Written evidence submitted by Tearfund

1. Summary

1.1 More than four million lives are estimated to have been lost due to the protracted crisis and conflict-induced poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ongoing conflict in parts of North Kivu province means that people are at various stages of displacement and resettlement. The relative improvement in security in South Kivu and Maniema provinces in recent years has led to the return of some Congolese refugees from Tanzania, and internally displaced people (IDP) from other parts of eastern DRC, although the peace is fragile.

1.2 Tearfund has been working in the DRC since 1986 through 11 local faith-based partner organisations and an operational team running a programme with annual turnover of £5 million. Given the longstanding presence of the organisation, and its partnerships with Congolese civil society Tearfund has built a strong reputation of transforming marginalised communities through peace-building, effective humanitarian response, empowering women and girls, and unlocking the economic opportunities for local small holders.

1.3 In response to the International Development Committee’s inquiry Tearfund is proposing the following recommendations to inform the future of the Department for International Development’s (DFID’s) operational plan and strategy in the DRC.

●                    With regards to its commitment of creating an enabling environment for jobs, livelihoods and economic growth, DFID should invest in business initiatives that seek to improve the agricultural productivity and market-access of smallholder farmers by supporting the development of existing farmer-led cooperatives. Building the capacity of farmer led enterprises (cooperatives) to deliver appropriate knowledge, technology and marketing services to farmers who have been excluded from active participation in the agricultural value chains.

●                    In response to the evidence of the substantial financial returns from private international development consultancy firms, which undermines public confidence that DFID is exercising value for money from its aid budget, the Department must develop a more rigorous procurement strategy which enables it to secure better value through a more appropriate understanding of the provider market and increased competition.

●                    As one of the most active and influential donors present in DRC, DFID should do more to coordinate funding efforts directed at reducing violence against women and girls (VAWG). They must leverage their influence in donor forums and can facilitate coordination with other donors as well as sharing information with INGOs working in the same sector/area.

●                    Finally, DFID must continue to proactively work alongside faith leaders and faith communities, funding and implementing programmes to prevent and respond to sexual violence, which is so prevalent in DRC. Initiatives like the What Works programme has immense potential for positive impact enabling actors to tackle the root causes of SGBV in the DRC context. Combined with academic research that strengthens the evidence base and the added value of how faith leaders can influence positive behaviour change over time.

2. How much success has DFID’s programme on private sector development in DRC, including Élan RDC, had in supporting jobs and livelihoods?

2.1. The shortage of full time jobs and the difficulty in earning a livelihood are one of the greatest global problems. Failure to address the issue will have serious consequences and threatens widespread social and political unrest, particularly in the fragile and conflict-affected context of the DRC. Therefore DFID's strategy is right to focus on jobs and livelihoods, as it is one of the best fundamental forms of social protection within such a volatile environment. This is a key message within Tearfund’s advocacy discussion paper Restorative Economy[1], which explains that markets have been crucial in enabling people to lift themselves out of poverty. In developing countries, 90 per cent of jobs are created by the private sector[2]. So the first step towards meeting everyone’s basic needs is for governments to work with markets to create a context in which business can flourish.

2.2. However the means of doing this through investing millions of UK aid to profit-making consultancies that fail to work with local organisations and NGOs will not deliver the value for money and transformational impact on poor communities, which DFID seeks to achieve. This has been raised through the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s report on DFID’s multilateral aid review[3]. For example the report found that consultancies like Adam Smith International (ASI) received £37 million from the DFID in 2010-11 and one of its Directors also received a dividend in 2010 of over a million pounds[4]. Such excessive payments undermine public confidence that UK aid money is being spent well.

2.3. For more than a decade, eastern DRC has suffered from recurrent conflict, resulting in population displacement, spread of disease and economic deprivation. High unemployment, sexual violence, scarcity of resources and community division are just some of the consequences following decades of insecurity and instability. North Kivu province is DRC’s main coffee-growing region within it the territory of Walikale has been severely affected by the conflict.  People fleeing from conflict or returning when the situation improves has increased pressure on land, playing into long-standing grievances over rights of land access and fuelling wider drivers of violent conflict. Yet, is also among the most fertile regions in the DRC. It is an agricultural resource that holds significant potential for the economic development of the region.

2.4 In Walikale cocoa has been growing since 1958, however there have been no market outlets for this product and farmers have long abandoned their cocoa crop. Private sector actors are unwilling to invest in Walikale due to the cost and risk. As a result cocoa producers in Walikale have established their own farmer led enterprises (FLE) to improve the quality and quantity of their production and bring their cocoa to the niche premium market. However a great gap between market demand and Walikale cocoa producers remains to be filled. At the same time FLE have limited technical, organizational and market know-how to maximize their product quality and access to market opportunities.

 

2.5 The UK aid-funded ÉLAN RDC programme in the Rutshuru territory, also in the province of North Kivu, has the ambitious aim of stimulating Congo’s coffee production in a way that benefits small and poorer producers. This means improving the quality of coffee, introducing more efficient technologies, linking smaller with larger producers and, possibly, supporting the reintroduction of trade financing for the coffee sector. ÉLAN RDC is a private sector development programme that aims to increase the incomes of over a million low-income men and women in the DRC by 2020.  It is implemented by the consultancy firm Adam Smith International (ASI) and supported by the UK government as part of its private sector development strategy in the DRC.

2.6. However, ÉLAN RDC’s current adaption of Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) appears to be focused on private sector investment with outcomes trickling down to the poor (excluding any third sector partnerships). They use a short-sighted M4P approach that excludes development organizations, civil society, and smallholders - two essential actors in the value chain.  Historically in the DRC, this model has widened the economic divide resulting in further marginalization of the poor.

2.7. Poor communities in DRC are dependent on market systems for their livelihoods. Therefore changing the market systems to work more effectively and sustainably for them will improve their livelihoods and consequently reduce poverty. Addressing market systems requires examining the entire system rather than just components or individual actors. Broad based and inclusive market development incorporates the entire value chain. This includes multiple stakeholders; the government, private sector actors, civil society, development organizations, farmer led enterprises (FLE) and smallholders. Innovative business models can then be replicated by both financial and social entrepreneurs.

2.8. An exclusive private sector M4P approach, as endorsed by companies like ÉLAN RDC, limits growth and equity in the DRC. The historical business environment in Congo is fragile and changing. In order to achieve rapid return on investment (ROI), cash crop exporters pay low prices to farmers. Their resources are focused on aggregation of farmer produce at low cost to bring these crops to the growing market. Unfortunately, addressing the income of farmers has not been core to Congolese business practices and without the right trade partners, this is unlikely change. The fragile context has required rapid ROI to guarantee investment opportunities.

2.9. Furthermore, the majority of Congolese commodities are bulk products which require the lowest available prices. The volatility of the bulk commodity market increases the price pressure, restricting the business provider’s ability to share profit with farmers. Even if smallholders produce great products, they lack traceability, thus limiting their access to speciality markets. Congolese business providers also lack the trade partners who have a strategic plan for broad based economic development.

2.10. In order to successfully implement M4P in the Congolese coffee and cocoa sector, it is important to create links with trading partners who can clearly link their profits with transparent engagement with farmers and speciality markets. Development organizations and local farming cooperatives can use their strong contextual knowledge, experience in sustainable social growth and entrepreneurial approach to broker the partnership between the private and public sectors and farmer led enterprises.

2.11. These are organizations with strong expertise in strengthening value chains both economically and socially to ensure equitable growth. With the ability and skill set to engage with and invest in FLEs in a way that is sustainable for developing market systems. These organisation are not ‘anti-private sector’. Instead, they are seeking to develop a social entrepreneurial spirit between the private sector and third sector by including poor farmers as part of the solution to addressing market system faults. This creates an enabling environment for holistic development. Through effective coordination around production and by partaking in value added of cash crops, businesses owned by smallholders would be able to increase their incomes and the value chain as a whole.

3. How effective has DFID’s work on gender equality been in DRC, including its work to eliminate violence against women and girls and to empower adolescent girls? What could DFID be doing better?

3.1. The global programme What Works To Prevent Violence administered by a consortium led by the Medical Research Council of South Africa, in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Social Development Direct, on behalf of DFID is a much-needed initiative. It has huge potential for positive impact enabling actors to tackle the root causes of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).  In the DRC the project focusses on the prevention of SGBV in 20 conflict-affected communities in Orientale Province. It addresses the underlying root causes of VAWG within current social norms (values, beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and practices) that support male dominance, enable VAWG and contribute to impunity for perpetrators.

3.2. The levels of violence against women and girls (VAWG) are high and take place across all provinces of the DRC, perpetrated by both military and civilian actors. Such violence is strongly linked to gender inequalities and socio-cultural norms, and is particularly tied up with strong ideas about masculinity, the breakdown of traditional structures, and the militarisation of society. Unfortunately it is widely socially tolerated in the DRC. When working on this issue, it is therefore necessary to take into account the importance of tackling social norms and improving the status of women and girls in society.

3.3. Sexual violence (SV) is too often a taboo aspect of VAWG, with severe life-limiting physical, emotional, social and economic impact for survivors. SV is particularly endemic in many conflicts, with rape recognised as a weapon of war. War is not the root cause of SV, which pre-exists within communities, but it is recognized that conflict, resulting social breakdown, and the presence of armed combatants often aggravates incidence of SV and other forms of VAWG in many contexts, such as north-eastern DRC. Research shows it is also a significant risk factor impacting these communities in the longer term, as increased SV becomes part of the post-conflict culture within affected communities, due to military hyper-masculinity infusing civilian masculinities. Perpetrators are not just armed soldiers, but often intimate partners. Thus it is vital to address VAWG in areas affected by armed conflict.

3.4. A study on SV in DRC reports that approximately 1.80 million Congolese women have been raped in their lifetime[5]. According to the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, conflict-related SV is one of the most critical challenges faced by the population and government in DRC, particularly in eastern region, which has suffered decades of conflict, and where 39.7 per cent of women and 23.6 per cent of men are reported to have been exposed to sexual violence during their lifetime, most commonly taking its form in rape[6]. It is estimated that an average of 1,152 women are raped daily; 48 women every hour. About 22 per cent have also been forced by their partners to have sex or perform sexual acts against their will[7]. The impact of violence and rape has long-lasting consequences, devastating these already vulnerable communities.

3.5. Tearfund believes it is vital to engage with faith leaders to mitigate potential harm, but also because they have a unique potential to contribute to effective prevention. It is estimated that over 90 per cent of the population in DRC identify with a faith group (around 80 per cent Christian, 10 per cent Muslim), thus to reach and influence the target population, faith leaders are key. Faith leaders are already recognised as key opinion leaders both within their faith groups, and in the wider community, having a well-established position of respect and authority. As an integral and influential part of the community, they have a unique mandate to speak on, and so transform, sensitive cultural issues and attitudes around gender and social norms, and are thus vital agents to engage in preventing VAWG, particularly SV, and reducing stigma. Tearfund’s work in engaging faith leaders in transforming attitudes and practice around similar controversial issues, for example in responding to HIV or the Ebola crisis[8]

3.6. The DFID funded What Works programme provides an excellent opportunity for organisations like Tearfund to engage and equip faith leaders to speak out against VAWG and as catalysts to address root causes and risk factors within their local communities and in national coalition. It will engage men and boys, women and girls within faith groups and in the wider community to address and remodel harmful concepts of masculinity, through contextualised trainings and ongoing community conversations. Encouraging meaningful engagement of survivors is a priority throughout to shape activities and advocacy, and in assessing impact.

3.7. DFID should continue to establish meaningful partnerships with faith leaders and faith communities, funding and implementing similar programmes to prevent and respond to sexual violence, which is so prevalent in DRC.  The Department’s programmes related to VAWG  could become more effective as it invests in and helps to design projects with faith-based agencies that actually engage with ‘beneficiaries’ at a faith level working through religious texts to change worldviews on violence, or aspiration. Interest in faith is growing. Policymakers are more attuned to behavioural economics which argues that people act out of their values and beliefs, rather than as purely rational decision-makers. Engaging values and beliefs then, is core to progress and this case has been made in the 2015 World Bank development report[9].