IFC Engages Local Leaders in Municipal Planning in the Peruvian Highlands

Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory Team

International Finance Corporation

Jun 29, 2016

A pioneering initiative implemented by IFC with support from the Government of Canada to promote good governance practices in the highlands of Peru has helped local leaders and municipal authorities prioritize municipal investments for the next 3 years so as to respond to unattended basic local needs. This effort is part of a larger initiative led by the World Bank Group in Apurimac, one of Peru’s poorest region and home to 275 indigenous communities, to develop policies and initiatives to enhance the mining industry’s role as a positive force for development of local communities in Peru.

The Apurimac Revenue Management project promotes good practices, among the effective implementation of participatory budgeting and multi-year investment planning, incentivizing the participation of local leaders in municipal decision-making. In Peru, the participatory budgeting process generally involves local authorities convening community representatives to a meeting in which some projects proposed by them are selected to be incorporated in next year’s budget. The exercise has a one-year horizon, something that limits the number of projects considered.

With support of IFC, Coyllurqui, a rural and remote municipality in Apurimac, recently completed a more extensive participatory budgeting process. Community leaders were provided support to identify and prioritize projects that would address their most pressing needs. At the same time, the mayor and his team were provided with tools and training to adopt a medium-term view of local investment. With that prior preparation, community leaders were able to hold an open and informed dialogue with their authorities to discuss their main needs and medium-term investment priorities. More than 100 local leaders from 22 communities participated in the 4 workshops held by the municipality with the support of IFC. As a result, authorities and local leaders reached full agreement on the use of investment resources for the next 3 years. Selected projects include water and sanitation, education and irrigation.

Leoncio Mendoza, the Mayor of Coyllurqui, recognized the relevance of the proposed methodology given that “it helped municipal officer and local leaders to think long term.” Miguelina Arriola, a local leader from the Chahuay community, remarked “this is the first time we have been trained and enabled to participate in the municipal decision making process.”

The Apurimac Revenue Management initiative is helping 8 municipalities expected to receive mining royalties in the near future, to be in a stronger position to manage their investment resources in a responsive, responsible and accountable way. In addition to supporting the identification of priority investments, the project provides support to municipalities setting up investment committees to tackle bottlenecks faced by projects during the investment process. The effort also involves building capacities of local leaders to establish informed dialogues with their authorities, enabling them to share their concerns and views about the best use of investment resources for their communities.

On July 19th, 2017 the prestigious NGO Ciudadanos al Dia, certified the Multi-annual Participatory Budget in the District of Coyllurqui as a Good Practice in Public Management. The initiative was recognized for having generated concrete results that benefited citizens, and the potential to be replicated in other organizations to produce a multiplier effect.

IFC Engages Local Leaders in Municipal Planning in the Peruvian Highlands

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