The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched two projects worth US$13.7 million that aim to strengthen governance and facilitate better service delivery to the Lao people.
Mr Khampane Philavong ( left ) shakes hands with Mr Minh Pham at the launch of the governance projects, as Mr Asang Laoly ( centre ) looks on.
The projects are supported by the UNDP, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the Republic of Korea.
The agreement to undertake the projects was signed in Vientiane on Friday, with Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly, development partners and officials from various ministries in attendance.
The two projects will be part of the government's programme for Governance and Public Administration Reform (GPAR) initiative for 2011-2015. These projects will build on the strong foundation laid by the GPAR Support for Better Service Delivery project which ran from 2007 to 2011.
The new projects include the ‘GPAR Programme Secretariat Support Project' and the ‘Project on Strengthening Capacity and Service Delivery of local Administrations'.
The first project aims to help the government and the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate, coordinate and oversee the growing portfolio of projects in this sector.
The second project aims to enhance service delivery across 66 districts and improve the capacity of local administrations through the provision of block grants.
Other important initiatives include supporting the expansion of the network of One Door Service Centres to cover around 70 districts, and help set in place mechanisms through which local administrations and communities can track improvements in service delivery.
Addressing the meeting on Friday, Mr Asang reiterated the importance of projects related to governance reform in order to boost national development and rural poverty reduction.
He said the government is focused on capacity building for central and local authorities as a way to improve service delivery for local people, in line with the Resolution of the 9th Party Congress.
He pointed out that the service delivery project emphasises capacity building at the local level, and would provide a good foundation for several other government initiatives and development projects.
Minister of Home Affairs Mr Khampane Philavong said the project on strengthening capacity and service delivery of local administrations will be one of the largest development assistance interventions in Laos, in terms of its scale and coverage.
He said the GPAR Programme Secretariat Support Projec t would help his ministry to work with the entire community of development partners and related ministries to facilitate an active government sector working group, and increase project effectiveness by harmonising the efforts of governments and international organisations.
Encouraging development partners to join forces in supporting the national programme, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Mr Minh Pham informed the gathering that “this programme is not only about mobilising resources for development activities. It is about making a difference in people's lives, about equitable development, and improved quality of governance and service”.
Regional Director for the Swiss Cooperation Office in the Mekong region Ms Ruth Huber said the GPAR programme was addressing challenges in terms of capacity and service delivery at the local administration level and bringing government organisations closer to the people, thereby making a significant contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
