US$1.5bn World Bank funds held up...
&as half of projects are rated below satisfactory
by Basiru Adam
About 13 out of 26 World Bank-funded projects in Ghana that were supposed to have been completed within three to five years have run far beyond their completion dates (see middle page insert), with some running for as long as eight to nine years, the B&FT has found.
As a result, over US$1.5billion of funds -- out of US$2.3billion approved in total -- remains in the World Banks chest, waiting on implementing agencies to get their acts together. Officials of the Ghana Office of the Bank say that over-aged projects may not be extended if implementing
agencies do not expedite action on them. The officials say lengthy administrative processes have accounted for the delays in the implementation of the projects. In other cases, compensation payments which are supposed to be borne by the government of Ghana tend to delay project implementation.
Over the past years we have seen slow implementation of projects funded by the bank...perhaps because projects are becoming more complex; but there is sometimes a governance problem, and also a bureaucracy problem.
Government takes loans for projects, puts people in charge of these projects -- who are being paid very well to implement them -- but somehow things happen so slowly, said Kofi Tsikata, Senior
Communications Specialist of the World Banks Country Office in Accra.
Mr. Tsikata described the irony thus: You are a government, you have challenges in your country, and you go and borrow money to invest in various aspects of your economy. The onus is on you as government to make sure that you implement those projects very quickly and properly, making sure that there is value for money and that the investments yield good results and impact positively on the lives of your people....
Mr. Dante Mossi, Senior Country Officer of the World Bank noted that the implementation of most projects follows a countrys systems, laws and regulations -- which sometimes take too many steps to be resolved. The important fact is to learn from our projects how to do better with
Ghanaian public investments.
Perhaps more systematic processing of bidding documents, contract signing, and management is needed. Ghana has changed into a more complex and sophisticated country, and some country systems must evolve as well to reflect this progress, he said. While
many urban dwellers battle with lack of potable water, US$85.3million remains undisbursed out of US$153million that was approved for the Ghana Urban Water Project. Initially, US$103million had been approved on July 27, 2004 -- but US$50million was subsequently added to deal with cost
overruns partly due to the delay in implementation. The original completion date of December 31, 2010 has had to be revised to December 31, 2015. The Urban Water Project involves system expansion and rehabilitation, public-private partnership development, capacity building and project management, and a severance programme.
The original closing date of the Ghana Urban Transport Project of December 31, 2012 has been revised to December 31, 2014. The approval date was
June 21, 2007. An amount of US$ 19.9million remains undisbursed out of the total project sum of US$45million. The much-talked-about Bus Rapid Transit System is a component of this project. For the Ghana Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) Project, the original closing date
of December 31, 2011 has been revised to June 30, 2013. The project was approved on January 5, 2006 and out of the project sum of US$34.1 million, US$15.6 million remains undisbursed.
The project aims to, among other things; enhance the competitive and employment levels of Ghanaian MSMEs by building an integrated market access and trade facilitation infrastructure, and supporting entrepreneurship development. According to Mr. Tsikata: A component of
the project under which an ICT Park is being constructed in the Exports Processing Zone near Tema has suffered significant implementation delay, due to indecision by Free Zones Board management and Ministry of Trade to allow the construction of a storm drainage facility to avoid flooding
of the Park during heavy rains. This is lamentable. Still, the original closing date of March, 31, 2012 for the eGhana Project has been revised to June 30, 2014. The project, which is among the
better-performing ones, was approved on August 1, 2006 and later expanded to include a Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) component which brings the total sum to US$84.7-million, of which US$44.2million remains undisbursed.
The objective of the project is to assist in generating growth and employment by leveraging
ICT and public-private partnerships to develop the IT Enabled Services industry, and contribute to improved efficiency and transparency of selected government functions through e-government applications. A number of other projects, according to the Banks progress report, are
trailing their original closing dates and are not likely to be completed on schedule. Asked whether the country is really getting the right impact from all these investments, Mr. Mossi said: At the end of each project, there is a joint assessment, called Implementation Completion
Reports, which measure progress. Some investments are highly successful, and stand the test of time: for example, Akosombo Dam and numerous other investments made in the energy and telecommunications sectors since independence. For some other projects, we have failed to obtain
sustainability -- such as the Tema waste water treatment plant located behind Sakumono, which was built and then abandoned because TMA could not pay for electricity. We have learned a lot in project design and implementation over the decades, and hopefully should apply these
lessons to new projects to avoid falling into similar pitfalls.
The World Bank Ghana Office admitted that its procurement processes may not
be the easiest, and with good reason; but said it expects that since government functionaries have been working with the bank on various projects since the 1950s, they should have become familiar with the banks procedures.
Any challenges in implementation of projects have a direct impact on the standard of living and the poverty status of the people. We need to make sure these projects deliver their results in the agreed time. Government must monitor the implementation of development projects seriously,
whether it is funded from governments own resources or from donor resources.
People put in positions of authority in the implementing agencies must not see things as just another government project and do business as usual. They must take implementation seriously.
They must know that implementation delayed is equal to benefits denied, said Mr. Tsikata. For detailed Information of Implementation Status Results click here NEW WORLD BANK REPORT. Business and Financial Times Editorial Lest posterity bear us a grudge Published on 28 January 2013
If this does not move us a people, one is not sure what else will: How on earth do we apply for loans to undertake projects significant to the well-being of our people, and then when the loans are approved we do not seem to attach any sense of urgency to getting the projects completed on
time?
As our front-page story indicates, various projects for which the government of Ghana secured funding for from the World Bank -- some stemming back to 2004 -- remain uncompleted whilst a large chunk of the monies involved remain with the Bank waiting on implementing agencies to
awake from their slumber. As a member of the World Bank, the Government of Ghana has a long-term relationship with the World Bank Group and in fact makes contributions to the running of the Bank, which qualifies it to apply for loans and grants to better the lot of its people.
The Bank finances projects requested by the Government. The banks portfolio in the country is currently about US$2billion. And as we have learned, about a half of this amount remains undisbursed -- largely because government agencies responsible for implementation of projects which the loans were secured for have been sloppy in their implementation.
Projects like the Akosombo Dam, partly funded by the bank, have been highly successful, and have stood the test of time. For some others, however, we have failed to obtain sustainability; such as the Tema waste water treatment plant located behind Sakumono, which was built with more than US$10million and then abandoned because TMA could not pay for electricity to power the plant.
Indeed, no one needs to go to the World Bank office to know that implementation of development projects in Ghana, whether funded directly by the tax payer, or from donor agencies like the World Bank, tend to take too long to complete. The road sector provides a perfect example.
Accra is today so full of dust simply because roads meant for rehabilitation or expansion are turned over and left untarred for months and years. Long-suffering motorists take in the dust as if it does nothing to their condition of health.
Consider also, the number of man-hours lost to traffic in the countrys cities. Look at the snails
pace at which traffic moves in Accra. Yet there is a slow-moving World Bank-funded Urban Transport project -- under which the Bus Rapid Transit System falls -- which is supposed to help ease the traffic congestion. The water and sanitation sector does not show a better picture either.
Potable water is today a luxury many Ghanaians cannot afford. In many parts of Accra, you either sink a borehole in your house or you rely on the services of private water tankers; or worse still, your children carry yellow gallons moving from place to place in search of the vital
commodity. Yet there is an unhurried World Bank funded Urban Water Project, which may not be the panacea but has the potential to alleviate the water situation in urban parts of Ghana.
The project's principal development objectives, we are told, are to (i) significantly increase access to the piped water system in Ghana's urban centres, with an emphasis on improving access, affordability and service reliability to the urban poor; and (ii) restoring the long-term financial
stability, viability and sustainability of Ghana Water Company Limited.
Mind you, the Ghana Water Company has been crying for funds.
These and many other basic necessities of life continue to elude many Ghanaians whilst public servants are growing fat at their expense. What is it that makes these projects, the funding for which is usually announced to the public with pomp and pageantry, take so long to
complete? Why are Ghanaian public servants too relaxed and too comfortable? Perhaps the monies they earn when such projects come about tend to overwhelm them; so much so that what Chinua Achebe calls the corroding effect of privilege begins to take a toll on them and render them ineffective.
It is imperative, therefore, that whilst putting his government together, President John Dramani Mahama pays attention to the calibre of people he is appointing for various positions. The president owes it as a duty to Ghanaians to look beyond faces that are familiar to him and appoint
people who have the capabilities needed and who are willing to serve.
Even if it must be party people at all costs, it must be party people who are not just interested in the booty but those who will ensure that they earn their keep by working hard and honestly for the people of Ghana. Anything short of this will cause posterity to bear us a grudge -- a totally justified grudge! We are watching!