Participatory Budgeting Inter-Municipalities seminar – 2016
The “Associative Action” organized on the 15th – 16th of December 2016 a Participatory Budgeting inter-municipalities seminar in Tunis, that gathered the 12 municipalities which successfully implemented the Participatory Budgeting process between 2104 – 2016.
The following municipalities has been invited to participate in this seminar : La Marsa, Menzel Bourguiba, Tozeur, Gabes, Sfax, la Manouba, Gafsa, Raoued, El Kef, Sbeitla, Ben Arous and Ettadhamen.
Different stakeholders attended the seminar such as the representatives of the following institutions : The Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment, the German Cooperation in Tunisia (GIZ), Caisse des Prêts et de Soutien des Collectivités Locales (CPSCL), and the Center of Training and Decentralization Support (CTDS).
The objective of the seminar is to study the differences between the Participatory Budgeting process (PB) and the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) preconized by the Ministry, as well as to propose a plan of merging both methdologies.
The representatives of the 12 participants municipalities worked on a presentation of a comparative table on the differences between the BP and the AIP, based on their experience on both mechanisms. The results are shown in the following document :
Mécanismes Participaifs_ de la transition à la durabilité
The document was presented to the representatives of the CPSCL to convince them about the drawbacks and the problems of the AIP both on the technical and design level.
It is important to note that the CSPCL still refuses to admit about the drawbacks and the problems of the AIP. Worse, the CPSCL abused of its power by sending a ‘circulaire’ ordering the municipalities to not adopt the PB anymore, otherwise, they will be prevented of their state non-affected grants (See the ‘circulaire’ of june 2017).
The Associative Action was able to adapt the activities of the PB with the AIP requirements, without shifting the main principles of the PB process. Although, our advocacy towards official authoroties is still going on about fixing the problems of the AIP.
