EMERGENCE OF PCAE

EMERGENCE OF PCAE 

Striving to address some of the basic problems of the pastoral community that ensure sustainable food security and better livelihood by those individuals was serious concern for those who were brought up in the area., despite of their limited experience and capacity. These individuals were motivated to do something to the pastoral communities. This motivated group carried out consultation with the clan leaders and local authorities. Accordingly, Pastoralist Concern Association Ethiopia (PCAE) was established as local NGO in 1995, initially to work in Liben and Afdher zone of the Somali National Regional State (SNRS).

PCAE was registered under Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Commission (DPPC), and subsequently with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 1998. Its main office was situated at Filtu town that is about 127 km from Negelle Borona town. During this period, Save the Children USA and Norwegian Church Aid have been operational in the area focusing on implementing emergency relief and rehabilitation projects mainly to integrate returnees from Somalia.

The organizational structure is set in accordance with the Ethiopian government’s association law. The highest governing bodies are the General Assembly, Board of Directors and The executive Body. The general Assembly is composed of all the members of the Association that meets annually, as appropriate. Election of the Board is carried out every five years. The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Association on strategic and policy issues and it appoints the chairperson and executive Director from its members. So far, the Board of directors remains the founding members of the Association elected by the General Assembly.

During the early period of its establishment, it focused on providing animal health services, and rehabilitation of clinics and water points. In addition, together with SCF USA, it undertook nutrition surveillance surveys and participated in the annual crop assessments that were carried out in these two zones. At this time, PCAE was working with the staunch support of the community leaders and local authorities. The number of field staff was very few in number, with only three key staffs that have been working for SCF USA in different capacities. Gradually, PCAE was able to set up offices in Filtu and Dollo as well as liaison office in Addis Ababa.

Currently, PCAE has secured financial, material and technical support from Oxfam Canada, Intermon Oxfam, SCF USA, PACT Ethiopia, World Food Programme (WFP), PENHA, UNICEF, COOPI, etc. Accordingly, composition of its interventions expanded to include intensive emergency relief that comprise water tankering, provision of emergency food relief and enriched food for children and mothers, construction of food storages, etc. Furthermore, it included Group Guaranteed Revolving Fund for pastoral women; construction of water points (Birkas, shallow wells, bore - holes); non - formal education for girls; training of animal extension workers; provision of immunization; etc.

PCAE, at present, is undertaking diverse projects that include food security, water, livestock, human health, education, early warning and gender capacity building as well as action oriented research work in collaboration of individuals and institutions like Universities and research centers. Moreover, advocacy work at national and regional level is performed through organization of pastoralist day, conferences, workshops and networking. PCAE is a member of Ethiopian Pastoralist Forum, Christian Relief Development Association (CRDA) and Basic Education Network- Ethiopia (BEN-E) at National Level and Horn of Africa Pastoralist Advocacy Network (HAPAN) at eastern and Horn of Africa level.

Currently, PCAE has 87 permanent and contract staff at the field (Afdheer and Liban zones) and Addis Ababa office. At the latter, there are 12 staffs working on fund raising and coordination with donors, Government and NGO partners.

NEED FOR UNDERTAKING STRATEGIC PLANNING

• In the last five years, PCAE has been growing significantly in terms of programs and institutionally. In these years, it has learned that the working environment, both internally and externally, have been changing so fast. These changing situations have brought some of the major challenges to PCAE’s progress.

• The government and donors have realized that the strategic importance of the development endeavour that focus in pastoral areas and community is crucial, as possesses rich and untapped natural resources that significantly contribute to the economic growth and development of the country at large.

• Enhancing pastoral development is instrumental to sustain peace and stability of the country, as pastoral community, to large extent, live in the periphery of the country like Somali, Afar, Benshangul and Gumuz, Gambella, Omo peoples, etc.

• Pastoral community is naturally placed whereby cross – border trade and relations with the neighbouring countries could be encouraged and sustain better livelihood of the people in the Horn.

• Considering the internal and external environment, the role of local NGOs in the concerted development effort has been highlighted during the last few years. Hence, the collaborative role of PCAE with the major stakeholders in the designing and planning projects, implementation, monitoring and evaluation has been appreciated. Therefore, taking this situation forward and expanding it further demands better-organized, strong institutional capacity, and strategic thinking.

Objectives
• To establish efficient management system by reviewing the existing structure of the organization in relation to its mandate and develop feasible recommendations.

• To identify feasible areas of intervention in terms of geography and sectors of involvement.

• To mobilize resources in a systematic, and coordinated manner.

• To sustain institutional and financial capability of the organization to deal with the pastoral development issues.

STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESSES
A. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
• Donors have developed some changes related to their technical, material and financial assistances and interventions in the South.

• Most donors have short listed developing countries that benefit from overseas development assistances channelled through their NGOs and UN agencies.

• International NGOs are expected to work in collaboration with the southern local NGOs;

• NGOs' shall strive to strengthen democracy and good governance in order to ensure active participation of the direct beneficiaries and communities to determine their destiny and improve their livelihood.

• NGOs and civil societies are expected to lobby and advocate for the poor and marginalized groups of society such that they benefit from developed policies and development strategies of the government.

• NGOs and civil society are expected to build their institutional capacity to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, impacts, and sustainability of projects.

• NGOs are envisaged to ensure peace and stability in their project areas through strengthening disaster preparedness and prevention capacity, setting conflict and early warning system and peace building among conflicting groups of societies.

COUNTRY LEVEL
o Some of the challenges and constraints for enhancing pastoral development efforts, among others, are:
• Lack of political will from the previous governments as they usually considered threats to the peace and stability of the country;
• Recurrent droughts;
• Poor socio - economic infrastructures due to meagre financial, technical and human resources and investment by the government and private sector;
• Lack of holistic development strategy;
• The pastoral community were not considered as owners and managers of their livelihood and encouraged to participate actively at all levels of project / programme management;
• Gender inequality as a result of religious and societal factors;
• Conflicts among the pastoral community, in most cases due to scarcity on grazing land and water mainly during droughts;
• Bias against the pastoral areas, as they are largely located at the border;
• Lack of appropriate policies and strategies to develop and use the existing resources located in the pastoral areas;

o Bearing in mind of the challenges and constraints, the government formulated long-term development strategy centred on agriculture, the mainstay of the economy. Nevertheless, this strategy incorporates other sectors like manufacturing, socio -economic infrastructures, social services and micro - and small enterprise development. This development strategy, Agricultural Development - Led Industrialization (ADLI), envision through sector - based interventions as well as macroeconomic measures would achieve consistent economic growth that further result in reducing poverty and creation of employment.

o Based on the controversial outcome of the Structural Adjustment programme (SAP) by the developing countries, the IMF and World Bank formulated Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Hence, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) was formulated. Accordingly, the Ethiopian government has developed Interim – PRSP aims at addressing the following problems in order to enhance the livelihood of the pastoral community:
o Disaster preparedness and management capacity;
o Access to water; for both human and animal consumption;
o Improved socio - economic infrastructures - includes education, human and animal health, roads, markets, etc;
o Unresolved land use problems;
o Inadequate technical support in promoting agro - pastoral project activities;
o Introduction of regulations that promote development and earn foreign exchange earnings through cross - border trade, when ever possible;
o Undertaking basic research works;
o Socio - cultural issues; and
o Securing peace and stability.

B. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
STRENGTHS

• Initiative taken by individuals and commitment of PCAE staff working on harsh and marginalized area of the country. Maintained and further recruited additional technical staffs despite turn over of some of the technical staffs;


• Locally mobilizing scarce financial and material resources as well as rendering free labours for the projects. Moreover, it has secured partners' and donors' support, and accordingly mobilised technical, material and financial resources, etc.


• Strong relations with the local, zonal and regional authorities as well as pastoral community leaders;


• Building sense of ownership by the pastoral communities;


• Gradually built project implementation capacity through formulating management systems;


• Innovative in terms of applying new technologies that fit to pastoral community’s ideas as how to promote development. For examples are the Simple Delivery Kit (SDK) and pastoral community health extension approach (GGHE),


• Strengthening local community – based early warning system, for instance early detection of emergency situation, like that of measles breakout in Afdeher;


• Steadily scaling up its operational areas into weredas of Afdheer zone beyond weredas of Liben zone;


• Developed financial and material management system and accordingly produced annual audit reports. Furthermore, it developed different working and training manuals related to Para-teachers, human health extensions, veterinary scouts, etc;


• Promoted and sponsored research works related to: need assessments, women poultry extensions, women group guaranteed revolving fund scheme, pastoral women genital mutilation, policies and development strategies vis - a - vis the livelihood of the pastoral communities, and laws and regulations in relation to the pastoral community;


• Its projects are consistent with the policies and development strategies of the government and donors. In addition, the projects are based on felt needs of the pastoral communities;


• PCAE has gone smoothly with out encountering hiccups


• Strong in lobbying and advocacy and established pastoral networks

Limitations/ Weaknesses

• PCAE has limited itself to work in small geographic area mainly for integrated development projects (Afdheer and Liben zones of Somali Regional State);


• Could not attract and maintain skilled and experienced technical staffs, as PCAE is not able to pay that compensate lost facilities and opportunities working in better areas;
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• Unable to secure logistical capacity, mobility of technical staffs to project sites due to lack of field vehicles, lack of radio and telephone communications, and limited capacity of office equipment and machines;


• Limited capacity in resource mobilization and public relations. For instance, unable to secure access to major funding agencies or donors like USAID, EU, NORAD, DIFD, Irish Aid, CIDA, SIDA, etc.


• Unable to satisfy customers expectations;


• Limited capacity to mobilise resources specially for research works,


• It lacks strong systematic monitoring and evaluation systems, resource mobilisation strategies, etc.


• Lack of documentation systems that hindered the dissemination of marketable projects on time


• Lack of written properly formulated strategic plan that lead us to the future  

OPPORTUNITIES

• PCAE has committed, dedicated and skilled multi – disciplinary professionals in running the organization’s aims and objectives,


• Role of local NGOs working with the pastoral communities has been gradually appreciated and supported by major stakeholders;


• Commitment of Government and donors to support projects in pastoral areas;


• Capable of providing services effectively and efficiently in the event of external funding


• PCAE has good image and reputation among the community, regional and national government and even among higher educational institutions like universities, and donors / partners,


• Communities' commitment and determination in implementing projects;


• Donors and government have realized the importance of periphery regions in the country in sustaining peace and stability, i.e existence of favourable political policy environment such as launching World Bank pastoral development strategy, PRSP in pastoral areas


• Tendencies that donors and partners envisaging to operate across borders in order to address the problems of the pastoral communities, as it eases unnecessary instability and disruption in the region;


• PCAE is member of many associations and NGO networks such as CRDA, PFE, HAPAN, etc. this network has reciprocity effects

THREATS

• Droughts and fragile environment;


• Poor disaster preparedness capacity to absorb natural and economic


• Conflict among clans in competing for scarce resources such as water and pasture.


• Poverty and low basic socio – economic infrastructure in the pastoral areas;


• Poor staffing and low capacity of the technical staffs working for the government in the pastoral areas, and higher turn over of local government officials;


• Endemic diseases like malaria that erodes the working capacity of the pastoral communities.



 

 

 

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