More needs to done for reintegration of former soldiers

A programme by the government and the World Bank to reintegrate soldiers demobilised after the end of Angola's devastating civil war is slowly but surely getting off the ground, but much remains to be done. That was the message from World Bank delegates after a two-week mission to the country to witness the progress of the Angolan Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (ADRP). "It is still early - I'm not dissatisfied with the progress so far," said Sean Bradley, the trust fund coordinator for the Multicountry Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (MDRP), a regional multidonor partnership that supports demobilisation activities in nine African countries and is managed by the World Bank. "You can always do better, but I am a little more comfortable with the pace. We are coming into a phase where the project is being implemented and a number of important things are moving ahead as they need to be," he told IRIN. The ADRP is designed to disarm ex-combatants and help them re-establish productive civilian lives, and seen as key to reducing poverty and building security in peacetime Angola. After a long delay while financial management safeguards were put in place, the programme started in earnest in March this year. While the World Bank provides part of the $100 million in external funds to the Angolan programme and helps supervise the project, responsibility for its implementation lies with state-run Institute for the Social and Professional Reintegration of ex-Combatants (IRSEM). During the now-completed disarmament and re-integration of more than 97,000 former UNITA rebel fighters, most ex-combatants received five months' salary, demobilisation kits and discretionary payments. The more complex task of providing health education, training, jobs and a way of life had started but was taking time to reach all the targeted beneficiaries. "This is the reality of reintegration activities," Bradley said. "In a war-torn country or in a post-conflict setting, you do not just snap your fingers and have assistance programmes, vocational training, agricultural support or microcredit up and going in regions that were until recently inaccessible." With tens of thousands still waiting for benefits and training, World Bank staff noted a growing sense of frustration at the slow pace of the programme's implementation among former soldiers. "The ex-combatants we spoke with confirmed that, yes, they had received information on the programme; that, yes, they had also received information on basic health and HIV/AIDS," said Natacha Meden, the MDRP's communications specialist, lauding IRSEM's work in informing former soldiers of the programme. "But this has created an expectation, which has not been met so far - there is a little bit of impatience," she added. Around 50,000 ex-combatants received basic seeds and tools to restart subsistence agriculture activities and about 4,700 were currently involved in economic reintegration activities. The government, which has already spent at least $155 million of state funds on disarmament and reinsertion, also provided training for 4,400 ex-combatants, the Health Ministry hired 4,100 ex-UNITA combatants and the Ministry of Education 2,360. "That still leaves a balance of around 50,000, give or take," Bradley said, adding that IRSEM was working on making up the difference and had contracted for an additional 22,000 economic reintegration opportunities in projects at the provincial level that will provide training and assistance. "It is just a matter of time - contracts will probably be entered into in November, December, January, and those activities will begin some time early next year. Then another round of tendering will take place for additional assistance," he added. One concern was the slow pace of assistance to vulnerable groups - the wives or widows of soldiers, their children, child soldiers, and those disabled during combat. Bradley said other organisations, such as UN Children's Fund and the child protection network, had taken the lead in giving support to these groups. "IRSEM recognises that it has a responsibility - it just wasn't their first priority to deal with because they had a much more clearly identified target beneficiary group that was demanding assistance," he said, noting that IRSEM was currently developing its strategy for these vulnerable populations. Apart from the natural challenges of the environment - a population on the move, spread across a vast country where tattered infrastructure and landmines leave many parts inaccessible - there are also potential strategic conflicts. Ensuring that assistance to the former militia would have some trickle-down benefits for the broader community, synchronising the programme with wider aid efforts and avoiding giving ex-combatants preferential treatment, which could create hostility and local tensions, were all major tests. "It's all well and good to have a demobilised or ex-combatant getting some training or go through vocational training but they need to reintegrate themselves into their communities, so the economic landscape and environment has a great impact on their ability to successfully embrace a new life," Meden said. But the overall responsibilty for reintegration rested with the former soldiers themselves, Bradley noted. The World Bank has provided around $33 million to support the initiative, while the MDRP, funded by 11 countries, has given $48.5 million to the Angolan government, with another $4.3 million channelled through the UN Development Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. A grant from the European Commission, currently under negotiation, is worth about $17 million and will specifically target vulnerable groups.