DJIBOUTI'S INTERIOR MINISTER ON DECENTRALIZATION

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 000032

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF AND AF/E
STATE ALSO PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID PHUM SCUL DJ
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI'S INTERIOR MINISTER ON DECENTRALIZATION



1. (U) During a December 20 meeting with visiting REDSO
Director, Andrew Sisson, Ambassador, REDSO Chief of Limited
Presence Countries, Andrew Karas, and USAID Education Program
Director, Alpha Bah, Minister of Interior Yacin Elmi Bouh
offered his perspective on Djibouti's recent efforts at
decentralization. For the Minister, decentralization has as
its central purpose the referral of prime decision-making
power to the people at the grassroots level.


2. (U) Bouh told Sisson his government decided to embark on
an "adventure" with decentralization after 28 years of
"hesitation." He noted that until now, all decisionmaking
has occurred in Djibouti city, even those decisions that
identify well-drilling sites at the community level. "This
is not acceptable," he concluded. According to Bouh, the
future would bring to local governments the opportunity to
design their own development plans and to take all required
decisions. The Minister continued that the Government of
Djibouti is determined to implement a decentralization policy
and that the most critical resources needed to bring about
its flowering are human and financial. He said his
government is currently seeking assistance with training, in
order to develop local competence; with infrastructure and
equipment-- some of which has been taken care of by the World
Bank; and with the establishment of decentralization
structures. The Minister referred to his own valuable
experience under the U.S. Humphrey program at the University
of Pittsburgh to support his request for assistance with
training services. Sisson commented that training is only as
good as the resources that are made available for
implementation of policy.


3. (U) The Minister said he supported the notion that
Djibouti's national budget would help integrate
decentralization as a focal point for government. He said
the government's primary plan would be to redistribute
financial resources collected from taxes in Djibouti city in
order to help support districts of the interior. He also
noted that 90 percent of all taxes Djibouti receives come
from its capital city and with these amounts, the Government
of Djibouti would be able to cover decentralization recurrent
costs.


4. (U) The Minister provided positive feedback on the
consultancy role provided by the International Foundation for
Election Systems (IFES),which had just spent one month in
Djibouti under a USAID-sponsored decentralization evaluation
program. According to the Minister, the two consultants
representing IFES developed a more elaborate framework
mirroring that of the Ministry's own decentralization plan.
This framework, in his view, provided greater details about
needed resources and better reflects true government needs.


5. (U) Addressing Sisson's question about the role of civil
society and private organizations in the Government of
Djibouti's decentralization plan, Bouh made clear that the
French model of decentralization, which Djibouti is using,
would accomplish this goal. He noted that there are two
kinds of decentralization models -- Anglo Saxon and French.
Anglo-Saxon decentralization is defined as opposed to the
presence of the State whereas the French model views
decentralization as the delegation of power to locally
elected governments. These locally elected governments would
have the responsibility to decide when and how they work with
civil society organizations. The Minister emphasized his
conviction that non-governmental organization (NGO) training
is part of the Government's plan, and the experience of NGOs
will be needed if the process of decentralization is to work.
Donors already supporting the program, he said, include the
World Bank, France, China, and the United Nations Development
Program (UNDP),which has funded a study to identify
opportunities in the five districts of the country.
RAGSDALE