INFORMING THE MDBs’ APPROACH TO UCS IN AFRICA

The document evaluates Morocco's readiness for Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to adopt its national systems for procurement and environmental safeguards. It highlights that while Morocco has made significant progress in public financial management and has been a pioneer in adopting the African Development Bank's UCS, gaps remain in complaint-handling mechanisms and the inclusion of climate change in environmental impact assessments. The paper recommends that MDBs leverage the local banking sector and establish local offices to better integrate with national systems.

• Morocco has demonstrated 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 African Development Bank (AfDB) has recognised Morocco as a leader in the adoption of national systems, making it the first member country whose domestic procurement system was declared acceptable for use in Bank-financed projects starting in 2014.
• Despite reforms, the Moroccan procurement system faces challenges including a lack of independent complaint-processing and dispute resolution mechanisms, institutional fragmentation, and a lack of specialised procurement training.
• Morocco's Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) is robust in terms of legislative reference and impact assessment timelines, but it fails to address climate change, gender-based discrimination, and the displacement of vulnerable groups in its assessments.
• The World Bank has utilised the Program for Results (PforR) approach in Morocco, which uses country systems as the default option, leading to streamlined procedures and a focus on development results rather than activity verification.
• The Morocco Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MorSEFF) serves as a successful model for channeling MDB finance through local private banks (BMCE Bank and Banque Populaire du Maroc), reporting 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} }