The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) REPORT NO.: RES51447 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF BURKINA-FASO EGOVERNMENT PROJECT APPROVED ON JANUARY 18, 2017 TO BURKINA FASO DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA Country Director: Clara Ana Coutinho De Sousa Regional Director: Christine Zhenwei Qiang Practice Manager/Manager: Michel Rogy Task Team Leader(s): Tounwende Alain Sawadogo The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS EA Environmental Assessment ANPTIC National Agency for Promotion of ICT CD Country Director CMU Country Management Unit COVID-19 Corona Virus ESIA Environmental and Social Impact Assessment ESMF Environmental and Social Management Framework EUR Euro FM Financial Management GoBF Government of Burkina Faso ICT Information and Communications Technology IDA International Development Association M&E Monitoring and Evaluation Mbit Megabit Mbps Megabit per second MS Moderately Satisfactory OP Operational Policy PAD Project Appraisal Document PDO Project Development Objectives PIU Project Implementation Unit PM Project Management RAP Resettlement Action Plan RF Results Framework RP Restructuring Paper RPF Resettlement Policy Framework S Satisfactory SORT Systematic Operations Risk-Rating Tool ToC Theory of Change US$ United States Dollars WB World Bank The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P155645 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Approval Date Current Closing Date 18-Jan-2017 30-Jun-2022 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Burkina Faso,Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve capacity and use of ICTs by the public administrations and agencies for (i) the provision of information and public e-services and (ii) to foster entrepreneurship inthe digital economy, with a specific focus on agriculture and rural areas. OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-59430 18-Jan-2017 03-Mar-2017 29-Jun-2017 30-Jun-2022 20.00 11.31 9.34 The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING Summary 1. This Restructuring Paper seeks your approval for six- month extension and update the Results Framework for the above-mentioned Project. On April 7, 2022, the World Bank (WB) received an official request from the Government of Burkina Faso (GoBF) for a six-month extension of the closing date of the Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (Credit IDA-59430) and adjustments to the Results Framework to reflect the greater number of beneficiaries expected to be served under Component 2. This request resulted from the delay in project implementation caused by the activation of the WB’s Operational Policy 7.301 and the pause on disbursements of the entire portfolio from January 24 to May 13. Project implementation was further delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. This is a Level II – CD Approval restructuring. Project Status 3. The IDA Credit (59430) of EUR 18,800,000.00 (US$20 million equivalent) granted to Burkina Faso was approved on June 21, 2011 and declared effective on June 29, 2017. The project and its associated IDA credit are currently set to close on June 30, 2022. 4. The total disbursement rate as of June 15, 2022, stands at 49.49 percent (US$10.30 million). This low rate is a reflection of the important delays faced during project implementation. Some of those delays are related to specific project activities; for example, upgrading the digital infrastructure to host all the platforms already developed under the Component # 2 “Data Management and Digital Platform for e- Service Delivery” took much longer than anticipated, while the handover process associated to the operation and maintenance of these digital platforms proved very lengthy. Due to Covid-19, delays were also observed by some firms in platform delivery due to the closure of the borders. 5. Furthermore, in addition to political instability, which led to a 3-monthdisbursement pause, implementation has been hindered by unsatisfactory project management, which required that a new Director General be put at the head of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), while procurement and 1Operational Policy (OP)7.30, Dealing with De Facto Governments, provides the framework for reengagement after an unconstitutional transfer of power. The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) Financial Management (FM) faced various shortcomings and anomalies. Concerns about the latter led the Borrower’s and WB teams to hold regular meetings over the last 5 months to closely monitor and follow up on these issues, including agreeing to and implementing a detailed action plan. In parallel, thanks to the new Director General and strengthened fiduciary capabilities, the PIU’s overall capacity increased substantially. As a result, the length of time taken by procurement processes could be greatly reduced and notable progress in project management and implementation have been observed. 6. With the resumption of all activities at the beginning of the year, and assuming that the project implementation period can be extended by another six months, the pace of procurement is expected to pick up significantly (up to 90 percent) over the next few weeks given that several procurement packages have reached an advanced stage. The project should have completed by now and the PIU will mainly focused on the execution of contracts during the extension period. 7. Despite a low disbursement rate and the implementation challenges, much progress toward achieving the project development objectives (PDO) has been possible. In fact, all three PDO-level indicators have outperformed their original targets. This explains that the current progress toward achieving the PDO (DO) is rated Satisfactory, and Implementation Progress (IP) is rated Moderately Satisfactory. 8. As shown in Table 1 below, all of the original end targets associated to the PDO-level indicators have been exceeded. The same trend is observed for all Intermediate indicators, with the exception of those associated to Component 2 (i.e., number of unique users of the e-Service for agricultural markets information and number of unique users of GIS e-Service for rural development and food security management, which have yet to be achieved. However, it is estimated that these targets could also be achieved, should the six-month extension be confirmed. In view of the above, the PDO remains achievable. Table 1. Project Development Objective indicators by objectives PDO-level Indicator Baseline Actual Current End Target (02-Jan-2017) (30-May-2022) (30-Jun-2022) People using the Digital Platform for e-Service Delivery 0.00 5,265.00 5,000.00 (Number, Custom) e-Services deployed through the Digital Platform for e- 0.00 7.00 5.00 Service Delivery, including number of e-Services targeting rural areas (Number, Custom) Public authorities and external producers providing 31.00 106.00 100.00 information as open data on the portal data.gov.bf (Number, Custom) 9. Financial Management has also shown improvements and is now considered Moderately Satisfactory. There is currently no overdue audit or procurement issue. The Borrower has prepared a sound Work and Budget Plan and a draft Procurement Plan covering the extended implementation period. Their final approval hinges on the confirmation that the proposed restructuring’s closing date extension is granted. Rationale for restructuring 10. The proposed additional six-month closing date extension will allow the following: The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) (i) Completing all ongoing activities (strengthening the hosting infrastructure, updating the administration's messaging system and implementing the training plan to ensure mastery of the various platforms) supported by the project, especially under Component 2 to achieve the expected results, building on the PIU’s new leadership and strengthened capacity, including fiduciary. (ii) Further increasing the expected impact of the project under Component 2, which would translate into raising the end target associated to the first PDO-level indicator tracking the number of people using the Digital Platform for e-Service Delivery. Indeed, resuming and extending by another six months the implementation of those project-funded activities that successfully and innovatively promote beneficiaries’ appropriation of digital platforms under Component 2 (through community radio, private television, and, where coverage allows, internet) is expected to further strengthen the project’s achievement of its PDO. (iii) Achieving the target associated to the two intermediate indicators lagging behind under Component 2. (iv) Substantially boosting the project disbursement rate, following the resumption of implementation and reliance on a much stronger counterpart fiduciary team. See Table 2 for disbursement projections. The estimated disbursement rate at closing is 95%. Table 2: Project disbursement forecast Month Category 1: Mature Category 2: Category 3: TOTAL (US$) activities under Activities for which Activities with implementation contracts are ongoing (US$) awarded contracting (US$) processes (US$) July 2022 1,261,324 365,914 1,627,238 August 2022 1,212,464 329,379 1,541,843 September 2022 663,636 663,636 October 2022 1,154,456 1,154,456 November 2022 4,427,338 181,818 4,609,156 December 2022 99,196.33 99,196 TOTAL 2,473,788 6,940,723 281,014 9,695,525 II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES 11. The proposed changes include: a. Extension of the closing date from June 30, 2022 to December 30, 2022 to allow completion of all project activities. b. Increasing the End Target of the PDO-level Indicator “People using the Digital Platform for e- Service Delivery (Number)” from 5,000 to 8,000. The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) 12. The proposed restructuring does not include any other changes. The PDO, the Results Framework (other than the above change in target value), the project components and activities, the implementation arrangements, and allocations across categories of expenditures all remain unchanged. The project’s safeguards category ("C") also remains unchanged, and the restructuring will not trigger any new safeguard measures. to the project components, 13. Overall risk rating: As part of the WB’s Systematic Operations Risk-Rating Tool (SORT) recalibration exercise, the project’s Overall risk and the political and governance risk are substantial given the volatility of the political context. However, the security situation wouldn't impact the implementation of the remaining activities as they will take place mainly in the capital Ouagadougou. The project had been screened for short and long-term climate change and disaster risks during preparation and no significant risks were identified; the restructuring will not introduce new risks related to climate change and disaster. III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Results Framework ✔ Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ DDO Status ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ PBCs ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Overall Risk Rating ✔ Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ EA category ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications IDA-59430 Effective 30-Jun-2022 30-Dec-2022 30-Apr-2023 OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_DISBURSEMENT_TABLE DISBURSEMENT ESTIMATES Change in Disbursement Estimates Yes Year Current Proposed 2017 3,000,000.00 0.00 2018 5,000,000.04 0.00 2019 6,000,000.00 0.00 2020 3,999,999.96 0.00 2021 1,500,000.00 0.00 2022 500,000.04 0.00 2023 0.00 0.00 . The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) . Results framework COUNTRY: Burkina Faso Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project Project Development Objectives(s) Proposed Development Objective(s) The proposed Project Development Objective (PDO) is to improve capacity and use of ICTs by the public administrations and agencies for (i) the provision of information and public e-services and (ii) to foster entrepreneurship inthe digital economy, with a specific focus on agriculture and rural areas. Project Development Objective Indicators by Objectives/ Outcomes RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 To improve capacity and use of ICTs by the public administrations and provision of e-services People using the Digital Platform for e-Service 0.00 0.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 5,000.00 8,000.00 Delivery (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised e-Services deployed through the Digital Platform for e-Service Delivery, 0.00 0.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 5.00 including number of e- Services targeting rural areas (Number) Public authorities and external producers 31.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 100.00 providing information as The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 open data on the portal data.gov.bf (Number) To foster entrepreneurship in the digital economy Startups, SMEs and Civic tech incubated (number) (including percent focusing 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 30.00 on agriculture or rural areas) (Number) Percentage of ICT projects incubated and 0.00 0.00 0.00 50.00 40.00 33.00 33.00 targeting rural areas (Percentage) People trained under the project (including 0.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 percentage of women) (Number) Percentage of women trained under the 0.00 25.00 33.00 33.00 40.00 40.00 40.00 project (Percentage) PDO Table SPACE Intermediate Results Indicators by Components RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 (1) Enabling Environment for e-Government, including Policy, Legal and Regulatory Frameworks The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Publication of a national e- Government strategy No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (Yes/No) Publication of an e- Government technical No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes framework (Yes/No) (2) Data Management and Digital Platform for e-Service Delivery Unique users of GIS e- Service for rural development and food 0.00 0.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 security management (Number) Unique users of the e- Service for agricultural 0.00 0.00 10,000.00 20,000.00 30,000.00 40,000.00 40,000.00 markets information (Number) Number of municipalities having their performance 0.00 140.00 200.00 250.00 300.00 350.00 350.00 indicators available as open data (Number) (3) Foster Local Skills and Entrepreneurship in the Digital Economy Incubator open to the No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes public (Yes/No) Number of visitors at the incubator including women 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,000.00 3,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 (Number) The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Percentage of women visiting the incubator 0.00 0.00 0.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 40.00 (Percentage) (4) Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation. Citizens consulted for the design and delivery of e- 0.00 200.00 400.00 600.00 800.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 Services (citizen engagement) (Number) IO Table SPACE The World Bank Burkina-Faso eGovernment Project (P155645) Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here. Please delete this note when finalizing the document