4.- Country Worksheet

Monitoring the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness

Indicator 3 — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words):

*see attachment 1 for all data.

It should be noted that this indicator assumes the existence of a medium-term expenditure framework or a budgeting process that aligns resources with national priorities. In Cambodia, as of 2005, a fully-functioning budgeting mechanism, based on national priorities, was still being developed and this requires further strengthening. As of 2005, there were existing national development strategies; the Second Five-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2001-05 (SEDP2), the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS) for 2003-2005, the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals. With the formulation of a new Administration, the government shared its vision as the Rectangular Strategy.  

The survey data indicates that 79% of total ODA disbursed was recorded in the Government systems, however this should be interpreted with some degree of caution due to the absence of a coherent link between the budget and national priorities. In addition, it should be noted that what is recorded in both the budget estimates and in budget execution reports does not always tally with disbursements recorded by donors.

During 2005, the Government worked with donors and other stakeholders to produce a single national development plan, which led to the formulation of the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010. At the March 2006 Consultative Group Meeting the Government presented its Public Investment Plan (PIP), based on the NSDP, and requested donors to align their ODA to NSDP priorities and the PIP. This exercise will inform the national budgeting process. 

Currently the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), Ministry of Planning (MoP), Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) and the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) are coordinating in linking national priorities, aid flow and budgeting process, and further efforts of  implementing the Public Financial Management Reform Program (PFMRP)are underway by the Government, supported by donors¹ PFMRP includes a component designed to strengthen the linkages between the Budget, the NSDP and sectoral priorities and programmes, and it is expected that ODA will be increasingly integrated as part of this work.

While some donors have difficulty in providing timely and comprehensive information on aid flows due to the different fiscal year period, efforts will continue that will enable the Government to record ODA flows in its Budget more comprehensively.

As stated above, ODA alignment with Government priorities has been enhanced through the CG meeting, which in 2006 included the collection of data on planned ODA disbursement by sector. This allows the Government to identify the gap between resource requirements and ODA commitment, as well as to assess the alignment of ODA with the NSDP (See ANNEX 1).

In addition, CRDB/CDC, the Government aid coordination focal point, is reviewing and updating its ODA Database and the format for donor reporting. At the last joint Government-Donor Partnership and Harmonization Technical Working Group held on May 30 2006, it was proposed and agreed that the Paris Declaration indicators be included in the routine data reporting exercise in order to institutionalize the survey process. This will simplify and expedite the survey process in the future, as well as providing consistency over time. In addition, it will allow the indicators to inform national efforts to promote aid effectiveness by providing objective data for further analysis on aid delivery, alignment and harmonisation.

Government and donors will also take additional measures to fully utilize the existing aid coordination mechanism, including the Technical Working Groups (TWGs), to align ODA to the NSDP. If the TWGs become effective fora for coordinating support in developing sectoral strategies, and plans, and sectoral/thematic programmes, they can facilitate ODA alignment with the NSDP. This will require that the capacity of officials in charge of planning and aid coordination at line ministries and at CRDB/CDC be enhanced to exercise leadership in aid management.

<Comments on the Indicator>

During the OECD-DAC mission in early May, it was emphasised that the survey records ODA disbursements at the point of delivery, regardless of its source of funds. Cambodia’s ODA Database applies a different way of recording ODA, i.e. by source of funding. The OECD-DAC methodology therefore results in many donors appearing to disburse less than is actually the case (balanced by others disbursing these funds channeled through them). It is noted that OECD-DAC encourages delegated cooperation and/or use of multilateral channels and it would be useful to identify some means of measuring the extent to which donors efforts reflect these principles of the Paris Declaration or reflect the source of funds in some way in the questionnaire/ worksheet

This indicator reflects the gap between the total disbursement to the Government sector, and the disbursement recorded in Government systems (i.e. the budget), as a proxy for assessing alignment with national priorities. In the case of Cambodia, it should be noted that a significant amount of ODA is disbursed to local government and/or to NGOs, many of whom provide essential public services. The Government and its development partners believe, therefore, that the current indicator does not necessarily fully capture alignment of ODA with national priorities as ODA provided through non-Governmental actors and/or to local government is omitted. The OECD-DAC Secretariat is asked to give this matter further consideration.

Indicator 4 — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words):

*see attachment 2 for all data.

The indicator for Cambodia shows that 36% of TC can be considered coordinated; this falls short of the target set by the Paris Declaration but it is expected that, as more PBAs are established, there will be an increased opportunity to develop TC programmes that are both coordinated and relevant to Government's capacity development needs (See ANNEX 2 for the List of Coordinated Programmes).

Efforts are underway to develop a set of Government principles/guidelines for providing Technical Cooperation and supporting capacity development. This includes a 2004 study by the Partnership TWG on Capacity Building Practices of Cambodia’s Development Partners, and the development of National Operational Guidelines for Development Cooperation Grant Assistance, which makes a provision for routine capacity assessments as part of project/programme formulation. The Government’s Action Plan on Harmonization, Alignment and Results (2006-2010) also commits both Government and donors to ensuring that “all sector plans and development programs/projects include an assessment of the existing capacity gaps and a capacity development plan to fill the gaps to achieve targeted development results”. But this has not been fully applied in practice.

Although a basic framework is therefore now in place to provide general guidance on support to capacity development, it will be important to emphasise Government ownership and leadership in identification of capacity needs, the coordination of TC and capacity building activities, including ensuring that PBAs are developed that clearly articulate the role of TC.

It was also noted that, with regard to private sector-related support, TC provided by donors takes on a markedly different set of forms. Due to the wide range of stakeholders, TC is provided at different levels and through different approaches. The dialogue mechanisms in these areas, including the Government-Private Sector Forum (which comprises 7 Working Groups) and the Private Sector Development Steering Committee (which comprises 3 sub-steering committees), needs to ensure the engagement of all donors supporting the private sector so that TC can be increasingly coordinated.

<Comments on the Indicator>

Technical Co-operation (TC) is defined by OECD-DAC as the provision of know-how in the form of personnel, training, research and associated costs. It also states that Coordinated Technical Cooperation comprises either capacity development programmes or programmes which have capacity building components and which also: 1) support a country’s national development strategy; 2) are led by Government and follow widely shared and clearly articulated objectives from senior Government sources; 3) are integrated within country led programmes; and 4) are co-ordinated with other donors where relevant (including arrangements for co-ordinating donor contributions). The set goal for indicator 4 by 2010 is to achieve 50% of implementation of technical cooperation to support capacity development through coordinated programmes.

In the case of Cambodia, all TC activities included in the programmes defined as Programme-Based Approaches (PBAs) by the National Coordinator are identified as coordinated TC. These include SEILA, PFMRP, LMAP/Land Management, the Health SWiM, the Education SWAp, HIV/AIDS and Mine Action. Donors were also encouraged to identify as “coordinated” any projects and programmes where they are beginning to harmonise and coordinate their capacity building efforts between themselves and are pursuing a division of labour based on a common strategy or framework.

A list of coordinated programs is provided at Annex I. This shows that many of the reported ‘coordinated programmes’ are not part of a PBA. Some cases, for example, comprise coordination among 2 or 3 donors outside of and/or without a PBA framework, while there was also a view that where a project funded by a single donor is coordinated with a Ministry, is consistent with the sector strategy, and includes information sharing via the respective TWG, then this might satisfy the criteria for coordinated TC. But others argue how effectively these support could be considered as coordinated without a single budget framework

Some donors also had difficulty in coming to a common understanding of precisely what technical cooperation is and which cost can be counted as technical cooperation, and it was noted that capacity development elements are not necessarily fully represented by “technical cooperation”.    

Indicator 5a — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words s):

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

* see attachment 3 for all data.

In 2005 only 10% of ODA made use of the Government's public financial management systems, in a considerable way below from the target of 90% by 2010. With regards to the share of donors using all three of Government's PFM systems (budget, financial reporting and audit), 100% of Cambodia's donors are in the category of ‘less than 10%'.

The major obstacle to the use of Government systems is that they are still in the process of being developed and at present there is insufficient confidence displayed in them by donors, and sometimes also by Government. This relates to the legislation that guides financial management, the National Financial Reporting Procedures, budgeting, treasury and accounting and audit functions. To avoid fiduciary risks, the Government therefore accepts turn-key projects that follow donor systems and procedures, although these are ideally accompanied by components of counterpart capacity building.

Government is now committed to its 10 year Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PFMRP) and as this progresses it will allow for increased use of Government systems in the future. Further provision of an enabling environment such as public administrative reform and the establishment of PBAs will also facilitate greater integration and use of Government systems.

This is demonstrated most positively where there have been concerted efforts to strengthen Government systems, including, for example, in the Education sector Priority Action Program (PAP) and the Commune/Sangkat Fund, both of which use the Government financial system. These examples provide an opportunity to learn and apply good practices.

Indicator 5b — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words):

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

* see attachment 4 for all data.

The following subordinate legislation and policies have been functioning in Cambodia but only use of unmodified national procurement procedures applies in the case of the survey:

1. 1995 Sub-Decree for public procurement;

2. 1995 Prakas on the Implementation of the Rule and Regulation on the Management of  Public Procurement;

3. 1998 supplementary instruction to 1995 Prakas on Implementing Rules and Regulations on Public Procurement (IRRPP);

4. February 1998 Privatized concession or BOT

5. August 2003; Social Fund and Sangkat /Commune Fund Handling (under decentralization policy); and

6. August 2005 Standard Operating Procedures for externally funded projects under the purview of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (SOP)

In 2005, only 6 % of ODA made use of the national procurement system. Indicator 5(bii) shows that 78% of that donors are in the lowest category, below the target of 90% of all donors using Government procurement systems by 2010.

As is the case with indicator 5(a), the low number of donors, and their ODA, using the Government procurement system reflects the need to strengthen the system further and to build confidence. As mentioned above in 5(a), Government is now implementing its Public Financial Management Reform Programme, which also includes the improvement of RGC’s procurement systems and the introduction of new legislation.

Progress has been made as three development partners (ADB, AFD, World Bank) are following the procurement procedures set out in the Government’s new procurement system under the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Externally Financed Projects and Programs, adopted in August 2005. The SOP contains three volumes: i) the SOP itself (August 2005); ii) the Financial Management Manual (FMM, September 2005); and iii) the Procurement Standard Operational Procedure (commonly called the Procurement Manual) (August 2005). Donors recognize that these are the most comprehensive set of procurement procedures existing in Cambodia and they are consistent with international standards. Alongside the National Operational Guideline, line ministries and development partners are encouraged to use the SOP in the future.

Indicator 6 — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words):

* see attachment 5 for all data.

Of the 436 projects identified in total, 49 were reported to have parallel PIUs, i.e. 11.2% of the total (see Annex 2 for the full list of parallel PIUs). The Paris Declaration target for 2010 is to “reduce by two-thirds” the number of PIUs; progress is expected to be made both by integrating existing PIUs, and also by developing PBAs – with coordinated TC where appropriate - that will preclude the use of new parallel PIUs as projects are increasingly implemented directly by Government (See ANNEX 4 for the List of Parallel PIUs).

Government and donors had discussions on the status of a PIU when NGOs are involved as implementers. It was agreed locally that “in some cases NGOs act as PIUs (parallel) particularly when they manage operational activities in the absence of Government structures or support to the Government institutions due to a lack of capacity in that particular sector”. Some donor reported some NGOs find it easier to report directly to donor than to the government. In such cases, NGO engagement with Government should in the future be encouraged so that reporting is increasingly to Government, not only to the donor; this would also provide for enhanced capacity development.

The share of parallel PIUs in the total was lower than had been anticipated (see the discussion on methodology below). However, it is considered that, in practice, most PIUs could be considered to be of a semi-parallel nature and not necessarily fully-integrated. Most PIUs, for example, were found to report to the Government in some way and there was some degree of Government staff involvement in many aspects of project implementation.

To ensure future progress, the Government’s Action Plan for Harmonization, Alignment and Results (2006-2010) identifies the following actions: “CRDB/CDC with support from development partners: (i) carries  out a survey on a number of existing PIU/PMUs; (ii) develops a strategy to integrate parallel PIU/PMUs in the Government structure; (iii) implements the agreed strategy (to integrate parallel PIU/PMUs in the Government’s structure); and (iv) secures an agreement that no new parallel PIU/PMUs will be established under new programs and projects."

This OECD-DAC survey and on-going discussions regarding the new Cambodian Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, based on the Paris Declaration, will facilitate the process of integrating PIUs as well as promoting the use of PBAs that may, in many cases, preclude the creation of a parallel PIU.  

<Comments on the Indicator>

The list of parallel PIUs required that a consensus be established regarding the definition of ‘parallel’ PIUs. Based upon the criteria provided by the OECD-DAC Secretariat, a small group under Partnership and Harmonisation TWG discussed the criteria and identified a continuum from ‘parallel’ to ‘integrated’ PIU operation (see attached matrix). Criteria included: a) accountability to Government; b) staff selection/recruitment and staffing; and c) implementation/operational responsibility. A parallel PIU's accountability, reporting and consultation functions are directed more toward the donor than to Government, which has less involvement and authority in each of the identified criteria. 

It was acknowledged that some features are mixed within a single PIU and it was sometimes difficult to make a clear judgement on a PIU's status. A small group therefore pulled together a number of PIU examples in order for donors to clarify the critical points.

Donors were advised to evaluate, firstly, whether their projects have PIUs based on the simple checklist on the criteria above. The PIU Reference Matrix (See ANNEX 3) offers more details around the three criteria above, and the opportunity to further classify PIUs.  This could be a useful tool to support donors who want to improve the structure of their PIUs, or in cases where donors are unclear about how to categorise a particular PIU. If donors identify a PIU as “Mostly Parallel” using this matrix, then the PIU should be reported as "Parallel".  This could provide us with a more realistic baseline from which to work and evaluate progress in years to come. Donors are also encouraged to provide further qualitative information on distinguishing characteristics of PIUs that they are funding. The matrix can be downloaded from the OECD-DAC website at:

http://www.oecd.org/document/50/0,2340,en_2649_15577209_37106034_1_1_1_1,00.html)

The OECD-DAC survey also prompted a discussion on the merits of PIUs, parallel or otherwise. It was noted, for example, that PIUs can: a) facilitate the smooth implementation of a project; b) provide flexibility where Government procedures are inadequate or where capacity is weak; c) allow Government to focus on its core functions instead of project management; and d) they can reduce fiduciary risk.

Indicator 7 — Please provide comments here (in no more than 800 words):

*see attachment 6 for all data.

Of the ODA disbursements predicted by donors, 69% was recorded as actually disbursed by Government (Qg2). The 2010 target is to halve the proportion of aid not disbursed within the fiscal year for which it was scheduled, meaning for Cambodia that a target of approximately 85% is appropriate.

Many donors also provided an assessment of how predictable their disbursements were based on their own data. Reasons for disbursing less than the anticipated amount (which was the norm for most donors) included:

• Administrative/procedural problems. Including signing an MoU, identifying an executing agency;

• Technical and substantive issues. Including delays in document approval, recruiting staff or efficiently managing procurement activities;

• Disagreement or uncertainty regarding policy and principles for implementation.

It was observed that predictability requires, first, that donors are able to manage their own administrative and technical obligations and, second, that Government is able to effectively implement the project.

A few donors reported that actual disbursement was higher than the planned disbursement, sometimes due to increased availability of funds being matched by Government absorption capacity.

The feasibility, and therefore utility, of multi-year predictability was also discussed during the survey. Multi-year commitments may widen the gap between the commitment (or projected disbursement) and the actual disbursement, which undermines the whole planning process. It was thought to be worthwhile trying to establish robust estimates for the next year, but obtaining good quality projections for the outer years is often challenging. For some donors, especially the UN agencies, financing may depend on resource mobilisation efforts; projections are therefore inclined to be uncertain and unpredictable. Progress in developing the MTEF will allow many of these issues to be more thoroughly examined and addressed.

A related point was that there is a difficulty in capturing funding through regional initiatives, including, ASEAN, CLMV and GMS which may represent increasingly significant flows over time. At present, these flows may not be captured in either the numerator or the denominator of the indicator but it may be a consideration for the future.

<Comments on the Indicator>

Comparison of donors’ planned disbursements with the Government record may not fully address the issue of predictability because failure to record the disbursement may not mean that it did not take place (although this is also a problem). It may therefore also be useful to compare donor disbursements against their own initial projections. This approach may bring problems related to consistency in methodology, however. Some donors have used the amount identified and agreed in an Annual Work Plan, usually approved at the beginning of the year. Other agencies refer to the pledged amount indicated at the time of CG meeting.