LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC Forum on Plans and PRSPs in East Asia LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL PLANNING PROCESS Excellencies, Madame Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me take this opportunity to extend to you all a warm welcome to the Lao PDR. My presentation this morning will focus on participation in the National Planning Process in the Lao PDR.

PARTICIPATION IN THE PAST Participation of Lao stakeholders has been a common practice in the past Consultations with Lao stakeholders continued even after formulation Participation in implementation essential Participation in monitoring, evaluation and reporting Evaluation results fed into future plans Traditionally, the Government of the Lao PDR encouraged and facilitated the participation of Lao stakeholders at the centre and in the provinces in the process of formulation of strategies, policies and plans. Occasionally, the National Assembly was also involved in the formulation process. The National Assembly approved the plans and budgets. The consultations with the stakeholders continued even after the formulation of the strategies, plans and plans; and are adjusted and updated incorporating the feedback from the stakeholders. It is recognized that participation of all stakeholders – Government at central and local levels, private sector, mass organizations, communities and households, as well as external partners including official donors, NGOs and private investors – is essential for successful implementation. There have been some efforts to promote participation at all levels in monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Examples include the Village Book and other sub-sector and sector reports. Also, mid-term reports on annual plan implementation and budget execution are submitted to the National Assembly, which discussed and approved revisions to the Annual Plan and the Budget. The results of the evaluations and the lessons learned are fed into future plans. In fact, both the five-year Plans and the Annual Plans contain an evaluation of the previous Plan and the lessons learned. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Participation in NGPES NGPES formulation highly participatory: Lao stakeholders External Partners Workshops, sector/thematic area working groups, consultation meetings, briefings and sharing of draft reports National Assembly approved the implementation of NGPES The formulation of the National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy or NGPES, which is the Lao equivalent of PRSP, has been highly participatory involving at all stages a broad range of stakeholders, including: On the Lao side, the Ministries and Agencies as well as a Committee of the National Assembly at the Centre; the Provinces, Districts and Villages and Communities; the Mass organizations; and the Private sector. On the external side, it involved the official bilateral and multilateral partners, international NGOs and foreign investors. The process has been facilitated through workshops, sector and thematic area working groups, consultation meetings, briefings and sharing of draft reports. The Ethnic Minority Committee of the National Assembly has been a part of the National Steering Committee that oversaw the NGPES formulation process. In October 2003, the National Assembly approved the implementation of the NGPES. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Participation in Sixth Plan (1) Began in the last quarter of 2003 Bottom-up approach Drew upon lessons from Fifth Plan and various macro and sector strategies Preliminary ideas shared with partners in development, private sector and Lao researchers and mass organizations The formulation of the Sixth Plan began in the last quarter of 2003, with a stock taking of the achievements, challenges and lessons learned in implementing the Fifth Plan. Building on the momentum of the participatory process adopted in formulating the NGPES, the basic ideas for the Sixth Plan have been developed through a bottom-up approach with the involvement of the provinces, districts and communities in three rounds of consultations. As with the NGPES, the Central Ministries and Agencies also have been involved. The Sixth Plan is formulated within the framework of the ten-year Socio Economic Development Strategy. It draws upon the lessons from the Fifth Plan and a number of sector and sub-sector development strategies formulated in recent years. For the first time in the history of the Lao PDR, the preliminary ideas on the Sixth Plan were shared with the partners in development and domestic and foreign private investors in mid-June 2005 at one-day workshops for each group. Also, the ideas were shared with Lao academics and researchers and mass organizations at that time. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Participation in Sixth Plan (2) Draft Plan presented to Party Central Committee and National Assembly Draft Plan presented to partners Draft Plan presented to Party Congress Draft Plan to be shared with private investors and Lao researchers and mass organizations Submit Final draft to National Assembly A draft of the Plan was presented to the Central Committee of the Party in September 2005. It was presented to the Final Session of the 5th National Assembly in October 2005. The draft Plan was shared with the partners in development in January 2006 and discussed at the Round Table Process Annual Information Meeting on 19 January 2006. The draft Plan has been submitted to the 8th Party Congress in March 2006. It is planned to share the draft Plan with domestic and foreign private investors and Lao researchers and mass organizations in the coming weeks. The final draft will be prepared incorporating the feedback from the Party Congress and other stakeholders and submitted to the First Session of the 6th National Assembly next June for consideration and approval. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Assessment Participation process relatively successful Strengthened ownership at all levels Contributed to addressing priorities on the ground and incorporating different perspectives Process time and skill intensive But, it is worthwhile The participation processes adopted in the formulation of the NGPES and the Sixth Plan are relatively successful. They strengthened the ownership and commitment at all levels They contributed to identifying and addressing the priorities on the ground identified by the people at the grassroots as well as decision makers, partners in development and private investors; and brought on board different perspectives to improve the Plan. The processes absorb a lot of time and require considerable expert skills, including external expert inputs. But, it is worthwhile in building ownership, commitment and accountability. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Partners Participation Channels Round Table Process Information Meetings Round table Meetings Sector Working groups Other forums including workshops Informal consultations Sharing of (draft) strategies, policies, plans and reports The main channels we have utilized so far and plan to continue to utilize to facilitate the participation of our development partners including official bilateral and multilateral organizations and international NGOs include: 1. The periodic Round Table Process Information Meetings 2. The Round Table Meetings organized at three-year intervals 3. The recently formed Sector Working Groups 4. Other forums including workshops 5. Informal consultations either on a bilateral basis or in groups as the need arises, and 6. Through distribution of (draft) strategies, policies, plans and reports. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

Challenges Resource mobilization Ensuring adherence to priorities Improving implementation Monitoring, evaluation and reporting Continued involvement of stakeholders in implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting Some of the main challenges we face now include: Mobilization of an adequate volume of resources to finance the implementation of the Plan. The sources include Government revenues, Lao private sector and households, FDI, ODA and international NGOs. Ensuring that line Ministries and Agencies and provinces adhere to the priorities agreed to in the Plan during implementation. This is to be achieved mainly through the provision of assistance to Ministries and Agencies and provinces in incorporating the five-year Plan priorities in their Annual Plans and Budgets. Improving implementation of the Annual Plans and Budget execution and achieving the targets set out in these. Strengthening the monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems, including the quality and timeliness of the information. In particular, the use of implementation monitoring as a management information tool to improve implementation will be encouraged, Continued involvement of stakeholders in implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs

LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC THANK YOU To summarize, the participatory processes we have adopted in the formulation of the NGPES and the Sixth National Socio Economic Development Plan are relatively successful. They strengthened the ownership, commitment and accountability of the various stakeholders to poverty reduction and overall development. Before concluding, I want to remind you of the words of His Excellency Dr. Liane Thykeo yesterday that Pimai or the Lao New Year will be celebrated next week. We are delighted that you are here at this auspicious time. Do take some time after the Forum and enjoy the festivities. I wish you all a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year. Thank you. 6 April 2006 Forum on Plans & PRSPs