01-Aug-2022 Date: _______________ Honorable Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, M.P. Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs P.O. Box 30049 Capital City Lilongwe 3 Malawi Re: Re: IDA Grant E088-MW and IDA Credit 7165-MW Additional Financing for Africa Centers of Excellence Project - ACE II Additional Instructions: Disbursement and Financial Information Letter. Honorable Minister: I refer to the Financing Agreement between the Republic of Malawi (the “Recipient”) and the International Development Association (the “Association”) for the above-referenced Project. The General Conditions, as defined in the Financing Agreement, provide that the Recipient may from time to time request withdrawals of the Credit and Grant amounts from the Credit and Grant Accounts in accordance with the Disbursement and Financial Information Letter, and such additional instructions as the Association may specify from time to time by notice to the Recipient. The General Conditions also provide that the Disbursement and Financial Information Letter may set out Project specific financial reporting requirements. This letter constitutes such Disbursement and Financial Information Letter (“DFIL”) and may be revised from time to time. I. Disbursement Arrangements, Withdrawal of Credit and Grant Funds, and Reporting of Uses of Credit and Grant Funds. The Disbursement Guidelines for Investment Project Financing, dated February 2017, (“Disbursement Guidelines”) are available in the Association’s public website at https://www.worldbank.org and its secure website “Client Connection” at https://clientconnection.worldbank.org. The Disbursement Guidelines are an integral part of the DFIL, and the manner in which the provisions in the guidelines apply to the Credit and the Grant is specified below. (i) Disbursement Arrangements General Provisions (Schedule 1). The table in Schedule 1 sets out the disbursement methods which may be used by the Recipient, information on registration of authorized signatures, processing of withdrawal applications (including minimum value of applications and processing of advances), instructions on supporting documentation, and frequency of reporting on the Designated Account. Special Provision. Projects in situations of urgent need of assistance or capacity constraints: Disbursements under contracts for goods, works, non-consulting services and consulting services procured or selected through international open or limited competition or Direct Selection, as set out in the procurement plan, must be made only through Direct Payment and/or Special Commitment disbursement methods. (ii) Electronic Delivery. Section 11.01 (c) of the General Conditions. The Recipient will deliver Withdrawal Applications (with supporting documents) electronically through the Association’s web-based portal “Client Connection” at https://clientconnection.worldbank.org. This option will be effected after the officials designated in writing by the Recipient who are authorized to sign and deliver Withdrawal Applications have registered as users of “Client Connection”. The designated officials will deliver Applications electronically by completing the Form 2380, which is accessible through “Client Connection”. By signing the Authorized Signatory Letter, the Recipient confirms that it is authorizing such persons to accept Secure Identification Credentials (SIDC) and to deliver the Applications and supporting documents to the Association by electronic means. The Recipient may exercise the option of preparing and delivering Withdrawal Applications in paper form on exceptional cases (including those where the Recipient encounters legal limitations), and which were previously agreed with the Association. By designating officials to use SIDC and by choosing to deliver the Applications electronically, the Recipient confirms through the authorized signatory letter its agreement to: (a) abide by the Terms and Conditions of Use of Secure Identification Credentials in connection with Use of Electronic Means to Process Applications and Supporting Documentation, available in the Association's public website at https://worldbank.org and “Client Connection”; and (b) to cause such official to abide by those terms and conditions. II. Financial Reports and Audits. (i) Financial Reports. The Recipient must prepare and furnish to the Association not later than forty- five (45) days after the end of each calendar quarter, interim unaudited financial reports (“IFR”) for the Project covering the quarter. Where a UN agency is contracted by the Recipient, the Recipient is responsible to ensure that the financial reporting requirements applicable to the UN Agency are stipulated in the agreement between the Recipient and the UN agency and met in a timely manner. (ii) Audits. Each audit of the Financial Statements must cover the period of one financial year of the Recipient, commencing with the financial year in which the first withdrawal was made. The audited Financial Statements for each such period must be furnished to the Association not later than six (6) months after the end of such period. Where a UN agency is contracted by the Recipient, the Recipient is responsible to ensure that the documentation requirements applicable to the UN agency, for project audit purposes, are stipulated in the agreement between the Recipient and the UN agency. III. Other Information. For additional information on disbursement arrangements, please refer to the Loan Handbook available on the Association’s website (http://www.worldbank.org/) and “Client Connection”. The Association recommends that you register as a user of “Client Connection”. From this website you will be able to prepare and deliver Applications, monitor the near real-time status of the Grant and Credit, and retrieve related policy, financial, and procurement information. For more information about the website and registration arrangements, or if you have any queries in relation to the above, please contact the Association by email at AskLoans@WorldBank.org using the above reference. Yours sincerely, ______________________________ Boutheina Guermaz Director of Regional Integration Africa and Middle East & North Africa Attachments 1. Form of Authorized Signatory Letter 2. PBC Payment Reconciliation Statement Cc with copies: The Secretary to the Treasury Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs P.O. Box 30049 Capital City Lilongwe 3 The Acting Executive Director National Local Government Finance Committee Private Bag 352 Capital City Lilongwe 3 Schedule 1 : Disbursement Provisions Basic Information Country Republic of Malawi Closing Date Section III.B.6. of Schedule 2 to the Credit & 7165-MW Recipient Republic of Malawi Financing Agreement. Grant and Name of the Additional Financing for Africa Centers of Disbursement Four (04) months after the closing Numbers E088-MW Project Excellence Project - ACE II Deadline Date date. Subsection 3.7 ** Disbursement Methods and Supporting Documentation Disbursement Methods Methods Supporting Documentation Section 2 (**) Subsections 4.3 and 4.4 (**) Direct Payment No Not applicable Reimbursement Yes For eligible expenditures under the PBCs (Categories 2(a) to 2(i) of the Withdrawal Table): see additional instructions. Designated Account (DA) No Not applicable Special Commitments No Not applicable Designated Account (Sections 5 and 6 **) Type Not applicable Ceiling Not applicable Financial Institution - Not applicable Not applicable Currency Name Frequency of Reporting Not applicable Not applicable Amount Subsection 6.3 (**) Minimum Value of Applications (subsection 3.5) Not applicable. Authorized Signatures (Subsection 3.1 and 3.2 **) Withdrawal and Documentation Applications (Subsection 3.3 and 3.4 **) Authorized Signatures (subsection 3.1). Applications for this Financing will Applications (subsections 3.2 - 3.3). All Withdrawal Applications and their be signed by the official(s) designated in the Standing Authorization Letter supporting documentation shall be electronically submitted via the and authorized to sign Withdrawal Applications, including by electronic Association’s web-based Portal “Client Connection”. means, for all projects of the Republic of Malawi. Additional Instructions For disbursement under PBC linked categories (Categories 2(a) to 2(i)): a. Disbursements will be made through reimbursement method only. b. For each withdrawal request, the amount payable shall be the lesser between (i) the amount allocated for the achievement of one or more PBCs and (ii) the amount of Eligible Expenditures incurred by the achievement date of such PBCs. c. Supporting documentation for documentation of eligible expenditures under the PBCs are: (i) Bank notification confirming that one or more PBCs (as referred to under Schedule 2 of the Financing Agreement) have been achieved and indicating the amounts payable for such PBCs and (ii) PBC Payment Reconciliation Statement in the format provided in Attachment 2 of DFIL. Other Payments to UN Agencies (if any) may be made through UN Advances (with or without a UN Commitment) disbursement mechanism. In case of a contract with a UN Agency requiring a UN Commitment, an application for issuance of UN Commitment is to be submitted by the Recipient. Subsequent payments and documentation of expenditures under the contract must be made in accordance with the Commitment letter to be issued by the Association and the contract between the Recipient and the UN agency. In case of a UN Advance (without UN Commitment), documentation of expenditure should be made once the final invoice is issued and based on the UN Financial Report. ** Sections and subsections relate to the “Disbursement Guidelines for Investment Project Financing”, dated February 2017. Attachment 1 – Form of Authorized Signatory Letter [Letterhead] Ministry of Finance [Street address] [City] [Country] [DATE] International Development Association 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 United States of America Attention: [Country Director]1 Dear [Country Director]: Re: IDA Credit No. 7165-MW and Grant2 No. E088-MW (Additional Financing for Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Africa Centers of Excellence Project - ACE II) I refer to the [Credit] [Grant] Agreement (“Agreement”) between the International Development Association (“Association”)[, acting as implementing of the]3 and [name of recipient] (“Recipient”), providing the above [Credit] [Grant]. For the purposes of Section 2.03 of the General Conditions as defined in the Agreement, any 4[one] of the persons whose authenticated specimen signatures appear below is authorized on behalf of the Recipient to sign Withdrawal Applications (“Application”) [and applications for a special commitment] under this [Credit] [Grant]. For the purpose of delivering Applications to the Association, including by electronic means, 5 [each] of the persons whose authenticated specimen signatures appears below is authorized on behalf of the Recipient, acting 6[individually] 7[jointly], to deliver Applications, and evidence in support thereof on the terms and conditions specified by the Association. 1 Instruction to Bank staff: please forward this letter to Country Lawyer for further processing (Recipient: please do not delete this note). 2 Instruction to the Recipient: use “Credit” or “Grant” as applicable. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Association. 3 Instruction to the Recipient: add text in line with the Grant Agreement if applicable; if not applicable delete it. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Associations 4 Instruction to the Recipient: stipulate if more than one person needs to sign Applications, and how many or which positions, and if any thresholds apply. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Association. 5 Instruction to the Recipient: stipulate if more than one person needs to jointly sign Applications, if so, please indicate the actual number. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Association. 6 Instruction to the Recipient: use this bracket if any one of the authorized persons may sign; if this is not applicable, please delete. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Association. 7 Instruction to the Recipient: use this bracket only if several individuals must jointly sign each Application; if this is not applicable, please delete. Please delete this footnote in final letter that is sent to the Association. This confirms that the Recipient is authorizing such persons to accept Secure Identification Credentials (SIDC) and to deliver the Applications and supporting documents to the Association by electronic means. In full recognition that the Association shall rely upon such representations and warranties, including without limitation, the representations and warranties contained in the Terms and Conditions of Use of Secure Identification Credentials in connection with Use of Electronic Means to Process Applications and Supporting Documentation (“Terms and Conditions of Use of SIDC”), the Recipient represents and warrants to the Association that it will cause such persons to abide by those terms and conditions. This Authorization replaces and supersedes any Authorization currently in the Association records with respect to this Agreement. [Name], [position] Specimen Signature: ____________________ [Name], [position] Specimen Signature: ____________________ [Name], [position] Specimen Signature: ____________________ Yours truly, / signed / ______________ Attachment 2: PBC Payment Reconciliation Statement as of MM-DD-YY PBC Cumulative Cumulative PBC amount amount amount paid amount paid in PBC Allocation verified in the payable in at the end of the previous current report the current the current report report period PBC#1.1 PBC#1.2 PBC#2.1 PBC#3.1 PBC#4.1 PBC#5.1 PBC#6.1 PBC#7.1 PBC#9 TOTAL