FINAL Operational Manual 08-03-09 english March 2009interactions.eldis.org/sites/interactions.eldis.org/files/database_sp... · UNO Upazila Nirbahi Officer UP Union Parishad WCG Women

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MLGRD&C)

Operational Manual

of Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets

(REOPA) Project

Local Government Division &

Capacity Strengthening Team (REOPA-CST), UNDP Dhaka, Bangladesh

Preface This Operational Manual has been prepared to facilitate the implementation process of REOPA Project. The manual provides elaborate procedures for project implementation. In association with the Development Partners, the Government of Bangladesh has a long experience in employment generation in the rural areas through creation, rehabilitation and maintenance of public assets with a view to increasing access to food for vulnerable groups. The Government is also involved in strengthening the capacity of Local Government Institutions for better response to pro-poor growth, which is included in the GoB commitment to achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Furthermore, the Government of Bangladesh has issued a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in 2005, which demonstrates its commitment to fighting poverty to ensure food security. Consequently, the GoB had decided to launch a new project called Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) in six districts, namely Habigonj, Narsingdi, Feni, Sirajgonj, Satkhira and Barguna. The project was finally approved in ECNEC on 17 May 2007. The three main components of REOPA are: road maintenance through employment of vulnerable women, block grants for creation & maintenance of public assets including utilization of casual labour and block grants for basic service delivery. This Operational Manual provides the framework for implementation of the REOPA Project and will guide and assist project stakeholders related to the management of all schemes under the project. The procedures identified for implementation in the Manual are, however, flexible and subject to change according to the feedback received during project implementation. January 2009

Shaikh Khurshid Alam Secretary

Local Government Division, Ministry of LGRD & Cooperatives

Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 1 1. PROJECT SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 2

1.1 OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................................................ 2 1.2 PROJECT PURPOSES............................................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 PROJECT COMPONENTS...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 TOTAL BUDGET AND SHARING BETWEEN EC, UNDP AND GOB ...................................................................... 2 1.5 PERIOD OF EXECUTION ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.6 IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................................................................................. 2 1.7 PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS .................................................................................................................................. 3

2. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REOPA STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMITTEES ..... 4 2.1 REOPA PROJECT TASK FORCE (PTF) .............................................................................................................. 4 2.2 REOPA CAPACITY STRENGTHENING TEAM (CST).......................................................................................... 5 2.3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (DC) ................................................................... 7 2.4 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DEPUTY DIRECTOR, LOCAL GOVERNMENT (DDLG) ................................. 7 2.5 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE UPAZILA NIRBAHI OFFICER (UNO)..................................................... 7 2.6 DISTRICT OFFICE, REOPA-CST....................................................................................................................... 7 2.7 UPAZILA REOPA COMMITTEE ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.8 UNION PARISHAD .............................................................................................................................................. 8 2.9 PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (PMC)................................................................................................... 9 2.10 PARTNER NGOS (PNGOS).............................................................................................................................. 10 2.11 BANKS AT UP LEVEL....................................................................................................................................... 11

3. FUNDING MECHANISM OF THE PROJECT.............................................................................. 12 3.1 UNDP ACCOUNTS ........................................................................................................................................... 12 3.2 FUND TRANSFER PROCEDURES........................................................................................................................ 12 3.3 BANK OPERATION............................................................................................................................................ 13

4. REPORTING CHANNEL.................................................................................................................. 14 4.1 THE REPORTING SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................. 15

5. ROAD MAINTENANCE WORK COMPONENT.......................................................................... 16 5.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................................ 16 5.2 OPERATIONAL MECHANISMS: ROAD MAINTENANCE WORK COMPONENT....................................................... 16 5.3 SELECTION PROCESS OF EARTHEN ROADS....................................................................................................... 16 5.4 CRITERIA FOR ROAD SELECTION ..................................................................................................................... 16 5.5 PLANNING FOR MAINTENANCE OF EARTHEN ROADS ....................................................................................... 17 5.6 THE ROAD MAINTENANCE CRITERIA ............................................................................................................... 17 5.7 THE SELECTION PROCESS OF WOMEN CREW GROUP (WCG) ......................................................................... 17

5.7.1 Information dissemination......................................................................................................................... 18 5.8 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF WOMEN CREW MEMBERS .................................................................................. 18 5.9 FINAL SELECTION PROCESS OF CREW MEMBERS ............................................................................................. 18 5.10 TERMINATION.................................................................................................................................................. 19 5.11 REPLACEMENT OF WCG MEMBERS ................................................................................................................ 19 5.12 WAGES OF THE CREW WOMEN......................................................................................................................... 19 5.13 DURATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT.................................................................................................................... 19 5.14 GROUP MANAGEMENT..................................................................................................................................... 19 5.15 TOOLS FOR WOMEN CREW GROUPS ................................................................................................................. 20 5.16 OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES OF ROAD MAINTENANCE ACCOUNTS...................................... 20

5.16.1 Opening bank account ............................................................................................................................... 20 5.16.2 Operational procedures............................................................................................................................. 20

5.17 RESIGNATION/TERMINATION/DEATH AND PHASING OUT FROM THE PROJECT ................................................ 21 5.18 MONITORING AND REPORTING OF ROAD MAINTENANCE WORK...................................................................... 21 5.19 PARTICIPATORY MONITORING BY THE WCG.................................................................................................. 22 5.20 MONITORING BY PNGO.................................................................................................................................. 22 5.21 MONITORING OF ROAD MAINTENANCE WORK BY PMC.................................................................................. 22 5.22 MONITORING AND REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNION PARISHAD (UP)................................................ 22 5.23 MONITORING AND REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES OF UPAZILA REOPA COMMITTEE.................................... 23 5.24 REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES OF DOS OF REOPA-CST ............................................................................... 23 5.25 DISCIPLINARY ACTION .................................................................................................................................... 23 5.26 TYPES OF DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS................................................................................................................... 23 5.27 PROCEDURE TO TAKE DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS................................................................................................ 24 5.28 ARBITRATION PROCEDURE.............................................................................................................................. 25 5.29 CORRECTIVE MEASURES TO BE TAKEN AGAINST PMC AND UP ..................................................................... 25

6. BLOCK GRANTS............................................................................................................................... 26 6.1 REOPA BLOCK GRANTS.................................................................................................................................. 26

6.1.1 Creation and rehabilitation of public assets for casual labour ............................................................... 26 6.1.2 Basic service delivery ................................................................................................................................ 27

6.2 IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION OF BLOCK GRANT SCHEMES ....................................................................... 27 6.2.1 Scheme selection at greater ward level..................................................................................................... 28

6.3 ELIGIBILITY OF EMPLOYMENT UNDER THIS SCHEME....................................................................................... 29 6.4 IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS - AT UP LEVEL.................................................................................................... 29

6.4.1 Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) ................................................................................................ 30 6.5 BENEFICIARY SELECTION ................................................................................................................................ 31 6.6 BLOCK GRANT DISBURSEMENT PROCEDURE ................................................................................................... 31 6.7 PAYMENT & WAGES TO THE CASUAL LABOUR................................................................................................ 31 6.8 ACCOUNTING................................................................................................................................................... 31 6.9 TRAINING ON FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 32 6.10 ROUTINE MONITORING OF SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................................... 32 6.11 CAPACITY-BUILDING OF STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED IN IMPLEMENTATION OF BLOCK GRANT SCHEMES ....... 32

7. M&E/MIS ............................................................................................................................................ 33 7.1 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)................................................................................................ 33 7.2 MONITORING AND EVALUATION ..................................................................................................................... 33 7.3 INFORMATION FLOW SYSTEM.......................................................................................................................... 34

8. ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE PROJECT........................................................................... 36 8.1 ANNUAL RANKING OF DISTRICTS .................................................................................................................... 36 8.2 ANNUAL REPORTS ........................................................................................................................................... 36 8.3 FINANCIAL AUDIT............................................................................................................................................ 36 8.4 PROJECT EXIT STRATEGY ................................................................................................................................ 36

8.4.1 Exit mechanisms ........................................................................................................................................ 36 8.4.2 Development of a post-project situation strategy ..................................................................................... 37

ANNEXES ………………………………………………………………………………………………….38 1. INTERVIEW FORMAT FOR WOMEN CREW GROUP (WCG)…………………………………….……….………….…39

2. FINALLY SELECTED AND WAITING LIST FOR WCG ………………………………………………………….….…...40

3. AGREEMENT BETWEEN UP AND WCG FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE………………………………………………..42

4. ROAD LIST FOR MAINTENANCE …………………………………………………………………………………………44

5. YEARLY WORK PLAN FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE……………………………………………………………………45

6. FORTNIGHTLY ROADWORK REGISTER…………………………………………………………………………………46

7. PARTICIPATORY MONITORING FORMAT FOR WCG ………………………………………………………………….47

8. MONTHLY REPORTING FORMAT FOR PNGOs………………………………………………………………………….48

9. QUARTERLY REPORTING FORMAT FOR PNGOs……………………………………………………………………….49

10. QUARTERLY REPORTING FORMAT FOR PMC/UP ……………………………………………………………………..51

11. QUARTERLY REPORTING FORMAT FOR UPAZILA REOPA COMMITTEE ……………………………………...…..53

12. QUARTERLY ACCOUNT STATEMENT FORMAT FOR BANK…………………………………………………………54

13. QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORTING FORMAT FOR UPAZILA REOPA COMMITTEE…………………………..55

14. QUARTERLY REPORTING FORMAT FOR SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE FOR BLOCK GRANT ….56

15. TRANSLATION FROM LGSP OPERATION MANUAL 2007, PAGES 6-7 ……………………………………………….57

16. AGREEMENT ON BLOCK GRANT SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION BETWEEN UP AND SIC ………………………..59

Acronyms AWP Annual Work Plan CST Capacity Strengthening Team DC Deputy Commissioner DDCC District Development Coordination Committee DDLG Deputy Director Local Government DO District Officer EC European Commission ERD Economic Relations Division FA Financing Agreement FAPAD Foreign Aided Projects Audit Directorate IMED Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division LGD Local Government Division LGED Local Government Engineering Department LGI Local Government Institution LIC Learning and Innovation Component LGSP Local Governance Support Project MDG Millennium Development Goals M&E Monitoring &Evaluation MIS Management Information System MLGRD&C Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives NGO Non-Government Organization PIO Project Implementation Officer PNGO Partner Non-Government Organization PSC Project Steering Committee PMC Project Management Committee PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper PTF Project Task Force REOPA Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets RMP Rural Maintenance Programme SIC Scheme Implementation Committee TL Team Leader UDCC Upazila Development Coordination Committee UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNO Upazila Nirbahi Officer UP Union Parishad WCG Women Crew Group

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Introduction The Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Project draws on the lessons learned from the Rural Maintenance Programme (RMP), which was operational from 1983 to 2006 as a major Government led poverty alleviation programme in 400 Unions of the country. REOPA is implemented by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (MLGRD&C) in six districts of Bangladesh, where the Learning and Innovation Component (LIC) of the Local Governance Support Project (LGSP) is being implemented. The Project is jointly financed by the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Bangladesh (GOB). This Operational Manual outlines the administrative, accounting, reporting and financial management details of the Project’s different components. It will be used by the Implementing Agency and other stakeholders such as the Local Government Institutions and selected Non-Government Organisations engaged in implementing the different components of the Project. The manual provides the operational mechanisms and specific modalities for effective and efficient project implementation. The objective of the manual is to ensure that there is a clear, transparent and accountable chain of control as well as defined supervision and monitoring and evaluation principles integrated into the operational system to enhance the learning and dissemination of good practices among stakeholders concerned. This manual may be revised due to changing circumstances as and when required. Any revision of the manual will require joint endorsement by the Executive Authority, UNDP and EC, and will be published in the form of an addition to the manual.

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1. PROJECT SUMMARY 1.1 Overall objectives of the project The overall objective of Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) is to contribute to the long-term sustainable socio-economic development of rural Bangladesh. Therefore, REOPA will contribute to poverty alleviation in rural areas and mainstreaming women into development programmes, as indicated in the government of Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and Bangladesh commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). REOPA will also contribute to many of the six national priorities listed in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF 2006-2010), like Social Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction. 1.2 Project purposes The project has two parallel and interrelated development purposes. They are:

a) Socio-economic conditions and food security of the REOPA Project’s individual beneficiaries are improved and sustained

b) Social, economic and environmental conditions of rural communities, especially of the poor, are improved through pro-poor investments

1.3 Project components The project has three components:

a) Road Maintenance: Round-the-year employment creation for poor, destitute and vulnerable women

b) Creation and Rehabilitation of Public Assets through Block Grants: Creation of seasonal employment for the poor casual labourers

c) Basic Service Delivery through Block Grants: Improvement of a particular service delivery mechanism at the UP level

1.4 Total budget and sharing between EC, UNDP and GoB Total budget in Euro: 28,522,332 Agency Amount Percent EC Contribution: Euro 27,286,332of which through UNDP: (Euro 26,046,332) of which through PTF: (Euro 840,000) of which for external M&E and audit: (Euro 400,000)

95.7%

UNDP Contribution: Euro 736,000 2.6% GoB Contribution: Euro 500,000 1.7% Total: Euro 28,522,332 100% 1.5 Period of execution The period of execution of the Financing Agreement shall commence on the entry into force of the Financing Agreement. Implementation of project activities shall come to an end on 30.4.2011, with an additional one month for reporting of the project activities including financial statements. 1.6 Implementation The Executing Authority for REOPA is Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Co-operatives (MLGRD&C). The Local Government Division (LGD) of MLGRD&C will be the Implementing

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Agency, under supervision of the Ministry and with assistance from UNDP. UNDP is responsible for fund transfer for the three components of the project. 1.7 Project stakeholders The project’s stakeholders are:

a) Government of Bangladesh (GoB): (i) Local Government Division (LGD) (ii) Deputy Commissioner (DC) (iii) Upazila Parishad (iv) Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) (v) Union Parishad (UP) (vi) Other line Ministries such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning, etc.

b) European Commission (EC) c) UNDP Bangladesh d) Women Crew Groups (WCGs) e) Upazila REOPA Committee f) Project Management Committee (PMC) g) Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) h) Partner NGOs (PNGOs) i) Banks at UP level

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2. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REOPA STAKEHOLDERS AND COMMITTEES 2.1 REOPA Project Task Force (PTF) The Executing Authority will establish a Project Task Force (PTF). The PTF will be headed by a Project Director and functions with the framework of AWP, disbursement schedules approved by the Executing Authority and the EC. The Project Director, the head of the PTF, shall represent REOPA at the PSC as Member Secretary. Roles and Responsibilities of the PTF:

Within the framework of the work plans and disbursement schedules approved by the Executing Authority and by EC, the PTF will have operational authority to cover the technical, administrative, financial and human resources aspects related to project co-ordination, implementation and management of operating and information costs. The PTF will, in particular, undertake the following tasks: a) Prepare the Initial Plan of Activities (IPA), the Overall Work Plan and Budget (OWP), and the

Annual Work Plans and Budgets (AWP) for the approval of the Executing Authority and the European Commission,

b) Ensure the management of all financial, personnel and administrative affairs under operating and information costs,

c) Execute the activities as approved by the Executing Authority and by the European Commission in accordance with EC procedures,

d) Assist and support implementing staff and beneficiaries with technical and planning know-know, e) Ensure proper technical and monitoring support to REOPA. f) Ensure active participation of all Local Government Institutions (LGIs) involved in implementation

of the REOPA Project, g) Prepare six-monthly progress reports, both financial and technical, h) Arrange for audit through FAPAD of the PTF part of the EC contribution to REOPA.

Project Director GoB will appoint a full time Project Director (PD) to take full responsibility of the activities implemented by the PTF in co-ordination with UNDP/CST and LGIs involved. The Project Director is responsible to MLGRD&C for delivering the project results and ensuring effective and efficient use of human, technical and financial resources provided to the project. Specific role and responsibilities of the PD are as follows: Role and Responsibilities of the Project Director:

a) Ensuring that REOPA activities are well co-ordinated between PTF, UNDP/CST and participating Local Government Institutions and also other projects aiming at the same goals,

b) Approving the work plans and budgets to be submitted to the PSC and subsequently to both MLGRD&C and EC for approval,

c) Approving the tender dossiers and call for proposals dossiers as specified in the EC-UNDP Contribution Agreement,

d) Executing the activities as approved by MLGRD&C and EC, in accordance with EC procedures, e) Preparing standardised six-monthly progress reports to monitor all technical, financial and

administrative aspects on the utilization and impact of all resources made available to the project, f) Ensuring dissemination of REOPA activities and lessons learnt, g) Signing the contracts not foreseen under EC-UNDP Contribution Agreement and to be concluded by the

Beneficiary after having submitted them to EC for approval, h) Executing payments from the project account (costs as foreseen in section 3.5 of the revised TAP) and

requesting payments to be processed by EC (all other cases as foreseen in section 3.5 of the revised TAP) or by MLGRD&C (for the Beneficiary’s financial contribution),

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i) Preparing and attaching to the final AWP a proposed blueprint for phasing out project activities and preparation for a post-project situation, including ensuring that necessary pre-conditions are met concerning post-project ownership, operation, maintenance and sustainability,

j) Approving all deliveries of PTF. 2.2 REOPA Capacity Strengthening Team (CST) The Capacity Strengthening Team (CST) will be established by the project to provide technical assistance to REOPA Project. The CST will comprise long, medium and short-term senior and mid level international/national professionals. Activities and Responsibilities of CST: Assistance to PTF a) The CST will assist the LGD in general and the PTF in particular in the implementation of the

project, including the provision of technical expertise tasks, including:

Technical expertise related to the planning, management, implementation and information dissemination activities of REOPA, in particular to:

(i) Identify and deploy technical assistance expertise, (ii) Assist in establishing the Project Steering Committee (PSC), (iii) Assist in meetings of the PSC, (iv) Assist in preparation of Initial Plan of Activities (IPA), Overall Work Plans and Budgets

(OWP), and Annual Work Plans and Budgets (AWP), (v) Assist in the establishment of the Operational Manual, which will compile the detailed roles

and procedures for the partners of REOPA, (vi) Review Technical and Financial Progress and Final Reports, (vii) Identify areas of concern and define actions to solve them, (viii) Ensure information dissemination, (ix) Ensure visibility of EC support.

b) The CST will assist PTF in carrying out project interventions through delivering the following

financial resources:

(i) Wages to the beneficiaries engaged in REOPA. The daily wage is to be adjusted annually based on the cost of living information,

(ii) Grants/payments to the participating NGOs to provide the socio-economic development package for the beneficiaries and play their advocacy roles,

(iii) Block grants for the rehabilitation and creation of public assets by the Union Parishads, (iv) Block grants for the delivery of pro-poor services by the Union Parishads.

c) Also, the CST will assist the PTF in administrative, preparatory and ancillary tasks relating to planning, monitoring, and reporting on project components, procurement and financial management. These tasks will involve neither the exercise of public authority nor the use of discretionary powers of judgement.

d) Support to REOPA partners and stakeholders Capacity Strengthening of LGD and LGIs Based on the identified needs for LGD and participating LGIs, the CST will assist the PTF in establishing and delivering relevant capacity strengthening activities. Towards this end, the CST will first collect all relevant existing materials, including those used by RMP III and other EC or UNDP funded projects such as the Sirajgonj Local Governance Development Project (SLGDP).

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Capacity Strengthening of NGOs The CST will assist the Partner NGOs (PNGOs) in establishing and delivering relevant training programmes for the ultimate beneficiaries. Toward this end, the CST will first collect all relevant existing materials, including those used by RMP III and other EC or UNDP funded projects such as Food Security for Vulnerable Group Development (FSVGD) and SLGDP with the aim of avoiding duplication of efforts while grounding the training on best practices. The CST will also assist the PNGOs in advocating for the ultimate direct beneficiaries as well as the communities targeted by REOPA.

e) Support to REOPA general activities During project inception, the CST will:

a) Review all relevant documents elaborated during the former phases of RMP such as the RMP Operation Manual, monitoring and evaluation reports from CARE-Bangladesh, CIDA, EC or any other source, and training material used by RMP and other programmes with a training component targeting the same type of beneficiaries,

b) Propose a management plan enabling PTF in carrying out REOPA-RMP activities as soon as RMP III has ended,

c) Set up the internal monitoring systems, including periodical auditing and baseline surveys, d) Assist in the drafting of an Operational Manual describing project activities and modus

operandi, e) Propose revision, if any, for the logical framework of REOPA, f) Assist in the drafting of a modus operandi for coordination with SLGDP and/or LGSP, g) Assist in preparing the NGO Request for Proposals according to UNDP Procurement Rules and

Procedures, h) Assist in selecting the UPs to participate in REOPA, i) During the first three (3) months following the arrival of the Team Leader, the CST will submit

to PSC/UNDP/EC an inception report containing a draft OWPB and a draft first AWPB with a fully developed logical framework for the CST.

During implementation the CST will:

a) Assist in monitoring how adequately REOPA addresses crosscutting issues (e.g. gender equality, environment),

b) Assist monitoring the extent to which the assumptions of REOPA are realized, c) Look for innovative interventions relevant to the effectiveness of REOPA, d) Ensure coordination with other organisations working in the same field, e) Assist EC in setting up the external monitoring and evaluation system, f) Report to UNDP on monthly, quarterly (periodic progress) and annual (substantive) basis, and

UNDP will subsequently submit reports to EC with copy to GoB (PTF). Management Arrangements: The Capacity Strengthening Team will be recruited, managed, and supervised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Team Leader (TL) of CST will operate under the authority of the Country Director of UNDP and also the Project Director of REOPA under Terms of Reference agreed between EC, GoB and UNDP. The line of command between PTF and CST will always go through the Project Director and the TL. The TL will be a member of the REOPA PSC as provided by Financing Agreement FOOD/2004/17004. The TL will submit to UNDP for onward transmission to EC a six-monthly progress report on her/his specific activities. In any event, the TL will have the obligation to directly inform the PTF, UNDP and EC of any problem of any nature as soon as it arises.

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Joint Roles and Responsibilities of PTF & CST: CST will also assist the PTF in the following joint responsibilities:

a) Prepare the Initial Plan of Activities, the Overall and Annual Work Plans and Budgets for approval by the Executing Authority and the EC,

b) Execute the activities as approved by the Executing Authority and EC in accordance with EC procedures,

c) Ensure strategic technical and monitoring support to REOPA, d) Maintain close coordination with the EC, UNDP, Deputy Commissioners, Banks and the Deputy

Directors, Local Government (DDLGs) to make the intervention successful and sustainable, e) Assist in monitoring the achievement of REOPA’s cross-cutting objectives: food security, capacity

strengthening, gender equality, environment, etc, f) Ensure coordination with other Government and non-Government organizations and initiatives

relevant to the success of REOPA and its sustainability, g) Ensure dissemination of project experience, learning, knowledge and project visibility and donor

support.

2.3 Roles and Responsibilities of Deputy Commissioner (DC)

a) Provide overall coordination and supervisory role within his/her jurisdiction for the successful implementation of the project components,

b) Provide necessary support to ensure the smooth implementation of different activities at the Upazila and UP levels,

c) Assist and support REOPA Project to organize and conduct project-related training /orientation/workshop at the Upazila and district levels,

d) Provide need based supervisory and monitoring support to the project or delegate the same to his/her nominee.

2.4 Roles and Responsibilities of Deputy Director, Local Government (DDLG)

a) Oversee the implementation of the project and give support to the road maintenance activities and block grant schemes,

b) Assist the DC and enable the UNO to implement three components of the project, c) Participate in the District Development Coordination Committee (DDCC) meetings and discuss the

progress of implementation of the project.

2.5 Roles and Responsibilities of the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO)

a) Provide general supervision over the project within the jurisdiction of Upazila, b) Provide training venue and assist to organize and facilitate different training activities for the LGIs

at the Upazila level, c) Monitor and assist in the resolution of any outstanding conflicts with respect to the three

components of the Project between women beneficiaries, other beneficiaries, UP’s and the REOPA Project;

d) Invite the REOPA-CST District Officer to Upazila Development Coordination Committee (UDCC) meetings to discuss the three components of the project,

e) Initiate necessary actions against UP/PMC in case of any violation of rules based on REOPA-CST’s District Office’s and Upazila REOPA Committee’s monitoring reports.

2.6 District Office, REOPA-CST The six District Offices of REOPA-CST comprising a District Officer (DO) and a Field Assistant will be working closely with the district and Union level officials for ensuring a coordinated implementation of the three components of the project.

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Roles and Responsibilities of the District Officer:

a) Act as Member-Secretary of Upazila REOPA Committee which is the focal point for implementation of the three different components of the project,

b) Supervise the work of partner NGO to ensure that their output for the three components of the project is satisfactory,

c) Participate in the District Coordination Committee meetings, d) Assist the UP officials in the selection of women crew members as well as other casual labourers in

the demand-driven public asset schemes under the block grants component, e) Supervise the training programmes being organized and conducted by the NGOs for the different

stakeholders, f) Review progress reports which are submitted by Partner NGOs, g) In case of financial irregularity, including the payment of WCG wages, or any conflict in the

implementation of the three different components of the project, report to CST with a copy to PTF and UNO concerned and make efforts to resolve the problem,

h) Submit monthly/quarterly/annual reports to REOPA-CST Project Office, Dhaka, i) Undertake any assignment as directed by REOPA-CST Project Office, Dhaka and advised by PTF.

2.7 Upazila REOPA Committee Upazila REOPA Committee is a very strategic key stakeholder of the project and is expected to play a catalytic role in poverty reduction and employment generation at the UP level. Basically this committee will oversee a) the round-the-year maintenance of roads; b) schemes under Block Grants: i. seasonal employment of casual labours, and ii. basic service delivery. The committee will meet at least once a month. Formation of the committee will be as follows:

Name of Position No of Positions Membership Chairperson 1 Upazila Chairman (until the Upazila Chairman is elected, the UNO will

act as Chairman) Vice Chairperson 1 UNO Member Secretary 1 District Officer, REOPA-CST, to provide documentary and liaison support

to the Committee Member 6 • Upazila Agriculture Officer

• Upazila Livestock Officer • Upazila Women Affairs Officer • A UP Chairman selected unanimously from the UDCC • Upazila Project Implementation Officer • One woman member from the UDCC

Roles and Responsibilities:

a) Coordinate Upazila wide implementation of the three components of the project, b) Oversee the Project Management Committee (PMC), schemes and crew selection, c) Assist REOPA District Office and the UPs in implementation of the project in accordance with the

implementation plan developed by each UP for individual schemes, d) Assist and support the district office, bank and UPs in resolving any project related problems, e) Take decision on issuance of warning or termination letter to the Women Crew Group (WCG) in

case of any irregularities and violation of norms, f) Assist the project in organizing and conducting capacity building training programmes for the UP

officials, representatives and the PMC members at the Upazila level, g) Review the quarterly progress reports of the PMC and provide necessary feed back for further

improvements. 2.8 Union Parishad The Union Parishad (UP) is primarily responsible for planning, implementing and managing 3 components of REOPA. The UPs are also responsible for maintaining accounts properly to satisfy EC requirements.

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Roles and Responsibilities of Union Parishad (UP):

a) Organise a UP meeting to discuss the structure and role of the Project Management Committee, b) Maintain a consultative and participatory approach in selecting potential PMC members from within

the UP and communities, c) Under the leadership of the women members of greater wards and with assistance from the other

members, organize ward level meetings to select 3-4 members from each ward, who are well accepted by the community, to constitute PMC,

d) After receiving names of the would-be selected PMC members from the greater wards, organize another UP meeting to finalize the nomination of the 5-member committee and send this to the Upazila REOPA committee for approval,

e) Assess and select widely used 30 km earthen roads for year-round maintenance for each WCG cycle and submit to the Upazila REOPA Committee for approval,

f) Select the women crew members, g) Issue cheques for withdrawal of money for the three components of REOPA, h) Monitor the PMC’s performance and organize quarterly project performance review to assess the

progress and problems and to take necessary measures for improvement, i) Take necessary action, such as warning, suspension or termination of contracts, against irregularities

or poor performance of any particular scheme or women crew groups, j) Supply road maintenance register, attendance register and inspection register to each women crew

group or sub-group, k) Ensure that the PMC prepares quarterly progress report on a regular basis and submit copies to the

Upazila REOPA Committee for passing them to LGD-REOPA PTF and REOPA-CST, l) Maintain proper accounting that enables reporting for the various components of REOPA as

required by the donors and preserve the bills, vouchers and the cash book for seven years after closure of the REOPA Project. The following financial documents for REOPA will be maintained by the UP:

(i) Counterfoil of cheques issued for women crew wage payment; (ii) Quittance register for WCG members; (iii) Attendance register of WCG after graduation; (iv) Road lists; (v) Counterfoil of cheques issued for schemes under block grants for Public Assets and

Basic Service Delivery; (vi) Quittance Register of casual labourers’ wage payment within scheme file concerned; (vii) Pass Book of Road Maintenance Account; (viii) Muster Roll of Casual Labour; (ix) Pass Book of Basic Service Delivery Account; (x) Cash Book of REOPA Project; (xi) Mother Cash Book of Union Parishad, incorporating cash book of REOPA Project; (xii) Bills and Vouchers of REOPA Project, scheme-wise.

2.9 Project Management Committee (PMC) A Project Management Committee will be formed within the ambit of the UP and work in close consultation with the UP.

Name of the Position No of Position Membership Chairperson 1 One of the women members of the UP

(with rotation on a 2-year basis) Member Secretary 1 UP Secretary General members 3 Three community representatives

selected from three greater wards (reserved seats for women members)

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Roles and Responsibilities of PMC:

a) Form a 5-member committee, incorporating women members of the greater ward, with support from the REOPA District Office,

b) Assist the UP in road maintenance women crew selection, c) Based on the available days, allocate round-the-year road maintenance work to the women crew

members with payment on a fortnightly basis, d) Supervise and monitor the activities of the crew members for quality assurance, e) Act promptly to resolve if any problem related to scheme implementation occurs, f) Make people aware to participate in the local level resource generation, management and to

participate in the project implementation, g) Ensure safe and hassle-free working environment for the women crew members so that they can

work without any prejudice and fear, h) Ensure the regular and timely presence of WCG, i) Assign fortnightly road work task to WCG and acknowledge the task accordingly from WCG, j) Keep records of road maintenance activities on file for review and consolidated reporting on a

quarterly basis; undertake similar activities for the block grants and basic services delivery components.

2.10 Partner NGOs (PNGOs) The partner NGOs are expected to play a key role in monitoring implementation of the three components of the project and provide training on business and life skills to enable the beneficiaries to develop their own Income Generation Activities.

Roles and Responsibilities of PNGOs:

a) Organize rapid participatory appraisals for assessing the training needs of the women beneficiaries of WCGs and casual labourers of the block grants schemes,

b) Provide on-going training to the women’s groups on techniques of quality road maintenance and to casual labourers of the block grants component on relevant issues pertaining to the maintenance of public assets,

c) Monitor adequate supply of road maintenance equipment and ensure that the tools are well maintained by the WCGs; for the implementation of schemes under the block grants component facilitate that casual labourers are provided with the necessary tools,

d) Provide leadership skills to WCGs and casual labourers of the block grants schemes, e) Develop mechanisms for ensuring the regular presence of women at the work sites during working

hours, and for the casual labourers under the block grants component undertake similar supervision activities,

f) Provide training to those selected on different aspects of group dynamics, life skills management, gender mainstreaming, human rights, social issues, health related issues, income-generating activities such as cow-rearing, etc,

g) Establish close liaison with Union Parishad officials for an effective co-operation during the road maintenance phase as well as during the implementation of the public assets maintenance/ rehabilitation schemes under the block grants component,

h) Monitor road works of WCG on sample basis; for the schemes being undertaken as part of the block grants component undertake relevant monitoring activities and ensure that these are recorded for reporting purposes,

i) Monitor that women beneficiaries receive their wages on fortnightly basis and that casual labourers of the schemes under the block grants component also receive their dues at the determined intervals, and for the basic services delivery component that the necessary payments are made for the services rendered,

j) Monitor women beneficiaries’ deposit of the defined amount of their wages in the mandatory account with a local bank on a quarterly basis,

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k) Work under supervision of District Officers of REOPA-CST, UNDP and report on a monthly basis to REOPA-CST on the progress and achievements, also report on weak points and suggested remedies,

l) Assist the capacity strengthening of Local Government Institutions undertaken by REOPA-CST, m) Facilitate linkages of WCGs with other service providers, microfinance institutions, including other

initiatives of the Government at the district and UP levels, n) Assist Union Parishad in record keeping related to all implementation of REOPA activities.

2.11 Banks at UP level The banks are important stakeholders of the project and should provide services to maintain three project accounts and the individual accounts of the women crew members. Roles and Responsibilities of the Banks:

a) Banks will open three accounts for the three components of REOPA Project and individual savings accounts of the women crew members at the UP level,

b) Regularly update the project’s three accounts including passbooks and forward statements of transactions and balances once every quarter to the Chairman, UP, UNO, District Officer/ REOPA-CST and DDLG,

c) Pay wages of WCGs to the Organizer of the WCGs on a fortnightly basis and also transfer the savings money to the individual escrow account on the same day, i.e. every alternate Sunday, update pass books for individual savings accounts and issue deposit slips,

d) Adhere to the rules and procedures as stated in this manual relating to the project accounts as well as the individual escrow accounts of the WCGs,

e) The banks will charge only the mandatory charges as per government regulation. The accrued interest should be handled separately later on,

f) Banks will send annual report to REOPA-CST & REOPA-PTF.

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3. FUNDING MECHANISM OF THE PROJECT 3.1 UNDP accounts The EC contributions for REOPA-CST as well as the UNDP contributions will be deposited in UNDP Bangladesh accounts. These funds will be administrated and managed by UNDP Bangladesh as per the UNDP rules and regulations. 3.2 Fund transfer procedures

The funds allocated for the WCG and Block Grants will be transferred from UNDP directly to the bank accounts opened at the UPs for road maintenance, block grants for creation & rehabilitation of public assets (casual labour) and basic service delivery schemes, with written intimation to Deputy Commissioners and UNOs about the amounts transferred to each respective UP under their jurisdiction. The UPs will also ensure that 30 bank accounts are opened in the name of 30 women crew members for deposit of individual savings at the rate of Tk. 30/day. These savings can only be withdrawn by the individual crew member after completion of a 2-year cycle. Details of the operational mechanisms of each account are provided in the respective sections on each component.

FLOW OF FUNDS

UNDP

Union Parishad

Road Maintenance

(Co-signatories: Chairman,

Secretary & Female Member,

UPs)

Public Assets Block Grant Component

(Co-signatories: Chairman &

Secretary + oldest UP member)

Basic Service Delivery

Component (Co-signatories:

Chairman & Secretary + oldest

UP member)

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3.3 Bank operation

a) Among the three accounts of the REOPA Project opened at the UP level, accounts for the Road Maintenance will be operated by the Chairman, Secretary and the Chairperson of the Project Management Committee (PMC). For the Block Grants for Casual Labour and Basic Service Delivery, accounts will be jointly operated by the Chairman and the Secretary of respective UPs and the most senior (aged) UP member will act as third signatory.

b) The Group Leader of WCGs will withdraw the crew’s wages from the Road Maintenance Account

through cheque issued by UP. The partner NGOs (PNGOs) will assist the UP in ensuring that due payments are made to the crew members.

c) For the Block Grants for rehabilitation schemes, the UPs, upon receipt of a report from the PNGOs

and Ward members from the respective wards, will issue cheques in favour of the SIC Chairperson, whose signature is to be introduced to the bank by the UPs beforehand. The SIC will be directly responsible to implement the block grant schemes involving the casual labourers and pay their wages accordingly.

d) For the Basic Service Delivery component the implementation methodology will follow the same

mechanism as for the Block Grants above. It should be noted that under no circumstance EC rules allow withdrawing and spending the interest accrued from the project bank accounts and thus interest accrued in any project account must not be spent and will be accounted for separately.

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4. REPORTING CHANNEL

MIS

LGD/EC/UNDP

REOPA-CST/PTF

DC /District Officials of REOPA District Office

Upazila REOPA Committee

Union Parishad/PMC

Communities

PNGOs

: Reporting System : Monitoring/Supervision System

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4.1 The reporting system The reporting system of the project will be as follows:

a) At the grassroots level, the WCG members will undertake a monthly participatory monitoring of their own activities to assess the work performance by the members of the group, which will be kept by the Group Leader. (Annexe 7)

b) The PNGOs will submit a monthly report to the UP Chairman, confirming the work performed by the WCG and whether fortnightly payments of wages have been received by them, with copies to the Upazila REOPA Committee and the District Officer, REOPA-CST for onward transmission to the REOPA-CST Project Office, Dhaka.. (Annexe 8)

c) The PNGOs will also keep records of all work plans and road maintenance activities on file for review and consolidated reporting on a quarterly basis; undertake similar activities for the block grants for casual labour and basic service delivery. (Annexe 9)

d) The PMC will submit a quarterly report to the Upazila REOPA Committee through the Union Parishad on the work performed and payments of wages made to the WCG. (Annexe 10)

e) For the Block Grants for Casual Labour and Basic Services Delivery, the Schemes Implementation Committee (SIC) will submit a quarterly report to the Chairman, UP for onward transmission to the Upazila REOPA Committee for evaluation. (Annexe 14)

f) The banks will forward the statements of transactions and balances once in every quarter to the Chairman, UP, UNO and District Officers of REOPA-CST. (Annexe 12)

g) The banks will send a yearly report to REOPA-CST and REOPA-PTF.

h) The Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) will send a quarterly progress report on the progress of implementation of the project’s three components to the Project Director, REOPA-PTF and copy to REOPA-CST, Dhaka and Deputy Commissioner/DDLG. (Annexe 11). The report will also include a financial statement (Annexe 13).

i) The District Officer, REOPA-CST will submit monthly/quarterly/annual reports to REOPA-CST Project Office, Dhaka.

j) REOPA-CST will send reports to REOPA-PTF, UNDP and EC on monthly/quarterly/annual basis.

k) The LGD, EC and the UNDP can, at any point in time, undertake a surprise check of the operations of the Project and take action accordingly.

l) The Management Information System (MIS) of the project will be developed with regular feeding of information on the latest progress of the different implementing activities which can be accessed by the supervising stakeholders anytime for review.

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5. ROAD MAINTENANCE WORK COMPONENT

5.1 Introduction In line with the objectives and goals of the Project, destitute women will be provided year-round employment through maintenance of rural earthen roads. Destitute women under the Road Maintenance Component of the project would be selected by UP with the assistance from partner NGOs. All 388 Unions in 41 Upazilas of the six REOPA districts will be covered under the Road Maintenance Component. Among the 388 Unions, each UP will employ 30 women for two years in two cycles. PMC, UP, UNO, DDLG will monitor the road maintenance activities at the field level on behalf of REOPA-PTF. 5.2 Operational mechanisms: Road maintenance work component With assistance of PMC and PNGO, UP is responsible for the planning and management of road maintenance work through employing the women crew members. The operational mechanism of this component is divided into four sections:

a) Selection process of earthen roads identified for maintenance purposes,

b) Selection process of the women crew members,

c) Operational mechanisms of the banking procedures dealing with the payment of wages to the women crew members,

d) Reporting and monitoring mechanisms among the different stakeholders.

5.3 Selection process of earthen roads The UP will be responsible for selecting 30 km of the most important earthen roads of the Union for year-round maintenance work for each WCG cycle (Annexe 4). UP will get the assistance from the Project Management Committee (PMC) members during the whole selection process. UP will do the following tasks:

a) UP Chairman will call a meeting with invitation to PMC members, ward members and community leaders from each ward, for selecting the roads by following the road selection criteria.

b) They will prepare a list of roads and once the list of the roads has been completed, it will be forwarded to the respective Upazila REOPA Committee through the District Officer, REOPA for approval.

5.4 Criteria for road selection The following selection criteria have to be followed during the whole selection process of roads for maintenance:

a) Participatory process of selection.

b) Only village earthen roads will be selected.

c) Priority will be given to the following roads in the selection process:

(i) Roads serving as vital linkages between important hat/bazaar/growth centre or with the Upazila or those linking Union headquarters with Upazila headquarters

(ii) Roads connecting village(s) and farms to local markets and the Union headquarters (iii) Roads within the villages and/or connecting villages to local schools (iv) Roads with a minimum crest width of 8 feet

d) Roads that create negative environmental and sociological impact will not be selected, such as roads located inside a cemetery and forestlands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Forests, Ministry of Environment and Forests. Also, roads located within 3 km from the edge of the

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Sundarbans (the largest mangrove forest in Bangladesh) or any other wildlife sanctuary/reserve and roads located within 300 metres from the edge of an eroding river.

5.5 Planning for maintenance of earthen roads A Maintenance Plan is needed for ensuring proper maintenance of the earthen roads. The PMC, with assistance from PNGOs, will prepare a yearly work plan, to be updated quarterly, of 30 km roads for maintenance on the basis of the approved list (Annexe 5). Following activities would be conducted with regard to maintenance plan:

a) A quarterly plan would be made.

b) 30 km roads approved by UP will be brought under the year-round maintenance, from which priority would be fixed based on the quarterly plan.

c) Maintenance plan will be available/ maintained in the UP office and a copy should be sent to the Upazila REOPA Committee and REOPA-CST District Officer for information.

d) On the basis of the road maintenance plan, women crew members would be assigned to the selected roads on a fortnightly basis.

e) The crew will deploy themselves to conduct routine maintenance work on the selected roads based on the work plan prepared by UP and PMC.

5.6 The road maintenance criteria The road maintenance criteria have been developed to define quality of maintenance work on earthen roads. The criteria to measure the quality of roadwork will be performed at the Union level. The women crew members will perform routine maintenance of roads, thus they should not be asked to do heavy earth filling/ construction type of work. Women crew members should only be assigned work for selected roads under the respective UP. During rainy season, if the UP roads are submerged under water, the UP may assign women crew members to do work in schools, hat/bazaars, and to drain out rain water from roads, bush cutting, etc. However, UP should a have a resolution in regard to this. Primarily women crew members will perform the following tasks during the road maintenance activities:

a) Repairing of potholes, wheel cuts, rain cuts, small cuts, bridge/culvert approach fillings;

b) Compaction of earth whenever and wherever (RMP roads) earth filling has been done;

c) Light reshaping of the carriage way;

d) Light repair of shoulder and side slope slopes, if possible;

e) Turfing where side slopes have been repaired;

f) Cutting bushes from shoulder, side slopes and cleaning jungle;

g) Drainage for water passage. 5.7 The selection process of Women Crew Group (WCG) Union Parishad (UP) will take the primary responsibility for selecting the women crew members for the Road Maintenance Component. UP will involve the PNGOs, PMC and the village community/members of the civil society in the whole selection process. Following steps are to be taken for finalizing the selection:

a) The respective UP will prepare a plan/schedule for selecting WCG at least one month prior to the selection process. UP will send this plan to Upazila REOPA Committee and REOPA-CST District Officer for information and comments.

b) The PMC will be assigned by UP for taking action in maintaining the selection process of women crew members.

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5.7.1 Information dissemination a) The information on selecting the women crew members would be widely publicized in the

respective areas through drum beating, loudspeaker, etc.

b) Criteria of selection of women crew members, date of selection, time and venue should be mentioned during the announcement.

c) This announcement should take place in all nine wards of the Union to ensure maximum attendance of destitute women on the day of selection.

d) It must be ensured that a minimum of 30 women per ward (female members’ ward) attend on the day of selection.

5.8 Criteria for selection of women crew members Women crew members will be selected considering following criteria:

a) The candidate must be a permanent resident of concerned ward of the Union Parishad and must be 18-45 years of age;

b) The candidate must be a rural woman with head of household responsibility, who is widowed, divorced, separated/abandoned or married (who has a physically or mentally handicapped husband who is not able to earn an income);

c) The candidate must have a vulnerable food security status, being unable to provide her family with three balanced meals daily;

d) The candidate must be of low economic status, having few or no assets, being forced to beg or accept employment at low wage;

e) Priority will be given to widows and divorced women with dependent children;

f) The candidate must be mentally sound and physically capable of performing road maintenance work.

5.9 Final selection process of crew members The UP will conduct an open lottery system in front of all the selected candidates for final selection. The PMC will assist the UP to conduct a quick interview to verify whether the candidates meet the necessary criteria, and call for final interview only those candidates who meet the criteria (Annexe 1). It is essential that out of five PMC members, at least two are non-UP /community members, who should attend the crew selection process. At this stage following actions would be taken:

a) The PMC with the assistance from UP Chairman will interview the candidates for the verification/identification of the candidates when the respective ward member will ascertain whether the candidates have given accurate information or not.

b) The information will be recorded in the prescribed interview format (Annexe 1). Upon completion of the interview the UP will select potential candidates for the lottery.

c) UP will select at least 90 possible candidates for initial scrutiny (if the selection is greater ward wise, then at least 30 candidates should come from each ward).

d) The Union will conduct the lottery greater ward-wise in presence of candidate women and community representation from each ward.

e) Through the lottery 30 women crew members will be selected finally and their names and addresses will be recorded by the UP Secretary in the prescribed format that would be signed by the PMC Chairperson and UP Chairman (Annexe 2).

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f) A waiting list among the women who are not finally selected will be made through lottery. The list will comprise 15 women candidates, five from each ward, and they will be listed in priority order, ward-wise. This waiting list will be treated as a priority list. It will be kept in the Union’s file dealing with road maintenance (Annexe 2/1).

g) A contract will be signed between the WCG Group Leader on behalf of finally selected 30 WCG members and the Chairman of respective Union Parishad (Annexe 3).

The Upazila REOPA Committee will examine/observe the crew selection process and if any irregularity or violation of policy is found, the UP will be informed and may cancel the selection process. 5.10 Termination Any selection made on the basis of false information will result in termination by the Upazila REOPA Committee of wrongly selected crew members. 5.11 Replacement of WCG members

a) If any woman crew member resigns, or her services are terminated or if she dies, a replacement will be selected from the waiting list in order of priority ranking on the list for that particular ward.

b) The replacement must be selected within ten days of the former member’s resignation/dismissal/ death.

c) The new member will be trained on the road maintenance rules and regulations by the partner NGOs and the PMC members.

5.12 Wages of the crew women Crew members will receive wages fortnightly. Initially the daily wage rate was fixed to Tk. 70, but it was increased to Tk. 100, with retrospective effect from 1.7.2008, in accordance with a complementary EC-UNDP Contribution Agreement. Of the daily wage rate, an amount of Tk. 30 will be deposited as mandatory saving in individual escrow savings accounts. The daily wage level may be guided by the cost of living and relevant minimum wage rates as indicated by the Government of Bangladesh. Women crew members will be entitled to daily wages also when undergoing training conducted by PNGOs, as supported by training attendance register. 5.13 Duration of the employment The WCG will be selected for 2-year cycles and would be responsible for year-round routine maintenance of the selected roads and is accountable to the PMC for performing the tasks at the assigned roads every fortnight. The duration of the work will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a paid weekly holiday on Sunday and they will also enjoy Government holidays with full pay. 5.14 Group management

a) The selected Women Crew Group (WCG) members will be a self-managed group with individual contractual agreements with UP with regard to their roadwork performance.

b) The women crew members will nominate a Group Leader from the group members for one year through a democratic process.

c) The WCG will organise itself in three ward-wise sub-groups with ten members each.

d) The group will develop a suitable internal group management system to solve internal problems and perform the road maintenance task according to the REOPA road maintenance criteria.

The primary function of the Group Leader will be:

a) To receive cheque from the UP Chairman and withdraw cash from the bank for payment of wages;

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b) To ensure coverage of the length of road to be maintained;

c) To assist the partner NGO and PMC in preparing documents on the work done by the women crew members;

d) To ensure that discipline and quality work is being implemented;

e) To ensure that all individual bank passbooks are kept up-to-date. 5.15 Tools for women crew groups

a) Working tools will be distributed to the women crew groups by the UP and they would receive: 9 spades, 3 tampers, 3 pitchers, 96 baskets and 3 dao.

b) The PMC will ensure that tool distribution to the women’s groups is done and that tools are in good condition.

5.16 Operation and management procedures of road maintenance accounts

5.16.1 Opening bank account

Each Union will open an interest earning bank account in the nearest branch of any scheduled bank in the name of the Road Maintenance Component of the project. Project funds will be transferred to the above account. The interest earned on that account cannot be withdrawn.

5.16.2 Operational procedures a) The fund for the Road Maintenance Component will be transferred by UNDP Country Office to the

Road Maintenance Account of the respective Bank at the UP level. The REOPA-CST team will ensure smooth delivery of the funds from UNDP Country Office to each respective UP.

b) For Road Maintenance there will be two types of accounts:

(i) Union Road Maintenance Crew Account, from which crew wages will be disbursed by the UP.

(ii) The Compulsory Savings Accounts (Escrow Accounts) for individual women crew members will be opened in each UP. The UP will issue a second cheque with instruction to the bank to transfer a fixed portion of the wage money (Tk. 30 per day) from the road maintenance account to the individual crew accounts every fortnight.

Operational details of the accounts for the Road Maintenance Component are given below.

5.16.2.1 The account of road maintenance

a) The Road Maintenance Account will be operated by three signatories: Chairman of the concerned UP, UP Secretary and the Chairperson of the Project Management Committee (PMC) of REOPA Project.

b) The women crew members will be paid their wages in cash from the Road Maintenance account.

c) The concerned UP Chairman, UP Secretary and the Chairman of PMC will issue an open cheque to the Group Leader of WCG every second Sunday, i.e. every 14 days interval for a total of 14 days only. If the payment day is a Bank Holiday or any Government Holiday, then the payment would be made on the next working following day of the holiday.

d) The Group Leader will draw the cash from the bank in the presence of a member of the PMC and make the payment to the members of the WCG in the same day against their name, mentioning the actual amount and receiving their signatures with the register.

e) If the Group Leader leaves REOPA Project due to resignation, termination, release or death, then the UP will immediately notify the bank and introduce the new Group Leader.

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The representatives of the PNGOs will monitor that the members of WCGs receive their fortnightly wages and regularly check their bank Pass Books to ascertain that the mandatory savings amount is deposited into their accounts and entered into their respective Pass Books.

5.16.2.2 Account of individual crew women a) Thirty (30) Savings Accounts will be opened in each UP for the individual crew women of the

project.

b) The Chairman of UP and representatives of PNGOs will play an active role in the opening of bank accounts by the women crew members.

c) The Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNO) will give necessary support to the bank authority so that the women crew members can open their bank accounts without encountering any difficulties.

d) The District Officers of REOPA-CST will also provide necessary assistance on the bank account opening for the women crew members.

e) Union Parishad Chairman will send attested photographs and specimen signatures of the crew women to the concerned Bank Manager.

f) The bank will issue a passbook for each member as soon as the account is opened. This passbook should be updated on every deposit date, which will be monitored by the PNGOs.

g) The women crew members will be paid their wages in cash from the Road Maintenance account. However, as instructed by the UP the bank will deduct an amount from their daily wage, which will be deposited into a designated Savings Account of each individual women crew member.

h) The bank will not charge additional cost to respective members for this account opening.

i) The Bank Manager will issue a Pass Book for each woman crew member.

j) Crew members will not be able to withdraw any money from their savings account before the completion of the 2-year cycle.

5.17 Resignation/termination/death and phasing out from the project

a) If any member resigns or her service is terminated or if she dies, the UP will officially inform the bank. Accordingly, transfer of money to this account will be stopped from the date of resignation/termination/death.

b) After acceptance of resignation or in case of termination of any member(s), the escrow account of the concerned member will automatically be treated as a normal savings account and the released or terminated women can withdraw the deposited money.

c) After phasing out from the project in the second year, these escrow accounts will be converted into normal savings accounts and restrictions will be withdrawn. The graduated women crew members will be allowed to withdraw the full amount from the savings account after receiving business management training.

d) In case of death of any WCG member, UP will officially notify the bank. The amount deposited in her account as of last working day may be disbursed to her nominee.

5.18 Monitoring and reporting of road maintenance work

The concerned PMC members will primarily be responsible for supervising and assessing the quality of roadwork performance of WCG. However, other stakeholders of the project such as PNGO, UP, Upazila REOPA Committee, REOPA-CST and REOPA-PTF will also be involved in monitoring and reporting of road maintenance work at different stages.

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5.19 Participatory monitoring by the WCG The members of the WCG will undertake self-assessment of their performance. They will be given a form, which they will fill up on a monthly basis and the PMC will check/ review the filled-up form during their visit of road maintenance work (Annexe 7). 5.20 Monitoring by PNGO

a) The PNGOs will monitor the performance of the activities of Road Maintenance Component once in

a month and liaise closely with the UP, PMC and REOPA-CST.

b) It will also keep close contact with Bank to ensure the regular payment to WCG. The monitoring findings will be submitted to the PMC/UP with copies to REOPA-CST District Officer and the Upazila REOPA Committee each month.

5.21 Monitoring of road maintenance work by PMC

PMC members are primarily responsible for monitoring the road maintenance work of women crew members and reporting. The monitoring responsibilities of the PMC are as follows:

a) The PMC members will visit the work site once every fortnight or more often depending on the situation, to review the quality of the work performed by the crew and assign tasks to them for the following fortnight, to be recorded in a register called Road Maintenance Register. During the visit to work site the PMC Members will also check the self-assessment of work performance conducted by WCG.

b) PMC members will maintain a monitoring register to record the performance of the crew members and the task assigned to them for each of the fortnightly periods of road works (Annexe 6).

c) If there is any problem regarding road maintenance, the PMC member will initiate action to resolve the problem. Details of problems and status should be reported to the UP in writing.

d) PMC will submit a monthly/ quarterly monitoring report to UP.

5.22 Monitoring and reporting responsibilities of Union Parishad (UP) REOPA-PTF shall monitor the road maintenance activities round-the-year. It will issue directives to that effect from time to time in order to achieve the project goal. The Chairman of UP or other UP Members nominated by UP Chairman will monitor the activities of PMC from time to time, at least once in month. During the monitoring they will review the reports and records of PMC and other relevant documents of road maintenance work. The UP secretary will ensure availability of a road maintenance register, attendance register and inspection register at each work site. The UP is required to submit quarterly progress reports to the Upazila REOPA Committee within the second week of each quarter (Annexe 10). The UP will arrange quarterly project review sessions in which Chairman of UP, members of UP, PMC members and representatives of WCG will attend. The UP will also keep records of the findings and decisions taken during the Quarterly Project Review Session and a copy of this record should be attached to the quarterly monitoring report to the Upazila REOPA Committee. The UP will make sure that the shortcomings identified by the monitoring of PNGO and PMC as well as Upazila REOPA Committee have been rectified.

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5.23 Monitoring and reporting responsibilities of Upazila REOPA Committee The members of Upazila REOPA Committee will visit UPs from time to time. During their visit they will review the activities of UP, PMC and WCG relating to REOPA Project. Each quarter the committee will submit a consolidated progress and financial report to the Deputy Commissioner, with a copy to PD-REOPA and the REOPA-CST District Office (Annexe 11 and Annexe 13). 5.24 Reporting responsibilities of DOs of REOPA-CST The District Officer, REOPA-CST will work closely with the Upazila REOPA Committee as well as the UP Chairman, PMC and PNGOs. The District Officer will submit quarterly reports to the REOPA-CST Project Office, with a copy to PD-REOPA, on the performance of the road maintenance work by the women crew members. The DO will also function as the Member Secretary of the Upazila REOPA Committee and undertake all necessary monitoring and supervision work related to effective and efficient implementation of the Road Maintenance Component of REOPA Project and also maintain all relevant documents. S/he will remain in close touch with the district administration and keep them informed about all relevant matters regarding the implementation process. S/he will also ensure that the standard formats being prepared for submission of information by the different officials at different levels are compiled and the Management Information System (MIS) is regularly fed with up-to-date data regarding the progress of the implementation related activities. 5.25 Disciplinary action With a view to ensuring the qualitative work through better performance of the Women Crew Group (WCG), appropriate disciplinary actions are to be taken. Therefore, crew members should be reminded to fulfil the following obligations of the road maintenance operational disciplines:

a) Be present at worksite from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm;

b) Work as per instructions given by the PMC and UP;

c) Accomplish daily and fortnightly work assignment as specified in the road maintenance register;

d) Ensure availability of all working tools (spade, basket, tamper, dao, pitcher) at worksite;

e) In case of absence in roadwork due to sickness or other reason, send a substitute. If no substitute is engaged by the individual crew member (which should be exceptional) then the corresponding wage money of the concerned crew member should not be paid for those days of absence from work. It should be noted here that in case of serious illness, a crew member might be absent from roadwork for a maximum of 20 days at a time with permission from UP/PMC, which must be mentioned/documented in the road maintenance register). Prolonged illness for more than 20 days continuously will result in termination;

f) The Group Leader will maintain a daily attendance register and an inspection register for monitoring of the crew members.

As a self-managed group the WCG should warn the individual crew women in case of any irregularities made by the individual crew women and keep the PMC/UP informed. 5.26 Types of disciplinary actions In case of failure of the operational disciplines of road maintenance work performed by WCG, the following disciplinary actions, in general, may be taken:

a) If irregularities are observed in any of the issues mentioned above during the visits by any Government officials, Upazila REOPA Committee or REOPA-CST, UP and PMC, for the first offence an oral warning will be issued to the concerned individual crew member or to the whole WCG if the irregularity is committed by the whole crew.

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b) If irregularities are observed for the second time within one year, a written warning with a request to show cause will be issued to the concerned individual crew member or to the whole WCG if the irregularity is committed by the whole crew.

c) If irregularities are observed for the third time within one year, a 10% penalty can be imposed on fortnightly wages of the concerned individual crew member or the whole WCG if the irregularity is committed by the whole crew.

d) If irregularities are found for the fourth time within one year, the concerned individual crew member or the whole WCG, as the case may be, can be dismissed. This dismissal will be effective from immediate next payday of the WCG.

5.27 Procedure to take disciplinary actions The disciplinary action will be taken as per following procedure:

a) If irregularities are observed by UNO, Upazila REOPA Committee, REOPA-CST, DDLG or PTF, the person concerned will submit a written request to UP Chairman asking him/her for initiating disciplinary measures.

b) After receiving the letter, the Union Chairman will review the WCG file to determine whether the irregularities are observed for the first, second, third or fourth time within one year.

c) If the irregularity by the individual crew member or the WCG was for the first time, the UP Chairman will issue an oral warning to the concerned individual crew member or the whole WCG, as the case may be.

d) If the irregularity by the individual crew member or the WCG was for the second time, the UP Chairman will issue a written warning to the concerned individual crew member or the whole WCG, as the case may be, with a request to show cause. A copy of the warning letter will be given to the Upazila REOPA Committee.

e) If the irregularity by the individual crew member or the WCG was for the third time, the UP Chairman will write to the Upazila REOPA Committee, proposing financial penalty. In case of penalty decision, the Upazila REOPA Committee will write a letter to the UP Chairman asking him/her to impose 10% penalty. The UP Chairman will deduct 10% of the fortnightly wages (excluding mandatory savings money) from the immediate next payment to the individual crew member, or the whole WCG if the irregularity was committed by the whole crew. The UP Chairman will send a letter to the WCG, with copy to the REOPA Committee, REOPA-CST District Officer and DDLG, informing them about the 10% penalty deduction.

f) If irregularities by individual crew members or the whole WCG are found for the fourth time within one year, the UP Chairman will write to the Upazila REOPA Committee with a request to dismiss concerned individual crew member(s) or the whole WCG, depending on whether the irregularity was committed by individual crew member(s) or the whole crew. A copy of this letter should be forwarded to the REOPA-CST and DDLG.

g) After receiving the letter, Upazila REOPA Committee will investigate the matter and will initiate appropriate action:

(i) In case of dismissal of an individual crew member, the Upazila REOPA Committee will write a letter to the WCG, with a copy to the UP Chairman concerned, informing them that the member has been dismissed;

(ii) In case of dismissal of the whole WCG, the Upazila REOPA Committee will write a letter to the WCG informing them that the whole WCG has been dismissed effective from the immediate next payday. A copy of this letter should be forwarded to the concerned Union Parishad Chairman, REOPA-CST, REOPA-PTF, DDLG and the concerned Bank Manager;

(iii) After receiving this letter, the Bank Manager will ensure payment of all due wages and then “freeze” the account until the new WCG is recruited and introduced by the Union Parishad

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Chairman. The Bank Manager will also ensure payments of individual crew members “escrow savings” money;

h) The Union Parishad Chairman will initiate necessary action to recruit new women crew members with the assistance from PMC and PNGOs within one month of the dismissal of the WCG by following the selection criteria and procedures.

It should be noted here that if the WCG initiates disciplinary action against any individual crew member for her irregularities, then the whole WCG shouldn’t be punished further. 5.28 Arbitration procedure

a) In case of disciplinary action that is initiated by UP, the WCG has the right to appeal to the Upazila REOPA Committee if the WCG has any objection against it.

b) After receiving the appeal from the WCG, in the Upazila REOPA Committee will arrange to review the disputes and take appropriate measures based on the investigation and review. It may take any of the following decisions:

(i) Dismiss the individual WCG member/whole WCG;

(ii) Impose 10% penalty on fortnightly wages for the individual WCG member/whole WCG;

(iii) Reject the penalty or dismissal request and restore any penalty previously imposed by UP.

5.29 Corrective measures to be taken against PMC and UP If it is observed by Upazila REOPA Committee, REOPA-CST or PTF during their monitoring visits that the PMC is not functioning properly, the monitoring reports recommend to Union Parishad Chairman to reconstitute the PMC. In the case of a first such reported irregularity, the UP Chairman may warn the PMC; but in the case of a second irregularity within one year, the UP Chairman will reconstitute the PMC within one month. Similarly, if it is observed by Upazila REOPA Committee/REOPA-CST/REOPA-PTF during their monitoring visits that the UP is not functioning properly or not following programme policies or procedures, the monitoring reports will warn the UP and a copy of this letter should be given to UNO, DDLG, REOPA-CST and PTF. In the case of a second irregularity within one year, the Upazila REOPA Committee will recommend to the Project Director to suspend all block grants from REOPA to the Union for the next one year. A copy of this letter should be given to DC, DDLG and REOPA-CST. On receipt of such letter from the Upazila REOPA Committee, the Project Director will take a decision as required. UNO will inform the concerned UP Chairman about any suspension of block grants to the concerned Union. A copy of this letter will be forwarded to concerned parties.

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6. BLOCK GRANTS Besides round-the-year employment for the rural destitute women towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development, the project will provide Block Grants as an additional support to the Union Parishads to create employment opportunities for the poor, including destitute men and women who survive on selling manual labour, during the lean periods (February to April and September to November) through rehabilitation and creation of public assets. Each union will prepare at least two proposals for block grants covering the two lean periods of the year. The assets to be created or rehabilitated would be selected on the basis of the priorities identified by the poor communities. Once developed, the public assets would be owned and maintained by the communities. Actual number of women and men to be employed in the schemes is to be determined on the basis of the schemes jointly identified by the communities and UPs, through a consultative process. This guideline has been developed in line with the approved Block Grant Strategy of the LGSP-LIC project. The processes of community involvement in selecting the schemes, formation of committees at ward and UP level and empowerment of women UP representatives documented in the LGSP guideline have been duly considered. The Block Grants towards creation and rehabilitation of public assets will be allocated all 388 unions. The LGSP assessment grid has been followed to award the basic service delivery component initially to the first 88 Unions. The projects under the Block Grants will be developed and implemented under close monitoring of the PNGOs and monitoring from the REOPA District Offices & Upazila REOPA Committees. 6.1 REOPA block grants REOPA block grants have two components: 6.1.1 Creation and rehabilitation of public assets for casual labour Schemes that can be considered for this activity are of the following categories.

a) Social infrastructure proposals - These will effect entire or large proportion of the village population, e.g. health & education infrastructure, link roads, etc.

b) Economic and income-generating infrastructure proposals - These refer to infrastructure being repaired/maintained for economic activities like repair of village market, etc, which would result in increasing the facilities for income generation. Economic proposals from the concerned communities should have the potential to increase income of the members in the short/long term.

c) Multi village proposals - There may be some proposals that affect number of villages and the villagers will have to pool their resources. For example, large irrigation schemes, common infrastructure, etc. Such proposals have to be approved by the Upazila REOPA Committee.

For creation and rehabilitation of public assets in 388 unions, the total budget is Euro 1,400 (around BDT 120,000-140,000, depending on exchange rate) per Union per year, where at least 75% of the budget should be spent for payment of wages and maximum 25% is remaining balance to meet material and ancillary costs, including scheme administration. The following types of expenditure can be met from the 25% share of the budget allocation:

a) Purchase of materials for the repair and maintenance of public assets, b) Beneficiary selection (including community validation/endorsement), c) Record-keeping related to block grant activities, d) Administrative expenses, including travel and other monitoring costs, related to both block grant

activities and road maintenance. Maximum 10% of the total scheme budget may be used for this. If purchase of materials is not required, 90% of the budget should be spent on payment of wages and 10% for administrative expenses.

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The proposals for the creation & rehabilitation of Public Assets may be a variety of activities from income-generation to village infrastructure development. There is no prescribed scheme for this type of asset creation/rehabilitation. UPs will respond to the needs of the communities by following a participatory and demand-driven approach in the selection of the schemes. Some indicative list of the schemes is as follows:

Sector Type of employment that could be generated Education Painting school buildings, levelling/filling/raising school playgrounds Health Repair/maintenance of primary health care units in UPs, raising of ground Transport Major repair of roads, labour for repair of bridges, culvert maintenance, etc Post disaster Repair of damaged roads and schools, clearing of storm-felled trees, etc. Agriculture/Natural Resource Management

Roadside tree plantations, facilities for irrigation/ water resource management/rehabilitation of derelict ponds , etc.

Income-generating activities with/without common service facilities

Establishment of common productive-cum-demonstration facilities for training and income-generation purposes including innovative techniques and products and focusing on marketing channels

6.1.2 Basic service delivery Improvement of Basic Service Delivery, e.g. agriculture, health, livestock, pisciculture and environmental development and linkages with public and private sectors in selected Unions. Allocation for this component is Euro 550 (approximately BDT 48,000-50,000, depending on exchange rate) per Union. The purpose of this component is to promote different efforts in the fields of agricultural, animal husbandry and any other key areas of the rural economy by providing a package of technical assistance for enhancing productivity, employment generation and income. Block grants for Basic Service Delivery will be provided on a pilot basis. This component is significant to target the specific needs of the rural population and delivering those specific inputs that would have an immediate impact on the quality of life of the rural communities. A first step will be to select annually UPs which qualify for managing these block grants and which scored high in the LGSP ranking. Block grants for Basic Service Delivery will be allocated to fixed number of UPs per year as per the AWP of REOPA-CST.

Identification of the needs and selection of the Basic Service Delivery schemes would be ensured by following participatory methods engaging UPs and communities. It is expected that the agriculture, pisciculture and veterinary related services will get priority. Following indicative schemes could be considered:

a) Innovations in irrigation technology and use of fertilizer, crop protection and crop diversification,

b) Improved variety of seeds and storage facilities,

c) New techniques of veterinary services for improved health of livestock and poultry birds etc.

d) Improved stock of fish fingerlings, remedies of fish disease,

e) Improved cottage industries technologies,

f) Innovative technology in sanitary and environment management. 6.2 Identification and selection of block grant schemes Both the identification and selection process of the schemes for Public Assets and Basic Service Delivery under Block Grant would be same. A public asset block grant scheme cannot be implemented over two lean periods, but has to be completed within one and the same lean period (September-November or February-April). A UP can undertake 2-3 different public asset block grant schemes in the same lean period, within the allocated budget amount. The time schedule for public asset block grants is as follows1:

1 In line with the LGSP Manual, page 6-7, see Annexe 15.

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Activities Implementing Authority/ Responsibility

Time Frame Activity Objective/s

UP meeting UP Chairman and Secretary

- December (for February to April period)

- July (for September to November period)

- To inform the UP council about the Block Grant schemes and procedure of selection from greater ward level

- Coordination committees under the leadership of women UP members

Meeting at greater ward level

Women UP members and ward members

1st week of January/ 1st week of August

- To collect names of community representatives for inclusion in the PMC (5 names from each greater ward)

- Select need based schemes in participation with communities and submit them to UP for their endorsement of the most appropriate ones

Meeting at UP UP Chairman and Secretary

2nd week of January/ 2nd week of August

- To form the Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC)

- To select potential schemes and send them to the Upazila REOPA Committee for approval

Upazila REOPA Committee meeting

Upazila Chairman/UNO and PIO

3rd week of January/ 3rd week of August

To approve the schemes submitted by the UPs and send them back to the UPs

Primary selection of labourers

Women Members of Greater Wards in coordination with male members

4th Week of January/ 4th week of August

To select best suitable beneficiaries from the poor/ disadvantaged women and men manual labour groups

SIC meeting for final selection of beneficiaries

Chairman SIC and UP Secretary

1st week of February/ 1st week of September

To select the beneficiaries and hang the list on UP notice board and other public places

Scheme implementation

Chairman SIC 2nd week of February/2nd week of September

To start implementation in accordance with the approved plan and budget

Labour payment Chairman SIC and the UP Secretary

Daily, at the end of the day

To ensure payment to the daily labourers on a regular basis

Quality monitoring UP Chairman During implementation

To ensure quality work in a corruption free environment

Overall monitoring Upazila REOPA Committee

Scheme selection and during implementation

Overall quality assurance of the schemes

6.2.1 Scheme selection at greater ward level

a) The schemes should be primarily selected through a participatory and consultative process. The process should be led by the woman UP representative of the respective greater ward by involving the male UP representatives from the wards that comprise the greater ward and all the leaders from different socio-economic groups, i.e. teachers, village matabbars (village elite people), religious leaders, leaders of poor groups, leaders from indigenous and minority groups.

b) The consultation process will be facilitated by the UP representatives, who will be guided by the NGOs in three greater wards and report on the list of assets identified by the participants through a consensus and prioritization process.

c) The women UP representatives will be responsible to submit the list of Schemes to the Chairman of the Union Parishad.

During consultation, following criteria are to be considered:

a) Significance of the schemes in the community perspectives, b) Agro-socio-economic benefits of communities, c) Community, especially the poor’s, accessibility to the proposed Public Assets,

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d) Existing conditions and management of the resources/Public Assets, e) Impact of the Public Assets/schemes on the life of the community, especially the poor, after their

improvement, f) Willingness of the community for asset maintenance and assuming ownership after completion of

the schemes, g) The proposed schemes can be an example of ‘best practice’.

6.3 Eligibility of employment under this scheme A. Block Grants for creation and rehabilitation of public assets: Based on the schemes approved by the Upazila REOPA committee, poor men and women labourers who usually remain unemployed for a couple of months in the lean season will be selected to work under the schemes undertaken. Women currently employed in the round-the-year road maintenance work will not be considered under these schemes. B. Block Grants for improving Basic Service Delivery: This component might not create direct employment opportunity for the destitute and poor women or men, but will rather contribute towards developing appropriate methodologies for solving basic service delivery related bottlenecks, with active involvement of service providers and recipients. 6.4 Implementation process - at UP level Upon receipt of all the schemes under the block grants component from three greater wards, UP Chairman will call a UP meeting to select the most appropriate schemes through exchanging views on the selection process in an open general meeting. Initiatives will be taken to ensure that a diverse range of people from the locality are present – agricultural labourers, school teachers, members from the fishing community, etc. The meetings will be convened with one week’s advance notice to enable all concerned from the locality to attend. The UP Chairman will preside over the meeting and the minutes will be recorded by the Secretary of the UP. In the open meeting, the proposals of block grant schemes will be reviewed in a participatory manner, considering range and composition of the beneficiaries, poverty impact, urgency of the scheme proposed, budgetary constraints, etc. The proposal of schemes to be implemented under the block grant component will be prepared in a simple format. The UP representatives, with assistance of NGOs, will develop a simple project proposal by using the following templates:

a) Brief description of the scheme, including simple drawings or designs, b) A rough estimate of cost and fund requirement and contribution by UP and/or villagers, if any, c) Methodology for implementation, d) Expected short and long term benefits – impact on the beneficiaries, e) Source of accessing the technical inputs (whether locally available or through specified outside

assistance), f) Description of how the asset created by the scheme will be operated and maintained on a long-term

basis.

Some of the major considerations for the UP while selecting the schemes are:

a) The selected schemes should bring immediate results and supplement poverty alleviation initiatives in rural areas.

b) Employment generation and particularly women’s/vulnerable people’s employment will have to be emphasized in adopting schemes.

c) In order to select schemes and mobilize resources, UPs will prepare a Union-based development work plan, through public consultations every year at both ward and Union levels.

d) UPs will consider the issues of environmental protection, public health, social impact, etc in adopting and implementing schemes. No scheme would be undertaken that may cause environmental degradation, involuntary displacement of people and negative impact on the livelihoods of the community or where other negative social or communal impacts are observed.

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During finalization of the scheme, the following steps need to be followed by the UP:

a) An assessment will be made of the scheme’s short and long term benefits for the community, its

relevance vis-à-vis community needs, technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, sources of technical skills to implement the scheme, etc. It will also be ascertained that the decision to take up the scheme has been taken by consensus and that the UP is ready to monitor the scheme.

b) A detailed budget (indicating minimum 75% labour cost for public asset schemes) and design (if required) of the scheme will be developed. The UNO will assign an official to assist the UP in preparing the detailed cost estimate of the scheme.

c) UP will set up a Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) consisting of 5 members. The committee will be accountable to the UP for final selection of the beneficiaries from the list developed by the female ward commissioners and monitor quality implementation of the schemes.

d) The UP shall forward the list of selected schemes to the Upazila REOPA Committee for approval and to the District Officer - REOPA for their information.

e) On approval of the scheme, the UP Chairman will forward it to the Chairperson, Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) for implementation and sign an agreement (Annexe 16).

f) With the assistance of NGO, the UP and Upazila REOPA Committee will provide required technical support to the SIC during the implementation of the schemes.

g) Under LGSP-LIC a scheme with a cost of up to BDT 200,000 can be implemented without tender. In line with this LGSP-LIC provision, all block grant schemes under REOPA can be implemented without tender, as no block grant scheme cost will go beyond BDT 200,000.

6.4.1 Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) A five-member Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) will be set up, which will be responsible for managing and implementing the approved block grants schemes handed over to it by the UP. The SIC will have the following composition:

a) The concerned woman ward member of UP (of the ward where the scheme will be implemented) as the Convener,

b) One official of Upazila Level for technical support from relevant department (to be nominated by the concerned UNO),

c) Other members (two male and one female) will be nominated by the community at ward level open meeting organized by the ward members,

d) One member nominated by the committee shall act as the member-secretary,

e) At least 30% of members of the SIC will be women,

f) A person shall not hold the position of the Chair in more than one SIC. The SIC, which will have the direct responsibility for implementing the block grant scheme, will have the following implementation responsibilities:

a) Plan and implement the approved schemes handed over to them by the UP,

b) Directly contract community-based labour (wage rate to be determined by Government circular),

c) Procure goods through direct procurement,

d) Where necessary, receive advance payments from the UP in order to execute the block grant scheme,

e) Keep vouchers/payments (along with muster rolls for labour) and submit them to the UP for audit and other necessary actions.

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6.5 Beneficiary selection

A: Creation and maintenance of public assets

a) The women member and the male/female members of respective wards will be involved in the selection of beneficiaries, through a community consultative process. The beneficiaries should be selected from the poor, daily labourers (both male and female), who face difficulties in finding employment in the lean period. After selection of the beneficiaries, the list shall be submitted to the SIC for validation.

b) After validation, the SIC shall hang the list of selected beneficiaries on the UP notice board and at other public places for wider dissemination.

B: Basic service delivery

Enthusiastic poor village dwellers (farmers, fishermen, artisans, etc.) willing to test out new ideas, particular service delivery from both public and private sector etc.

6.6 Block grant disbursement procedure A. Creation and Rehabilitation of Public Assets: UNDP country office will in one instalment directly transfer the fund to the account titled: “REOPA Prokalpo Khandakalin Shramikder Mojuri Prodhan” already opened by the UP with a scheduled bank. The REOPA-CST team will ensure smooth delivery of the funds from UNDP Country Office to each respective UP. The account will be jointly operated by the Chairman and the Secretary of respective UP and the most senior (aged) UP member will act as third signatory. They will issue cheques in favour of the SIC Convener for a particular scheme. The SIC will pay the wages of the casual labourers through proper documentation. The UP Secretary shall be responsible to accomplish all the procedures and preserve them for audit purpose.

B. Basic Service Delivery: UNDP country office will in one instalment directly transfer the fund to the account titled: “REOPA Prokalpo Moulik Sheba Prodhan” already opened by the UP in a scheduled bank. The account will be jointly operated by the Chairman and the Secretary of respective UP and the most senior (aged) UP member will act as third signatory. They will make payments as required. The UP Secretary shall be responsible to accomplish all the procedures and preserve them for audit purpose. 6.7 Payment & wages to the casual labour Payments will be made to the Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) by UP through cheques. 50% of the approved scheme amount will be given after signing the agreement with UP. After submission of vouchers and muster rolls of casual labour, the UP will issue a cheque for another 25%. After completion of the scheme, remaining amount will be paid. The SIC Convener, along with two other members of the committee, will withdraw the money and distribute it among the causal labourers who have worked under the scheme. 6.8 Accounting Following account books will be maintained by the SIC:

a) Cash book b) Muster roll for casual labour c) Numbered voucher file d) Quotation file e) Stock register (goods receipts and utilized)

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Once a scheme is implemented as per cost estimate, the SIC Convener will submit all muster rolls, bills and vouchers to the UP Secretary. All vouchers and documents for the scheme have to be preserved by the UP Secretary for seven years for audit purpose. UP block grant funds should be recorded in the annual budget and financial statements of the UP. Standard UP financial management forms and formats are to be followed during the implementation of this component.

UPs will maintain their books of accounts, using a cash entry system. These will be regularly updated. At the close of the financial year, all books must be fully completed within 30 days (i.e. by July 30th). Documents under the block grant schemes should be made available at the UP for reviewing during the annual audit process. The UP Chairman will submit quarterly expenditure statements on block grant utilization to the UNO/ Upazila REOPA Committee. 6.9 Training on financial management The Secretaries of UPs as well as the member-secretaries of SICs will have to undergo accounts training to be organized by REOPA-CST, Project Office so that they are able to maintain the accounts uniformly. This data will be fed into the Financial and Management System (FMS) at the UP level and then on to the Management Information System (MIS) which will be developed for easy access to information related to project activities. This way the project offices in the Districts and in Dhaka will have up-to-date information about the disbursement and utilization. 6.10 Routine monitoring of scheme implementation The SIC and UP members of respective greater wards will monitor the daily work performed by casual labour. After completion of the schemes, the SIC will submit a report to UP describing activities and expenditure of the schemes (Annexe 13). The PNGO will assist UP and SIC in monitoring the process of the scheme implementation. They will monitor the scheme identification and selection, beneficiary selection, work performed by casual labour and wage payment to casual labourers and other activities of schemes. The REOPA-CST staff will also monitor the process of scheme implementation and wages to casual labourers on a sample basis. UNO and DDLG and members of REOPA-PTF will monitor both the activities of casual labour and service delivery. 6.11 Capacity-building of stakeholders involved in implementation of block grant schemes REOPA Project will provide capacity building support to Upazila and UP officials to strengthen their skills and understanding in key functional areas of project management, with emphasis on public financial management issues and accountability mechanisms. This will be undertaken through:

a) Under the supervision of REOPA-CST the NGOs will be responsible for organizing awareness campaigns focusing on informing the communities about the concept of public asset development and their ownership of such schemes under block grants through the distribution of brochures, holding of information workshops, etc.

b) Besides one-day orientation relating to the management of block grants to the SIC members and the

Upazila REOPA Committees, the CST Advisers will carry out on-the-job training during monitoring missions at the UP level.

c) Implementation of lesson-learning activities will be undertaken that would comprise field visits of

selected UP members and staff to observe good practices in neighbouring UPs.

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7. M&E/MIS A comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation and Management Information System (M&E/MIS) will be developed by the REOPA-CST. A national online M&E/MIS incorporating the key performance indicators will be developed for the project. The information gathered from different levels of the project from UP to District levels will be fed into the system regularly so that the project management at different levels can make operational decisions based on the latest field information. A person will be assigned at the Upazila level (41 Upazilas) that will be supported by the REOPA-CST Project Office and will be maintaining and feeding all the relevant data into the central M&E/MIS for easy access by all concerned. CST District Officers will ensure that the necessary data input is being done through regular visits to the Upazilas. The M&E/MIS system will have two key components: 1) Management Information System (MIS); 2) Monitoring and Evaluation. 7.1 Management Information System (MIS) The MIS will be an integral part of project management and act as the tool for operational decision making at field and central level. The roles of MIS are primarily application of MIS Database at the Upazila level and to provide necessary information on project delivery against the Annual Work Plan (AWP). The task of MIS will include data collection, data processing, data analysis, structured report generation for operational management and maintaining and refining of information flow from field to headquarter. 7.2 Monitoring and evaluation The monitoring and evaluation component will be based on the principles of performance monitoring of development results (output and outcome) outlined in the Logical Framework Approach of the REOPA

M&E/MIS

Operational Results

Input-Activity

Development Results

Output-Outcome

MIS M&E

M&E/MIS Framework of REOPA

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Project. The emphasis of monitoring will be on assessing whether and how interventions contribute to achieving the stated objectives of the project. The focus of evaluation will be on the assessment of impact achievement of the project and eventually that will identify the cost and benefit of the project at the end. 7.3 Information flow system There will be four tiers through which the information flow will be filtered:

a) Beneficiary Level: The direct beneficiaries will monitor their own progress through Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation tools and techniques that assist them to analyze and propose solutions to problems they are facing. The information of Participatory Monitoring will be shared with UP and PNGO for onward transmission to Upazila, District and Headquarters levels.

b) Union Parishad Level: Representatives of the UP and PMC will oversee the self-monitoring of the

beneficiaries and also undertake their own supervision and record their findings for inclusion in the report to the Upazila REOPA Committee.

c) Upazila Level: The information gathered here is vital as it is from this level that the MIS will be

functional at the beginning. Data will be fed into the M&E/MIS system by a computer operator at Upazila level and the computer operator has to ensure that databases are regularly updated and available to any concerned officials who need access to it.

d) LGD and UNDP Headquarter Level: REOPA-CST Project Office, Monitoring and Evaluation

Unit, will maintain a web-based MIS and perform necessary analysis for reporting and provide information to UNDP and LGD and for project management decision making.

The diagram on the next page indicates the flow of information within REOPA Project.

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REOPA Group

REOPA Activities

PNGO at UP level

Union Parishad

PNGO Officer at Upazila Level

Upazila MIS Officer

District Officer REOPA-CST

DDLG at District Level

REOPA-CST/PTF

LGD, EC, UNDP

Reporting Feedback

Information Flow Chart

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8. ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE PROJECT 8.1 Annual ranking of districts It is recommended that the monitoring process should include an annual ranking of the participating districts in terms of their performance in implementing the project. The ranking should be done or supervised by REOPA-PTF and REOPA-CST based on verifiable criteria developed and based on the reporting system of each component of the project. An indicative list of possible evaluation criteria is as follows:

a) Extent to which employment has been generated,

b) Productive value of completed works,

c) Quality of record keeping and reporting,

d) Accessibility and transparency of REOPA-related documents,

e) Regularity of wage payments to beneficiaries,

f) Involvement of UPs. The ranking of districts should be made public. The top ranking district office-bearers of the UP and Upazila will be rewarded by being sponsored by REOPA-CST to have exposure to the best practices being followed in a neighbouring country.

8.2 Annual reports The REOPA-CST will prepare an Annual Report on the implementation of the project. 8.3 Financial audit Financial audit is mandatory. There will be three types of audit systems to be applied for the project:

a) FAPAD (Foreign Aided Projects Directorate) will undertake an audit of expenditure under the Project Task Force,

b) Six-monthly external audit of expenditure under the Project Task Force will be undertaken by EC,

c) Expenditure under the Capacity Strengthening Team will be audited by an internal audit of the UNDP.

8.4 Project exit strategy

8.4.1 Exit mechanisms To ensure sustainability of the project’s interventions, it is essential to have a well-designed exit strategy from the beginning. This can be integrated by developing in-built mechanisms in the project’s activities, which will empower the grassroots level institutions and rural population to take an active part in their own development process. Two key points to be kept in view are:

a) No dues are pending to the beneficiaries in any of the three components,

b) All relevant documents are maintained in proper order and in a manner that can be developed easily into a centralized MIS, which would ensure that the project experience and learning is available for future use.

On completion of the project, all field equipment related to the project will be transferred to the UPs. All office equipment of PTF and CST including supplies and vehicles will be returned to MLGRD&C.

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8.4.2 Development of a post-project situation strategy When formulating the main components of the project – road maintenance, block grants for casual labour and the provision of basic services – the focus should be on developing and integrating interventions that would ensure the continuation of the different activities of the project, long after the completion of the project. To achieve this objective, considerable focus needs to be given to those elements of the project that would become the vehicle for continuing the interventions. For instance, the development of entrepreneurial skills among the target groups, especially representatives of WCGs, must be well developed so as to make them self-reliant to continue with their enterprise development after the closure of the project. The focus of these initiatives should be to get the beneficiaries of the project out of their dependency syndrome and empower them to continue with the promotion and development of their sustainable livelihoods in a better way. For this, there is a need to organize exit strategy workshops from the penultimate year of the project. These workshops must be held at district level and the expenditure will be borne by REOPA-PTF and CST. The primary objective of these workshops would be to publicize and familiarize the target groups about the significance of self-reliance and continuing with the project’s interventions on their own as this is the ultimate goal of REOPA Project. Location of and participation in these workshops should be carefully planned and the proceedings should be well documented for easy reference by all concerned.

38

ANNEXES

List of Formats for the Operational Manual

1. Interview Format for Women Crew Group (WCG)

2. Finally Selected and Waiting List for WCG

3. Agreement between UP and WCG for Road Maintenance

4. Road List for Maintenance

5. Yearly Work Plan for Road Maintenance

6. Fortnightly Roadwork Register

7. Participatory Monitoring Format for WCG

8. Monthly Reporting Format for PNGOs

9. Quarterly Reporting Format for PNGOs

10. Quarterly Reporting Format for PMC/UP

11. Quarterly Reporting Format for Upazila REOPA Committee

12. Quarterly Account Statement Format for Bank

13. Quarterly Financial Reporting Format for Upazila REOPA Committee

14. Quarterly Reporting Format for Scheme Implementation Committee for Block Grant

15. Translation from LGSP Operation Manual 2007, Pages 6-7

16. Agreement on Block Grant scheme implementation between UP and SIC

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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Interview Format for Women Crew Group (WCG)

Name of Interviewer: Signature Page: From ---------------- To ---------------- Union:-------------------------------------------------- 1. --------------------------- -------------------- Date: Upazila:-------------------------------- 2. --------------------------- -------------------- District:---------------------------------- 3. -------------------------- --------------------

No. of Dependents Sl. No.

Woman’s Name, Father’s/Husband’s Name

Age Village Ward No.

Marital Status Son Daughter Husband

(Disabled) Others

Occupation Selected for

Lottery (Yes/No)

If finally selected give tick

mark

Signature/ Thumb-

mark

Remarks/ Comments

Marital Status: Widowed, Divorced, Abandoned, Separated, Married (Married/widowed should mention their husband’s name, else father’s name) Approved by:---------------------------------------------------- (UP Chairman) Date:------------------------------------------- (UP Official Seal) Copy to: Union Parishad File REOPA Upazila Committee District Officer of REOPA-CST

Annexe 1

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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Finally Selected and Waiting List for WCG

Union: Upazila: District: Date of Selection:

List of 30 Selected Women for WCG Sl. No.

Name Previous Occupation

Age Father/ Husband’s Name

Marital Status

Village Ward No. Designation Comments

Prepared by: Approved by: Name: Name: Designation: Designation: Date: Date: Copy to:

i. REOPA Union File ii. Upazila Nirbahi Officer iii. REOPA-CST District Officer

Annexe 2

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

41

Waiting list for WCG

Sl. No.

Name Previous Occupation

Age Father/Husband’s Name

Marital Status

Village Ward No. Designation Comments

Prepared by: Approved by: Name: Name: Designation: Designation: Date: Date: Copy to:

i. REOPA Union File ii. Upazila Nirbahi Officer iii. REOPA-CST District Officer

Annexe 2/1

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

42

Specimen of Contract Agreement between Union Parishad and WCG This Contract has been signed for the purpose of road maintenance for two years period covering -------- 2009 to ------ 2011 under the provisions of the Operational Manual of REOPA, a project which is directly implemented by Local Government Division (LGD), and the terms and conditions stipulated in the annexes of the Operational Manual as described henceforth. Parties Involved: ----------------------------Union Parishad of ---------------------Upazila under -------------- District of Bangladesh will be treated as first party. --------------------------------First Party and Women Crew Group (WCG) of -----------------Union Parishad of ----------------------Upazila under ---------------------- District of Bangladesh will be treated as second party. -----------------------------Second Party Hereinafter, the ----------Union Parishad and -------------------Women Crew Group is called first party and second party respectively in the contract. Now, therefore, both first and second parties agree as follows:

Terms and Conditions For UP:

1. Assign and acknowledge reasonable volume of work from WCG at fortnightly (14 days) interval;

2. A total of 96 baskets will be provided to WCG members; 3. Supervise work performance of WCG members on a fortnightly basis; 4. If any problem arises from community, e.g. earth related problem, money extortion etc. which

will hamper road maintenance work, assist to resolve such problem; 5. In case WCG members fail to comply with the rules of road maintenance work, initiate

necessary action in the light of general disciplinary rules for WCG as described in the Operational Manual of REOPA;

6. In case of dismissal or resignation of any WCG member, inform bank manager in writing with copy to UNO, DC and REOPA-CST to cancel/release respective escrow account;

7. All new recruitment of WCG members should be made in line with pertinent provision of the Operational Manual.

For WCG Members:

1. Every member of WCG will work sincerely in a group to accomplish assignment; 2. Establish discipline (determining work date and time, determining weekly target of work,

fixing monthly and group meeting date) among them to work as a self-managed group and create enabling work environment;

3. Accomplish assignment in time by maintaining proper procedures of road maintenance; 4. Select a Group Leader according to the Operational Manual, following democratic process; 5. Inform UP if any major external problem related to road maintenance work arises;

Annexe 3

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Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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6. Dismiss WCG member(s) who disrupt enabling working environment, fail to maintain quality of work and do not comply with rules of the group or the Operational Manual;

7. If the Group Leader does not perform her responsibility properly or fails to perform her responsibility, change the Group Leader as per rules of the Operational Manual;

8. In case of dismissal, death or resignation of any group member, inform UP immediately; 9. As Group Leader perform assigned responsibilities in close contact with UP, UNO, DC and

District Officer of REOPA-CST, as well as PNGO; 10. In the absence of Group Leader, the leader of any sub-group of the WCG will draw wages from

bank for all WCG members with the help of PNGO representative; 11. If necessary, elect new Group Leader through re-election at six monthly intervals; 12. Take care of and if necessary repair and replace the tools for road maintenance in a responsible

manner; 13. If any unfair or unacceptable action takes place against WCG members, submit information to

District Officer, REOPA-CST and UNO.

The terms and conditions described above have been articulated as per the Operational Manual of REOPA. Even then, if either of the parties thinks that there is confusion or ambiguity in the terms and conditions spelt out in the contract which may hamper the activity of the Project, in that case confusion and ambiguity could be resolved through bilateral dialogue in a congenial environment. This Contract Agreement has been signed in the presence of following witness: Name: --------------------------- Name: --------------------------- Designation: ------------------------ Designation: ------------------------ Signature: --------------------------- Signature: --------------------------- Date: -------------------------- Date: -------------------------- ------------- Union Parishad Women Crew Group of ------------ Union Parishad Witness: First Party:

1. Name: -------------------------------------------- Sign: -------------------------------------------------- Address: ---------------------------------------------

Second Party: 2. Name: -------------------------------------------- Sign: -------------------------------------------------- Address: ---------------------------------------------

(The mutual relationship between UP and WCG of REOPA is contract based. Hence, this contract will be signed between UP and WCG immediately after selection of WCG members. Chairman on behalf of UP and Group Leader on behalf WCG will sign this contract.)

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

44

Road List for Maintenance

Union: Upazila: District:

Road No. Road Name Description of Road Length of Road Prepared by: Approved by: Name: Name: Designation: Designation: Date: Date: Copy to:

i. REOPA Union File ii. Upazila REOPA Committee iii. District Officer, REOPA-CST

Annexe 4

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

45

Yearly Work Plan for Road Maintenance

Ward: Union: Upazila: District: Date Road No. & Name Road Length Remarks/Comments Prepared by: Approved by: Name: Name: Designation: Designation: Date: Date: Copy to:

1. REOPA Union File; 2. Upazila REOPA Committee; 3. District Officer, REOPA-CST

Annexe 5

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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Fortnightly Road Work Quality and Quantity Monitoring Register Ward No.: Union: Upazila: District: Date Work

Place (From —To)

Work Days

Work Length (m)

Score for Target

Targeted Status (Excellent, Good, Unsatis-factory)

Earth Filling

Temp-ering

Shoulder & Side Slope

Turfing Cleaning jungles & bushes

Drainage Cutting

Score of Work

Work Quality (Excellent, Good, Unsatis-factory)

Group Leader’s Signature

PMC/ Visitor’s Signature

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement Assignment 50 50 Acknowledgement

Note: Work target and quality will be evaluated individually. Score 45-50: Excellent; 35-44: Good; 0-34: Unsatisfactory. For work quality 50 marks will be distributed among the available tasks in accordance with the weight of each task.

Annexe 6

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

47

Participatory Monitoring Format for WCG District:--------------, Upazila:-------------------, Union:-------------, Ward------ Month:------------------, Fortnight: ------------------

Prepared by

1) Name:-----------------------------, Sign:---------------------------

2) Name:-----------------------------, Sign:---------------------------

Annexe 7

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

48

Monthly Reporting Format for PNGOs Month: Union:---------------, Upazila:----------------, District:----------------, Reporting Date:--------------------------- 1) Has the WCG attended and departed from site on time?

Yes/No Remarks:

2) Do they bring working tools properly?

Remarks:

3) Has the WCG faced any problem?

Description:

4) Number of working days worked by WCG in this month

Target: -----------days, Achievement: ------------- days Remarks:

5) Quantity of work performed by WCG in this month

Target: -----------m, Achievement: ------------- m. Remarks:

6) Quality of work performed by WCG in this month

Very Good:---------, Good:-----------, Unsatisfactory:--------------- Remarks:

7) Wages paid to WCG in this month

Target: --------- nos., ------------------ Tk. Distributed:---------- nos., -------------------Tk.

8) Wages transferred to escrow account this month

Target: --------- nos., ------------------ Tk. Transferred:---------- nos., -------------------Tk.

Prepared by- Name: Designation: Signature: Copy to:

1) UP, Chairman 2) District Officer, REOPA-CST

Annexe 8

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

49

Quarterly Reporting Format for PNGOs

Reporting Period: Union:-----------, Upazila:------------------, District:----------------, Reporting Date:------------------- 1. Road Maintenance:

a. Has the WCG been selected or changed? Yes/No/Not applicable If yes, the marital status of the

selected/changed WCG: Widowed:------, Divorced:-------, Abandoned:---------Separated:-----------, Married:-----------------

b. Has the crew group been trained? Yes/No/Not applicable If yes, what was the training content and

duration? Content:-------------------, Duration:------------------- days

c. Fortnightly task assignment to and acknowledgement from WCG:

Target:---------------times, Achievement:-------------times

d. Accomplished task by WCG: Target:-------------km, Achievement:-------------- km. e. Work target achievement by WCG: Very good:-------times, Good: -------times, Unsatisfactory: -------times f. Quality of work performed by WCG: Very good:-------times, Good: -------times, Unsatisfactory: -------times g. Has any indiscipline act been conducted

by WCG? Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, describe the incidence: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

h. Whether the conditions of work tools were all right?

Yes/No

i. Wages payment status of WCG Target: Tk.-------------------------, Delivery: Tk.-------------------------------- j Wage transfer to escrow account Target: Tk.-------------------------, Delivery: Tk.-------------------------------- For any deviation in wage payment,

describe the reasons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

l. Has the road list been prepared for road maintenance work?

Yes/No

Has the work plan been prepared for road maintenance work?

Yes/No

m. Has the quarterly review session been held?

Yes/No

n. Next date of review session: o. Number of UP/PMC participants attended

in quarterly review session: Male:---------, Female:----------, Total:----------------------

p. Has any linkage been established with WCG members and service delivery organizations?

# of WCG Member:---------, Organization Name:----------------- Type of services:------,---------,----------,------------,-------------

2. Block Grant

a. Schemes implemented under public assets creation and rehabilitation:

Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, give details of the implemented schemes.

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:---------------, Work days generated under scheme:------ days

b. Scheme implemented under basic service delivery:

Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, give details of the implemented schemes.

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:-----------------------, # of direct beneficiaries :----------------------------

January-March April-June July-September October-December

Annexe 9

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

50

3. Project related problems

Type of Problem Number Present situation of the Problem Task related— Wages related— Harassment Others (specify) 4. Please mention, if the assistance of Upazila is needed for smooth implementation of the project.

a. -----------------------------------------, b.----------------------------------------------------, c.----------------------------- e.-----------------------------------------, f.-------------------------------------------------, g.-------------------------------- h.----------------------------------------- 5. Work plan for the next quarter:

Road Name/Scheme Name Type of Road/Scheme Length of Road (km)/Duration of the Scheme (days) Prepared by: Signature: ---------------------------------------------- Name: ------------------------------------------------ Designation:---------------------------------------------

Copy to: 1) Upazila REOPA Committee, 2) District Officer, REOPA-CST, 3) Chairman Union Parishad

Annexe 9

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

51

Quarterly Reporting Format for PMC/UP

Period: Union:-----------, Upazila:------------------, District:----------------, Reporting Date:------------------- 1. Road Maintenance:

a. Has the WCG been selected or changed? Yes/No/Not applicable If yes, the marital status of the

selected/changed WCG: Widowed:------, Divorced:-------, Abandoned:---------Separated:-----------, Married:-----------------

b. Has the crew group been trained? Yes/No/Not applicable If yes, what was the training content and

duration? Content:-------------------, Duration:------------------- days

c. Fortnightly task assignment to and acknowledgement from WCG:

Target:---------------times, Achievement:-------------times

d. Accomplished task by WCG: Target:-------------km, Achievement:-------------- km. e. Work target achievement by WCG: Very good:-------times, Good: -------times, Unsatisfactory: -------times f. Quality of work performed by WCG: Very good:-------times, Good: -------times, Unsatisfactory: -------times g. Has any warning letter been produced to

WCG for unsatisfactory work? Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, describe the reason: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

h. Wages payment status of WCG Target: Tk.-------------------------, Delivery: Tk.-------------------------------- For any deviation in wage payment

describe the reasons ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i. Has the quarterly review session been held?

Yes/No

Next date of review session: Number of UP/PMC participants attended

in quarterly review session: Male:---------, Female:----------, Total:----------------------

2. Block Grant

a. Schemes implemented under public assets creation and rehabilitation:

Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, give details of the implemented schemes.

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:---------------, Work days generated under scheme:------ days

b. Scheme implemented under basic service delivery:

Yes/No/Not applicable

If yes, give details of the implemented schemes.

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:-----------------------, # of direct beneficiaries :----------------------------

3. Project related problems

Type of Problem Number Present situation of the Problem Task related— Wages related— Harassment Others (specify) 4. Please mention, if the assistance of Upazila is needed for smooth implementation of the project.

a. -----------------------------------------, b.----------------------------------------------------, c.----------------------------- e.-----------------------------------------, f.-------------------------------------------------, g.-------------------------------- h.-----------------------------------------

January-March April-June July-September October-December

Annexe 10

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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5. Work plan for the next quarter:

Road Name/Scheme Name Type of Road/Scheme Length of Road (km)/Duration of the Scheme (days) Prepared by: Signature: ---------------------------------------------- Name: ------------------------------------------------ Designation:--------------------------------------------- (On behalf of PMC)

Approved by: Signature: ---------------------------------------------, Date:-------------------------------- Designation: UP Chairman (Official Seal of UP)

Copy to: REOPA Union File, REOPA Upazila File, REOPA-CST District File

Annexe 10

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

53

Quarterly Reporting Format for Upazila REOPA Committee

Reporting Period: Upazila:------------------, District:----------------------, Reporting Date:------------------- a. Number of UP under the Upazila ------UP b. # of UP have submitted quarterly report: ------UP c. WCG selected or changed in # of UP

during the reporting period: ------UP

d. Marital status of WCG in case of selection or change of WCG

Widowed:----, Divorced: ---- , Abandoned:------, Married:--------------, Separated:------------------

e. Training of WCG: 1. ----------------- 2. -----------------

---------------Union, -------------Days ---------------Union, -------------Days

f. Work performed by WCG during reporting period:

Target:-------------km, Achievement:-------------- km.

g. Work target achievement by WCG: Very good:-------%, Good: -------%, Unsatisfactory: -------% h. Quality of work performed by WCG: Very good:-------%, Good: -------%, Unsatisfactory: -------% i. In how many UPs did WCG receive

regular payment? ----------UP

j. In how many UPs didn’t WCG receive regular payment? Describe reasons:-----------------------------------------------------------

----------UP

k. In how many UPs disciplinary measures were taken?

Reasons:1) -------------------, -------------UP 2) -------------------, -------------UP 3) -------------------, -------------UP

l. In how many UPs quarterly progress review session was held? Where not held, specify the reason in remarks section.

----------UP

m. Number of UP/PMC participants attended quarterly review session:

Male:---------, Female:----------, Total:----------------------

n. Schemes implemented under public assets creation and rehabilitation:

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:---------------, Work days generated under scheme:------ days

o. Scheme implemented under basic service delivery:

Number:---------, Type---------------, ------------------, -------------, ---------- Expenditure:-----------------------, # of direct beneficiaries :----------------------------

Project related problems

Type of Problem Number Present situation of the Problem Task related— Wages related— Harassment Others (specify) List support required for successful implementation of the project (if there is any) a. -----------------------------------------, b.----------------------------------------------------, c.----------------------------- e.-----------------------------------------, f.-------------------------------------------------, g.----------------------------------- Remarks of Upazila REOPA Committee: Prepared by: Signature: ---------------------------------------------- Name: ------------------------------------------------ Designation:---------------------------------------------

Approved by: Signature: ---------------------------------------------, Date:-------------------------------- Upazila Nirbahi Officer

Copy to: PD-REOPA, REOPA-CST, DC/DDLG, Upazila REOPA File

January-March April-June July-September October-December

Annexe 11

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

54

Quarterly Account Statement Format for Bank

District :--------------------, Upazila:----------------------, Union:-------------------- Reporting Period: Account Name:-------------------, Number:----------------------- a) Road Maintenance, Account Name:------------------------, Account Number:----------

Description Deposit Expenditure Balance Opening Balance (Date:-----) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Crew Wages \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Crew Wages Transfer to Escrow Account \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Interest \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Bank Charge/Levy \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Others (Specify) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Total deposit, expenditure and last balance (date------)

b) Casual Labour, Account Name:----------------------, Account Number:----------------- Opening Balance (Date:-----) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Block grant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Interest \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Bank Charge/Levy \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Others (Specify) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Total deposit, expenditure and last balance (date------)

c) Basic Service Delivery, Account Name:-----------------, Account Number:------------ Opening Balance (Date:-----) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Block grant \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Interest \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Bank Charge/Levy \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Others (Specify) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Total deposit, expenditure and last balance (date------)

d) Grand Total (a+b+c):

Deposit Expenditure Balance Copy to: 1. UP Chairman Signature:-------------------- 2. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (Bank Manager) 3. District Officer, REOPA-CST Date:--------------------

Bank seal:----------------

Annexe 12

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

55

Quarterly Financial Reporting Format for Upazila REOPA Committee

District:-------------------- Upazila:---------------------------- Reporting Period:--------------------- Deposit Expenditure

Union Crew Wage

Public Assets

Basic Service Delivery

Interest Total Deposit

Cash Wage

Transfer to Escrow Account

Public Assets

Basic Service Delivery

Interest Bank Charge Total

Expenditure

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Total

Copy to: 1. PD-REOPA, 2. REOPA-CST, 3. DC/DDLG Name:-------------------- Signature:------------------

Designation:-------------------- Upazila REOPA Committee

Annexe 13

Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) Local Government Division

Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives

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Quarterly Reporting Format for SIC

Ward: --------------, Union:---------, Upazila:-----------, District:------------------------

1. Name of Scheme(s):-----------------------------------------------------------------, 2. Types of Scheme(s):------------------------- (Casual Labour/Basic Service) 3. Implementation Period:----------- From--------------To 4. Total allocation of scheme(s): Tk.-------------------- Expenditure of scheme(s): Tk. ------------------

5. Completed activities under the scheme(s)

Description:

6. Benefit generated from the scheme(s)

Description:

7. Number of persons employed under the scheme(s): Women:-------, Men:-------, Total:-------- 8. Total number of work days generated under the scheme(s): 9. Total number of community people benefited from the scheme(s): 10. Description of expenditure:

Description expenditure head Budget Expenditure % Expenditure against budget Total:

Signature:------------------- Distribution: 1. UP Chairman, (Chairperson, Scheme Implementation Committee) 2. Upazila REOPA Committee Date:---------------------

Annexe 14

57

Annexe 15

Translation from LGSP Operation Manual 2007, Pages 6-7

Table 1: Activities of the extended block grants - First Year

Activities Implemented by Time Frame Objective 1 .Announcement of the pre-qualified UP list by the Local Government Division

Local Government Division

November To make the UPs aware about the block grant eligibility criteria through an independent audit

2. Sending an independent audit team soon after scheme pre-qualification

Audit firm/Accountant deployed by the Local Government Division

December-January Complete the audit of the UP finance

3. Re-examination of the Audit Report

Audit Section of the Local Government Division

January-February Complete re-examination in batches, right after receiving the statements

4. Train the pre-selected UPs on the Upazila Resource Team, Module 1

UP Members –Trainer/Officials and the members of the Upazila Resource Team

February-April Introduce the UPs/Upazilas to the basic principles of the LGSP

5. Announcement of the eligible UP list after completion of the audit

Local Government Division

March Notify the UPs selected for the extended block grants

6. Decision made at UP level on joining the extended block grants/LGSP

Union Parishad April Signing a legal declaration by the UPs to abide by the LGSP terms and conditions

7. Planning meeting at the UP/Ward levels

UP members and local people’s representatives

March-April Listen to the priority areas of the people and include them in the planning process

8. Select schemes on priority basis, prepare draft plan and budget in an open general meeting

UP members and Local people’s representatives

April On the basis of the transparency criteria, select prioritised schemes. Finalise the schemes on the highest vote cast in favour

9. Prepare the schemes with detailed budget

UPs, Scheme Implementation Committee and the Upazila Technical Officer

April Ka) Take technical assistance in scheme and budget preparation Kha) Take technical assistance form the Officials identified by the UNO

10. Submit the schemes before the coordination committee meeting on block grants

UNO, Officials from different departments, Upazila Resource Team members, UP Chairmen and Women UP members

April Ka) Prepare department wise planning for avoiding repetition Kha) Consider recurrent costs of very special type of schemes Gha) Where applicable, keep provision of technical assistance from the departmental budget heads

11. Presentation of the audit, finalise the annual plan and actual budget of the UP in open meeting

Union Parishad and local people’s representatives

April-May Finalise UP investment plan. Finalise the UP annual plan through voting

12. Sending UP decisions and the budget to the Local Government Division

UP April-June Detailed information on UP Bank Accounts, status of employees and commitment to hold an open budget session

58

Activities Implemented by Time Frame Objective 13. Announcement of the final budget/annual allocation and final list of the UPs

Local Government Division

July After sending the proposals, finalise the list of UPs going to receive extended block grants

14. UPs receive training on Module 2

UP Members-Trainer/Official and the Block Grant Coordination Committee

July Train UPs on Planning and Budgeting

15. Open meeting at UP/Ward level

Union Parishad and local people’s representatives

June Presentation of the final plan to the public and selection of volunteers to be members of the Scheme Implementation Committee(SIC) and Scheme Supervision Committee (SSC)

16. Finally selected UPs receive training on Module 3

Trainer UPs, SICs/SSC and Members of Block grant Coordination Committee

July Training on purchase and accounting procedures

17. UPs notify the public on plan and budget through notice board

UPs July Establish accountability to the people, take initiative to establish transparency and sharing of information

18. Submit approved development plan to: Evaluation and Inspection Sub-division of Monitoring Wing of the LGD, UNO and Deputy Director-Local Government

UP Chairman July For their information

19. Announcement of the list of pre qualified UPs for inclusion in the 2nd year cycle

Local Government Division

August Notify the UPs on the basis of the pre-determined criteria

20. Transfer the first instalment to the bank accounts of the selected UPs

Local Government Division

June Transfer the first instalment directly to the UP account

59

Specimen of Contract Agreement between Union Parishad and Scheme Implementation Committee

Contract Letter

MEMORANDUM OF CONTRACT made on -------------, between the ---------- Union Parishad and Scheme Implementation Committee of block grants for ---------of ------------ Union Parishad according to the terms and conditions cited below from the rules of business of Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA).

1. Parties Involved: ----------------------------Union Parishad of ---------------------Upazila under -------------- District of Bangladesh will be treated as first party. --------------------------------First Party and Scheme Implementation Committee (SIC) of block grants for----------------------------of Union Parishad of ----------------------Upazila under ---------------------- District of Bangladesh will be treated as second party. -----------------------------Second Party Hereinafter, the ----------Union Parishad and -------------------Scheme Implementation Committee is called first party and second party respectively in the contract. Now, therefore, both first and second parties agree as follows:

2. Duration of Contract: This Contract will come into effect on --------------------- and expire on ----------------- and second party has to complete the scheme within the expiry date of the contract.

3. Costs and Payments: As full consideration of scheme cost under the terms and conditions of this Contract, the first party will pay a total of Tk.------------------- to the second party. Payments shall be made to the second party by the first party through cheques. In case of block grants for creation and rehabilitation of public assets, costs include wages for casual labour, materials cost, cost for technology, administrative cost, monitoring cost and other ancillary cost for the scheme. Minimum 75% of the cost shall be for payment of casual labour. Costs for administration, monitoring and other ancillary costs cannot exceed 10% of the budget. Fifty percent of the approved cost of the scheme shall be given after signing contract agreement. After submission of vouchers and muster rolls of labourers, the first party will issue a cheque for another 25%. After completion of the scheme, remaining 25% shall be paid. In case of block grants for basic service delivery, the first party will make payment to the second party for expenses as per approved budget as required.

4. Responsibilities: The second party will have the direct responsibility for implementing the block grant scheme which will include following responsibilities:

Annexe 16

60

Plan and implement the approved schemes handed over to Scheme Implementation Committee by

Union Parishad; Directly contract community based labour in conformity with local market rate (minimum Tk. 80 per

day); Procure goods and services through direct procurement; Receive advance payments from the Union Parishad in order to execute the block grant scheme; Keep vouchers/payments receipts (along with muster rolls for labour) and submit them to the Union

Parishad.

The terms and conditions described above have been articulated as per the Operational Manual of REOPA. Even though, if either of the parties think that there is confusion or ambiguity in the terms and condition spelt out in the contract which may hamper the activity of the Project, in that case confusion and ambiguity could be resolved through bilateral dialogue in a congenial environment. Name:--------------------------- Name: --------------------------- Designation: ------------------------ Designation: ------------------------ Signature: --------------------------- Signature: --------------------------- Date: -------------------------- Date: -------------------------- ------------- Union Parishad Scheme Implementation Committee of ---- Union Parishad Witness: First Party:

3. Name:-------------------------------------------- Sign:-------------------------------------------------- Address:---------------------------------------------

Second Party: 4. Name:-------------------------------------------- Sign:-------------------------------------------------- Address:---------------------------------------------