SSRF Supports Conflict Mitigation in South Sudan
The South Sudan Recovery Fund (SSRF) supported the construction of a 30,000 cubic- meter, man-made lake, known locally as a haffir. This was delivered by UNDP’s implementing partner, Pact Sudan, as one of several outputs of the $19.8 million SSRF Joint Stabilization Programmme for Eastern Equatorial being implemented by UNDP and UNOPS. The basis for this intervention was UNDP’s Community Security and Arms Control (CSAC) project. Through a series of consultations with communities in each county across Eastern Equatoria, the CSAC project, in collaboration with state and local governments, identified the criticality of water in community security in Kapoeta North and South counties.
Haffirs are not a new concept to the Toposa communities of Kapoeta, as they have been hand-digging such reservoirs on a micro-scale. Man-power alone has never been enough to satisfy a community’s demand for water through the dry season for both human and livestock consumption. The ground water table is practically non-existent in many parts of Kapoeta where traditional, hand dug haffirs would run dry. As the intensity of the dry-season emerged, communities would migrate in search of scarce sources of water, often causing tensions between communities and leading to violent conflict.
Inter-communal violence over access to water has been a fact of life for the Toposa. In 2012, however, something changed in the lives of the Toposa residents of Jie, Kapoeta East County. For the first time in their memory, they did not have to migrate in search of water. The reason for this dramatic change in seasonal behaviour is that they now have access to a 30 million litre reservoir of water, financed by the SSRF. Starting late in the 2011 dry season, the haffir in Jie was completed sufficiently to fill and hold water when the rains came. By not migrating, this also means that for the first time, the prospect of violence has not been a reality for the pastoralist livelihood of the Toposa. UNDP’s implementing partner, Pact Sudan, recently recorded the Toposa of Jie as saying “if [the haffir] had not been constructed, [we would not] have remained in our settlements and the dry season would have caused much suffering for us”.
Although there is sincere gratitude in Jie, the best is yet to come. Three more haffirs will be completed in the Kapoetas this dry season. There is room to be cautiously optimistic in what the future holds for the Toposa of the Kapoetas in the 2012-13 dry season, as they benefit from a reliable water source to support their pastoralist livelihoods. What is more, there is evidence that now demonstrates haffirs have gone a long way to mitigating conflict in the Kapoetas; and that constructing more in other water scarce parts of South Sudan may just deliver the same benefit. The SSRF is administered by the MPTF Office with total funding of $117 million from the Governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Norway.
(Contributed by Mike Mckie)
The South Sudan Recovery Fund - SSRF was established in May 2008 at the Sudan Consortium meeting in Oslo to support the provision of recovery assistance to South Sudan and bridge the gap between the short-term emergency/humanitarian aid and longer-term development assistance. Under the overall authority of SSRF Steering Committee, chaired by the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) and co-chaired by the UN Deputy Resident Coordinator, the SSRF is a pooled funding mechanism intended to channel funds to support GoSS recovery priorities and provide immediate benefits for the population while laying the foundation for sustainable development.
The SSRF will operate under the same governance arrangements as the Multi-Donor Trust Fund – South Sudan (MDTF-SS) administered by the World Bank and will complement it by ensuring that critical recovery needs are flagged and supported in a timely manner.
Priority programmes and projects of the SSRF will be implemented by a range of organizations such as UN Organizations, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), international and national Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
Assistance Strategy
Despite important achievements made in South Sudan since the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005, the population’s expectations for greater stability, improved services and enhanced livelihoods opportunities remain high. International assistance delivered to South Sudan has mainly been either through humanitarian support or longer-term developmental programmes. Recognizing that there is a gap in medium-term recovery assistance, the Government of South Sudan (GoSS), the donor community and the UN have established the South Sudan Recovery Fund - SSRF.
The purpose of the SSRF is to support the timely allocation and disbursement of donor resources to activities that demonstrate quick recovery impacts and yield more immediate “peace dividends” for the population. These medium-term recovery initiatives will complement the longer-term institutional and infrastructural activities undertaken under the Multi-Donor Trust Fund – South Sudan (MDTF-SS) administered by the World Bank.
To ensure that recovery activities are clearly distinguished from humanitarian interventions on the one hand and longer-term development on the other, the SSRF has been designed with the following criteria:
Direct relevance to development priorities of the GoSS;
Focus on early / quick delivery, impact and “peace dividends” for the population while laying the foundations for sustainable development;
Consideration to areas historically underserved or experiencing local insecurity;
Consideration to communities affected by high levels of return, reintegration, and other vulnerable groups;
Decentralized planning, coordination and implementation through:
Supporting the role and leadership of States and Counties;
Supporting partnerships and joint programming among GoSS/UN agencies/NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs);
Support Community Engagement and Community-driven initiatives;
Mainstream of Gender, Environment and conflict-sensitive issues;
Prioritize capacity building for development;
Programmes/projects’ duration ranging between 18-36 months, while recognizing a need for flexibility;
Funding ranging between $500,000 and $3,000,000.
Indicative early recovery activities that are eligible for SSRF funding are provided in the SSRF Terms of Reference.
The SSRF is administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in accordance with its financial regulations and rules.
Governance
Steering Committee The overall management of the SSRF activities is led by a Steering Committee, under the chairmanship of the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) and co-chaired by the UN Deputy Resident Coordinator. Based in Juba, the Steering Committee is composed of primarily the same members as the World Bank-managed MDTF-SS Oversight Committee, i.e. relevant GoSS Ministries and/or Commissions, contributing donors, the World Bank, UN Agencies, and the NGO Forum. Additionally, other entities may be invited by the Steering Committee as observers or to specific discussions. The SSRF Steering Committee meetings and the MDTF-SS Oversight Committee meetings will be harmonized to make effective use of their members. In accordance with the SSRF Terms of Reference, the Steering Committee is responsible for:
Providing strategic guidance, principles and criteria for the identification of priorities to be funded by the SSRF;
Reviewing projects approved by the GoSS Inter-ministerial Appraisal Committee (IMAC) and instructing the Administrative Agent for disbursement accordingly;
Reviewing and approving regular consolidated narrative and financial updates and reports of the SSRF, submitted by the Technical Secretariat and Administrative Agent respectively;
Ensuring appropriate coordination with any initiatives from the MDTF-SS and the Sudan CHF;
Maintain close collaboration with national counterparts to ensure flexible adaptation of the SSRF activities to changes in programmes and priorities.
Technical Secretariat The Steering Committee Technical Secretariat (SSRF TS) provides quality assurance throughout the programme/project approval process and facilitates the preparation and decision-making of proposals submitted. The SSRF TS includes seconded staff from GoSS and will be based at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in Juba. It works closely with IMAC and the Administrative Agent, answering to and under the overall direction of the Steering Committee. It also liaises with the World Bank-managed MDTF-SS Technical Secretariat staff as appropriate. In addition, the SSRF TS provides advice and services to IMAC and to applicants for SSRF funding (UN Organizations, NGOs and CSOs). Finally, The SSRF TS is responsible for the consolidation of quarterly updates and annual narrative progress reports received from Participating Organizations, for transmission to the GoSS and donors.
Government of South Sudan (GoSS) Inter-ministerial Appraisal Committee (IMAC) The GoSS IMAC in Juba is the approving body for all proposals submitted for SSRF funding, as determined in GoSS Aid Strategy. It confirms that proposals are aligned to GoSS policies and priorities and that the GoSS is aware of implications of projects’ approvals on recurring costs budget.
GoSS Budget Sector Working Groups The GoSS Budget Sector Working Groups are the central budgeting and planning mechanism of the GoSS. They are responsible for the primary screening/technical review of concepts and outline proposals, before a complete project proposal is developed and submitted by the proposing organization(s) for SSRF funding.
Administrative Agent
The Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) serves as the Administrative Agent (AA) and is responsible for concluding Standard Administrative Arrangements (SAAs) with donors and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Participating UN Organizations. It receives, administers and manages contributions from Donors. It disburses these funds to the Participating UN Organizations in accordance with the decisions of the SSRF Steering Committee. Finally, the AA prepares and submits consolidated financial reports, as well as financial statements on the SSRF account to the SSRF Steering Committee, for transmission to the GoSS and donors. The MPTF Office will delegate the AA responsibilities to the UNDP Country Office in South Sudan.
Decision-Making Process
Eligibility Any Participating UN Organization or Non-UN Participating Organization that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the MPTF Office, as Administrative Agent (AA) of the SSRF, is eligible to receive funding from the SSRF. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) or other designated institutions or entities may also receive funds from the SSRF through these Participating UN Organizations or Non-UN Participating Organizations.
Proposal Submission The SSRF Steering Committee issues quarterly fund allocations guidelines to steer the allocation process. These guidelines will specify the available resources apportioned by priority areas. Participating UN Organizations (or Non-UN Participating Organizations) and their partners, NGOs and CSOs are requested to submit to the Technical Secretariat proposals for SSRF funding, in accordance with the policy guidelines.
Proposal Review & Approval Process The primary screening of concepts and outline proposals is done through Government of South Sudan (GoSS) Budget Sector Working Groups in which sector specialists technically review and assess proposals. This peer review mechanism will include representatives of local authorities, NGOs and civil society organizations, as appropriate.
Once approved by the Working Groups, the proposing organization(s) will proceed to develop a complete project proposal. The proposal is then submitted to the SSRF Technical Secretariat for compliance, quality assurance and clearance. Finally, the GoSS Inter-ministerial Appraisal Committee (IMAC) will review and approve the proposals, that will then be transmitted to the SSRF Steering Committee for consideration and instruction to the Administrative Agent (AA) for the transfer of funds to Participating UN Organizations (or Non-UN Participating Organizations). The AA makes disbursements within three (3) to five (5) business days after receipt of the instruction and appropriate documentation from the Steering Committee. Disbursements to NGOs is made through Participating UN Organizations (or Non-UN Participating Organizations) performing an additional oversight function.
Participating Organizations are required to submit final year-end expenditures by April 30 in the following year; Interim expenditure figures are submitted on a voluntary basis and therefore current year figures are not final until the year-end expenditures have been submitted.
Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
Mr Toby Lanzer, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, Juba, South Sudan, Email: lanzer@un.org
