By Toby McIntosh
The World Bank has begun disclosing more information about its scrutiny of how governments spend Bank funds.
The Bank is now revealing when it has conducted “post reviews” of government contracts. The unannounced policy change was described to eyeonglobaltransparency.net by a Bank official.
EYE on July 27 reported that the Bank had publicly disclosed information about only 14 percent of the contracts signed by African governments to fight Covid-19 with Bank funds (See EYE article).
The Bank explained at the time that it disclosed information on its website only about contracts that had undergone “prior review” by Bank officials.
That policy has now been expanded. The Bank is now uploading information, though limited, on government contracts subject to “post reviews.”
The Bank reviews government procurement activities that are of high value and/or high risk.
Exactly how many additional entries were added as a result was not indicated. For one country, however, it appears there were a significant number of “post reviews.”
Prior to the change in policy, there were only three contracts listed for the Banks’s Covid-19 project in Sierra Leone, meaning they had undergone prior review. Since the change, information on eleven contracts was added, indicating that they were the subject of a Bank “post review.” Other information about the Covid-19 project in Sierra Leone indicates that there were 32 contracts in total.
Sierra Leone Contracts a Tip-Off on Policy Change
The Bank revealed its new policy after EYE sought information about new entries that appeared on the Bank’s website on Oct. 29.
One of these was about the purchase of two “station wagons” Sierra Leone. The information posted describes a contract for about $107,000.
However, Sierra Leone’s Procurement Plan of Oct. 19 (and earlier ones) refers to three vehicles, the third one being a “double cab” vehicle. The “estimated amount” for three vehicles was $180,000, but the spreadsheet says there was a signed contract amount for $290,664.04. The award came via “direct contracting,” meaning without competitive bidding. The contact was awarded May 18 to CICA MOTORS SIERRA LEONE LIMITED located in Freetown, according to the Bank website.
Asked about the discrepancy in the information about the size of the contract, a Bank spokesperson wrote EYE on Nov. 6:
The client had planned to purchase 2 station wagons through direct contracting for about US$ 107K. After signing of the contract, the client requested three more vehicles which was approved by relevant authorities. They amended the original signed contract which raised the total contract price to $290,664.04. The procurement plan reflects the amended contract price as the actual amount.
Without access to the contract(s), it’s hard to know what was purchased. The apparent original plan, as posted on the Bank website, was for two station wagons at about $53,000 each. Or is it five vehicles for $290,664, at $58,000 apiece?
The fact that information about the original motor vehicle contact was posted indicates it was subject to “post review” by the Bank. Apparently any subsequent contract was not reviewed, and therefore the Bank didn’t post information about it.
The postings provide some basic information, in some cases showing the competing bids, but do not link to contracts themselves. The Bank says disclosure of the contracts are the responsibility of national governments.
Nor does the Bank give out information about its reviews and what, if anything, was found.
Nevertheless, the available documents on the Bank website may assist with public oversight of how countries spend Bank monies. At times, the material may raise questions.
For another example, another contract in Sierra Leone, subject to “prior review,” was for “Implementation Management and Monitoring and Evaluation.” It was awarded to the accounting firm BDO through “direct selection” for $320,000, although the estimated cost was $80,000, according to the Procurement Plan.
Ongoing Disclosures Planned
The Bank’s Oct. 29 posting about the Sierra Leone motor vehicle contract was part of a bulk upload about “post reviews” pursuant to an expanded disclosure policy.
Under the policy change, the Bank as of Oct. 3, 2020, began automatically publishing information about all contracts subject to post review.
In addition, at the end of October 2020, the Bank website now contains published information on all the post reviews done on Covid-19 response projects awarded since January 2020.
Bank Denies Access to STEP Database
Information about government contracts using Bank funds is contained in a World Bank database, the STEP system (Systematic Tracking of Exchanges in Procurement).
The Bank has denied EYE’s formal request for access to STEP.
When EYE reported in July that the Bank’s website showed only 41 Covid-related contracts by 26 African countries, a Bank official replied that there actually are “far more” contract awards, “over 300 as per our records.”
The assertion prompted EYE to request access to the database and to information about it. EYE made requests under the Bank’s Access to Information Policy on July 27 and again on Aug. 11.
In a Nov. 11 reply, however, the Bank said, “Access to STEP is limited to the Bank and Borrowers and is restricted by the Deliberative Information and Corporate Administrative Matters Policy exceptions.” (Emphasis in the original.)
EYE is considering an appeal. Among other things, the Bank did not provide requested information about what’s in the database.
The time taken to respond to the request, more than 60 working days, significantly exceeded the Bank’s goal of answering requests in 20 working days.
EYE first requested information about the database on July 27. On Aug. 10, the Bank replied with directions to information already on the Bank website. EYE on Aug. 11 filed a second request, stating that the first request of “not responsive.” The Bank on Aug. 27 said more time would be needed to reply.
Additional Resources
The World Bank’s policy describing prior-reviews, post-reviews, and independent reviews is here.
For information on researching World Bank data on Covid-19 projects, see resources published by the Global Investigative Journalism Network:
Tracking COVID-19 World Bank funding by country, in English, Video
Also see a broader guide to researching government contracts for COVID-19 spending, in English.
