Crafting South Kordofan’s First Locality Development Plan
South Kordofan- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with South Kordofan state ministries and local authorities have kick started recently South Kordofan’s first ever Five Year Locality Development Plan. The plan aims to provide a roadmap for South Kordofan’s future social services by selecting as a pilot project Al Reef AlShargi locality.
This pilot experience of Elreef Elsharagi locality adopts an integrated methodology based on a participatory grassroots approach and environmental scanning process whereby community members such as teachers, nurses, traditional leaders and farmers for the first time have been involved in their local development plans. Community members were able to articulate what they viewed as being the most pressing needs of their communities before moving on to look at the specifics such as priorities and budget.
The Locality Development Plans of South Kordofan’s 17 localities will form the basis for reviewing South Kordofan’s Strategic Plan (2012 – 2016), due for a review following a 2013 presidential decree that separated West Kordofan from South Kordofan.
The state was severely hit by the 21-year conflict which terribly affected its intricate social fabric and demolished its infrastructure. Despite continued conflict following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), UNDP and development partners have been steadily helping communities in South Kordofan since 2006 to consolidate peace, build existing capacities and help rebuild rule of law institutions.
This pilot project came as an example of UNDP’s involvement in rebuilding the institutional and human resources capacity in South Kordofan through its recently inaugurated Kadugli Civil Service Development Centre. In conjunction of this exercise, UNDP also took a leading role in a training programme with South Kordofan sectoral working groups for local planning with representatives from line ministries. This working group is crafting this pilot locality plan, and will eventually lead in forming the plans of other localities.
By 2016, Kadugli Civil Service Development Centre is expected to provide training to 20,000 civil servants from South Kordofan and states of the region. The center is expected to provide thematic, targeted trainings, institutional and management advisory support, and research services. Though its key clients will be civil service institutions and local Government, civil society organizations, the private sector and individuals will also be able to use the training facilities.