Project Description:

 The SPADA project strengthens district government capacities to promote the longer- term development of the province. It links the participatory sub-district planning process of KDP to district government decision-making, and provides block grants to improve public services and the recovery of economic infrastructure.

District government capacities to provide adequate public services are low. It is important to strengthen their capacities ensuring that they will be able to provide sustainable, long-term development. This project provides block grants to all districts in Aceh and Nias to fund larger, technically demanding projects that emerge from sub-district planning within the KDP mechanism.

Projects are selected by district development committees with thirty percent of grants reserved for health
and education. The project will also promote the improvement of the economic environment through infrastructure investments. To strengthen the capacities of local governments, a combination of training, practical exercises, and technical support will be off ered throughout the project.

Project Name :
Support for Poor and Disadvantaged Areas Project
Grant Amount :

US$ 25.60 million
Start/ End : February 2007 - June 2010
Geographic Area : Selected sub-districts in Nias
Partner Agency : World Bank
Executing Agency : BRR
Funding Recipient
:
Ministry of Disadvantaged Areas

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Achievement to date:

In general, SPADA block grants complement local government resources for health and education, and link community needs with local government priorities. Districts report improved health of young children and mothers in some SPADA locations. Infrastructure projects create access to water, markets, helath, education and other communities and implrove the livelihoods of many. The participatory process accpmpanied by technical assistance helps build capacity of communities, local governments and consultants. And several local governments have adopted regulations to integrate the SPADA participatory planning mechanism into their regular planning process.

Routine supervision during this reporting period indicated that significant progress was made in disbursement of funds. Funds management prersonnel int he field recieved training during the past year to strengthen accounting, reporting, documentationa nd internal controls related to planning grants and block grants. Knowledge and skill grained from the training have been applied to improve financial procedures and report preparation for the project.

Challenges:

Delays in release of the state budget (DIPA) prevented disbursements from January until after the DIPA was released on August 14, affecting project implementation. The World Bank continues to work with relevant entities to minimize possible future delays in the issuance of the DIPA.