Communities and CBOs: Fiduciary Issues

• Pages: 209-210

Contenidos

• The Issue.
• Legal and Policy Considerations.
• Practice Example.
• References.

Page 209

The Issue

Projects financed under the Multi-Country AIDS Program (MAP) for Africa and other similar Bank-supported projects provide funds to communities and community-based organizations (CBOs) in order to support grass-roots responses to the epidemic. Communities and CBOs differ from NGOs and other civil society organizations in that they tend to be less formally organized, and sometimes may not have any formal structure at all. This raises special challenges with respect to the Bank's fiduciary obligations concerning financial management, procurement, and disbursement.

Legal and Policy Considerations

Unless required under the laws of the country, the Bank does not require official registration or incorporation of communities and CBOs as a condition for access to World Bank funds through a MAP-type project.

Operational policies on financial management (OP 10.02), procurement (OP 11.00), and disbursement (OP 12.00) apply to all Bank-financed projects. Because of special considerations relating to management capacity and the scale of operations, further guidance on the implementation of these policies has been developed for community-driven development projects. This guidance is also applicable to community-or CBO-executed activities under MAP or other World Bank-financed AIDS loans, credits or grants.

Procurement, disbursement, and financial management by communities should follow the guidance provided in the document Fiduciary Management for Community-Driven Development Projects: A Reference Guide prepared by the Procurement and Financial Management Sector Boards.

In implementation of Operational Policy 11.00 and the above-mentioned Reference Guide, further practical guidance on procurement by CBOs under Africa MAP projects is provided in the document Generic Procurement Management Manual for Community Based Organizations and Local NGOs prepared by the ACT Africa group. This manual is useful also for procurement by CBOs generally, and not just in Africa MAP projects.

Clear and practical information on implementation of Operational Policy 12.00 (Disbursement) is available in World Bank HIV/AIDS Program: A Guidance Note on Disbursement Procedures prepared by the Bank's Loan Department. Section III of this Guidance Note deals with funding procedures for community-level implementing organizations.

Page 210

Practice Example

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