Language: English
Original: English
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Grant Proposal for Financing under the MENA TRANSITIONAL FUND:
Support to Parliament: Building Capacity and Mainstreaming Inclusive
Growth and Decentralization in Egypt
COUNTRY: Arab Republic of Egypt
Date: April 9, 2014
Questions on this document
are to be addressed to
G. El Sokkary, Principal Socio-Economist, EGFO
A. Algindy, Procurement Officer, EGFO
A. Sobhi, Disbursement Assistant, EGFO
L. Mokadem, Resident Representative, EGFO
M. Youssouf, Manager, OSHD1.
A. Soucat, Director, OSHD
J. Kolster, Director ORNA
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1. Acronyms and Abbreviations
ADF
AFD
AfDB
BoD
CAOA
CSP
DPG
EGFO
EGP
EU
G8
GDP
GIZ
GoE
I-CSP
IPU
ISA
IMF
MENA
MoPIC
MPs
PCs
PCR
PSC
NGO
UNDP
USAID
USD
WB
African Development Fund
Agence Francaise de Developpement
African Development Bank Group
Board of Directors
Central
Agency
for
Organization
and
Administration
Country Strategy Paper
Development Partners Group
Egypt Field Office
Egyptian Pound
European Union
Group of Eight representing governments of largest
economies in the world
Gross Domestic Product
German International Development Agency
Government of Egypt
Interim Country Strategy Paper
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Implementing Support Agency (under MENA TF)
International Monetary Fund
Middle East and North Africa
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation
Members of Parliament
Parliamentary Committees
Program Completion Report
Project Steering Committee
Non-Governmental Organization
United Nations Development Program
The U.S. Agency for International Development
United States of America Dollar
World Bank
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1. Introduction
Launched by the G8 countries, the Deauville Partnership supports the countries of the Arab
Spring as they move in a transitional phase. Within that framework, the MENA Transitional
Fund was established as a broad-based technical assistance program to finance country-owned
projects that aim at introducing reforms at the governance, social and economic levels. As an
eligible recipient, the Government of Egypt has requested the collaboration of the African
Development Bank, as an Implementation Support Agency, to prepare and implement a project
to support the new Egyptian Parliament by enhancing its institutional and human development
capacity so as to become more responsive to the needs for increased accountability and social
justice voiced following the revolution of January 25, 2011. This proposal, for a total amount of
USD 1,920,000 has been prepared for that purpose.
1.1
Background Information
1.1.1 Within the current transitional phase following the 25th of January 2011 revolution, the
Government of Egypt is embarking on a series of institutional and legislative reforms to address
existing structural challenges to improve social justice, freedom as well as access to and delivery
of quality social services to citizens in an equitable manner. The outcome of these reforms
should expedite delivery on the demands of the revolution resulting in a system that fosters
inclusiveness and improved democratic rule.
1.1.2 Frustration and helplessness with the performance of the public sector was one of the
main underlying causes that triggered mass protests three years ago. The public sector was
largely perceived as lacking in transparency and inclusiveness as well as non-responsive to the
needs of the large majority of citizens. In addition, corruption and cronyism were increasingly
perceived as the norm. One of the symptoms of this state of affairs was the Parliamentary
elections of November 2010, which were highly controversial in the way they were conducted,
leading to an overwhelming majority of seats going to the then-ruling National Democratic
Party.
1.1.3 A diagnosis of the legislative institution in Egypt highlighted the following main
characteristics:

A parliamentary agenda dominated by draft laws emanating at the last minute
from the Executive and placing parliament under time pressure;

A parliamentary agenda dominated by policy crises that are hotly debated in the
media;

Weak investment in time allocation to policy debates, research and technical
knowledge of best practices from other countries;

Weak awareness of global development concepts such as the Millennium
Development Goals, rights-based programming budgets and gender sensitive
planning.
1.1.4 By definition, the Parliament has three main roles: representation, legislation, and
control over the Executive branch of Government. As representatives of citizens, the Parliament
has the duty to ensure that the voice of the people is heard. Parliaments are typically at the apex
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of accountability hierarchies, having the ability—at least de jure, if not de facto—to sanction
governments when enforcement of accountability is required. When exercising oversight, the
Parliament focuses, among others, on the following areas (i) the implementation of laws; (ii) the
execution of budgets; and (iii) and the full activation of the Constitutional principles. In
emerging economies and developing countries, the Parliament is uniquely positioned to
understand and monitor the efforts at poverty reduction and equitable economic growth, serving
as a forum for multiparty consensus on the way forward and for countrywide support and
ownership. As such, a well-functioning parliament is a reflection of democracy, equity and social
justice.
1.1.5 The 2011 revolution helped restore power and confidence to the Egyptian citizen in rec
ognizing and calling for citizen’s rights. It also increased people’s awareness on the importance
of Parliament, as a representative structure, for good governance. This was demonstrated by the
unprecedented voter turnout and the number of parties that won seats in the 2011-2012
Parliamentary elections. However, with the elections declared unconstitutional the Parliament
was soon after dissolved. It was then agreed that a revised constitution would be drafted before
parliamentary or presidential elections took place. A Constitutional Committee of 50-members
was commissioned to draft the revised constitution, which was passed and approved by national
referendum in January 2014.
General Structure of the Egyptian Parliament
1.1.6 Before the change in the current constitution, the Egyptian Parliament consisted of two
chambers: the Upper Consultative Chamber – the Shoura Council; and the Lower Chamber – the
People’s Assembly. Both chambers employ permanent staff for the general secretariat, research,
administration, information system, etc. It is estimated that around 3500 persons are employed
by both chambers. In addition, each chamber has its independent infrastructure in terms of
library, resource center as well as IT system. In addition, the Shoura council has an e-voting
system.
1.1.7 Parliamentary Committees (PCs) are established to facilitate monitoring of the Executive
branch. These committees are the back-bone of Parliament’s oversight and legislative work: it is
in these committees that different topics are reviewed and analyzed, evidence is requested,
discussions and consultations are conducted, and draft recommendations are made. There are 18
specialized committees, of which the committee on budget is the largest and perhaps most
important.
1.1.8 The committees consist of technical staff from the Parliament as well as the Members of
Parliament. The former support the latter by preparing the topics to be discussed, conducting
initial analysis, arranging for meetings for external stakeholders to present evidence as may be
needed, prepare briefs and reports, retrieve documentation on previous cases, etc. Some of the
technical staff are lawyers, political scientists and economists by academic training. Over the
years, many have accumulated sector-specific expertise and maintain the “institutional memory”
of the Parliament. However and despite that, most of the staff has insufficient capacity to provide
the required quality support to the legislators to control the executive, influence policy or
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contribute to consensus building and democratic consolidation. Indeed, the experience acquired
by the staff is generally ad-hoc, based on the individual’s own motivation and is not based on
updated Best Practices. There is insufficient dedicated capacity building training programs
provided, both on general topics as well as on specialized topics of relevance. As a result,
Committee Members of Parliament (MPs) have often resorted to independent consultants and
think-tanks, party-specific experts, or even information provided by government entities over
which they are supposed to have oversight.
1.1.9 It is anticipated that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be held during the fall of
2014, following the upcoming Presidential elections announced to be held on May 26-27, 2014..
It is expected that many of the incoming MPs will not have sufficient knowledge on the inner
workings of parliament, nor on how to best monitor the implementation of the new constitutional
amendments that respond to the social demands voiced during the revolution. It is also expected
that the incoming MPs will rely heavily on the Parliamentary committee staff for research,
briefings and information. At the same time, the revised constitution has addressed some of the
main demands of the revolution, by clearly highlighting that the governing principles of the
Egyptian economy would include social inclusion, equitable growth, decentralization, and good
governance. The constitution has also modified the structure of Parliament from bicameral to
unicameral.
1.1.10 Given the above, there is an urgent need to support the new Egyptian Parliament in
various forms: there is a need to build adequate capacities of the Parliament staffers, particularly
those that work in the specialized committees, as they will be directly assisting the Members of
Parliament to fulfill their legislative and oversight rules successfully; there is a need to align the
organizational structure of the Parliament with the constitution while fine-tuning the structure
and operational mechanisms through the establishment of clear terms of reference for each
specialized Committee as well as job descriptions for the main positions in these committees, as
well as by upgrading the use of information technology; finally there is also a need to enhance
awareness on the concepts of social inclusion and decentralization and provide the MPs and
Parliament staffers with best practices on how to implement these concepts. The proposed
project intends to provide support to the new Egyptian Parliament in these areas.
Donor’s Support to Parliament
1.1.11 It is important to recognize from the onset that support to Parliaments is a highly
sensitive topic which needs to be managed carefully and with utmost flexibility so as not to be
perceived as interference in the sovereign affairs of a given nation. These concerns need to be
factored in throughout project implementation, and at all levels, including in the selection of
consultants who can gain access to work with the Parliament. It is also out of these same
concerns that the operational guidelines of the MENA Transition Fund specifically mention that
projects supporting parliaments must be ISA-executed. Inevitably such a context imposes its own
limitations during project design and, in particular does not allow for the degree of preimplementation detail that could be expected for other projects. This is a constraint that the
project team faced and had to cope with.
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1.1.12 Given the sensitivity of working with Parliaments, only a few donors engage in that
sector and engagement is generally limited to institutional development and capacity building. In
Egypt, USAID provided support to the Egyptian Parliament in the mid-1990s under the
“Decision Support Services Project,” followed ten years later by the UNDP under the project
entitled “Strengthening the Capacity of the Egyptian Parliament in Legislation” implemented in
2006.
1.1.13 The proposed project builds on the lessons learnt from both above-mentioned donor
financed projects. These lessons include the following: (i) Support should be given to
institutional development and not reform which is politically sensitive. Focus of the support
should be in tangible areas such as training and infrastructure development; (ii) Flexibility is of
prime importance as support projects need to be willing to adapt to the changes in context and
climates to prove their worth and not be viewed as interference; (iii) Involvement of a
steering/facilitation committee, preferably including Members of Parliament, as a project
champion would be very useful for stakeholder buy-in.
1.1.14 While there are no current donor-financed projects directly supporting the Egyptian
Parliament, two projects engage civil society on topics that are highly relevant for the
Parliament: public financial management and social audits. The proposed “Support to
Parliament” project intends to establish synergies with these two recently approved donor
projects, that include the project entitled “Public Financial Management as a Means of
Improving Transparency and Tackling Corruption,” funded by Dfid and implemented by the
Egyptian National Competitiveness Center (ENCC); and the AfDB’s-executed grant entitled
“Social Audits to Improve Governance and Accountability in the Social Sectors in Egypt”, which
will develop a social audit framework and toolkit for use in North African countries to be
promoted through awareness and capacity building activities. Through the proposed “Support to
Parliament” project Parliament Staff, and the elected members of Parliament will be introduced
to public financial management and the social audit framework and toolkit
1.2
Project Objectives
1.2.1 The project’s objective is to enhance the performance of the Egyptian Parliament
towards increased efficiency and effectiveness in response to the demand for improved social
justice.
1.2.2 The project direct beneficiaries are the parliament staffers, with a focus on staffers who
work in the Parliament Committees alongside the elected Members of Parliament. They will be
the direct recipient of the training and capacity building. The indirect beneficiaries will be the
Egyptian citizens at large who will benefit from the increased efficiency and effectiveness of the
parliament in conducting its legislative and oversight functions.
1.3
Proposal Preparation
1.3.1 This proposal was prepared by the African Development Bank’s Egypt Field Office, in
consultation with stakeholders within the Government of Egypt namely representatives from the
Ministry of Transitional Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the International Cooperation
Division of the Shoura Council, and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
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Consultations were also held with representatives of Civil Society as well as members of the
academia. In addition, during its preparation, the project took into consideration lessons learnt
from earlier support provided to the Parliament, namely support from the UNDP and the USAID.
1.4
Justifications and Rationale for the Use of Resources:
1.4.1 The proposed project is transformational as it seeks to address the demands of the
Egyptian revolution for voice and accountability, and caters to the immediate restructuring needs
of the Egyptian Parliament in line with the new Constitution adopted in January 2014. By
building capacity of the Parliament Staffers who are the first and direct source of information
mandated to assist the elected Parliamentarians, the project will contribute to enhancing the
effectiveness and efficiency of the Parliament. This will be further strengthened through the
institutional support component which will address the gaps in organizational structure and
management and upgrade the tools and IT equipment available so as to provide Parliament
staffers with the required environment and tools to perform their duties in an effective and
efficient manner. Finally, through the project’s third component, Members of Parliament and
their staff will be introduced to practical ways to mainstream social inclusion and
decentralization through specific case studies and exposed to International Best Practices through
the organization of two study tours.
1.4.2 The project is aligned with the Government of Egypt's revised constitution, adopted
following the national referendum on 14-15 January 2014, which guides the manner by which
the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of government will be governed. Of particular
relevance are the following elements in the new constitution, which this project proposes to
support:



Unicameral Parliament following the dissolution of Shoura Council: The revised
Constitution of 2013, approved by national referendum in January 2014, has abolished
the Shoura Council, and hence the Parliament structure has become unicameral. This will
require a revision in the organizational structure of Parliament and merging of the staff
under one single structure, based on a new strategy and revised roles and responsibilities.
The Central Agency for Organization and Administration (CAOA) has started working
on a revised structure.
Increase in accountability role of Parliament: The 2013 Constitution expands the
accountability role of Parliament. Article 101 requires Parliament "to approve the State’s
general policies as well as public economic, cultural and social policies, and the public
budget.” The article also clearly states that Parliament has a supervisory role relative to
the executive authority, highlighting that the Parliament and its Committees will have
powers to summon any official or institution to give evidence or produce documents, and
to report to them. In addition, the parliamentary committees, which scrutinize and
prioritize legislation, will play a critical role through the preparation of analytical reports
and policy briefs to Members of Parliament.
Inclusive Growth and Social Inclusion: Article 27 clearly states the guiding principles of
the economy as prioritizing equitable growth, transparency and good governance,
enhanced competitiveness, equal opportunities and equitable distribution of development
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
dividends. Meanwhile, articles 51-93 provide a wide array of social and economic rights
to the Egyptian citizen. This reflects the importance given to inclusive growth and social
inclusion.
Decentralization: Articles 175- 183 lay the foundations for administrative, financial and
economic decentralization in Egypt. Parliamentarians and the committee staff need to be
aware of the international best practices regarding translating these rights and reforms to
implementable laws and regulations.
1.4.3 The project is aligned with the Bank’s Interim Country Strategy Paper for Egypt
2012/13 extended to cover the period 2014/15 as it supports stabilization and economic
recovery through enhancing governance at the level of Parliament, and promotes inclusive
growth towards poverty reduction through enhancing the oversight role of Parliament.
1.4.4 The project is also aligned with the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy 2013-2022 as it focuses
on the area of governance and accountability which is one of core operational principle of the
Bank’s strategy. Finally, the project is aligned with the Bank’s Human Capital Development
2013-17, and particularly the area of governance reforms towards increasing value for money in
social service delivery.
2. Project Description
2.1
The project has been designed to focus on training and capacity building as well as on
institutional development. Using a multi-pronged approach, the project design allows for
maximum flexibility so as to cater to capacity building and institutional development needs as
they arise as a result of the assessments to be conducted. A pre-assessment of these needs could
not be envisaged given the complexities of the transitional context and the inherent sensitivities
of this kind of project, detailed above in point 1.1.11. The project seeks to: (i) build technical and
professional capacities of the Parliament’s permanent staffers with a focus on staffers work in
and support the Parliamentary Committees; (ii) support Parliament’s institutional development,
with a focus on the new unicameral organizational structure, as well as on enhancing the use of
up-to-date information technology to improve governance and transparency; and (iii) through a
specific case study targeting Parliament staffers and Members of Parliament, raise awareness on
mechanisms to mainstream social inclusion and decentralization towards enhanced social equity.
2.2
Accordingly, the project will consist of four main components as follows:
Component 1: Capacity Building of Parliament’s Permanent Staff, with a focus on staffers
involved in Committees: The Parliament employs around 3500 staff working in professional
and administrative areas, in addition to general services such as drivers, maintenance staff etc.
This component will give priority to the professional and administrative staff whose work is
directly linked to the provision of support to Members of Parliament through activities such as
research and analysis, monitoring and reporting, documentation and archiving, etc.

Subcomponent 1.1: Capacity needs assessment: A needs assessment will be conducted
to identify the capacity gaps and needs of the professional and administrative staff
members working directly with Members of Parliament, with the objective of providing
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them with requisite training and skills development that are lacking to capacitate them to
improve their performance as they assist and support the incoming elected members of
Parliament.

Sub component 1.2: Capacity building programs: A set of dedicated capacity building
programs will be implemented to address the gaps identified in the needs assessment.
These could range from basic topics such as internet research and English language
training, to more advanced technical trainings such as the drafting of legislation, media
and communication, reading budgets and economic plans, parliamentary ethics, etc. As
appropriate, local programs will be identified for on-shelf trainings, while for the more
technical trainings international specialized bodies such as the Inter-Parliamentarian
Union, may be used for specific capacity building activities in its areas of expertise.
Overall, 800 persons are anticipated to be trained under this component.

Sub component 1.3: Field visits: A series of field visits within different governorates in
Egypt will be arranged to ensure that Parliament staffers are adequately exposed to the
development challenges in the country. The field visits will provide them with the
opportunity to see how their desk-work effectively translates on the ground. Visits will be
conducted to development projects passed by Parliament in a variety of sectors such as
energy, microfinance, agricultural rehabilitation, water and sanitation, health, and so
forth.
Component 2: Institutional Development: This component will focus on two sub-components:
(i) assist with the on-going organizational restructuring of Parliament to become a unicameral
structure by merging the staff of the dissolved Shoura Council (Upper House) with that of the
People’s Assembly (Lower House) and establish clear terms of reference for the various
committees and job descriptions for Parliament staffers in these committees, and (ii) improve the
use of Information technology through an expansion/upgrade of the IT equipment as well as
through the establishment of an e-voting system to improve efficiency and allow for
transparency. In terms of the first sub-component (the organizational structure), the Central
Agency for Organisation and Administration (CAOA), affiliated to the Ministry of
Administrative Development, is mandated to review and propose a new structure of the
Parliament. This sub-component of the project proposes to complement the work conducted by
the CAOA and focus on fine-tuning the structure by developing clear terms of reference for each
of the specialized Committees set up as well as job descriptions for main positions held by
Parliament staffers in these committees. In terms of the second sub-component, a basic IT
assessment will be conducted to upgrade the current usage of IT equipment and address, partially
or fully, the gap that will result of this assessment. With regards to the third sub-component, an
assessment of the needs to upgrade the e-voting system has been conducted by a team of experts
from the Ministry of Communication and Technology; and hence this project sub-component
will conduct the procurement of the e-voting systems required based on this assessment.

Subcomponent 2.1: Review and fine-tune the new unicameral Organizational
Structure: A new structure is currently being developed by the CAOA so as to be
operationally ready once the Parliamentary elections take place and Parliament
reconvenes towards the end of 2014. The activities under this sub-component will include
the review and fine-tuning of the structure to ensure that it adequately includes all
activities, committees and services that may be required; and in addition, terms of
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reference for the Parliament Committees will be established, in addition to job
descriptions for the Parliament staffers working in Committees. In addition, an “induction
program” for first-time members of parliament will be proposed for development to
facilitate their immersion in their Parliamentary role.

Subcomponent 2.2: Information Technology Upgrade towards enhanced
performance: There is a constant need to update and upgrade the Information
Technology capacities used in the Parliament to enhance data collection, research,
information retrieval and archiving, as well as to subscribe to international databases to
allow access to specific information and data sources. This component will start with a
basic IT assessment so as to enable identification and prioritization of the immediate
needs in terms of IT equipment, such as computers, scanners, printers, for procurement.
It will also include the establishment/upgrade of a dedicated website positioned as a
resource for use by all citizens to identify priorities and take part in the legislative
process.

Subcomponent 2.3: Introducing the e-voting system to increase efficiency and
enhance transparency. Building on the needs assessment conducted by the CAOA, this
sub-component will include the procurement and installation of a comprehensive e-voting
system, the installation of a digital registration system within the main hall of the
Parliament and secondary Hall (“the Irrigation Hall) as well as a public announcement
system.
Component 3: Case study: Mainstreaming Social Inclusion and Decentralisation: This
component will target both the professional staffers and the elected Parliament committee
members.
The activities under this component will focus on the development and
implementation of a dedicated program to mainstream social inclusion and decentralisation as a
means of enhancing social equity. The program beneficiaries will be Parliamentary Committee
members, who will be provided with the requisite awareness, knowledge and Best Practices on
these various concepts, and with toolkits developed to use these concepts in a practical manner.

Sub-component 3.1: Development of a dedicated training program focusing on social
inclusion and decentralization, to be provided to a set of pre-identified participants,
consisting of Parliament staffers and Members of Parliament who are members of select
Committees. This will include an overview of these global concepts, a compendium of
Best Practices from other countries, toolkits and checklists to use as references, etc. It is
expected that synergies with the two other donor financed programs on social audits and
public financial management will fall under this sub-component.

Sub-component 3.2: Implementation of the program, through a series of inter-active
workshops that build upon one another and result in the selection of policies and reforms
for a specific topic that has been identified collectively.

Subcomponent 3.3: Study Tour: Increase the exposure of a select number of Parliament
staff and Members of Parliament to international best practices and experiences in
mainstreaming social inclusion and decentralisation through 2 study tours for 12 persons,
to visit the Parliaments of other nations, and experience how the system operates.
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Component 4: Project Management: This project will be Bank-executed by the Egypt Field
Office.To manage this highly specialized project, three consultants will be recruited to work with
the Project Task Manager on this project as follows: (i) a part-time Technical Advisor to provide
guidance on the highly specialized technical aspects of the project; (ii) a Project Coordinator to
coordinate the project activities in line with the timeline and budget, report on the progress in
implementation and work closely with the technical advisor and Bank Task Manager, (iii) a
project officer with procurement skills to prepare and manage all the procurement activities
under the project. These consultants will be operating out of the Egypt Field Office.
3. Project Cost Estimates
3.1
The project costs are primarily for capacity building, field visits and study tours,
organizational management, IT equipment and program management. The total cost of the
project is budgeted at USD 2,920,000 to be provided through resources of the MENA Transition
Fund. The project will include in-kind contributions provided by the Government of Egypt, in
the form of assessments and restructuring exercise that have been conducted by the various
specialized government institutions such as the CAOA and the Ministry of Information
Technology.
3.2
In line with the rules of the MENA Transition Fund Agreement, the project will be Bank
executed, and hence an additional human resource requirement for project management support
has been factored in the project to the tune of USD 360,000. In addition, as the Implementing
Support Agency, the African Development Bank is eligible to charge expenses related to
guidance, support and execution by its staff. In this regard, the project has allocated an amount
of 180,000 USD for expenses incurred by the ISA over 3 years.
3.3
Cost Estimates:

By Component: The project will be financed 100% from the foreign component. In-kind
contribution will be provided as the Government of Egypt’s cost-sharing portion.

By Expenditure: The large majority of the project costs fall under the services category,
including consultancies, study tours and trainings. Goods to be purchased consist mainly
of IT, office equipment, electronic voting and registration equipment and supplies. ISA
indirect costs are included in the contingency and travel expenses.
Category
Services (incl training and study tours)
Goods
Miscelleaneous (Contingency &
Travel)
ISA Indirect Costs
Total
USD
1,405,000
1,265,000
70,000
180,000
2,920,000
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4. Procurement
4.1
The Bank will be responsible for all procurement foreseen under this grant. All
procurement of Services and Good financed by the MENA Transition Fund will be in accordance
with the current Procedures for Procurement of Consultant Services and Goods funded by the
administrative or capital expenditure budget of the Bank Group using the relevant Bank Standard
Bidding Documents. More specifically consultant services will be procured in accordance with
the principles and procedures outlined in Presidential Directive PD 02/2012 while the Goods and
ordinary services will be handled in accordance with the Presidential Directive PD 05/2013.
4.2
The procurement activities under the project, excluding the ISA charges, consist of: (1)
consultancy services, for a total of USD 1,255,000; (2) field visits and study tours for USD
150,000; (3) goods for USD 1,265,000; in addition to contingency and transportation expenses
budgeted for USD 70,000.
Procurement of Consultant Services
4.3
The bulk of activities envisaged will be essentially consultancy assignments that will be
performed, either through individual consultants or firms. For the time being, all assignments to
be implemented under this grant are not yet well-defined because of it demand-driven nature
which, given the inherently sensitive nature of the project could not be pre-assessed during the
design phase. Hence, once the project is effective, a diagnostic assessment will be conducted to
identify the specific needs in terms of capacity building as well as in terms of IT equipment. Any
assignment to be implemented under this grant will fall under one of the four components of the
project as detailed in the Annex entitled “Procurement of Activities”. A total amount of USD
1,255,000 has been allocated to consultant services.
4.4
In general, all consultant services excluding ”Review and Fine-Tune of the Unicameral
Organization Structure” will be procured using the most appropriate competitive procurement
method allowed by the Bank’s internal procurement rules for consultant services.
Training
4.5
Training and capacity building is a critical element of the project. Following the capacity
needs assessment to be conducted, a training plan and budget will be submitted to the Bank
annually for prior review and approval. The training plan that will be implemented as agreed will
identify the general framework of training and similar activities for the year; including the nature;
relevance and objectives of training; number of participants; cost estimates and the translation of the
knowledge gained in the actual implementation of project components. This is justified by the
sensitivity of the assignment at hand, as it is not advisable to deal with a consultant from a
specific country that may be perceived as interfering with affairs of a sovereign parliament. To
avoid this, it is in the best interest of Egypt to go through an international organization qualified
in this specific matter.
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Procurement of Non-Consultants
4.6
There are several non-consulting services estimated to cost US$ 150,000 related to study
tours and field visits. The non-consulting services foreseen will be procured through shopping
method as described by the article 3.5 of the Bank procurement rules.
Procurement of Goods
4.7
IT, office equipment and electronic voting system will be conducted through shopping
and/or international or national competitive bidding as appropriate based on Bank rules.
4.8
There is no prior review per se between the Bank and the Country. However all
procurement process foreseen will be submitted to the Bank current Delegation of Authority
Matrix used for procurements of items funded by the administrative or capital expenditure
budget of the Bank Group.
5. Implementation
5.1
The project will be implemented over a period of 3 years. Physical implementation is
expected to start immediately upon approval of the proposal and finalization of disbursement
procedures. This is expected to be ready by September 2014, and continue till September 30,
2017.
5.2
As per the MENA Transition Fund guidelines, the project will be AfDB-executed.
Engaging with the Parliament entails working closely with several stakeholders including: the
General Secretariat of the Parliament, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Transitional
Justice, as well as Specialized Committees within the Parliament. This will be in addition to the
Ministry of International Cooperation, which is the direct counterpart for donors operating in
Egypt, as well as several specialized stakeholders such as the Ministry of Information
Technology and the Ministry of Administrative Development for specific activities. Given the
complexity of this set-up and the specific technical expertise required, the Bank has factored in
the recruitment of consultants to assist the Bank’s Task Manager in executing the project.
5.3
A Facilitation Committee consisting of select members of Parliament Staffers,
representatives from the Ministries of Parliamentary Affairs and Transitional Justice, and
International Cooperation will be formed to facilitate the project team’s efforts in the
implementation of the project and provide them with the requisite entry-points and support that
may be required.
6. Gender and Environmental
6.1
With 23% of female labor participation rate, Egypt ranks amongst the lowest countries in
that area. Egyptian women’s rate of employment in the private sector is below 10%, with most of
the employment being in the public sector, where the social benefits are highly attractive
particularly for women with children. Within the Parliament staffers, it is estimated that some
12
40% are female. The proposed project will take into consideration the gender element and will
ensure that capacities of both men and women will be built. Of all beneficiaries trained, at least
40% will be women.
6.2
The proposed project has no negative environmental implications.
7. Monitoring and Reporting
7.1
The implementation progress of the project will be monitored and reported upon, as per
Bank rules. Two field missions will be conducted annually by a team of experts with different
skill mix to review progress on the ground and ascertain to which extent the project outcomes
will be achieved. Similarly, a mid-term review will be conducted to review and assess
implementation progress as per project design and preparation. Quarterly Progress Reports will
be developed, and MENA Transition Fund Reports will be submitted as required. A Project
Completion Report will be developed upon project closure, in compliance with Bank rules.
7.2
In order to accurately assess the first outcome of the project, namely enhanced staff
capacities, a survey of staff performance will be conducted upon the start of the project and will
become the baseline. Upon project completion a second survey will be conducted to assess the
performance following the provision of capacity building programs and the comparison of both
surveys will allow an accurate assessment of the outcome. Similarly, to assess the second project
outcome, namely the mainstreaming of social inclusion and decentralization, the proxy indicator
used will be the development and presentation of briefs/policy documents on social inclusion and
decentralization.
7.3
Financial monitoring will be conducted in line with the rules and regulations for Bankexecuted projects.
8. Financing and Disbursement Arrangements
Resources for the project will be channeled to the Bank in accordance with the MENA
Transition Fund agreements with ISAs. Given that the project is Bank-executed, the
disbursement and financial management rules of the AfDB will be followed for Bank-executed
projects.
Conclusions and Recommendations for Bank’s Consideration
In conclusion, management is requested to approve the proposed Bank-executed project, for
which resources will be forthcoming from the MENA Transition Fund.
13
Results-based Logical Framework
Country and project EGYPT -Support to Parliament: Building Capacity and Mainstreaming
name:
Inclusive Growth and Decentralization in Egypt.
Purpose of the
project :
To support the Parliament through capacity building, institutional support and
dedicated training towards mainstreaming inclusive growth and decentralization,
with the objective of enhancing the performance of the Egyptian Parliament
towards increased efficiency and effectiveness in response to the demand for
improved social justice.
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
IMPACT
RESULTS CHAIN
Impact:
Improved
performance of
government
Proxy indicators:
1. Wastefulness
of government
spending
2. Perception of
trust in
national
government
Outcome 1
Performance of
Parliament
Staffers
improved
OUTCOMES
Indicator
(including
CSI)
Outcome 2:
Social Inclusion
and
Decentralization
mainstreamed
Baseline
UNDP Human
Development
Report
63% yes
(20072011)
Increased
0
RISKS/MITIGATION
MEASURES
Global
Competitiveness
Report
Value 2.1
Ranked 135
out of 148
Members of
TBD
Parliament satisfied
with the research
and technical
inputs provided by
Parliament staffers
Social
inclusion/decentral
ization related
briefs developed
and presented
Target
MEANS OF
VERIFICATIO
N
6
Survey of
Performance
conducted preproject and upon
completion
Delay in Parliamentary
elections/ Parliament staffers
are permanent employees
regardless of whether
parliament elections take
place or not.
Resolutions integrating social
inclusion and decentralization
Project Completion are not passed in Parliament/
Report/ copy of
Briefs will have been
briefs produced
developed and would be
accessible through the
archiving system updated
under the project, for use
after project completion if
need arises.
14
Component 1
Capacity building
of Parliament’s
Permanent staff
Output 1.1
capacity building
programs
established
based on skill
needs
Needs Assessment 0
produced
1 Assessment
Project Reports
Baseline
Performance
Survey conducted
0
1 Survey
Project Reports
Males/females
trained in areas
identified by skills
assessment
0
Output 1.2
Field visits
Awareness raised conducted
Component 2
Institutional
Development
OUTPUTS
Output 2.1
Organizational
structure with
clear roles and
responsibilities
developed
Output 2.2
Upgraded IT
Digital
registration
0
800 (40%
females)
Project Reports
6 visits
Progress reports
HR Assessment
Report
Organizational
structure finetuned
0
1 Updated
unicameral
structure
HR Assessment
Report/ Project
Reports
Job descriptions
developed
0
Committee
structure and
functions
developed
0
Equipment
installed
Based on
Basic IT
0 IT Needs assessment, TBC Assessment
Assessment
1 website
0
Website improved
and operational
Output 2.3
E-voting
Progress Reports
54 job
descriptions for
main positions
18 Functions of
specialized
committees
0
Mechanism
installed and
operational
Equipment
installed
Project reports
1
0
Project reports
1
Public
announcement
Equipment
installed
0
Project reports
1
15
Component 3
Case Study:
Mainstreaming
Social Inclusion
NonDedicated program existant
Training Manual
Component 3
Case Study:
Mainstreaming
Social Inclusion
and
Decentralization
Output 3.1
Training Program
developed and
used
Dedicated program
Output 3.2
Raise awareness on 2 Study Tours for 12
Best Practices
pax
4 Social Inclusion
Non-existent briefs developed
Non existent
Training Manual
2
Recommendations Report following
based on Best
Study Tour
Practices for
implementation
locally
KEY ACTIVITIES
Component 4:
Project Mgmt
COMPONENTS
INPUTS
Component 1 : Capacity Building
Component 1: Provision of consultancies, trainings
Component 2: Institutional Development
Component 2: Provision of consultancies, IT equipment
Component 3: Training on Case-Study
Component 3: Provision of trainings and consultancies
Component 4: Project management
Component 4: resources
Annex – Procurement of Activities under the Project
16
Activity
Procurement Method
Component 1: Capacity Building of Parliament’s Permanent Staff
1.
2.
3.
Capacity Needs Assessment & Survey of Performance
(assignment of 3 months)
Implementation of Capacity Building Programs
Field Visits
Component 2: Institutional Development
Estimated Budget (USD)
(USD 500,000)
Firm
150,000
Training
Shopping
300,000
50,000
(1,500,000 USD)
4.
5.
Initial organizational unicameral structure
Review & fine-tune unicameral organizational
structure, develop terms of reference for
Parliamentary Committees and job descriptions for
staffers engaged with these committees
6. Basic Information Technology Assessment
7. IT and office equipment
8 Initial assessment of e-voting and digital registration
needs
9. Electronic voting system
10 Digital registration including screens, public
.
announcement system
Single Source
Selection
In-kind contribution
200,000
Firm
75, 000
225,000
In-kind contribution
Firm
Firm
850,000
150,000
Component 3: Case Study: Mainstream Social Inclusion and Decentralization (270,000 USD)
61 Development and Implementation of dedicated
1 training program
12 2 Study tours
.
Component 4: Project Management (USD 470,000)
13 Recruitment of part-time Technical Advisor ( 3 years)
.
14 Recruitment of Program Coordinator ( 3 years)
.
15 Recruitment of project officer (3 years)
16 Computers and equipment
17 Travel and transportation expenses (3 years)
18 Contingency
Firm
170,000
N/A
100,000
Individual
140,000
Individual
150,000
Individual
shopping
NA
70,000
40,000
40,000
30,000
2,740,000
180,000
2,920,000
Subtotal
19 ISA charges
Total
17