Ref No. Date grievance is reported Follow-up/Investigation date Person Assigned Description of Grievance Resolution Made Name of person reporting the issue:…………………………………………………. SECTION C: GRIEVANCE CLOSURE SECTION D: GRIEVANCE REFERRAL If case is closed, GRM Committee members & complainant to sign below Referred to: Ref No: GRM Committee Chair:_____________________________________ Date of Receiving a Referral: …...………../…………/…… Person assigned to do follow up: Name & Signature of Project Affected Person /Beneficiary: Remarks: Name:………………………………………………………..Sig:………………………………………… GRM Committee Secretary_________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________________________________ SECTION E: GRIEVANCE SUBMISSION RECEIPT Complaint : Form #:……………………………. Household ID: TA: Case Stutus Toll free lines for follow up District: Program: Closed Referred 1 Reported to Name of Complainant: (name of 2 officer and Signature of complainant: signature): Date:……………../………../………… 34 ANNEX 4 : DISTRICT GRM REGISTER Government of the Republic of Malawi Harmonised Grievance Redress Mechanism for Social Support Programmes District Grievance Register Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division P.O. Box 30136 Capital City, Lilongwe 3 Telephone: +265 1 788 888 Telefax: +265 1 788 093/247 Telex: 44648 ` Email: epd@Malawi.net, mepd@globemw.net 35 DISTRICT GRIEVANCE REGISTER Name of the District:…………………………………………………………. District Reference No:………………………………………………... Ref Date 1st Household Name Household TA Type of Grievance/Complaint: Resolution Made: Program Status # reported ID (Open, Closed) 36 ANNEX 5: SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND ISSUES FROM FIELD STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATIONS Target Group Issues Raised How the issues have been addressed District Adequate consultations to be done with This has been done and will continues to the communities. be done in all target districts Environmental The number of beneficiaries in this new project should It is not possible to increase the number Sub-committee & increase. of beneficiaries since the project has a District Social limited budget. However the project will lobby with other projects and Support organizations working in the same areas Committees to reach out to those that may not be targeted under this project. There has been poor asset creation in the previous Councillors and councils will be PWP and one cause of this is involvement of ward sensitized on their roles in the project councillors. Councillors diverted certain projects so they could push their political agenda forward. In this new project, how are we going to handle councillors? Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS (DNHA) DNHA will be actively involved in should be included in the list of implementers planning and delivery of relevant programs at district level Decentralize disaster assessment process to district Assessments will done by the Councils councils minimize time wasting which is experienced in collaboration with DODMA when the process is controlled from the central level. In the absence of sensitizations on the new methods To be done extensively i.e. electronic payments might bring challenges accessibility of money, need more sensitizations. Worries on workability of electronic payment since Sensitizations of beneficiaries will be most beneficiaries do not have phones and are not done. literate in the new payment systems like Mpamba. There will be gradual roll out of the system SCTP might reduce charcoal burning through the top Business and financial trainings will be ups. provided Fears that the programmes deepens dependency IGA’s should be able mitigate syndrome. dependency syndrome. Environmental degradation e.g roads projects Sub-projects will be screened and ESMPs will be developed accordingly Sabotage of activities because of few beneficiaries Civic education will be done in the involved communities Delay in procuring materials Procurement of materials on PWP will be done by the communities No funds for implementation of ESMP’s The project will provide funds for ESMP implementation Too many projects per hotspot and resources for The project will provide funds for safeguards monitoring were not enough. safeguards monitoring Enhancement of child labour at household level Sensitization of household beneficiaries emanating from the fact that adults are going to be on child labour preoccupied with project activities Climate change impacts ( unpredictable rains, too Promotion of climate smart agriculture much rains etc in relevant project interventions Pollution of water courses due to pesticides use or Sensitization on Integrated Pest chemical usage Management Need for coordination between the different sectors at Strengthen capacity of DESC and DSSC district level. 37 Target Group Issues Raised How the issues have been addressed Land degradation from charcoal making and other Alternative business and Investment activities that might destroy environment opportunities will be promoted under livelihood enhancement activities Conflicts arising due to land ownership Subprojects will only be implemented only on sites where land is donated voluntarily and certified through signed voluntary land donation forms Late provision of wages on PWP System will be improved to ensure timely payment. Payments will be made every 2 months E-payment will improve efficiency of payment Create employment among the youth (make sure more Most of the beneficiaries will be the youths are engaged in the program youth Crime will be reduced because the youth will be Most of the beneficiaries will be the economically empowered. youth Human trafficking will reduce through skills Sensitization of communities on Human development and top ups. Trafficking Skills transfer (business skills and in other areas). Business and financial trainings will be Making the families resilient even in the months when provided they had no food. Increase in child prostitution because rural areas will communities will be sensitized be opened up due project activities Increase in gender related abuses perpetrated by men communities will be sensitized as they will have more power over the money being generated by women Risk of injury Protective gear will be provided for those who are working on risky areas Community UBR system for the new project may omit some old UBR system will promote fairness and members ensure that only eligible households are enrolled PWP timing should not coincide with farming period Fund transfer accounting and liquidation system will be improved to ensure timely implementation of activities People who could not take part in the project felt Transparent and reliable targeting discriminated (all catchments had fixed number of criteria will be used following the UBR beneficiaries). system which will promote fairness Construction of roads during the dry season has been All systems will be improved to ensure hard for the elderly and the sickly because the work is implementation of subprojects more energy intensive than is the case during rainy according to their appropriate times and season. seasons. The UBR will also ensure that only eligible people (i.e. those with labour capacity) are recruited for EPWP There is need for an alternative receiver of payment in Provisions will be made for alternative the e-payment receivers Marriage interference impact due to women Sensitization project beneficiaries on participation in the project (women not respecting gender related issues targeting both men their husbands) and women There is need to prevent double dipping as it brings UBR system will assist t to eliminate conflicts within the community. double dipping Elderly people not benefiting from these good UBR system will ensure that the elderly programs feel discriminated are considered under appropriate programs There is need to understand why other people are not Suggestion is noted and will be used in progressing. Hence need to also consider providing providing customized support to project support to those individuals who are better off. beneficiaries 38 Target Group Issues Raised How the issues have been addressed Need for first aid kit during PW cycle. The project will project first aid kits for high risk activities such as construction, farming, sanitation and hygiene activities Chiefs are not being involved in the program Chiefs will be sensitized on their roles especially SCT. before commencement of project activities Variations in the amount of money that is provided Results of case management verifications will be timely communicated Beneficiaries should be made aware when the Beneficiaries will be well bank/program has reduced the amount or increased communicated on all payment issues the transfer. Lack of coordination during pay parade between the The Bank and District team will be paying team (bank) and the District team. sensitized to improve their coordination Targeting criteria brought conflicts in the community Use of the UBR system and Mthandizi MIS is expected to improve the targeting process and eliminate potential causes of conflicts 39