Page 53 - OSISA Report 2021

ANGOLA 2019
HIGHLIGHTS 47
At the end of each monitoring visit a a a report has been produced (the last one forthcoming) to document the project successes The report also lists difficulties partners experienced in the the implementation the the recommendations for immediate partner action to fulfil grant requirements and and the learnings and and issues for OSISA consideration in in future grant-making to the respective grantee partners The programme has also realised two meetings with the Development Workshop (DW) to to monitor the the the implementation of of the the the project on on the the the impact of of the the Angolan economic crisis on on the the informal sector approved in in the first Board Meeting of 2019
As a a a resolution of the the last meeting the the Programme Manager has committed to participate in at at least one of the research validation meetings Further monitoring visits to to grantees with projects exceeding the initial completion deadline are scheduled in in in the first quarter of 2020 starting in in in Opportunities
Despite the the challenges identified above the the current organisational and country context also presents many opportunities for the programme’s realisation of its strategic objectives beyond 2019
Specifically the the the changes in the the the leadership of of the the the country office and the programme’s coordination can serve as as bases for the re-establishment of relationships with existing grantees As well as the forging of new partnerships with organisations groups and movements chiefly on issues that have thus far been marginal in in the programme’s grant-making late January Overall the programme is aiming to close all overdue 2016-2018 grants by late March 2020 However individually adjusted timelines will be negotiated with each grantee partner taking into account their specific history constraints and needs Moreover in in a combined effort with other programmes and units in the Angola country office the the programme has embraced the the challenge to proactively rebuild relationships with grantees and the the Angolan civil society at large In line with this the the programme is is currently involved in in the organisation of two concertation meetings with CSOs scheduled to take place in early early December and early early February in in Luanda and and Lubango (Huíla province) respectively The overarching objectives of the meetings are to introduce OSISA’s 2019-2022 strategy and 2020 plan of action to the Angolan civil society and and understand how the country office can best support Angolan CSOs in the the context of the the country’s rapid and wide- ranging political social and economic transformations The latter is particularly pertinent given the programme’s plan to streamline support for evidence- based based advocacy advocacy Evidence-based advocacy advocacy will help counter the wide-ranging austerity and regressive taxation policies adopted by the Angolan government in in in line with the inaugural International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme in Angola The absence of of national CSOs addressing issues of of neoliberal macroeconomic policy-making highlight the urgency for the the programme to invest in in in the the capacity-building of new actors particularly those at the grassroots in urban urban and peri-urban centres where the impact of these policies are most severe This strategic reorientation of grantee focus is is supported by conclusions from the reflections spearheaded by the Strategy Accountability and Learning Team (SALT) SALT SALT has challenged the programme to to to find creative means to to to support actors