Institutional Strengthening
Past Achievements

7.1 Organize training in economic development planning and management as well as study tours on relevant developmental issues
7.2 Identify areas of cooperation with M&TC and Regional Development Council to enhance internal functioning and impact on the economic structure
7.3 Assist LCICD to assume a leading role in private sector development
7.4 Assist in broadening and/or reinforcing the private sector’s institutional base
7.5 Stimulate the operationalisation of public and private sector collaboration

With 9 months down the line after the above mentioned programme planning event, a lot of developments took place. Please, click on the respective activities to get a full picture of what has been done.

Torsten Striepke, responsible for the institutional strengthening component within the LEAP team reports on the progress made.

Report of IS Specialist

“Prior to my arrival end of November 2004 in Guyana, only little work was done on this component as there was no subject matter specialist among the LEAP staff. During a lot of talks and meetings with representatives from various public and private sector institutions, a strategy was developed (LINK to strategy) in mid-April 2005. This strategy is based on three main pillars, namely the Regional Democratic Council and the Mayor’s & Town Council of Linden from the public sector as well as the Linden Chamber of Industry, Commerce and Development as representative body from the private sector.

The strategic aim beyond the result defined above consists in the establishment of a convenient institutional landscape for private sector development, invest-ment, and ultimately, employment generation. These conditions need to be favour-able to enhance business development so that the whole region is supposed to in-spire a take-off dynamic. Given the deplorable state of the employment situation in Region 10 during the last years, this seemed to be a very challenging task.

Whatever preliminary achievement will be reported here, the real litmus test comes with the sustainability issue, i.e. with the long-term ability of the assisted institutions to take over full responsibility and commitment in the long run after the end of the project term in mid-2009.

Browse through the different activities and achievements earmarked for this project result (component 7).

Economic Development

1 Organize training in economic development planning and manage-ment as well as study tours on relevant developmental issues

A one-week workshop on project planning and analysis has been carried out in Au-gust 2005. Key contents were the logical framework matrix and appraisal reports. A lot of practical work during the course enabled the participants mainly from the Re-gional Democratic Council (RDC) to plan their respective activities more systemati-cally including the set-up of an M&E system.

2 Identify areas of cooperation with M&TC and Regional Development Council to enhance internal functioning and impact on the economic structure

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the set-up of a Regional Devel-opment Unit within RDC has been signed. An economic planner has been identified after a longer search for an appropriate candidate. Within 2 years, a long-term eco-nomic plan for Region 10 is expected to be the output of that unit. A budget to cope with her salary and the work requirements has been earmarked. RDC contributed one permanent staff member to that unit; a third unit member will be stem from UNDP’s “Building Social Cohesion” Project aiming at RDC’s capacity to reduce social tensions in keeping with the shared goals of improving social cohesion, enhanced human security and governance in Guyana. Region 10 is one of four regions which benefit from that programme.

The principle methodology to develop the long-term economic development plan is PACA (“Participatory Appraisal of Competitive Advantage”).

In essence, PACA utilises a bottom-up approach to identify competitive advantages in different (sub-)sectors and clusters with the help of local stakeholders from the public and private sector. RDC, M&TC as well as LCICD have ownership as they have detached personnel for the initial PACA training of 5 days (6. – 10. June 2005). Dur-ing the real PACA Exercise involving interviews, mini-workshops, result workshops and a presentation event, five local consultants continued the PACA on-the-job training (13. – 29. June 2005) acquiring all necessary skills to carry on the process with different entrepreneurs’ groups from various sectors.
<photograph: Meeting furniture makers>

3 Assist LCICD to assume a leading role in private sector development

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Linden Chamber which speci-fies LEAP’s budgetary contributions and the general tasks the Chamber is supposed to perform (member services to increase membership).

	LCICD Orientation Meeting

The 1st tranche of LEAP’s contributions have been paid on a separate LCICD account, and a new active Executive Secretary took office since the 1st of July 2005. The office is located right on the first floor of the Region 10 Business Centre in direct vicinity to LEAP. A brochure about the new Chamber has been produced to enhance the mem-bership campaign. Fourteen enterprises and associations applied to join LCICD during a four-month period (as against 23 who were registered until May 2005); many more potential applicants have shown up. Orientation meetings were held to provide new members with proper information on the ongoing Chamber activities.

4 Assist in broadening and/or reinforcing the private sector’s institu-tional base

This activity is meant to support the various economic sectors which create the base of the Region 10 economy. With the help of the PACA methodology a lot of small ac-tivities have been started of which some aim at the setting up of sectoral business associations. The group of Region 10 farmers (62 people) has established their own association in order to coordinate the various activities planned. The association is members of the Linden Chamber, the “Guyanese Agriculture Business Association” (GABA), and the “CARICOM Agriculture Business Association” (CABA).

The handicraft producers already undertook first initiatives in the beginning of 2005 but the fees’ issue frightened them to some extent. A change in strategy focus-sed on the printing of a catalogue (14 craft producers) and the set-up of a web page featuring their products before the actual founding of an association can be tackled <Region 10 Craft Catalogue>.

Five local business consultants from Region 10 recently founded their own asso-ciation to promote their services as a group. Their know-how and subject matter knowledge should help them to get their association going and to provide services to members of the Linden Chamber.

A group with the temporary label “Kakwani Business Association” has been assisted to comprehend and perform primary institutional functions. Currently, the group is working on the association’s constitution so that its real name may emerge very soon.

5 Stimulate the operationalisation of public and private sector collaboration

	PPSF Inaugural Meeting

After thorough consultations and preparatory work, a Public Private Sector Forum has been initiated by LEAP in order to cope with the need to have a high-level re-gional organ discussing economic issues of concern. At the same time, this forum is meant to take decisions favouring the economic development of the Region. It has been agreed upon that after 6 months of existence the issue of definite institutionalisation will be dealt with.

The Chamber is administering this Forum (invitations, keeping of minutes, providing a formal address) whereas RDC and M&TC chair the meetings on an alternating ba-sis. LEAP is in an advisory role. Meetings take place on each last Tuesday of the month.

Key issues discussed concern the power and water situation in Linden (letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and to Guyana Water Inc.), the administrative principles of the PPSF, wharf development and local economic development, as well as problems for enterprising citizens to acquire land titles in order to avail of collaterals required to access credit (particularly farmers are disadvantaged in this respect).

The establishment of this Forum is really a big LEAP forward in stimulating the op-erationalisation of public and private sector collaboration.”