PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB4118 Project Name Support to Vulnerable Groups Community Development Project Region AFRICA Sector General agriculture, fishing and forestry sector (30%);Sub- national government administration (40%);Other social services (30%) Project ID P111679 Borrower(s) CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Implementing Agency Directorate for Community Development, Ministry of Social Affairs Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared November 06, 2008 (Updated December 12, 2008) Estimated Date of November 10, 2008 Appraisal Authorization Estimated Date of Board February 26, 2009 Approval 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement The Central African Republic (CAR) has endured years of political instability and episodic low- intensity conflict, which culminated in a change of regime in March 2003. Following a two-year political transition, a new Government took office in 2005 and has shown commitment to economic reform in order to break the vicious circle of armed conflict, ineffective government, and deteriorating social indicators. Despite some clear signs of progress, the situation remains fragile. In particular, the CAR continues to face major governance challenges as years of political instability have significantly eroded the legitimacy and accountability of the State. The overall security situation in the country remains precarious, and both endogenous and exogenous factors risk pushing the country back into conflict. On the positive side, the current Government has managed to stave off collapse, and offers a rare window of opportunity to foster stability and longer-term development. It has launched economic reforms to spur recovery and economic growth, but is heavily dependent on the donor community to make this formidable reform agenda a reality. Central to the Government's vision to consolidate peace in the country are efforts to rebuild trust with its citizens by providing tangible results (investment in public infrastructure, improved service delivery, more transparent decision-making and consultation with the public) that benefit rural areas of the country. As confidence is rebuilt and basic services are restored, the Government envisions a sweeping set of reforms that would lead to fiscal, administrative, and political decentralization. This would in turn become the driver of poverty reduction, improved governance, and sustainable development outcomes at the local level. The Projet Communautaire de Développement et d'Appui aux Groupes Vulnérables (PCDAGV henceforth) responds to the Government of CAR's desire to scale up an approach that provides demonstrable results to citizens and that strengthens social capital between diverse stakeholders in rural areas. In addition, the proposed project is fully in line with the Bank's Interim Strategy Note. The second pillar of the strategy outlines a focus on improving access to basic services for the most vulnerable groups, which will help bolster Government credibility. This pillar seeks to strengthen the technical capacity of communities to manage development activities in their localities, and to rebuild trust within and between communities that has eroded due to years of instability and poor governance. The project also responds to the need to further consolidate peace in rural areas, a process which began with the MDRP-supported Demobilization and Reintegration Project that benefited over 7,500 ex-combatants. In moving forward, the key is to transition support to communities themselves in order to stabilize relations within and between neighboring communities so that representative structures are given the tools, mandate, and skills needed to make local development a reality. In terms of the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy, the proposed project is linked to its second Pillar on Good Governance. First, the CAR plans to embark on a decentralization process whereby citizens will be empowered to make decisions, participate more directly in improved governance and accountability, and take charge of improving living conditions at the local level. Second, the PRSP outlines a clear vision for community participation in development activities, a legacy which dates back to 1972 in the country (with the establishment of the Department of Community Development in the Ministry of Social Affairs). This vision empowers communities to take the lead in identifying problems and their solutions, to implement these activities, and to work in partnership with diverse stakeholders at the local level. Its first pillar on restoring security, consolidating peace, and preventing conflict is also inherently linked to the proposed project, as it identifies the urgent need to rebuild confidence and cooperation between communities and local and national authorities. Overall, the timing and design of the PCDAGV will enable the World Bank to take the lead on local development in the CAR, and will pilot operational innovations that can later be scaled up into a more mainstreamed approach to support decentralization at both analytic and operational levels. 2. Proposed objective(s) The Vulnerable Groups Community Development Project seeks to strengthen the capacities of rural communes in the Central African Republic to plan and implement local development activities in an inclusive and sustainable manner that builds trust between citizens and their Government. The key result indicators include the following: - Percentage of subprojects that are fully functional one year after their completion - Percent of Local Development Plans where the sub-prefecture sector staff have participated in the full project cycle (diagnosis, planning, and implementation) - Percentage change in surveyed citizens' level of trust in the Government. - Percentage of completed Local Development Plans. - Percent of women in CVDs and CDCs. 3. Preliminary project description The PCDAGV will be predominantly financed by Specific Investment Loan of $8 million from the International Development Association. The project responds to the Government of CAR's desire to scale up an approach that provides demonstrable results to citizens and that strengthens social capital between diverse stakeholders in rural areas. In addition, the proposed project design is based on the following basic principles that were agreed upon with aforementioned Preparatory Committee: i) strengthen the involvement of sustainable structures in the implementation of the project both at local and national levels; ii) finance a diverse set of public- good development activities, including those in agriculture and the social sectors; iii) balance the need for rapid, tangible results with the need for sustainability; iv) enlarge the geographic coverage of the approach; v) respect the subsidiarity principle; and vi) use the project as a means to improve trust between citizens and the State. In addition to the Specific Investment Loan, the project will be partly financed (cf. Component A below) by a $3 million trust fund grant from the State and Peace-building Fund which is currently being sought. Project Components Component A: Capacity Strengthening for Local Development (US$3 million): This component will empower rural communes and villages to prepare and implement development plans in an inclusive manner, with adequate support from deconcentrated Government staff. The planned capacity building activities will address the technical and fiduciary skills needed at the different decentralized levels to implement local development activities. This component will be financed by a $3 million grant from the newly formed State and Peace-building Fund. Component B: Local Development Fund (US$5 million): The objective of this component will be for targeted communes and villages to receive and manage funds in a timely and transparent manner. This component will transfer resources to rural communes and villages to finance the public socio-economic investments identified during the local development planning process. Component C: Priority Response Fund (US$1 million): The priority response component's objective is to meet immediate public needs in beneficiary communities, which would otherwise go unmet until sufficient capacity was in place to manage small grants administered by the Local Development Fund. In this way, the component aims to deliver tangible results from project inception and encourage local buy-in for the creation and management of local development plans and committees. Component D: Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation (US$2 million): This component will seek to have all project components effectively coordinated and monitored. It will support a Project Coordination Team (PCT) responsible for technical and fiduciary oversight of the project. It will be mainstreamed within the Department Community Development in the Ministry of Social Affairs and its size will be limited to core functions critical to the project's success and for which severe capacity constraints exist in the Central African civil service. With respect to partnership, the Task Team has already had substantive discussions with the AfDB, EU, and UNCDF. AfDB has the potential to jointly finance/supervise the operation, and agreement has already been reached in principle to harmonize, including having the same Preparatory Committee, Project Implementation Manual, project staff and coverage area. Significant progress remains to be made on financing modalities. 4. Proposed preparation schedule and resource estimate 4.1 Proposed calendar Milestone Date Preparation/Appraisal mission November 10, 2008 QER meeting January 6, 2009 Decision meeting January 15, 2009 Negotiations January 21, 2009 Board Presentation February 26, 2009 Effectiveness (latest date) March 1, 2009 4.2 Team Composition Name Function Bernard Harborne TTL Lucienne M'Baipor Social Development Specialist Christopher Saunders Operations Analyst, AFTCS Luc Razafimandimby Country Economist, AFTP3 Charles Donang Ningayo Senior Procurement Specialist, AFTPC Emeran Serge M. Menang Evouna Environmental Specialist, AFTEN Katrina Sharkey Senior Operations Officer Ivan Rossignol Sector Leader, AFTSD Etienne NKoa Senior Financial Management Specialist, AFTFM Helene Bertaud Senior Counsel, LEGAF Joseph Ellong Language Program Assistant, AFTCS Preparation consultant (DC) TBD Preparation Consultant (Field) TBD 4.3 Peer reviewers: (TBD) Dan Owen, CDD Coordinator (SDV); Abdoulaye Toure, Sr. Rural Development (AFTAR); Per Wam, Sr. Social Scientist (SDV) (conflict issues); Helene Grandvionnet, Sr. Public Sector Management Specialist (AFTPR) (decentralization). 4.4 Resource estimates The estimated project preparation budget is US$130,000. 5. Contact point For further information please contact Bernard Harborne, Task Team Leader at the following: Mailstop J11-1102 Africa Region, Conflict and Social Development The World Bank 1818 H St NW Washington DC, 20433 Tel: +1-202-458-0806 Fax: +1-202-614-1358 Email: bharborne@worldbank.org