INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: ISDSA614 Public Disclosure Copy Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 15-May-2012 I. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Basic Project Data Country: Sierra Leone Project ID: P128208 Project Name: SL Public Sector Pay & Performance (P128208) Task Team Leader: Vivek Srivastava Estimated Appraisal Date: 26-Mar-2012 Estimated Board Date: 31-May-2012 Managing Unit: AFTPR Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Sector: Central government administration (90%), Sub-national government administration (10%) Theme: Administrative and civil service reform (100%) Financing (In USD Million) Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 17.00 Financing Gap 0.00 Total 17.00 Environmental Category: C - Not Required Is this a Repeater project? No 2. Project Objectives Improve competitiveness in pay, performance management and accountability of, and increase staffing of middle and senior staff in, the civil service in Sierra Leone. 3. Project Description Public Disclosure Copy Over the years during and after the civil war the public sector in Sierra Leone has suffered progressive depletion of skilled manpower and the middle level cadre of professional and technical staff. In addition to the low numbers which are largely a consequence of of uncompetitive pay, there are two other problems with the functioning of the civil service. Motivation (esprit de corps) is weak because of inequitable pay and no demand for performance (weak accountability). Low levels of competence, especially in senior positions, because of appointments based on a combination of patronage and seniority. The Government of Sierra Leone’s public sector reform program – “Improving Productivity through Management and Pay Reforms� - addresses these problems by focusing on Pay Reform, Performance Management and Recruitment and Staffing. The project will support the GoSL Program through the combination of a Results-Based Investment Lending (RBIL) instrument and a Technical Assistance (TA) component. The RBIL component will disburse against the achievement of Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) which will be a combination of results and key steps on defined reform paths in each of the three Program Areas. The TA component will support specific inputs for which close technical support and supervision by the Bank is justified and has been requested by the GoSL. This operation aims to support the government’s efforts as reflected in the GoSL Program document. In particular, it will establish fair and, where appropriate, competitive pay across the public service to enable competent staff to be recruited and retained. This will at the same time legitimize government’s attempts to demand better performance from both its MDAs and the civil servants who staff them. Sierra Leone’s poor service delivery performance can be attributed to a multiplicity of causal factors including leadership, coordination, skills, rewards, and management structures and processes. This operation does not attempt to address all of these problems, many of which will require tailored interventions for individual MDAs. Instead, it is proposed to address the key systemic problems (as identified in the GoSL Program document) afflicting the civil service which, if tackled together, have the potential to unlock performance across all MDAs. These binding problems are: (a) an inability to attract and retain a critical mass of professionals capable of serving the government of the day; (b) the persistent neglect of the merit principle in appointments, which has led to a progressive erosion of competence; (c) a failure to tackle the perceived inequities in pay, which has depressed employee motivation and morale; and (d) a chronic failure by both governments and senior officials to hold civil servants accountable for their performance. The project will reward the achievement/completion of key steps/milestones along an identified path for achieving the objectives of each of the three reform areas by making disbursements when agreed steps are achieved/completed with some scope for flexibility in the outer year milestones. It is expected that the achievement of the objectives of each of the reform elements will contribute to addressing the functional problems. The approach will allow for a locally owned and, therefore, more feasible reform program with flexibility in the implementation approach and it will also help in addressing the collective action and coordination problems that have stood in the way of past reform efforts. 4. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Location: Freetown, Sierra Leone Page 1 of 3 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 No Public Disclosure Copy Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No Forests OP/BP 4.36 No Pest Management OP 4.09 No Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 No Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 No Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No Projects on International Waterways OP/BP No 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: No social safeguard policies are attracted. No environmental safeguards are attracted by the project. The agreed lists of both EEPs and DLIs do not include the financing of infrastructure activities to be supported under the Project. For this reason, the Project environmental category has been classified as “C� in accordance with Bank OP 4.01. Potential social issues The European Union (EU) project “Support to the Civil Service Reform Programme in Sierra Leone� which forms part of the government’s Program has a component entitled “Right-sizing the Civil Service�. This component supports the removal of dysfunctional and obsolete positions by financing severance/pension packages and the retraining of eligible redundant workers to prepare them for employment in the private sector. The rightsizing includes five elements, to be implemented in consultation with the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security and the MDAs: (I) retire all low-skilled personnel in minor grades who are currently aged 55 and above on full pension basis, plus any applicable retirement benefits; (ii) abolish obsolete posts and take appropriate redundancy action, including expeditious settlement of all payment obligations; (iii) determine optimal staffing requirements by sector, occupational category and level of staff, having sustainability and affordability in view; (iv) design strategy for filling skills gaps through the Public Disclosure Copy appropriate approaches of recruitment, or skills development by training, coaching and mentoring, or combinations of these; (v) mainstream key professional posts currently filled through contracts for services into the public service. The EU operation aims to offset the potential opposition to these measures by, prior to the rollout of rightsizing, conducting a sensitization campaign of the various stakeholders, including the potential target employees, the relevant trade unions, and the general public. In addition, all laid-off workers who are fit for alternative work and placement will be adequately retrained to prepare them for alternative employment in the private sector. The EU is providing euro 4.45 million (us $5.99 million) for these measures, while the GoSL has committed euro 0.1 million (US $.134 million) for the sensitization campaign. To mitigate the risks associated with this, the GoSL will carry out a baseline social assessment once the list of persons to be covered by this component is finalized. A follow up social assessment will be carried out a year later. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: No potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. No alternatives necessary. 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. The EU operation aims to offset the potential opposition to these measures by, prior to the rollout of rightsizing, conducting a sensitization campaign of the various stakeholders, including the potential target employees, the relevant trade unions, and the general public. In addition, all laid-off workers who are fit for alternative work and placement will be adequately retrained to prepare them for alternative employment in the private sector. The EU is providing euro 4.45 million (us $5.99 million) for these measures, while the GoSL has committed euro 0.1 million (us $.134 million) for the sensitization campaign. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. No safeguards consultations are envisioned. However, in the event that they become necessary, the main implementing agencies for the project would be consulted. These agencies include the PSRU, HRMO, PSC and Ministry of Finance. B. Disclosure Requirements Date Page 2 of 3 If the project triggers the Pest Management and/or Physical Cultural Resources policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) Public Disclosure Copy The World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same Yes [ ] No [ ] NA [ ] been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? III. APPROVALS Task Team Leader: Vivek Srivastava Approved By: Sector Manager: Name Anand Rajaram (SM) Date: 22-May-2012 Public Disclosure Copy Page 3 of 3