The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () REPORT NO.: RES38329 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC APPROVED ON NOVEMBER 12, 2017 TO SADC SECRETARIAT URBAN, RESILIENCE AND LAND AFRICA Regional Vice President: Hafez M. H. Ghanem Director: Deborah L. Wetzel Practice Manager/Manager: Meskerem Brhane Task Team Leader: Prashant Singh The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ACP African, Caribbean, Pacific Group of States CCA Climate Change Adaptation DRM Disaster Risk Management DRR Disaster Risk Reduction EU European Union EWS Early Warning System PDO Project Development Objective REC Regional Economic Community RIASCO Regional Inter Agency Standing Committee SADC Southern African Development Community SARCOF Southern African Regional Climate Outlook Forums SHOC SADC Humanitarian and Operations Center The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () Note to Task Teams: The following sections are system generated and can only be edited online in the Portal. BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Approval Date Current Closing Date 12-Nov-2017 31-Dec-2019 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency SADC Secretariat SADC DRR unit Financing (in USD Million) FIN_SUMM_PUB_TBL SUMMARY Total Project Cost 0 Total Financing 0 Financing Gap 0 DETAILS -NewFin3 The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The development objective of the project is to strengthen the disaster resilience of Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states through regional collaboration and improved coordination, planning, policy advisory and knowledge dissemination capacity of SADC. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing Net TF Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed TF-A6148 27-Jun-2018 21-Aug-2018 05-Oct-2018 31-Dec-2019 2.50 .63 1.87 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here. I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING A. Current Status 1. The grant package has been prepared in 2017 in close collaboration with the SADC DRR unit initially for the amount of US$1.25 million. Following the meeting of the Country Director and the World Bank Special Envoy to SADC on April 11, 2018, it was agreed – upon request from SADC - to provide the overall project funding of US$2.5 million in one phase instead of two phases of US$1.25 million each. This restructuring was granted in July 2018 and the project became effective in October 2018. As of today, 20% of the total project funding has been disbursed. All the remaining funds have programmed and will be fully disbursed by the proposed closing date of May 31, 2020. 2. The project implementation period has been further reduced to about 15 months from effectiveness in October 2018 to the closing date of December 31, 2019. An extension to May 31, 2020 was envisaged conditional to satisfactory implementation and the approval from the European Union for the ACP-EU program. The main challenge, i.e. the capacity of SADC to disburse properly and timely US$ 2.5 million in 15 months in line with the project objectives, has been noted by the World Bank’s management. An extension would substantially increase the overall amount to be disbursed by the project. 3. Following the effectiveness of the grant in October 2018, the project coordinator / Senior Programme Officer for DRR at SADC has changed in February 2019. Since then implementation has effectively started with a focus on strengthening disaster preparedness and response planning and increasing coordination and recovery planning The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () following cyclones Kenneth and Idai, which hit Southern Africa in early 2019. On the operational side, SADC initiated the procurement of four firm consultancy contracts on increasing disaster preparedness capacity, information management, DRR policy mainstreaming support and planning for a disaster fund. It is expected that the selections will be completed between September and October 2019. To ensure that the activities (notably consultancy assignments) can be effectively implemented and implementation time is fully used, an extension of the closing date until May 31, 2020 has therefore been proposed. B. Rationale for Restructuring 4. The task team has worked closely with the SADC DRR unit to support the implementation of the project. Four project steering committee meetings were conducted to monitor the overall progress of implementation and provide the project team with strategic directions for implementation. The steering committee recommended an extension of the project closing date until May 31, 2020 to maximize project implementation and ensure that all envisaged contracts and assignments can be wrapped up. 5. SADC has tried to overcome internal administrative hurdles and to accelerate the execution of project activities. As of June 30, 2019, disbursements to the designated account were at 20%. The recruitment of the PIU experts (team assistant, financial management expert, procurement expert) has been completed It is expected that this will substantially increase with the expected awarding of four major consultancy contracts in November 2019. 6. In view of this detailed rationale in the interest of full and proper implementation of the work plan activities and to ensure that the objectives of the project can be (as much as possible) achieved, it is recommended that the closing date may be extended to May 31, 2020. In addition, the project FM Specialist has confirmed that there are no outstanding audit issues on the project. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES 7. Overall the project objectives, proposed components, activities and budget will remain the same, but the project closing date will be extended until May 31, 2020. The project will continue to have a strong focus on disaster preparedness and response coordination, which is particularly important following the impacts of cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which affected the region in early 2019. 8. Project implementation will continue to count on the existing SADC staff from the SADC Disaster Risk Reduction Unit and other parts of the organization. An overview on the project components and their budget is provided below (see also table “components” below). C. Detailed Changes 9. With the proposed new closing date of May 31, 2020 , it is expected that the original planned activities will be implemented to achieve the overall PDOs and the anticipated results of the project. The implementation timeframe will still be compressed as most activities will be effectively implemented in an eight to six months time frame. The project steering committee on September 18 confirmed the intention and commitment of SADC to implement all activities as originally planned. The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () 10. The detailed implementation plan including budget by components is stated below: (a) Component 1: Enhancing regional institutional coordination mechanisms for disaster preparedness and response (USD 1.1 million): (i) This component will finance a consultancy study and the consultation with member states for the development of a feasibility study for the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Center (SHOC), including one (instead of several) regional consultation with member states, and drafting of an operations manual. The procurement of basic equipment necessary to ensure the operation of the SHOC, as originally envisaged is till planned, but would be adjusted to essential equipment to kick start the SHOC. (ii) The component will also support, the operationalization of the SADC Disaster Preparedness Fund, including operational rules, guidance on adequate governance structures for this fund, as well as simulation exercises and contingency planning at regional and national level. Activities under point (i) and point (ii) will be implemented through one consultancy contract. (b) Component 2: Operationalize national and regional disaster risk reduction information and knowledge management systems (USD 629,000). The component will be implemented through two firm consultancy assignments, which would cover largely the originally planned activities, although with less time for consultations with member states: (i) A firm consultancy will thereby support taking stock of different hazard, weather, water and climate data as well as vulnerability and risk information and data. The information will be synthesized in a regional assessment of hazards, vulnerability and risks for the SADC region and its member states focusing on hotspots and areas of regional importance. (ii) Another consultancy will support the development of a knowledge sharing and information management portal and will provide guidance on data sharing and management data and provide guidance for improving data and information exchange. (c) Component 3: Enhancing Mainstreaming of DRR in development plan and strategies (USD 186,000). Activities of component 3 will be implemented through a firm consultancy contract and will include support to DRR monitoring in different sector activities and an analysis of mainstreaming in different sectors. Activities related to Strengthening the regional DRR policy advocacy and capacity development program have been reduced and integrated into the other components. (d) Component 4: Strengthening the implementation and coordination capacity at the SADC Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Programme (USD 523,000). The budget for component 4 has approximately doubled to US$ 523,000. The costs for the PIU (team assistant, procurement expert, financial management expert) will be covered until the completion of the project, plus coordination meetings with DRR focal points from member states, as well as a regional DRR conference in 2020 and support to the ministerial meeting on DRR. (e) Component 5 Auditing and compliance (USD 60,000) summarizes project coordination and operational expenses, including activities related to auditing and compliance. 11. The results framework of the project will however not change at this stage as the main activities will not change but would be implemented in a condensed timeframe. During the last implementation support mission in The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () September, the commitment of SADC to achieving the intended results within a condensed timeframe for implementation was confirmed. Note to Task Teams: The following sections are system generated and can only be edited online in the Portal. III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Additional Financing Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Change in Overall Risk Rating ✔ Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ EA category ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE The World Bank STRENGTHENING DRR COORDINATION, PLANNING AND POLICY ADVISORY CAPACITY OF SADC () LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline TF Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications TF-A6148 Effective 31-Dec-2019 31-May-2020 30-Sep-2020 OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_DISBURSEMENT_TABLE DISBURSEMENT ESTIMATES Change in Disbursement Estimates Yes Year Current Proposed 2018 0.00 0.00 2019 0.00 0.00 2020 0.00 0.00 2021 0.00 0.00 2022 0.00 0.00 2023 0.00 0.00 Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here.