10023959-Conseils techniques et organisationnels pour améliorer la coordination et la promotion de la décentralisation

The "Promotion of Responsible Governance in Mauritania II (ProGResp II)" project is part of the German cooperation programme for peace and social cohesion in Mauritania. It is being implemented in a context where the promotion of peace, social cohesion, and good governance is a key driver of the country's sustainable development. Through this module, the initiative focuses on strengthening democracy, the rule of law, transparency, and accountability within public institutions. By promoting more inclusive, participatory, and effective governance, the programme aims to create the conditions for improved public service delivery and enhanced dialogue between institutions and citizens, thereby contributing to greater stability, trust, and social cohesion. The Project addresses a major challenge that continues to hinder the decentralization process in Mauritania. Despite the national authorities, clear political commitment to promoting decentralization as a driver of local development, institutional shortcomings persist in the management, steering, and coordination of the process. Consultation and coordination mechanisms among ministries, local authorities, and non-state actors remain insufficiently structured, limiting the coherence of interventions and the complementarity of actions. Furthermore, the allocation of powers and responsibilities among the different levels of governance remains, at times, unclear, despite the existence of a core legal and regulatory framework. This situation reduces the effectiveness of public action and limits the ability of institutions to respond adequately to the needs and expectations of the population. Against this background, the Project aims to improve the coordinated implementation of the decentralization process by strengthening cooperation among the various institutional actors, particularly at the central level, and by developing governance mechanisms that promote better coordination, greater involvement of local authorities in decision-making, and more effective management of local public policies. The programme also contributes to the implementation of Mauritania's national commitments to sustainable development by aligning with the national development strategy for accelerated growth and shared prosperity, which provides the framework for achieving the objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Its objective is to sustainably strengthen the capacities of public actors involved in local governance at the national level, enabling them to effectively implement the National Strategy for Decentralization and Local Development (SNDDL). While the ultimate beneficiaries are the Mauritanian population as a whole, estimated at nearly 4.7 million people, the direct target groups are executives, managers, and staff within central government institutions involved in local governance, as well as civil society actors engaged in decentralization, including associations of local authorities. By strengthening the capacities of these actors and improving territorial governance mechanisms, the module aims to foster a more effective, transparent, and inclusive institutional environment capable of promoting balanced development, strengthening citizen participation, and contributing sustainably to peace, social cohesion, and improved living conditions for the people of Mauritania.