Improve Transparency in the Area of Infrastructure Projects (TN0019)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Tunisia, First Action Plan, 2014-16
Action Plan Cycle: 2014
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of equipment, urban planning and sustainable development
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
Access to Information, Infrastructure & Transport, Local Commitments, Open Data, Public Service DeliveryIRM Review
IRM Report: Tunisia End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Tunisia IRM Progress Report 2014-2015
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): High
Implementation i
Description
Development of a Geographic Information System for urban development models and its publication online.
The implementation of a Geographic Information System for urban development models (SIG WEB PAU) containing urban models approved and containing all related administrative and legal data (legal texts and urban regulation) taking into consideration geographic data to make it available for interested parties (ministries, municipalities, consulting firms...)
- Preparation of urban development guidelines projects and their publication
online.
- Online publication of governorates ATLAS including economic, environmental and social data.
Implementation of a database that includes natural, environmental, demographic, economic, social and urban specific data of each governorate in Tunisia in order to make a current diagnosis of the governorate and to establish specific and appropriate development programs.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
19: Transparency in infrastructure projects
Commitment Text:
• Development of a Geographic Information System for urban development plans and its publication online.
The implementation of a Geographic Information System for urban development plans containing urban plans approved and containing all related administrative and legal data (legal texts and urban regulation) taking into consideration geographic data to make it available for interested parties (ministries, municipalities, consulting firms…)
Responsible Institution(s): Ministry of Equipment, Territory Planning, and Sustainable Development
Start Date: July 2014 End Date: December 2015
Commitment Text:
• Preparation of land use master plan projects and their publication online.
Responsible Institution(s): Ministry of Equipment, Territory Planning, and Sustainable Development
Start Date: July 2014 End Date: June 2016
Commitment Text:
• Online publication of governorates ATLAS including economic, environmental and social data.
Implementation of a database that includes natural, environmental, demographic, economic, social and urban specific data of each governorate in Tunisia in order to make a current diagnosis of the governorate and to establish specific and appropriate development programs.
Responsible Institution(s): Ministry of Equipment, Territory Planning, and Sustainable Development
Start Date: July 2014 End Date: December 2015
Commitment aim
This commitment aimed to improve the accessibility of public geographical information by publishing basic geographical data, urban plans, land use, and atlases. Historically, geographical information published by the government has been scarce in Tunisia, except for limited social and economic data available on the National Statistics Institute (INS) website.
Status
Midterm: Substantial
The development of a Geographical Information System (GIS) was limited. In early 2015, the Ministry of Equipment, Housing, and Urban Planning contracted a firm to develop the GIS. This was completed in April 2015. The system was to be deployed before the end of 2015 and the geographical data published online.
Completion of land use master plans was substantial. Over the course of 2015, the Ministry of Equipment, Housing, and Urban Planning published several digital geographical resources on its website.[Note 64: Ministry of Equipment website, including geographical resources, : http://www.equipement.tn/index.php?id=3&L=1 ] Additionally, the online ATLAS database, including economic, environmental, and social data, was substantially complete. By the time the midterm progress report was written, urban plans for six territorial zones and 16 out of 24 governorate atlases were available in PDF format. For more information, please see the 2014-2015 IRM Midterm Progress Report.[Note 65: OGP, Tunisia IRM Midterm Progress Report 2014-15, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Tunisia2014-15_IRM%20Progress%20Report_Eng.pdf. ]
End of term: Substantial
Since the midterm evaluation, there has been no further progress on the preparation and online publication of land use master plan projects, or the third commitment activity. Therefore, both remain substantially complete. According to the self assessment report, studies on developing economic, environmental, and social data assessments have been published online http://www.mehat.gov.tn/index.php?id=347. Only one dataset related to indicators of housing and families has been published (http://www.equipement.tn/index.php?id=295&L=1).
Did it open government?
Access to information: Marginal
Publically available geographical information has been historically scarce in Tunisia. If fully implemented, this commitment could be a major step in providing public access to information and, thus, helping to expose corruption risks in urban planning.
According to Transparency International,[Note 66: Transparency International, “Consultancy to Product 2-3 Case Studies on Urban Corruption Issues that Urban Planners Are Exposed to in Fast Growing Cities in East and Southern Africa,” http://bit.ly/1PVz6Tn.] several corruption risks are associated with urban planning. These could have detrimental and, sometimes, fatal consequences (e.g., collapsing structures and lethal mudslides due to bribes paid by developers and slumlords who help dodge building standards and zoning laws, thereby creating extreme vulnerabilities and ineffective disaster responses). Dysfunctional urban planning remains an area prone to corruption. Funds for public works projects, land use, and zoning for vehicle use can be channeled to business, and speculative gains can be leveraged with powerful contractors and developers.[Note 67: Council of Europe Portal, Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/economiccrime/corruption/projects/snac/pdf/tp/SNACtun3%203_TP-RAdomaines-frREV.pdf.]
CSOs[Note 68: Interview with Open Gov group, E-Gov Society, and Al Bawsala, 1 February 2017.] support the publication of geographic and land-use information online because it allows citizens to hold government officials accountable for calls for tender results and for the choices made regarding infrastructure contracts. The publication of atlases is a welcome step, but there is a need for more targeted promotional efforts so that citizens are aware of the available data and can use them accordingly. Nonetheless, members of the OpenGovTN group found that the publication format of the urban plans and the atlases lacks a re-usability function. While civil society supports the implementation of this commitment, the Ministry of Equipment has been vague on details of publication due to security concerns.
Carried forward?
This commitment was not carried over to the second action plan. However, to ensure full completion of this commitment and further progress in this area, the IRM researcher suggests continuing to publish and update urban plans and atlases, as well as data related to housing and urban planning within a pre-set publication schedule. To ensure more accountable spending on infrastructure projects, the government should hold public consultations on major urban planning projects and the related public spending.
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