1.2 Who is responsible for PRS?

A number of stakeholders are involved in the development and implementation of the PRS: the government, the civil society, the World Bank, the IMF, and other development agencies. The PRS should be country-owned: the government has the leading role in the process, and the civil society should participate as much as possible. The World Bank, the IMF and development agencies provide technical and financial support for this process.

What is the role of the government?

The government is responsible for the overall coordination of the process. In many countries a separate unit, department or office is in charge of this task. For example, Tanzania has set up a PRS unit within the Vice President’s Office. The government outlines the timeline and the methodology for the PRS process.

Which actors are covered by the term “civil society”, and what is their role?

The civil society includes all stakeholder groups and individuals besides the government. The term refers to single persons and organisations, such as NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs), faith-based organisations, trade unions, etc. The government should develop a strategy for poverty reduction together with representatives of all of these stakeholders. The PRS is intended to address the interests of persons living in poverty. Therefore this target group needs to participate in the development and implementation of the strategy in order to make it effective.

How do the World Bank and the IMF operate?

Almost all countries of the world are members of these two international financial institutions (IFI), which effectively regulate the global economic system. The World Bank in particular supports low-income countries through the provision of financial and technical support. As part of the PRS process, they advise their client countries, decide on whether to lend money and how much, and grant debt relief. The World Bank for its part has written a “Sourcebook on Poverty Reduction Strategies”, which provides guidelines for any PRS process.

International organisations

International (donor) organisations have a different function in the PRSP process: they mainly offer technical advice to both government and civil society. They also provide financial support for all stages of the process, as well as in some cases staff secondment to the national PRSP institutions. In many countries the different donor organisations form groups that meet regularly (e.g. monthly) to discuss the state of progress of the PRSP.

How is the cooperation between these stakeholders organised?

The national government leads the process. It is responsible for organising events – such as conferences, seminars or workshops – in which civil society representatives participate, with the aim of offering the opportunity to conduct open discussions and to exchange information. An increasing number of countries have established specific PRS institutions, e.g. technical committees or working groups, all of which provide a sustainable framework for the development of the PRS process. Very often these institutions include a mixture of different stakeholders. In some countries, civil society organisations (CSOs) coordinate their own consultative and participatory process by establishing networks, raising awareness on their behalf and trying to persuade policymakers.

^ to top