Resolution of August 6, 2018 No. 8537/18, establishing Plan Units in each Ministry

Annex 3: Presidential Resolution regarding establishment of Ministerial Plan Units 2018 STATE LAW No. 79 OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME Resolution dated August 6, 2018 No. 8537/18, establishing Plan Units in each Ministry. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME, Upon the nomination of the Minister of the Interior, having obtained the approval of the Council of Ministers dated November 20, 2017 (vide missive from the Vice- President, President of the Council of Ministers, dated November 23, 2017 no. 842/R.v.M.) NOTICE: The State Decree of July 17, 2018, establishing further rules regarding the composition, duties and operation of the Plan Coordination Commission (Regulations Plan Coordination Commission) (S.B. 2018 no. 71); the Reform of the National Planning System as contained in the Development Plan (OP) 2017-2021 and for the efficient and effective implementation of the Development Plan. WHEREAS: That pursuant to Rule 6(6) of the “Regulations of the Plan Coordination Commission” (S.B. 2018 no. 71), the rules concerning the Plan Units, having heard the Minister of the Interior, shall be established by resolution of the President, in particular their place in the ministerial organization, tasks, results, internal organization and staffing. DECISION: I. Effective September 01, 2018, to establish the Ministerial Plan Units. II. For the purposes of the provisions of or pursuant to this resolution, the following definitions shall apply: Ministerial Plan Units: staff units in the Ministries that do not fall hierarchically into the line structure of the Ministry in which the plan function of that Ministry is organized; Plan Coordination Committee, abbreviated PCC: an advisory committee to coordinate the implementation of development planning; Department Director: the officer who heads and directs a department; the Minister member of the Government who, as a Minister as stipulated in the Constitution, is entrusted by policy and political right with the leadership of a Ministry as defined in the State Decree `Allocation of Ruling Power' III. Each Ministry shall have a Plan Unit. 1) The Ministerial Plan Unit shall perform the Plan function in each Ministry. (a) Policy-wise, the Plan Unit is directed by the Minister and, with regard to plan implementation, monitoring and evaluation, by the Departmental Director(s). b) In addition, the Plan Unit advises with respect to harmonizing ministerial policy and planning with the Development Plan and Annual Plans. IV. Duties of the Plan Units: 1) Assist and facilitate policy departments in project identification and development. 2) Produce opinions regarding (the feasibility of) Ministry (action) programs/projects after reviewing them against the Development Plan. 3) Assist and/or facilitate policy departments in the preparation of Ministry (action) programs and/or project documents. 4) Establish indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation, in close cooperation with relevant policy departments. 5) Monitor programs and projects of the Ministry. 6) Assist in conducting program or project evaluation based on pre-established national criteria, procedures and/or methods. 7) Assist the Minister and Department Director in preparing the Ministry's budget and annual plans. 8) Advise regarding the allocation or commitment of funds derived from international funding sources. 9) Provide information to the Director(s) and Finance Department of the Ministry on: (a) required expenditure of program and project implementation as contained in the approved policy; (b) timing of delivery and quality of goods and services provided (deliverables) as described in program and project documents. 10) Research and analysis. 11) Maintain contact with: (a) sector councils on plan implementation at the sector level; b) the Suriname Planning Institute on the implementation of annual plans and development plans and the General Bureau of Statistics for monitoring indicators;

(c) the Finance Department of the Ministry in the context of planning reporting, monitoring and evaluation; (d) regional planning bodies for the purpose of aligning districts' annual plans with the Ministry's annual plan. V. 1) The Plan Unit shall provide to the Minister and the Director all information requested by them with respect to policy formulation, plan formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation as necessary for the directional management of the relevant Ministry. 2) The reporting referred to in paragraph 1 shall be done in accordance with the standard reporting as established for the Government or in response to special requests. In the latter case, the Minister and/or the Director shall decide on the content and format of the requested report. 3) Under the supervision of the Department Director, who represents the Ministry in the PCC, the Plan Unit provides monitoring and evaluation reports to the National Monitoring and Evaluation Institute. VI. To provide, that this resolution be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Suriname. VII. To establish that the Minister of the Interior is charged with the implementation of this resolution. VIII. To send copies of this resolution to the President of The National Assembly, the President of the Court of Auditors of Suriname, all Ministers, the Directors of Departments, the Director of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Suriname, the Director of the Cabinet of the Vice-President of the Republic of Suriname, the Director of the Planning Bureau, the Director of the General Bureau of Statistics, the Director of the National Development Bank, the Director of Investsur and the President of the Central Bank of Suriname. Paramaribo, the 6th of August, 2018, DESIRE D. BOUTERSE Issued in Paramaribo, the 17th day of August, 2018 The Minister of the Interior, M.M.F. NOERSALIM 2018 No. 79 EXPLANATION ESTABLISHMENT MINISTERIAL PLAN UNITS In the implementation chapter of the OP 2017-2021, a transition phase is indicated in which, based on the existing (outdated) laws and regulations for planning, an intensive start is already being made on the effective and efficient implementation of this plan. The premise here is that on this basis a well-functioning decentralized institutional structure should be set up that will produce the desired results. This resolution establishes the decentralized Plan Units, of which the Ministerial Plan Units are the main ones at this stage. As part of the reform of the National Plan Unit, as included in the Development Plan (OP) 2017-20211, a seamless connection must be made between: 1. the Suriname Planning Institute, the Suriname Planning Foundation (SPS); 2. the Ministerial Plan Units, Plan Units within the Ministries and 3. industry-specific public and private plan consultation bodies, sector councils such as a Tourism Council. Place of the Ministerial Plan Unit in the Government Organization. The Plan Unit within a Ministry is a working arm of the Minister and of the Department Director. This unit will be responsible for providing technical services to all policy departments and/or parastatals as far as the entire project cycle is concerned. The Plan Unit does not formulate policy, as that is the mission of the policy departments of the Ministry. The Unit facilitates and assists in the formulation and design of policy programs based on Government standards and optimal alignment of national planning programming with Ministry policies. In the project identification phase, the Plan Unit will check the Ministry's project ideas against the OP and advise the Minister on them. Regarding the choice of indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), the Plan Unit will make proposals in consultation with the relevant policy department(s). The Ministry's Plan Unit will periodically issue standard monitoring and evaluation reports to the Department Director and the Minister or may produce special reports upon request.

The following details clarify the place and role of Plan Units within the Ministries: 1) They are staff units, so hierarchically they are not part of the line structure of the Ministry. The units are policy-driven by the Minister, but are under the authority of the Department Director as far as operational tasks are concerned. 2) Special job requirements are imposed on the officers of a Ministerial Plan Unit. In any case, in the start-up phase, the heads of Plan Units must: (i) meet the formal training requirements but, above all, have demonstrable experience. This should guarantee that from 'moment utility' onwards, the person concerned can deliver quality products and manage staff who may still be in charge, and (ii) where necessary, be employed for one year to help set up the unit. Through a standard contract, these officers, upon proven suitability, can be employed by the project organization, allowing for different pay. This also allows the duration of the employment to be limited to the duration of the project and gives the relevant Ministry room to make final provisions after the start-up phase. Internal structure and size of the Plan Units Although Plan Units may vary in size, according to the size and workload of the Ministry, there is a similar internal structure that ensures the necessary flexibility. Below are basic scenarios that reflect the similar internal structure. Tasks of the Ministerial Plan Unit The main task of the Ministerial Plan Unit is to elaborate the Ministry's policies into programs and projects according to the Government's standard `format', to then record the project documents, and to monitor and evaluate the implementation. This task can be further divided into: 1) Assisting and facilitating policy departments in project identification and development. 2) Produce opinions regarding (the feasibility of) Ministry (action) programs/projects after reviewing them against the Development Plan. 3) Assist and/or facilitate policy departments in the preparation of Ministry (action) programs and/or project documents. 4) Establish indicators for Monitoring and Evaluation, in close cooperation with relevant policy departments. 5) Monitor programs and projects of the Ministry. 6) Assist in conducting program or project evaluation based on pre-established national criteria, procedures and/or methods. 7) Assist the Minister and Department Director in preparing the Ministry's budget and annual plans. 8) Advise regarding the allocation or commitment of funds derived from international funding sources. 9) Provide information to the Director(s) and Finance Department of the Ministry on: (a) the required expenditure of program and project implementation as contained in the approved policy; (b) the timing and quality of goods and services (deliverables) as described in program and project documents. 10) Research and Analysis. 11) Maintain contact with: (a) sector councils on plan implementation at the sector level; b) the Suriname Planning Institute on the implementation of annual plans and development plans and the General Bureau of Statistics for monitoring indicators; (c) the Finance Department of the Ministry in the context of planning reporting, monitoring and evaluation; (d) regional planning bodies for the purpose of aligning district annual plans with the Ministry's annual plan.