Lao PDR

Timchai and villagers from Hor Kong head to the market. Photo: UNDP Lao PDR/Philippe Pernet

Thirty-seven year old Timchai is loading her tractor with home grown products for the market with a renewed vigor these days. She knows that come rain or sunshine she will make it to the market. A new road built two years ago now links remote Hor Kong village, 800 km's south of the capital Vientiane, to the main road.

“With this road access I am able to bring more of my coconuts, watermelons, pumpkins and all that to sell at the market,” said Timchai. In the past during the rainy season she would often lose money when the village track was impassable and her products would go rotten before she could access the market. “After the road was developed I generated more income and with that income I've bought books and school uniforms for my children to go to school,” she said.

The new road is a direct result of improved capacity among the local district administration to carry out small scale infrastructure projects. Timchai and the villagers of Hor Kong identified the need for a road as a development priority through a community vote. Finances were then mobilized by the local administration through the District Development Fund, which is one component of the joint UNDP, UNCDF and EU Governance and Public Administration Reform Programme (GPAR) in Saravane Province.

The programme focuses on developing institutional, managerial and technical capacities among local authorities to ensure better public service delivery and is carried out in 6 provinces across Lao PDR. New roads, such as that in Hor Kong village, not only improve access to markets but also to government services like the One Door Service Centres. There are now 11 Centre's across the country offering services such as vehicle registration, business licenses and land titling.

Bounsi Saypaserth, head of the Centre in Sekong town, believes that the services on offer and the ease with which they can now be accessed have encouraged an entrepreneurial spirit. “We see a lot of business growth here, for our people to comply with the requirements for a bank loan you need to have official land titles to deposit to the bank as collateral, that has been very popular among the local population,” he said.

But ensuring that everyone is aware of and benefits from these improved services is a challenge. In Sekong Province alone there are 14 ethnic groups all of whom have their own language. The Citizen Information Programme (CIP), also part of GPAR, attempts to fill this gap. The CIP aims to increase access to information and development communications in ethnic languages. Information is disseminated through 2 community radios, community speakerphones, information boards, and the quarterly Sekong magazine.

According to Leasone Bernthinchung, from the Office of Information in Thateng District, the CIP has had multiple benefits. “The villagers have a better understanding in terms of diseases and how to prevent them and also in terms of the social and economic situation within their own community and at the national level,” he said.

One unique element of the CIP is its reliance on volunteers. The programme is supported by UN Volunteers and villagers not only plan, develop and produce the content but act as links between communities and administration.

After 4-years the GPAR programmes are coming to an end, however their focus on enhancing existing Government systems means the impact will be felt for years to come. According to Khammoun Viphongxay, the Vice Chair of the Public Administration and Civil Service Authority, “The achievements, lessons learnt and best practices will not be stopped but rather they will be continued by the Government to ensure their sustainability.”