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UNDP country director to the Yemen Times: "While the reforms are important.. people can't wait for them to finish before services improve." [Yemen Times]
[April 23, 2014]

UNDP country director to the Yemen Times: "While the reforms are important.. people can't wait for them to finish before services improve." [Yemen Times]


(Yemen Times Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)   Tanaka says she is impressed with the business community in Taiz?, ?which is eager to help the country move forward?.? Mikiko Tanaka was excited about coming to Yemen well before she was appointed as the United Nations Development Program's country director, and it was not just because of the Arab Spring—the event that drew the attention of the entire world. Before starting her assignment in Yemen in December 2013, Tanaka had been working for the UNDP in Timor-Leste, where she says there are many people of Yemeni descent. Mari Al-Katiri, who was the first prime minister after independence in Timor-Leste, has Yemeni roots.



As a development expert with two master's degrees—one in public policy and management and the other in rural development management—Tanaka realized early into the job that Yemen's development indicators show that there is much to be done.

She brings to the table her expertise in other countries where she has worked, such as Timor-Leste and Pakistan, where people are facing similar difficulties and are working with government to improve services.


"It is my first time living in an Arab country and I have been really excited to come here, knowing how rich this country's history is, although unfortunately due to security reasons I have not been able to do any tourism yet," said Tanaka.

She has managed nevertheless to visit both Aden and Taiz to observe the implementation of UNDP programs there.

Tanaka acknowledges that there are some positive steps being taken in Yemen, such as the political transition. She also believes that the government wants to make things work but major problems with the civil service and government capacity stand in the way.

"There are some good examples to solve these problems but at the end of the day, Yemenis will have to decide on what is good and what works for them," Tanaka said. Reprioritizing transitional priorities UNDP plays a leading role in addressing Yemen's urgent needs and the Government Transitional Program for Stabilization and Development (2012-2014) which was a result of a Gulf Cooperation Council initiative. Within this transitional program the government has decided on a set of 13 key priorities.   "The youth and women who were in the streets in 2011 paved the way for these kind of reforms to happen, but for actual change to happen the whole machinery of the government and how a country is run needs to change, and this takes time," explained the country director.

Therefore, Tanaka emphasizes that although it is important to work on the long-term reforms, the service side needs to be prioritized and urgently addressed.

"Citizens want to see results. People need education, healthcare, jobs. This is becoming more and more urgent and, while the reforms are important and have to take place, people can't wait for the reforms to finish before services improve," she said.

UNDP identifies ways to work directly with communities and the government, especially governmental entities which are best placed to operate more efficiently.

Job creation is one of UNDP's transitional priorities. Tanaka gives the example of the 3x6 Approach, which is a concrete way to provide cash for work to young men and women. They are then encouraged to save their earnings as capital for larger investments.

Currently, UNDP is working with partners from civil society and the private sector to reach quick and more efficient results in this program.

"I have been quite impressed with the business community, for instance I went to Taiz and met with the business community there and I must say they are very interested. They want to help and they are looking for a way to do that either through providing finances and banking services or becoming mentors to young entrepreneurs," she said.

At the same time, the government partakes in this program, reviewing and learning from the results and facilitating by providing licenses and registration and so forth.

"For instance, again in Taiz, the governor helped unlock some of the barriers the young people in this program were facing. And this is the role of government—to enable the people," said Tanaka.

In Aden, Tanaka met with young women and men who have innovative business ideas. There UNDP has implemented "3x6 Approach" projects. The Youth Innovation and Creativity Award every year grants five Yemeni youth $20,000 each to start up creative business ventures.

UN agencies alongside international NGOs offer support to humanitarian programs in Abyan and other conflict-stricken areas in the north, where people want to get back their homes and rebuild their lives.

There are various other initiatives going on in the country, such as the Social Fund for Development which has wide coverage.

"Eventually you have to build on what you have, and expand success stories to reach more people," said UNDP country director.

The 3x6 Approach is part of the two-year Youth Economic Empowerment Project (YEEP) which started its second phase with a total budget of $10,514,000, following a successful pilot phase (2012-1013).

YEEP II targets 8,000 vulnerable youth and attempts to empower them economically through the creation of job opportunities. YEEP is a multi-funded project with contributions from UNDP, the governments of Japan, Korea and the Netherlands, as well as SPARK and Silatech. The project aims to address youth unemployment as one of the root causes of the 2011 conflict. Integrated approach: politics, development and humanitarianism UNDP country director Mikiko Tanaka? (?second left?) ?with the UNDP team?, ?visiting a 3x6? ?beneficary who runs a goat business in rural Taiz?.? There is a direct connection between development, politics and humanitarian work and as UNDP country director puts it, "you have major issues in this country and you have to tackle everything. It may not make headlines but there are a lot of development activities going on with the international community including UNDP." The UN, together with international NGOs, takes part in humanitarian programs in Yemen to help the country cope with crises and conflicts such as that in Abyan and the north. The bottom line in everything, as Tanaka explains, is that people want to get back to normalcy and to have a better life. While there is humanitarian assistance to provide immediate relief, there is also a need to rebuild communities. UNDP's role in this is to introduce quick and successful income generation solutions in conflict areas and help, for example, internally displaced people return to their homes.

On the political level, UNDP experts under the Multi-Donors Basket Fund are working with the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum (SCER) to help to put the final touches on the biometric voter registration system which will be used in the nation's largest voter registration drive.

Once the software is ready, SCER will test it in one district of Sana'a next month. This pilot will lay the groundwork for the eventual roll-out of the registration period that will cover all of the nation's governorates.

UNDP is supporting SCER in this $100 million endeavor with, amongst the other things, the procurement of $17 million worth of voter registration kits.

"One of the key issues we have is how to help eligible men and women to vote within the new federal structure that has been agreed in the National Dialogue Conference," she said. "It is not just the voting. It is to know what they are voting on and why." There is a lot to be done in order to ensure the success of this system, such as developing infrastructure, training personnel and informing citizens. Yemenis must not lose perspective Although she has been here for only a few months, Tanaka is already feeling positive about the change that was brought as a result of the Arab Spring and she urges Yemenis and the world not to lose perspective because of everyday challenges.

"The space that was opened since 2011 has brought so many aspects, more than just a political opening to allow more voice. Women actively contributed to this change and it is an important milestone for this county. Our job is to keep this space open and even expand it further," she said.

No doubt it is going to be a difficult task, but Tanaka believes that what is most important is to have women and men who are devoted and passionate about opening up that space. When it comes to women specifically, she thinks that, despite the criticism, the quota system for women does change the dynamics and power relations between men and women for the better.

And in order to push the agenda for women to gain more public space, support has to come from both men and women.

In terms of political transition, Tanaka is keen on helping the Yemeni government implement the federal structure in terms of institutional capacity. She wants to see a robust and accountable federal structure become a reality and she places considerable importance on achieving that despite it not being included as a priority in the transition program.

"At the end of the day you want a government whatever shape and form to deliver services to the people. And you want the citizens to have that say and to be able to hold the government accountable," she emphasized.

Tanaka said that there is an ongoing conversation in the international donor community about the progress since 2011 and there is acknowledgement that expectations were much higher than what has been achieved so far.

In terms of the implementation of the transitional priorities, there is need for renewed political commitment and a review of existing strategies. For example, there may be a need for reallocating resources as some objectives may have progressed faster than others.

Lastly, Tanaka believes that the media has a strong role to play in helping to maintain perspective while educating the public on the larger picture.

"We need to stand back and remember the context, and remember why this is happening and remember the people who went to the streets in 2011 demanding this change. Because sometimes we get bogged down by the day to day problems and we lose perspective or inspiration. By remembering why we are doing what we are doing we can become inspired again," she said.

(c) 2014 Yemen Times. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company

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