PBG – FY 2011 Quarterly Report 5

The program operates in five areas of the country, working closely with civil society organizations, parliamentary institutions, and public institutions. The program's purpose is to enhance the capacity of these institutions to effectively manage public resources and deliver services to the population. The PBG program is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and has a budget of $36,251,768. The program's workplan for the first quarter of Year 2 (FY 2011) focused on implementing activities in four provinces: Bandundu, Katanga, Maniema, and South Kivu. The program's major achievements during this quarter include training a total of 343 members of civil society organizations, conducting public forums and civic education activities, and providing technical assistance to parliamentary institutions. The program's activities under IR1 focused on building the capacity of civil society organizations, including training a total of 343 members across four provinces and conducting public forums with the participation of 354 local residents. The program also launched a new Civic Education Program across four provinces and conducted 54 civic education activities. Under IR2, the program trained or provided assistance to a total of 474 staff and members of Parliament across five different legislatures at the provincial and national level. The program also conducted a workshop on edict drafting and constitutional compliance for 35 participants in Maniema Province. The program's activities under IR3 focused on building the capacity of local, provincial, and national-level government officials, including conducting feasibility studies of projects under action plans in the three Bandundu target etds and conducting provincial-level training on planning, administration, and management in South Kivu. The program also initiated a study on the role of the private sector in the provision of public services being conducted in Katanga, South Kivu, and Kinshasa. The political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains challenging, with delays in the installation of the CENI resulting from disagreements among members of the AMP. The opposition has given names for the three representatives that they are allowed to appoint, while the AMP has not yet come to an agreement for its four representatives. This situation is likely to impact the electoral calendar. The National Assembly adopted the state budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which presents a balance of 6,653,300,651,490 billion CF. The budget also includes an additional envelope of 100 billion CF for the remuneration of public officials, 99 billion CF for productive investments, and 71 billion CF for transfers to the provinces. The political situation in the provinces also remains challenging, with various issues and challenges facing the provincial assemblies. In Katanga, President Kabila chaired an inter-institutional meeting on November 11, which discussed the security situation, parliamentary activities, and the electoral process. In Maniema, the adoption of the provincial budget and the analysis of a draft edict bearing the organization of health services characterized the political situation. In South Kivu, the circulation of a petition accusing the Speaker of mismanagement and the election of his replacement characterized the political environment. In Bandundu, a technical reshuffling of the provincial government took place, including the dismissal of two ministers and the swearing in of eight new magistrates.