“It included launching the Manual on Complementary Aspects of the Relationship between the Citizens and the Local Governance Authorities”

Municipal Development & Lending Fund displays the experience of local authorities in the field of social accountability

Ramallah 26-09-2022: – the Municipal Development & Lending Fund in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, organized a workshop simultaneously in Ramallah and Gaza using the “Zoom”, entitled “Displaying the experiences of the local authorities to enhance the social accountability.”

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Mr. Tawfiq Al-Budairi, the Director General of the Fund, Mr. Muhammad Al-Ramahi, and a group of representatives of donors and local authorities have participated in the workshop in the West Bank and Gaza.

In light of this workshop, Al-Budairi highlighted the importance of social accountability in strengthening the relationship with the cooperation, mentioning the progress made by Palestine during the last decade in this field.

He noted the importance of evaluating the Palestinian experience in the local governance field, specifically concerning social accountability, explaining that building confidence between citizens and local authorities is an important matter. Consequently, each side must adhere to its responsibilities, rights, and obligations.

He stated that social accountability and building a proper relationship with the citizens, represent the responsibilities of the local authorities, pleading to strengthen and institutionalize this connection. He emphasized the value of the guide, noting that it would contribute to improving the reality of local governance, and the relationship between citizens and local authorities.

Al-Ramahi stressed that activating the mechanisms of social accountability and youth participation is the cornerstone on which countries are built, pointing to the Fund’s participation. He indicated the role of social accountability in strengthening the governance in local authorities, raising the efficiency and effectiveness of the community development process, improving services and their quality, and enhancing citizens' involvement in public affairs.

He stressed the need for local authorities to concentrate on social accountability, adding, "The Fund worked through the Municipal Development Program to design a community accountability manual in line with the vision of the Ministry of Local Government, and we established a strong base on previous and accumulated experiences to involve and engage citizens in the decision-making process."

And he indicated that the workshop came within the social accountability manual implemented by the Fund in all municipalities of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, along with a series of community workshops, and a set of activities and events that were carried out with the participation of civil society institutions and local authorities. Besides, the formation of social accountability committees, whose membership included 50% of females to encourage the role and participation of women, since women are the half of the society.

He revealed that people with disabilities have been involved and many committees have been trained in such related topics, accountability tools have been developed and institutionalized in local government authorities, several community initiatives have been implemented within this program, and various awareness campaigns have been launched that improved the performance of many local authorities in the field of governance, improving service, and enhancing its consistency with the crowd’s needs. Moreover, to develop tools to obtain feedback on the provided services, and to improve the complaints systems by strengthening the policies, emphasizing the transparency concept, and facilitating the flow of information to the public.

Al-Ramahi indicated that, based on this manual, the Fund has developed a set of criteria related to the performance of local authorities in the community accountability field, explaining that through the Local Authorities Development Program in its fourth phase it will develop a set of assessments aiming to institutionalize community accountability and civic participation. 

He said, these criteria will be applied in the fourth stage, therefore, we aspire that all local authorities will take social accountability into consideration, where the evaluation, ranking, and classification of municipalities will be based on a set of standards related to social accountability.

He acknowledged the partners and donors for their role in supporting the Fund, indicating that

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit "GIZ" will implement a range of social accountability tools in many local authorities during the upcoming period, within the context of continuing to institutionalizing the social accountability across the level of the local authorities.

The Director of Cooperation at the German Representation in Palestine, Mr. Peter Wilverm, acknowledged the cooperation with the Fund and the Ministry, indicating that local government is one of the sectors that the Federal Republic of Germany has been interested in by all means.

He pointed out that social accountability gains considerable importance since it is considered a basic element to improve governance and to improve the work system of local authorities. He added that social accountability contributes to reducing the impact of the crises, especially in the Palestinian cause due to the presence of the Israeli occupation as well as the repercussions of the pandemic of COVID-19. Also, it aids in improving the mechanism for dealing with public funds and improving cooperation between local authorities and citizens, praising the experience of Palestine in the field of local government.

He considered that the workshop is an opportunity to celebrate the Fund's achievements in terms of social accountability, precisely with regard to local authorities in the West Bank and Gaza, indicating that the workshop will not be the only one of its kind, but will be followed by related events during the upcoming period. 

Mr. Wilverm affirmed his country's commitment to continue supporting the local government sector in the future. 

During the event, a video was presented about the experience of the Fund and local authorities within the framework of the social accountability manual, in addition to displaying experiences in the social accountability field at the level of local authorities in both the West Bank and Gaza.