Programs
Peace and Governance Project (PGP)
Partners Senegal is a key local partner in an ambitious program that supports democracy, good governance, and national reconciliation in Senegal. With support from USAID, the overall goal of PGP is to reinforce democracy, build peace and promote sustainable development in Senegal. The program has four primary objectives, each aligned to a separate component of activities:
- encourage greater transparency and accountability;
- consolidate fiscal decentralization;
- support to free and credible 2012 elections;
- support the Casamance peace process towards a collaborative conclusion.
For PGP, Partners Senegal is providing facilitation services, supporting local civil society, assisting in the development of a local governance barometer and working on transparency in the extractive industry.
A central component of the PGP program, a Good Governance Barometer (Barometer de Bonne Gouvernace) has been developed. The Barometer has been an important tool to help individuals and CSOs better evaluate the service of those in office, as well as push for greater accountability. The Barometer was recently mentioned in a USAID bulletin. Click here and scroll to page 6 for more information (in French) and to see a great picture of Partners’ Ababacar Ndiaye facilitating a workshop on the instrument: Bulletin d’Information Synergie N00 (Avril 2012)
Guinea Citizen Security Project (GCSP)
After decades of instability and authoritarian rule, Guinea is now in the early stages of establishing a sustainable democracy. However, this process will not be successful without the support of the Guinean security sector, which has a history of intervening in state politics and committing human rights abuses against its own people. In order to address this problem, ECOWAS and the AU have initiated process of security sector reform (SSR) to improve the practices of the security sector, and its subordination to civilian rule.
Beginning in August 2011, with support from the National Endowment for Democracy, Partners Senegal’s Africa Institute for Security Sector Transformation (AISST) have sought to secure greater effectiveness of the SSR effort through civic-collaboration. Through the organization of workshops throughout the country, AISST has been able to bring together leaders from civil-society, government, and the security sector to help ensure that the SSR process is one that includes the needs and interests of the general population. Furthermore, the workshops serve as an initial step in repairing the relationship between civilians and the Guinean security sector. Key in the organization of these workshops has been the engagement of the Centre du Commerce International pour le Développement (CECIDE), a Guinean NGO which has able to provide vital local contextual and logistical support.
As a result of their participation in the workshops, civil society leaders throughout Guinea have been able to freely share their recommendations with members of the security community. Additionally, through the deepened understanding of the SSR process they gained during the meetings, these leaders have been able to develop new projects for their organizations in order to inform and involve their broader communities. Some of these projects include interactive radio programming, developing training programs to assist in the demobilization and reintegration process, and helping to promote civil-military activities.
The Development of a National Security Policy for Guinea
In addition to its work on citizen security in Guinea, Partners Senegal’s AISST program is also helping in the development of a National Security Policy (NSP) for Guinea. A major component of establishing sustainable peace in Guinea is for members of the Guinean security sector and political leadership to identify key security concerns and methods for addressing those. AISST, in collaboration with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and National Defense University’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), has organized a conference with security experts from the US, Switzerland, and Senegal to help educate these government officials and armed forces members on the method of developing a NSP for Guinea.
World Vision Evaluation Project
Partners Senegal is providing program evaluation support to World Vision to assess the effectiveness of “Learning Centers” the organization has established throughout West Africa. With a Learning Center in each of 7 countries, World Vision hopes to draw on local expertise to create a network for enhancing capacities throughout the region. For example, World Vision has determined that civil-society in Senegal is particularly skilled at dealing with humanitarian emergencies, while in Sierra Leone it is experienced in Child and Gender issues and in Ghana on Water Hygiene and Sanitation. The centers offer an opportunity for building on these local expertise. In coming months, Partners Senegal will be doing analysis of the Learning Center programs and providing valuable feedback to World Vision.
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