INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the use of country systems (UCS) in Morocco, focusing on how Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can better integrate local public financial management (PFM), procurement, and environmental and social frameworks (ESF) into their financing operations.

• Morocco has made significant progress in public financial management (PFM) and governance, evidenced by a 2015 Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) score of 4.09, which ranked it 13th in Africa. The country has implemented a prudent debt management strategy to control its debt-to-GDP ratio, which rose from 45.44% in 2008 to 63.2% in 2014, with expectations of a decline to 62.1% by 2019.
• The African Development Bank (AfDB) has pioneered the use of Morocco's national procurement system, making Morocco the first member country whose domestic procurement system was declared acceptable for use in Bank-financed projects starting in 2014. The AfDB's 2012-2016 Country Strategy Paper completion report suggested that by 2020, it could be feasible for Morocco to adopt its country system in its entirety, including both PFM and ESF.
• The World Bank has utilized the Program for Results (PforR) approach since 2013, which uses country systems as the default option, and has piloted the use of Morocco's national ESF in the "Depollution of Oum Rbia" project. While the World Bank found Morocco well-suited for UCS piloting due to its institutional reforms and political will, it identified gaps in the national system, specifically that regulations for water and sanitation EIAs are dispersed across various frameworks.
• Despite reforms, the Moroccan procurement system faces challenges including a lack of an independent complaints-handling mechanism, institutional fragmentation, and a lack of harmonized rules across different agencies. The system is described as restrictive because it does not allow for the hiring of individual consultants and contains over 240 different rules for tendering and bidding.
• Morocco's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) is based on legislation dating back to 1994, with Law 12-03 on EIAs serving as the national reference. However, the system lacks processes for certifying ESIA consultants and does not specifically require the analysis of project alternatives, unlike World Bank safeguards. Additionally, the legislation allows project proponents to conceal certain information for client confidentiality, limiting the value of public consultations.
• Channeling development finance through the local banking system is presented as a viable alternative to direct government financing. The Morocco Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MorSEFF), involving the EBRD, EIB, and KfW, demonstrated this model by working with BMCE Bank and Banque Populaire du Maroc, reporting that up to 90% of processes were handled through country systems with less than 3% financial mismanagement.

APA

Jamea, E. M. (2018). INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GEG-africa-DP-jamea.pdf

Chicago

Jamea, El Mostafa. INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2018. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GEG-africa-DP-jamea.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jamea |first1=El Mostafa |title=INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2018 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GEG-africa-DP-jamea.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jamea2018informing, author = {Jamea, El Mostafa}, title = {{INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GEG-africa-DP-jamea.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }