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of questions and concerns with respect to participatory policy dialogue and
conditionality, such as:
Is PRSP dialogue (and participation) active or token, since PRSPs are
dependent on an external approval process (including when there are
existing parliaments) instead of the envisioned country-owned process
subject to country-led approval?
Is haste/consultation trade-off (due to PRSP links to decisions on debt
forgiveness) limiting the time given to consultation with all stakeholders
– including civil society, the poor, women, and the private sector – and
thereby inhibiting the essential broad national ownership?
Is the presence of conditionality in the PRSP process consistent with the
concepts of local ownership and partnership with a borrower? How does
conditionality relate to policy dialogue? Does conditionality replace or
enhance policy dialogue?
How will the ambiguous relationship between PRSP and the macroeconomic
imperative, which is translated in the establishment of parallel
negotiating mechanisms for WB and IMF disbursement, be resolved?
Ownership with participation – the need for inclusion
and consensus building
Policies that are imposed from outside may be grudgingly accepted on a
superficial basis, but will rarely be implemented as intended. The role of
dialogue between recipients and donors is thus very important for the communication
of concerns, the understanding of challenges, and for establishing
transparency about processes. Inclusion in the process of design and
programming (and not only implementation) fosters ownership and commitment
as opposed to exclusion which can lead to resentment based on
alienation. Involving recipients in the process of discussing change influences
and reshapes their ways of thinking. It encourages recipients to develop
their analytic capacities and increases their confidence in their ability
to use them. Moreover, in order to achieve the desired national commitment
and ownership, the initiated policy dialogue must be participatory.
Policy dialogue cannot be just a matter of negotiations between a donor
and the government. It must reach deeper involving all groups of society
including civil society, the private sector, women and the poor. The universal
marginalisation of women in decision-making, for instance, has left their
concerns unheard, thus significantly hampering the development process.
Fostering consultation with all stakeholders is a principal objective in policy
dialogue in order to ensure the incorporation of all parties’ interests. Only
by involving all societal groups, can the process of strategy formulation elicit
the commitment and long-term involvement that is necessary for development
to be sustainable.