Washington, October 29th, 2013 - A US$ 200 million loan to Morocco, approved today, supports a comprehensive program to foster inclusive governance reforms. The Transparency and Accountability Development Policy Loan (DPL), HAKAMA, is the first of two operations which will strengthen transparency and accountability in the management of public resources and foster open governance.
“The Hakama program will give greater impetus to the ongoing governance reforms in Morocco and will support key areas that can significantly leverage the performance and transparency of the public sector while enhancing citizen information and participation in decision making,” said Simon Gray, World Bank Director for the Maghreb Department.
Morocco initiated a process of constitutional reforms and adopted a set of amendments to the constitution on July 1, 2011 focused on strengthening civic engagement and access to information. In support of these new rights, the Hakama program targets structural governance reforms across the public sector including the central government, State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs), local governments, and inter-governmental relations.
The two track operation will support a package of cross-cutting measures including performance- based budgeting, procurement reform, implementation of the corporate governance code in key SoEs, a legal framework for public private partnerships, and an integrated financial management system for local governments. It will also enhance fiscal transparency and public consultation measures while the new laws on access to information and public petitions are under preparation.
“The Hakama program will introduce a programmatic and performance focus in the budget which will increase the transparency of budget allocations as well as the external and internal accountability over public expenditures,” said Fabian Seiderer, World Bank Task Team Leader. “It will help modernize public sector management and meet the constitutional objective of balanced public finances in the medium term.”
Funds for innovative e-government initiatives aimed at improving the delivery of administrative services, such as Watiqa, will also be leveraged by the Program. The Hakama program will be supplemented by policy advice and technical assistance from the World Bank and the Middle East and North Africa Multi-Donor Trust Fund to support the design of these essential reforms. A Transition Fund grant of US$ 4 million will provide technical assistance for the implementation of reforms targeting public engagement, performance based budgeting, and fiscal decentralization.
The Program has been prepared jointly with the European Union and the African Development Bank, and these institutions will leverage an additional US$250 million in support of common key policy actions such as budget, procurement, and open governance reforms.
