People's Participation in Development Through the Island Development coordinating committee:The Cook Islands Experience

PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE ISLAND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE:

The Cook Islands Experience

BACKGROUND

The Cook Islands is one among the latest participating countries in the Regional Integrated Atoll Development Project (IADP) implemented by the Office of Project Services of UNDP. The Project commenced in mid-1989 with the posting of a UNV Rural Development Officer (RDO) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Rarotonga. A staff from the Ministry was designated as Outer Islands Development Officer to serve as the RDO’s full-time local counterpart. Transport difficulties made the Northern Group Atolls in accessible during the early stages, prompting the Project and the Government to first undertake initial activities in one of the Southern Group islands - Mangaia.

The project activities of the IADP in the Cook Islands was designed to focus on institution building with the primary objective of strengthening the capability of local governments and rural institutions in the outer islands to initiate and manage development projects that would lead to a meaningful and sustained development of these islands. Within this framework, the methodology for participatory island development planning and profiling was formulated by the RDO and first carried out in Mangaia. The outputs of the process were the Mangaia Island Development Plan and Socio- Economic Profile.

The same methodology was refined carried out in one of the Northern Group islands – Penrhyn, which is a classical atoll. With New Zealand funding, the Government through its Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MOPED) started to implement, on a larger scale, in mid-1990 the Northern Group Islands Profiling Exercise (NGIPE). A multi-sectoral team was formed with the RDO and his counterpart, among others, as members. The experiences gained from Mangaia and Penrhyn were substantially incorporated into the NGIPE planning methodology. Through the NGIPE, the government has adopted the IADP methodology for participatory development planning and management.

One critical output of the participatory planning workshop introduced in Mangaia and Penrhyn was the identification by the people themselves for the need to improve institutional structures on the island that would facilitate coordination work among the various sectors involved in the newly formulated development plan. Thus, the Island Development Coordinating Committee (IDCC) was organized as a technical arm of the Island Council to assist in the monitoring and implementation of activities identified in the development plan. To prepare the IDCC and Island Council for the new tasks, the RDO and his counterpart conducted a series of workshops to capacitate the IDCC members to effectively perform their functions.

A similar IDCC has already been formed in Penrhyn. In Manihiki and Rakahanga, where the planning and profiling exercises have been completed, the NGIPE and IADP team still has to follow-up the organization of the IDCC. The same will, likewise, be organized in the remaining islands particularly those in the Southern Group. A major breakthrough leading to the institutionalization of the IDCCs has been gained when the Government, through the Cabinet, recently approved a submission, which seeks formal recognition of the IDCCs; initially in Mangaia and Penrhyn.

To provide the IDCCs with a working experience in the management of small-scale development projects as well as to support local initiatives, the Project extended a NZ$5,000 grant each to the IDCCs in Mangaia and Penrhyn. The grant was set up as a Revolving Fund to support small-scale development projects proposed by various community groups. A year after its initiation, at least nine community groups have availed of loans from the Revolving Fund in Mangaia and for in Penrhyn. Repayment rate has been highly satisfactory.

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Ramon Bobier is the UNV Specialist Rural Development Officer (RDO) of the Integrated Atoll Development Project assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

The formation of IDCCs has been a key institutional output of the IADP’s programme in the Cook Islands. It was broadly an attempt to improve national and local capability in rural development planning and management which provides greater participation of the island communities in the whole development process. It represents a rational response to the felt need for some institutional channels that would improve the capability of the people in the outer islands to meaningfully plan and manage their own development in a manner that is consistent with their aspirations.

At this stage of the Project, it would still be premature to assess the effectiveness of the IDCCs. Suffice to generalize that the IDCC members still have the motivation to keep the Committee functioning and there is increasing interest by the Government and aid agencies to use the IDCC as functional contact point for development fund management. Building-up and sustaining the present interest and motivation of the IDCC members including the local people would be a challenge to all. The Project through its RDO and his local counterpart is still continually exerting its efforts to ensure the viability of the IDCCs through the monitoring of their performance and providing regular technical support.

This paper is a case report on the IDCCs in the Cook Islands. It attempts to identify the salient points of the process used in the formation of the IDCCs and to highlight some of the lessons learned from the process. The paper also summarizes some of the relevant issues particularly those crucial to the sustainability of the IDCCs.

THE ISLAND DEVELOPMENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE

The IDCC was up as an ad-hoc, multi-sectoral, and non-profit organization under the Island Council. It was envisioned to primarily serve as an advisory and technical arm of the Council on all development related activities on the island. As contained in its Operating Guidelines, there were several objectives for setting-up the IDCC. These were:

1. To hasten the development of the island by way of assisting the Island Council in the planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring of projects.

2. To ensure that all development activities on the island proceed in a manner compatible with the long-term goals of the defined in the Island Development Plan.

3. To assist the Island Council in the coordination of projects involving the participation of different government sectors and the community and ensure that the projects are implemented in a coordinated manner.

4. To strengthen the capability of the Local Government or the Island Council in development administration.

In more specific terms, the IDCC is guided by the following sets of functions:

1. To serve as information centre on all development activities on the island. It shall assist the Island Council in disseminating information to ensure that the people are aware of those projects and enable them to participate in projects that concern them;

2. Together or on behalf of the Island Council shall meet, confer or discuss with external organizations, consultations, officials and other visitors coming to the island and make recommendations on matters to the island;

3. To assist the different local organizations in the identification and formulation of development projects;

4. To review and assess development projects or activities being proposed by various organizations on the island;

5. To assist the island Council in liaising with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development for the funding of development projects proposed by the different community organizations; and

6. To monitor development projects to determine whether they are being implemented according to schedule and plan, and make recommendations for improving project implementation.

There are nine regular members in the Mangaia IDCC with each member representing a key development sector on the island. Six of the nine members represent the public or community sectors while the other three represent the Government departments. The members are:

1. Island Council Representative

2. Aronga Mana Representative (council of village chiefs)

3. Growers Association Representative

4. Youth Council Representative

5. Women’s Council Representative

6. Religious Advisory Council Representative

7. Chairman of Sub-Committee on Economic Development (representing agriculture, fishery, trades)

8. Chairman of Sub-Committee on Social Development (representing health, education, welfare)

9. Chairman of Sub-Committee on Infrastructure Development (representing public works, power, transport, telecommunications)

The IDCC is organized with a set of office bearers who are elected from among the nine members. The officers include the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. The Government Representative (formerly Chief Administration Officer) serves as adviser to the IDCC.

The IDCC holds a regular monthly meeting at the Court Room every first Friday of the month. On many occasions, special are called by the Secretary, particularly when Government officials, aid missions, and other visitors come to the island.

The Process of Organizing the IDCC

The IDCCs were organized after the Island Development Plan had been drafted and presented to the people through a workshop organized during the follow-up visit to the island. The primary purpose of such a workshop was to present the draft Island Development Plan to the people in order for them to validate and review the contents of the Plan and to ensure that they are consistent with what was discussed during the planning workshop, and before the Plan is finalized and presented to the Government.

The workshop was also design to enable them to effectively participate in the implementation of the Development Plan. As it is, the Plan includes activities and projects identified by the people which would require their initiatives and inputs. It was made clear to them that their participation in the development of the island does not end with Plan formulation but continues in its implementation as well. This rationale provided them with the context for expressing the need to have some form of coordinating body on the island.

The follow-up workshop were participated in by those who were involved in the planning workshop to make the members fully appreciate their functions within the context of the development plan. It is very crucial, therefore, that the participants to the planning workshop are selected in such a way that they represent the cross-section of the entire community or at least most of the key interest groups and sectors are represented.

Membership to the Committee is based on sectoral representation. A person is selected by virtue of his perceived capability to represent the sector or group. It may happen that the actual selection of the IDCC members can be done right during the workshop as what happened in Mangaia and Penrhyn. Otherwise, if the sectors are not properly or completely represented, the groups are left to select their representative after the workshop. The sector representative to the workshop is supposed to meet his/her sector group at a specified time and during such a meeting, they are to discuss the whole concept of the committee and at the same time select their representative to the IDCC. The facilitator should, however, make sure that the group meets at a specified time and that the IDCC members are selected; otherwise, the facilitator should never leave the island until the IDCC members have been selected and formally convened and recognized. There may be the tendency for people, as soon as the facilitator has left the island, and gone back to the capital, to also go back to their usual routines and forget about the formation of the IDCC. This has happened in Rakahanga and Manihiki islands. The workshop participants, including the Island Council decided that the selection of the IDCC members should be finalized after their various sectoral groups have met. Already two months after the Plan Review Workshop, the IDCC has not yet been formally organized.

In some ways, the process of selecting the sectoral representatives to the IDCC after the workshop has several advantages if it is closely monitored by the facilitator. If the various sectors (i.e. women, youth, growers, etc.) meet separately after the workshop to select their representatives to the IDCC, the concept will be understood by more people and representation will have a more solid support from the sectors concerned. In Mangaia and Penrhyn, the IDCC members were selected from those who attended the workshop. Some of them may not actually be the consensus choice of their group; although it did not turn out this way.

It is very important that the need to organize a development committee on the island should be identified and expressed by the people themselves. If the people are not able to express the need to have a development body on the island, the facilitators may have to advocate the idea by evoking questions that would enable then to assess their capability to get development activities organized and coordinated on the island. This, however, would require some special skill for the facilitator to present the concept and moderate the discussions among the workshop participants. If this is not handled properly, the results will be devastating to some key local officials such as the Island Council members and the formation of the Committee will be constrained. As it happened in Penrhyn and Rakahanga, the people, while they have been aware for so long of the inadequacies of their Island Council members to get community development projects organized on the island, were vocal in questioning their competencies and hence the need to have a development committee. While such open and direct feed backing session during the workshop is useful, it may create some degree of animosity from the Island Council members whose support to the IDCC is very vital. While the formation of IDCCs were being organized in Penrhyn and Rakahanga, the Island Council received some strong criticisms from the people and hence the IDCCs took a while to functionally get off the ground.

Size and Composition of the IDCC

The formation of IDCC is not meant to introduce a new bureaucratic structure on the island which may impede its development. On the other hand, its primary function and responsibility is to accelerate and facilitate the island’s development. Within this context, size and composition of the IDCC is given some careful attention. When the IDCC was first being organized in Mangaia, the people wanted to have fourteen members in order to have a wider representation. Realizing that fourteen members would render the IDCC operationally unmanageable, the size was trimmed down to nine.

The choice of the size is directly related to which sectors should be represented. While there was no direct rule of thumb on which sectors should be represented, the guiding theme was the Development Plan which has given emphasis on the integrated nature of development. Hence, the key sectors identified in the Plan will have to be represented. Other factors considered in the choice of sectors include: a) balance between the public and private sectors i.e. Government departments and the community organizations; and b) involvement of the existing traditional institutions such as the Aronga Mana and Religious Advisory Council.

While the IDCC is a sub-committee of the Island Council, the RDO had to convince the people that the Council should be represented in the Committee. This was made to preempt the Council’s full support to the IDCC activities. If there is an Island Council member in the IDCC, there is greater chance he would be able to understand and endorse the IDCC recommendations to the Island Council. In the case of Mangaia, the island Council Mayor himself was selected to represent the Council in the IDCC. Incidentally also, he was elected as the Chairman of the IDCC. In Penrhyn, it was not the Mayor but two other Council members who were selected as Chairman for the IDCCs of Tetautua and Omoka villages.

There are some implications in having an Island Council member in the IDCC. There is the tendency as it is happening in Mangaia that some of the IDCC decisions never get to the Island Council. It has been assumed that since the Mayor sits as Chairman of the IDCC, there is no more need for the Island Council to pass on the IDCC’s recommendations. It is noted that the Mayor has been spending mote time with the IDCC than the Island Council. During the last eight months, the Mayor has consistently chaired the monthly meeting of the IDCC; on the other hand, there has never been an Island Council meeting during the same period. While the Mayor recognizes that the IDCC is performing effectively as his working committee, he may in the long run find it difficult to get the full support of his Island Council.

How the Committee Operates

An Operating Guideline serves as the basis for the organizational management of the IDCC. The Guideline provides the framework with which the IDCC gets its mandate in terms of its objectives and functions and the routine organizational procedures such as the conduct of meetings and selection of members. The Operating Guideline was first drafted by the RDO in outline form as basis for discussion during the workshop. It was further refined and expanded by the participants prior to the selection of members.

The IDCC meets every first Friday of each month at the Court Room where the Island Council normally holds its meetings. The time which is determined by the Secretary and the Chairman is passed on to the members. The agenda normally discussed during the regular meetings concerns either the project proposals submitted by various community organizations to be endorsed by the IDCC and Island Council to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MOPED) for funding or applications for loans from the Development Fund which is being managed by the IDCC.

There has been special meetings outside of the regular monthly meetings held by the IDCC particularly when donor agencies and other organizations come to the island for any development projects. Officials of the UNDP, New Zealand, Canada, and United States have had the opportunity to meet the IDCC and discussed with them development projects. The IDCC on the other hand also had the same opportunity to present to these officials the priority development concerns of the people.

Standard forms have been devised by the IDCC in the management of its Development Fund and in the formulation of project proposals to be submitted to the Government for funding assistance. The Secretary keeps all Committee records of meetings, project proposals and other pertinent papers. The Treasurer on the other hand keeps the Fund bank book and records of loans approved including their repayments.

One of the principal function of the IDCC is to activate development activities on the island by helping various community groups in formulating projects and in seeking financial assistance for the implementation of the projects. Through its own initiative, the IDCC has already submitted a number of project proposals to the MOPED for funding assistance. Some of these have already been funded and the money has sent to the beneficiaries through the IDCC. The Internal Affairs’ Outer Islands Development Officer has been directly involved in liaising between the MOPED and IDCC in the formulation and funding of the project proposals.

THE DEVELOPMENT FUND

Soon after the Development Committee was organized, a Development Fund was set up with an initial seed money of NZ$5000 coming from the UNDP/IADP. The fund was to be managed by the IDCC independent on the regular budget being managed by the Island Council. The Fund was deposited at the Post Office with the IDCC Treasurer, Island Council Chairman, and Government Representative as trustees.

During the workshop on Project Planning, Monitoring and Coordination conducted by the IADP and Ministry of Internal Affairs for the IDCC members, the terms of reference for the management of the Fund was formulated by the IDCC members themselves. The terms include the criteria for projects to quality for funding, the beneficiaries, the conditions for obtaining the funds and the procedures for the processing of the loan applications. It was only after all these terms were well defined by the IDCC that the $5000 seed fund was handed over them.

It is important to put on record also that it was the IDCCs decision to treat the money as a revolving fund instead of out rightly giving the money away as grants to various projects. The project through the RDO, was at start prepared to just give the money away as a grant to the IDCC for them to use as a training exercise in the appraisal, coordination and monitoring of small-scale community development projects. The IDCC however realized that the money should revolve so that it can last longer and more people can benefit from the fund.

The IDCC decided that priority funding assistance shall be extended to projects with the following features:

- short gestation, i.e. impact can already be seen in relatively shorter time

- income-genrating

- high local resource use and development

- low capital requirements;

- benefiting more people; and

- self sustaining

It was also decided by the IDCC that the Fund shall be made available to everybody but initially, priority assistance shall be granted only to duly recognized organizations on the island instead of private individuals. This is to extend its benefits to more people and to ensure accountability by the borrowers.

As a revolving fund, the money was loaned out to qualified organizations who have to submit an application to the IDCC. An organization can apply for a loan between $250 to $1000 and repayments have to be completed progressively between 3 months to one year depending on the amount of the loan. The applicants have to pay 5% interest regardless of the amount as well as a $10 application fee.

Loan applications are received by the IDCC Secretary or Treasurer using a standard simple form designed for the purpose. The application form contains the purpose of the loan, the beneficiaries, mode of repayment, project activities and schedule. Loan applications are reviewed by the IDCC either during their regular or special meetings. IDCC decisions are posted on the Bulletin Board at the Post Office hence everyone knows which groups have been granted loans and whether money is still available for other groups.

The IDCC has also defined how they will manage defaults by any organizations to repay the loan raging from outright confiscation of capital assets procured out of the loan to court litigation by the Island Council. This can happen, however only after several grace periods have been granted to the defaulting group.

As of September 1991, a total of nine organizations have availed of loans from the Fund. The majority of the loans were used for income generating projects and focused on food production. A written report to the RDO from the Treasurer dated September 9,1991 gave the following encouraging results of the Revolving Fund:

- So far there is only one group that has defaulted in its repayment and the IDCC has exercised the first penalty procedure.

- Of the nine groups, four have paid back their loans in full.

- All except the Ivirua Planters Inc. have been successful with their projects. The unsuccessful group did not send their taro to New Zealand due to some problems with the Agriculture Department hence they paid back the unused money in full after six months.

- Many people have increased their income through the Fund e.g. two brothers who are members of the Vegetable Association received more that $2,000 within six months. There is also one pig farmer who increased his pigs by 50 within 8 months.

- So far most comments from the community regarding the Revolving Fund have been positive. People are able to purchase not only what they wanted but also when they wanted the materials for their projects.

Table 1 shows a report from the IDCC Treasurer showing the summary of loan applications approved by the IDCC and the nature of projects which have benefited from the Fund.

TABLE 1

List of Loan Recipients, Mangaia Revolving Fund

August, 1991

ORGANIZATION AND PROJECT LOAN SCHEME

Mangaia Woodmen’s Club- Carving project $1,000 loan to purchase chainsaw including freight cost; $100 monthly repayment

Mangaia Vegetable Growers Association- Vegetable gardening project $1,000 loan to purchase seeds, chemicals, fertilizer and 2 knapsack sprayers; $262.50 quarterly repayment

Nio Mare Family- Vegetable Gardening $800 loan to purchase vegetable seeds and fencing materials; $100 monthly repayment

Puna Ivirua Planters Inc.- Taro marketing to New Zealand $1,000 to assist in freight payments;$262.50 quarterly repayment

SIGMA and IMGGA-Commercial agriculture $1,000 to purchase seeds, chemicals, fertilizers, shop extension; $ 250 quarterly repayment

Sunrise Piggery- Pig Farming $1,000 to purchase 20 PVC pipes, 3 water stoppers, 20 bags pig pellets; $262.5 quarterly repayment

Mangaia Vanilla Growers Association-Vanilla development $1,000 loan to purchase wire netting; $ 262.50 quarterly

Tavaenga Pig Farming Club $1,000 loan to purchase 30 bags pig pellets; $100 monthly repayment

Tepatoa Pig Farming Club- Pig Farming $1,000 loan to purchase 20 bags cement and 20 bags pig pellets

Source: Mangaia IDCC Treasurer

The Potential of the Development Fund

The Fund was set-up within of the Development Plan. It was broadly aimed at providing impetus for generating local initiatives and to give the IDCC the motivation to activate the newly formulated Development Plan. Some of the specific reasons for setting up the Development Fund are as follows:

1. There was the need for the IDCC to have practical experience in carrying out its function on the management of development projects. While they have been given the classroom training on project formulation and management, they needed some form of practical exercise while at the same time enabling them to develop some credibility on the island. The Fund was also intended to make the IDCC members active and give them reason to regularly meet which is crucial during the early life of the IDCC.

2. The newly formulated Plan defines the general thrust of development on the island. It is still short, however, of specific small scale projects which would require local initiatives. It is in this area that the IDCC can provide the support role to various community organizations in implementing their projects. The Fund can supplement some of the financial requirements of the organizations in financing their projects.

3. One very important reason for setting-up the revolving fund was to help reorient the people away from the “grants and aid” mentality and get them to be more self-reliant through self-help projects which would require minimum external assistance. Many of the past and existing projects have been funded from straight-out grants from various donor agencies and, in most cases, these projects have either failed or suffered from the lack of local support and commitment to at least maintain the projects.

The RDO is very much concern over this situation of dependencies as it carries some significance especially with regards to the long-term sustainability of the whole capability enhancement process being developed on the island. It may take a while for people to accept some form of accountability or responsibility to any development assistance being given to them. The revolving fund, since it obligates the people to repay the money, may not be popular with the general community. If they can get away with the money for free, why not? Indeed, it may take some time, by using the Revolving Fund as an example, before people can get use to the idea that development aid does not always come free.

It is surprising to note that so far, most of the loan recipients in Mangaia have been consistent in their repayments. Some groups in fact have been able to repay the whole amount long before its due date. There are, however, still some sectors particularly the women’s groups which, despite their expressed need for financial assistance to their projects, would not like to apply for a loan. The reason they give is that they do not like the idea of having repay the money. They would rather seek assistance from the Government or any other sources. In general, however, the IDCC still receives applications regularly; some of which are second time applications from previous loan recipients.

In Penrhyn, where a similar Revolving Fund was set-up, the criteria have taken a different form to suit the existing local situation. Being a small island with a small population in each village, there is not enough community organizations and group-based development projects that would qualify; the IDCC, therefore, decided to open the Fund to families instead of just organizations. Loan assistance, however, is still restricted to development-oriented projects such as the purchase of grinding machine, fishing gear, handicraft making projects, and others.

LOOKING BEYOND

Sustainability

One of the essential elements in making the IDCC a functional body for coordinating development on the island is strong political support. In fact it has to be the first condition in achieving meaningful and lasting development of the outer islands. As it has been expressed earlier by the IDCC members, it would be difficult for them to deliver their mandate unless the staff in the bureaucracies with which the IDCC relate with become more willing and able to appreciate and interact respectfully and productivity with the people they profess to be their clientele.

Now that the IDCC has become a functioning body on island, the Government must also gear itself to effectively respond to the development and institutional support needs of the island.

One important issue raised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and MOPED is the reaction of the island’s Member of Parliament (MP) to the new procedures arising from the formation of the IDCC. As approved by the Cabinet, request for aid funds from the Government must first be appraised and endorsed by the IDCC and Island Council. Similarly, for any development project approved by the Government, the IDCC must be informed accordingly to enable it to assist in the project’s implementation and monitoring. This new procedure may not be acceptable to MPs since they also have their individual wisher for their own constituencies. In the long run, the IDCC should be able to get the support of the MPs by consistently inviting them to their monthly meetings.

Social Context

We also have to recognize that there exists strong social hierarchies and identifiable authority figures in even very small island communities where the complexity of politics, religion and tradition are magnified in a very intriguing pattern. The formation of the IDCC can make the situation either complicated or simple. It is very important therefore that all these personalities and dynamics be accounted for right at the very start of the whole process. Experience in Mangaia shows how people’s perception and acceptance of the IDCC is influenced by personalities connected with the IDCC. It is encouraging to note that with the representation of the Aronga Mana, Religious Advisory Council and other respectable members of the community to the IDCC, the dynamics of politics, religion and tradition are effectively channeled for development efforts.

Strengthening the Island Council

For a while prior to its formal recognition by the Cabinet, the IDCC operated as a semi-formal and voluntary organization. It was formed as an ad-hoc advisory body of the Island Council implicitly to provide the Committee with some formal status. This was justified both in terms of obtaining community acceptance, and in ensuring accountability so that the IDCC was able to manage the Revolving Fund. The Island Council is a legally constituted body under the Cook Islands Local Government Act, and the IDCC must operate within this legal framework.

It is important, therefore, to make sure that the whole Island Council is fully committed to support the IDCC. If they can, as what was done in Mangaia, formalize the creation of the IDCC through a Council resolution, the first step towards providing the IDCC with the mandate to be a development body has been achieved.

There is also the danger that the Island Council may resent the IDCC especially when it comes to a stage when the latter becomes more popular than the former. Continuing efforts must be made to ensure that the Island Council understand that the IDCC is their working committee and it is still the Island Council that makes the final decisions concerning development on the island. In Mangaia the IDCC has made their monthly meetings open to any Island Council member.

Incentives to the IDCC members

The IDCC operates as an ad-hoc and non-profit organizations and hence the time and effort provided by the members are voluntary. They do not receive any material remuneration except for the satisfaction of working for the benefits of their people. To some members, being with the IDCC carries with it some degree of prestige especially now that more and more people from within and outside the island are beginning to recognize the importance of this Committee. Recognition, however, comes in two ways – either as an appreciation for what they are doing or it means greater demands for their services. The latter, in the long run, may put a lot of pressure on some members. As many of the IDCC members are already employed, the Committee work may come into conflict with their other personal activities. This is already beginning to be felt during the last few months when the IDCC had to meet more often than their regular schedule due to increasing number of activities the IDCC was required to coordinate.

The IDCC is one avenue where the management and leadership skills on the island can be developed. This in one important means of ensuring the effectiveness of the Project’s institution-building programme. It is, therefore, important that training support be given to enable them to improve their skills and be able to cope with the increasing demands from both within and outside the island.

Rural Credit

The encouraging performance of the Revolving Fund in Mangaia, while still at its early stage, shows that people on the island, as demonstrated by the IDCC, are willing to accept responsibility and accountability in the management of a development fund given to them so long as they are involved in the planning and management of such fund.

The Revolving Fund concept, if managed effectively, can also in the long run help in re-orienting the people in the outer islands to be more self-reliant and to take greater accountability for their own development.

Broad-Based Community Participation

The formation of the IDCCs in the outer islands is intended to broaden the base of decision-making at the lowest level and ensures participation of practically all sectors in the planning and implementation of development projects. IADP, through the participatory island profiling and development planning approach, is able to integrate the majority of the key sectors on the island; thereby improving the integration and coordination of all development efforts both by the Government and the people. The RDO, on various occasions, has attended the IDCC meetings, and has always been encouraged to see the leaders of women, youth, church, growers, etc. sit down and discuss as one group matters of interest to the island.

The IDCC is an alternative institutional structure that will help improve the capability of local government in development planning and administration. The IDCC can inject new ideas and provide much needed dynamism into the Island Council. The Island Council and all other authorities on the island such as the MPs, Chief Administration Officer etc. have been made to appreciate and see the advantage of working closely with the IDCC. It is through the IDCC that they can be made closer to their own people.