RURAL PLANNING II PROJECT

MEPD will implement the project with long-term consultant assistance. Project consists of three components. First, 40 district plans developed under A.I.D."s Rural Planning I project will be implemented, as follows: costs will be updated to reflect recent GOK budget revisions, and these changes will be transmitted to district officers; procedures to clarify district-level responsibilities for plan implementation will be developed; criteria will be devised to help district officers identify and evaluate small projects so as to recognize gaps between district needs and funding; and strategies will be designed for the 1984-88 period. Training will be provided to GOK and non-governmental district planners. Short-term "learning-by-doing" training workshops and seminars will be taught by experienced Kenyans and expatriate tutors; and rural planning extension officers will carry out field work with district development and planning officers. Master"s degree training will be offered abroad to 12 rural planning division officers and selected district officers. Also, eight Kenyans will receive a B. Phil. degree and four will receive a Masters degree at the University of Niarobi. A total of 160 Kenyans will attend 3-month classes at the Kenyan Institute of Administration, and 900 will attend 3-day seminars offered by the Rural Service Coordinating and Training Unit. Rural development decision-making will be decentralized. Existing budgetary process and supporting fiscal information of GOK ministries with high rural impact will be mapped, and the financial information flow for programs of these ministries will be expanded to permit input from the districts. Increased financial information will be conveyed to the districts on a regular basis. Finally, appropriate ministry programs (including, where possible, GOK accounting, auditing and such procedures) will be transferred to the district level.