Supporting the MRC with the Implementation of its Organisational Reform (II)

• To improve the sustainable delivery of core management functions at the national and regional level in the Mekong basin.

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) was established in 1995 with the mandate of managing the Mekong Basin in an integrated and sustainable way. In this work it received substantial support from international donors, including Germany.

Since then, economic growth in the region has accelerated and technical/personnel competencies and capacities have equally increased. A set of river basin management functions currently being fulfilled by the MRC Secretariat can now be taken on by the relevant national institutions in the member states, in line with the decision of the member states to achieve full ownership of the MRC by 2030.

This requires a comprehensive organisational reform process that defines the functions and tasks of the MRC as a river basin organisation, clarifies responsibilities, and coordinates and promotes their implementation at national and regional level.

• In order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the MRC in transboundary water management, GIZ is providing comprehensive advisory services on organisational development and decentralisation. The advisory services concentrate primarily on the development of the new structure for the MRC Secretariat; the decentralisation of functions to the member states; the introduction of a Basket Fund as a sustainable financing mechanism for MRC; the management of the restructuring of the secretariat in alignment with the reform aims; and the development and implementation of a consistent planning, monitoring and evaluation system.
• The reform process is accompanied by an exchange of experiences with other river basin commissions, international organisations and other stakeholders in transboundary water management.

• A detailed implementation roadmap for the decentralisation and overall reform process has been developed with support from GIZ. The first decentralised functions, for example the monitoring of bodies of water or navigation safety, have been handed over to the member states. At the same time, the project is helping to strengthen the resources and capacities of the MRC Secretariat for all functions that remain centralised, such as flood forecasting, data acquisition and monitoring, modelling and assessment, planning support, and the implementation of MRC procedures. The new organisational structure has been implemented through a performance based recruitment process. The planning processes have been streamlined. A Basket Fund is now operational and the move to a new financial management and information system is ongoing. Options for the future working arrangements between the Secretariat and the line agencies in the four Member Countries are now being discussed.