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Paraguay

In Paraguay, one of the key lines of action under the National Programme on Decent Work, signed by the Ministry of Justice and Labour and the ILO in April 2007, was the application of employment intensive investment methodologies to contribute to the creation of decent jobs. The EIIP was asked to assist the Ministry of Finance to evaluate the impact of employment in public investments, and to provide technical assistance in the design and development of a public investment system, which would incorporate �employment creation' as one of the criteria for prioritization, execution, and monitoring and evaluation of public investments. A team has been in Paraguay preparing the initial designs of this system with the direction from economic studies in the Ministry.

EIIP continues to provide assistance to the Director General on Public Contracting (DGCP) to facilitate the participation of micro and small enterprises and community organisations in public investment contracts. Apart from the development of an amended article in the Public Contracting Law, giving preference to local contracting, EIIP is currently assisting the development of a draft text for a proposed Decree regulating the same law regarding the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises. A draft standard bidding document is also being drawn up for the Direct Contracting procedure, decreasing the amount of documentation required and the form in which it is to be presented, particularly facilitating the participation of bidders in rural areas. Early next year, work to develop a minimum quota of public investment budgets to be contracted out to micro and small enterprises is foreseen, this will require further elaboration of more refined targeting measures to facilitate these enterprises access to public contracts.

In cooperation with a World Bank road project, EIIP is carrying out a study on micro enterprise-based routine maintenance of unpaved national and departmental roads. The study is looking at the different aspects of such a maintenance system, determining the adjustments that need to be made in order to be able to implement the system in the context of Paraguay, where the entire road network is still formally the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works and Communication (MOPC), and where traffic levels are high due to the nature of the roads concerned. After the study is finalized, pilots will be carried out next year, after which a training programme with MOPC staff and other possible counterparts will be executed. The study team is working closely with the MOPC and the World Bank, as well as with the National Rural Roads Programme of the Inter American Development Bank, which is also interested in introducing micro enterprises for rural road maintenance.

In response to the Integrated Rural Access Training carried out in Bolivia (see above), the International Forum on Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD), together with the ILO, is carrying out a study on rural transport in Paraguay, as well as implementing an IRAP pilot in one municipality. It is hoped that the results of these two activities will allow for a broader discussion of rural transport and rural access in Paraguay, and the adoption of the IRAP tool by municipalities as a low-cost and simple means of determining the needs of their communities and prioritising the interventions in both municipalities and other areas. The results of the IRAP pilot will be presented at an IFRTD regional seminar in Guatemala early next year.

Paraguay Success Story

The Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) has over the last thirty years developed a comprehensive approach to employment creation in infrastructure development. Its proven methodologies and tools for local resource use, inclusive planning and contracting, skills and private sector development have been recognised since long in Africa and Asia for their positive impact on local development, and Latin America is now picking up on this experience.

Paraguay is collaborating with EIIP to develop a holistic and intersectorial approach. An employment impact assessment (EIA) methodology has been developed with the Ministry of Finance including a set of tools for the estimation of and influencing employment generation in infrastructure projects. The Ministry of Labour and Justice works with EIIP on removing legal barriers to market access of micro and small enterprises (MSE) and community based organizations (CBO) to public procurement contracts and institutionalising their possible participation in the Public Procurement Law. At local government level, the Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) which is a proven participatory planning methodology addressing the access to economic and social services has been introduced. In particular, the needs of women, youth, and indigenous people are being analysed giving voice to previously deprived people. The EIIP is also collaborating with Ministry of Public Works and Communication (MOPC) and the World Bank on the design and implementation of a routine roads maintenance system with micro enterprise and community participation.

The scaling up of this work is now the main focus for the EIIP collaboration with the newly elected government.

Paraguay

Paraguay Success Story

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