IRAQ GOVERNANCE & PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT (IGPA/TAKAMUL) FY21 QUARTER-1 REPORT October 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020

Program Title Iraq Governance and Performance Accountability Project (IGPA/Takamul) Sponsoring USAID Office USAID Iraq Contract Number AID-267-H-17-00001 Contractor DAI Global LLC Date of publication January 30, 2021 Author IGPA/Takamul Project Team

COVER: A water treatment plant subject to IGPA/Takamul’s assessment in Hilla City, Babil Province | Photo Credit: Pencils Creative for USAID IGPA/Takamul

This publication, prepared by DAI, was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 1 CHAPTER 1: PROJECT PROGRESS ...... 3 OBJECTIVE 1: ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY CAPACITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ ...... 3 SUCCESS STORY ...... 21 OBJECTIVE 2: IMPROVED PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ...... 22 SUCCESS STORY ...... 34 OBJECTIVE 3: STRENGTHENED MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ...... 35 SUCCESS STORY ...... 43 SUCCESS STORY ...... 44 SUCCESS STORY ...... 45 OBJECTIVE 4: IRAQI CHANGE AGENTS SUPPORTED ...... 46 SUPPORT TO MACROECONOMIC & GOVERNANCE REFORMS ...... 51 TASK ORDER 4: NINEWA INVESTMENT FACILITATION INITIATIVE ...... 59 TASK 1: ESTABLISH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER (BDC) ...... 59 TASK 2: PROVIDE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES ...... 60 TASK 3: CONDUCT NINEWA INVESTMENT FORUM ...... 66 SUCCESS STORY ...... 68 SUCCESS STORY ...... 69 SUCCESS STORY ...... 70 CHAPTER II: MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING ...... 71 IGPA/Takamul MEL System ...... 71 IGPA MEL Unit Updates during FY21 Q1 ...... 71 Public Opinion Survey ...... 77 Challenges and Lessons Learned ...... 81 CHAPTER III: CONTEXT MONITORING OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GOVERNANCE OF IRAQ ...... 85 Political Context and Governance Challenges ...... 85 Political Dynamics and the Prospects of Early Elections ...... 85 Impacts on IGPA/Takamul Programming ...... 95

ANNEX 1: PROJECT SNAPSHOT ...... 98 ANNEX 2: NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING IGPA/TAKAMUL INTERVENTIONS ...... 103 ANNEX 3: NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS TRAINED ...... 106 ANNEX 4: PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY 2020 BASIC INDICATOR FINDINGS ...... 109 ANNEX 5: NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES MONITORED ...... 111 ANNEX 6: THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ...... 114 ANNEX 7: USAID CURRENT & FUTURE PROGRAMMING RESPONSES TO GOI WHITE PAPER PRIORITIES ...... 123 ANNEX 8: IGPA SUPPORT TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC REFORMS ...... 128 ANNEX 9: THE MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS & TRENDS OF THE IRAQI ECONOMY DURING 2020 ...... 136 ANNEX 10: QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION – FY21, Q-1 ...... 139 ANNEX 11: OVERVIEW OF SUBCONTRACTORS ...... 142 ANNEX 12: SUCCESS STORIES IN ARABIC ...... 144 ANNEX 13: CONTRACTUAL DELIVERABLES ...... 145 ANNEX 14: QUARTERLY SUB ACTIVITY REPORT ...... 146 ANNEX 15: QUARTERLY MEDIA COVERAGE ...... 153 ACRONYMS ...... 167 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The past quarter witnessed IGPA/Takamul moving forward in all its major components while at the same time responding rigorously to the emerging priorities of the Government of Iraq (GOI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the areas of fiscal and economic reforms.

In the area of service delivery, the Project completed several important milestones in the water sector including the implementation of a fleet management system in Basrah and Erbil and important progress in the support to the assessment and rehabilitation of water treatment plants in Anbar and Ninewa.

IGPA/Takamul also focused on business process reengineering (BPR) for a wide variety of areas within service delivery in the last quarter. BPR studies and recommendations were implemented for such diverse areas as notary services and private sector social security contributions in KRG and solid waste management processes in Baghdad. Assistance to the development of legislative and regulatory frameworks also moved forward with the Project supporting discussions around a national solid waste management legislation as well as further work on developing a legal framework for Iraq’s procurement systems.

Public financial management (PFM) was also a significant part of the Project’s activities during the reporting period; not only in the area mentioned above – i.e., supporting the PFM reforms detailed in the government’s White Paper – but also continuing its work at the provincial level to support these reforms. In addition, the Project’s PFM team continued its work strengthening planning and budgeting systems, through developing frameworks for public investment management and capital budgeting, feasibility study guidelines, and the development of fixed assets registries. IGPA support to increase domestic resource mobilization also continued during this quarter with technical support to a number of provinces on the vital issue of cost recovery approaches for service delivery.

The highlight of the Project’s work in equity and inclusion expresses a renewed support to the Provincial Women’s Empowerment Departments, and the expansion of their authorities in the governorates. In the area of oversight and accountability, one of the most impactful activities was the progress the Project made in strengthening the engagement of the Performance Evaluation Departments with the civil society in governorates in the country.

Clearly, one of the most urgent priorities of the Iraqi government at all levels is the implementation of the White Paper, the government’s ambitious reform agenda released in October. USAID and IGPA have been at the forefront of international support to this initiative, and it is gratifying to note the numerous ways that IGPA’s programming activities are already currently supporting the main pillars of the White Paper. We look forward to maintaining, and expanding, this support for the remainder of Year 4 and beyond.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 1 اﻟﻤﻮﺟﺰ اﻟﺘﻨﻔﯿﺬي

أﺣﺮز اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻓﻲ اﻟﺮﺑﻊ اﻷﺧﯿﺮ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﺎم اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻲ ﺗﻘﺪﻣﺎً ﻓﻲ ﻛﺎﻓﺔ ﻣﻜﻮﻧﺎﺗﮫ وﻧﺠﺢ ﻓﻲ اﻹﺳﺘﺠﺎﺑﺔ ﻹﺣﺘﯿﺎﺟﺎت ِاﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﺔ اﻟﻌﺮاﻗﯿﺔ وﺣﻜﻮﻣﺔ إﻗﻠﯿﻢ ﻛﺮدﺳﺘﺎن ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻹﺻﻼح اﻹﻗﺘﺼﺎدي واﻟﻤﺎﻟﻲ.

وﻓﯿﻤﺎ ﯾﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﺑﺘﻘﺪﯾﻢ اﻟﺨﺪﻣﺎت، َﻧﺠﺢ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﺑﺈﻛﻤﺎل اﻟﻌﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻷﻧﺸﻄﺔ اﻟﻤﮭﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻄﺎع اﻟﻤﺎء ﺑﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ ذﻟﻚ ﻧﺼﺐ ﻧﻈﺎم ﺗﺤﺪﯾﺪ اﻟﻤﻮاﻗﻊ GPS ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺮﻛﺒﺎت ﺑﺎﻹﺿﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﻰ ذﻟﻚ، اﺣﺮز اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﺗﻘﺪﻣﺎً ﻛﺒﯿﺮاً ﻓﻲ اﻟﺪﻋﻢ ُاﻟﻤﻘﺪم ﻟﺘﻘﯿﯿﻢ ﻣﺤﻄﺎت ﻣﻌﺎﻟﺠﺔ اﻟﻤﯿﺎه وإﻋﺎدة ﺗﺄھﯿﻠﮭﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻷﻧﺒﺎر وﻧﯿﻨﻮى.

رﻛﺰ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع اﯾﻀﺎً ﻓﻲ اﻟﺮﺑﻊ اﻷﺧﯿﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ إﻋﺎدة ھﻨﺪﺳﺔ اﻟﻌﻤﻠﯿﺎت ﻟﻠﻌﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺨﺪﻣﺎت. ﺣﯿﺚ اُﺟﺮﯾﺖ اﻟﻌﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺪراﺳﺎت وﻧُﻔﺬت اﻟﻌﺪﯾﺪ ﻣﻦ ﺗﻮﺻﯿﺎت إﻋﺎدة ھﻨﺪﺳﺔ اﻻﻋﻤﺎل ﻓﻲ ﻣﺨﺘﻠﻒ اﻟﻤﺠﺎﻻت ﻣﺜﻞ ﺗﺒﺴﯿﻂ اﺟﺮاءات ﺧﺪﻣﺎت اﻟﻜﺎﺗﺐ اﻟﻌﺪل واﻟﻀﻤﺎن اﻹﺟﺘﻤﺎﻋﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﻄﺎع اﻟﺨﺎص ﻓﻲ إﻗﻠﯿﻢ ﻛﺮدﺳﺘﺎن وإدارة اﻟﻨﻔﺎﯾﺎت اﻟﺼﻠﺒﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺑﻐﺪاد. ﻛﻤﺎ اﺣﺮز اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع اﯾﻀﺎً ﺗﻘﺪﻣﺎً ﻓﻲ دﻋﻢ ﺗﻄﻮﯾﺮ اﻷطﺮ اﻟﺘﺸﺮﯾﻌﯿﺔ واﻟﺘﻨﻈﯿﻤﯿﺔ ﺣﯿﺚ ﺳﺎﻧﺪ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع اﻟﻤﻨﺎﻗﺸﺎت اﻟﺠﺎرﯾﺔ ﺣﻮل ﻗﺎﻧﻮن وطﻨﻲ ﺧﺎص ﺑﺈدارة اﻟﻨﻔﺎﯾﺎت اﻟﺼﻠﺒﺔ ودﻋﻢ ﺗﻄﻮﯾﺮ إطﺎر ﻗﺎﻧﻮﻧﻲ ﻷﻧﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﺘﺮﯾﺎت ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺮاق.

ﻛﺎﻧﺖ اﻹدارة اﻟﻤﺎﻟﯿﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ واﺣﺪة ﻣﻦ اﻷﻧﺸﻄﺔ اﻟﺮﺋﯿﺴﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﺸﺮوع ﺧﻼل ﻓﺘﺮة إﻋﺪاد ھﺬا اﻟﺘﻘﺮﯾﺮ. ﺣﯿﺚ ﺷﻤﻠﺖ ھﺬه اﻷﻧﺸﻄﺔ ﺗﻘﺪﯾﻢ اﻟﺪﻋﻢ ﻹﺻﻼﺣﺎت اﻹدارة اﻟﻤﺎﻟﯿﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ اﻟﻤﻔﺼﻠﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ اﻟﺒﯿﻀﺎء اﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﯿﺔ ﺑﺎﻹﺿﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﻰ ﻣﻮاﺻﻠﺔ اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻟﺪﻋﻢ ھﺬه اﻹﺻﻼﺣﺎت ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻮى اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻲ. وإﺳﺘﻤﺮﻋﻤﻞ ﻓﺮﯾﻖ اﻹدارة اﻟﻤﺎﻟﯿﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻄﻮﯾﺮ اﻧﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﺘﺨﻄﯿﻂ واﻋﺪاد اﻟﻤﻮازﻧﺎت ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل وﺿﻊ اطﺮ ﻹدارة اﻹﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎر اﻟﻌﺎم ووﺿﻊ اﻟﻤﻮازﻧﺎت اﻹﺳﺘﺜﻤﺎرﯾﺔ وارﺷﺎدات ﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﺠﺪوى وﺗﻄﻮﯾﺮ ﺳﺠﻼت ﺧﺎﺻﺔ ﻟﻠﻤﻮﺟﻮدات اﻟﺜﺎﺑﺘﺔ. إﺿﺎﻓﺔ ﻟﺬﻟﻚ، إﺳﺘﻤﺮﻋﻤﻞ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻓﻲ زﯾﺎدة ﺗﻌﺒﺌﺔ اﻟﻤﻮارد اﻟﻤﺤﻠﯿﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼل اﻟﺪﻋﻢ اﻟﻔﻨﻲ اﻟﻤﻘﺪم ﻟﻌﺪد ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﺎﻓﻈﺎت ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎﻻت اﺳﺘﺮداد ﺗﻜﺎﻟﯿﻒ ﺗﻘﺪﯾﻢ اﻟﺨﺪﻣﺎت.

وﯾﻤﺜﻞ ﻋﻤﻞ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﻤﺴﺎواة واﻹدﻣﺎج اﻟﺪﻋﻢ اﻟﻤﺘﺠﺪد ﻷﻗﺴﺎم ﺗﻤﻜﯿﻦ اﻟﻤﺮأة وﺗﻮﺳﯿﻊ ﺻﻼﺣﯿﺎﺗﮭﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺤﺎﻓﻈﺎت. ﺣﯿﺚ ﻛﺎن ﺗﻌﺰﯾﺰ اﻟﺘﻮاﺻﻞ واﻟﻤﺸﺎرﻛﺔ ﺑﯿﻦ اﻗﺴﺎم ﺗﻘﻮﯾﻢ اﻷداء وﻣﻨﻈﻤﺎت اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ اﻟﻤﺪﻧﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺤﺎﻓﻈﺎت اﺣﺪ اﻛﺜﺮ اﻻﻧﺸﻄﺔ ﺗﺄﺛﯿﺮا ً ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﺮﺻﺪ واﻟﻤﺴﺎءﻟﺔ.

وﯾﻌﺪ ﺗﻨﻔﯿﺬ اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ اﻟﺒﯿﻀﺎء، اﻟﺘﻲ اطﻠﻘﺘﮭﺎ اﻟﺤﻜﻮﻣﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺸﺮﯾﻦ اﻻول، أﺣﺪ اﻛﺜﺮ اﻻوﻟﻮﯾﺎت أھﻤﯿﺔً ﻟﻠﺤﻜﻮﻣﺔ اﻟﻌﺮاﻗﯿﺔ. إذ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻮﻛﺎﻟﺔ اﻻﻣﺮﯾﻜﯿﺔ ﻟﻠﺘﻨﻤﯿﺔ اﻟﺪوﻟﯿﺔ وﻣﺸﺮوع اﻟﺤﻜﻢ اﻟﺮﺷﯿﺪ وﺗﺤﺴﯿﻦ اﻻداء ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺮاق (ﺗﻜﺎﻣﻞ) ﻣﻦ أواﺋﻞ اﻟﺪاﻋﻤﯿﻦ اﻟﺪوﻟﯿﯿﻦ ﻟﮭﺬه اﻟﻤﺒﺎدرة وﻣﻦ دواﻋﻲ اﻟﺴﺮور أن ﻧﻼﺣﻆ اﻟﻄﺮق اﻟﻤﺘﻌﺪدة اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗُﻘﺪم أﻧﺸﻄﺔ اﻟﻤﺸﺮوع ﻣﻦ ﺧﻼﻟﮭﺎ اﻟﺪﻋﻢ ﻟﺮﻛﺎﺋﺰ ھﺬه اﻟﻮرﻗﺔ اﻹﺻﻼﺣﯿﺔ. ﻧﺘﻄﻠﻊ ﻗﺪﻣﺎً أن ﯾﺴﺘﻤﺮ ھﺬا اﻟﺪﻋﻢ وﯾﺘﻮﺳﻊ ﻟﻤﺎ ﺗﺒﻘﻰ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﺎم اﻟﺮاﺑﻊ وﻣﺎﺑﻌﺪه.

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CHAPTER 1: PROJECT PROGRESS

OBJECTIVE 1: ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY CAPACITY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ

Service delivery is the foundation of IGPA/Takamul’s “bottom-up” approach. Under this objective, the Project will build on the successes of Year 3 and strengthen the “bottom-up” functions directly impacting essential service delivery as part of the value chain of utility services. Specifically, IGPA/Takamul will work to develop the capacity of key organizations that were identified as integral to the overall system for service delivery. Simultaneously, IGPA/Takamul will strengthen the “top- down” systematic functions like laws, regulations, instructions, processes, and procedures by providing assistance directly to the federal government.

RESULT 1.1 Improved service delivery outcomes in sectors with high impact and visibility

Technical and rehabilitation assessments of water treatment plants (WTP). Assessments of ten WTPs each in Anbar and Ninewa began in December 2020. The key objectives for this project include determining a baseline condition of the selected WTPs such as water supply hours, production volumes, electrical power downtime issues, and operation and maintenance costs and a detailed technical assessment for five compact and five conventional WTPs each in Anbar and Ninewa to identify the rehabilitation requirements and produce a bill of quantities and all associated costs to rehabilitate each WTP. Under this activity, IGPA will prepare standard operating procedures (SOP) for operations and maintenance (O&M) and build capacity in plant O&M using the improved/upgraded SOPs, as well as train a group of trainers on O&M for each plant.

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Fleet management. After six months of continuous work and follow up, IGPA/Takamul completed the fleet management activity in Basrah and Erbil. The Project installed a total of 212 GPS devices in October in Erbil Water Directorate, 111 in Basrah Water Directorate, and 201 in Basrah Municipality Directorate, which started operating in November. IGPA also trained the staff of the service directorates on monitoring and tracking the vehicles.

Fleet management uses GPS to enable the directorate to track the use of the vehicles and manage routes and service timings. The use of GPS supports more effective use of government assets, reduces fuel consumption, and ultimately improves services to citizens.

Water asset documentation. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul was on the fourth phase of the water assets documentation process for the provincial Water Directorates of Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, and Ninewa. The Project is documenting and mapping assets related to water sources, treatment, pumping, storage, transmission, distribution networks, and water systems, which will feed into long-term development plans for the water sector. IGPA/Takamul also conducted surveys among water subscribers in these provinces as part of the ongoing water asset documentation process in the five provinces. To support the remaining data collection, IGPA/Takamul will conduct a training for selected staff of Water Directorates.

The overall objective of this activity is to improve water service delivery to citizens through improved planning, reduced non-revenue water use, and increased social inclusion. Anticipated outcomes from this activity include full documentation and digitization of a water supply system and online database that will serve as planning tools for Water Directorates to improve services. The activity is 95 percent complete.

ASSESSMENT OF A WATER TREATMENT PLANT IN BASRAH

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Training on leak detection for Basrah Water Directorate. On November 22, IGPA/Takamul commenced a 10-day training on water leak detection for 25 staff (19 male, 6 female) of the Basrah Water Directorate. The training included six days of theoretical training and four days of field work. The training focused on detecting and diagnosing problems in the water plants and water main lines’ components using the portable flow meter and leak detection apparatus. The trainees also learned O&M of the water supply network and assessment of water distribution system components and non-revenue water losses. From December 14 to 18, IGPA/Takamul delivered a five-day training of trainers on water leak detection for six selected staff who were dubbed as “champions” because of their potential and willingness to train their colleagues.

Reengineering public service processes for a more efficient services

Re-engineering the process of KRG’s private sector social security contributions. IGPA/Takamul is supporting the KRG MOLSA in one aspect of private sector employees' social security contribution and pension under Law No. 4 of 2012 - Law of Pensions and Social Security for Workers. The business process re-engineering will simplify and harmonize the contribution process across all entities under the KRG. This assistance aims to enhance private sector employment and reduce the demand on public sector job opportunities. The KRG is seeking to reform the private sector's social security contribution process which is complicated and varies between offices.

Re-engineering KRG notary services. In December, the KRG Ministry of Justice’s General Directorate of Notary Public approved the new model of notary public services that was developed with technical assistance from IGPA/Takamul. The new notary public services, which will reduce the time and paperwork of the previous model by half, will be adopted in all public notary service offices across the Kurdistan Region on January 1, 2021, benefiting five million citizens. Notary publics are government public officers constituted by law to serve citizens in matters concerning estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and local, foreign, and international businesses.

Baghdad showcases SWM innovation. The successful re-engineering of SWM in al-Jisr wherein its dumping grounds and swamplands were converted into gardens will be replicated across the different municipal sectors in Baghdad. On November 3, the Baghdad Municipalities Directorate met with 32 officials from 16 directorates and the Baghdad’s Environment and Solid Waste Department. Showcasing al-Jisr model, the Municipalities Directorates promoted the adoption of four key components, specifically: making the citizens’ complaints system more accessible, cleaning streets, cleaning commercial areas, and implementing sustainable maintenance mechanisms.

In an unprecedented move, al-Nasir wal Salam Municipality Directorate hosted a workshop for all Baghdad Municipality Directorates on November 9 to present their IGPA/Takamul-supported re- engineering successes to encourage other directorates to follow suit. Al-Nasir wal Salam staff presented achievements in maintaining residual compacting vehicles, controlling and refilling swamps, and converting waste areas into parks and playgrounds. The workshop discussed how to overcome environmental, equipment, and maintenance challenges facing the solid waste department. As a result of this workshop, the Municipality Directorates were directed to also promote their accomplishments using al-Nasir model.

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IGPA/TAKAMUL PRIMES TRAINERS ON WATER LEAK DETECTION

Dubbed as “champions,” women and men from Basrah’s Water Directorate teach their colleagues how to detect and prevent leakage in the water supply network. The trainers possess skills in performing maintenance procedures as well as potential to teach others.

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Developing a legal framework for the procurement system

IGPA/Takamul developed an assistance package for the Ministry of Planning (MOP), which includes developing a legal framework to improve the government procurement system and support the implementation of public-private partnerships (PPP).

During this reporting period, IGPA/Takamul met with the Iraqi Parliament’s Legal Committee and the Deputy Minister of Planning to assess the current Procurement Law which was developed by the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004. The meeting also presented the draft procurement legislation that addresses gaps in the current law and introduces improvements aligned with MOP’s existing procurement rules and regulations.

IGPA/Takamul conducted a roundtable with the Deputy Minister of Planning and head of the Tendering Department of the Directorate General of Government Contracts to review the proposed legal framework. Pending the approval of the Minister of Planning, the two agreed to transfer the authorship of the legal framework from the MOP directly to the Iraqi Parliament’s Legal Committee to shorten the time and processes involved in passing the new legal framework for GOI’s procurement system.

Building the government procurement capacity

Standard bidding documents for electromechanical turnkey projects and health “framework agreement” mechanisms. During Q-1, IGPA/Takamul completed the first, second, and third sections required for the electromechanics and turnkey works using the sectorial standard bidding documents (SBD) for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) procurement system. The drafts were sent to the KRG MOP for feedback according to the current regulations under Government Contracts No. 2 of 2016.

The SBDs are new bidding tools that IGPA/Takamul promotes to strengthen Iraq’s procurement system. These new tools facilitate transparency and make the participation of contracting businesses easier. The new SBDs are used for approximately 70 percent of all government procurements in the GOI and reduce the average bid preparation time and create an easier application process to encourage companies to participate in government contracts.

On August 24, 2020, IGPA/Takamul launched nine new sectorial SBDs to comply with the updated Government of Iraq (GOI) regulations. These were for the supply, installation, and operations of 1) IT systems and 2) electromechanical works; 3) procuring textbooks and materials for the Ministry of Education; 4) hiring consultants; and, 5) standard pre-qualifications. The remaining four SBDs were developed for the health sector to purchase: 1) medical appliances, 2) laboratory supplies and equipment, 3) drugs and vaccines, and 4) medical supplies.

In previous years, the GOI MOP launched the new IGPA/Takamul-developed SBDs for small- and medium-sized projects (up to $8 million) for the federal government. For the KRG, the MOP launched two new SBDs for procuring public works projects valued at less than $2.5 million and for procuring non-consulting services.

SBDs for small works and non-consulting services in KRG. In December 2020, IGPA/Takamul held a workshop for SBDs of small works for employees from the Contracting Department of the Dahuk Governor’s Office and other directorates. The workshop equipped them

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with tools to perform procurement and contracting processes for small works. In the same month, IGPA/Takamul trained contracting staff from directorates of Erbil Governorate on the use of SBD for small works. At these workshops, participants filled in bidding documents as an exercise to learn to prepare bids for small works.

Promoting the use of Amana Regulation for urgent projects. Amana regulation was issued by the MOP to allow government entities to implement urgent maintenance, rehabilitation, and restoration work with a total value under IQD 250 million ($172,000). This is overseen by a committee created for that purpose.

In Q-1, IGPA/Takamul trained the contracting staff of the Municipality Directorates of Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, and Ninewa Governorates to implement these regulations on selected projects not exceeding the amount allowed under the Amana regulation.

During the reporting period, five projects worth $301.14 million in Babil, Wasit, and Maysan were awarded using IGPA/Takamul-promoted new bidding tools. As of December 30, 2020, there are now 142 projects awarded using the new bidding documents with a total value of $807 million. See the following table for a summary of the projects awarded this FY21 Q-1 and the total of projects awarded since the beginning of IGPA implementation.

CONSTRUCTION OF BATA BRIDGE IN BABIL – A PROJECT AWARDED USING IGPA STANDARD BIDDING DOCUMENTS.

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TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF CONTRACTS AWARDED, AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2020

PROVINCE/ Number of contracts awarded and value in US$ per FY Total number and value in $, as of ENTITIES FY21 December 31, 2020 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21, Q-1 Ninewa 8 8,728,622.50 13 4,301,699.38 21 13,030,342.88

Anbar 47 40,006,816.25 47 40,006,863.25

Baghdad 1 20,338,666.67 38 80,607,412.17 39 100,946,117.84

Basrah 1 39,627,027.71 14 256,415,250.02 6 26,307,282.91 21 322,349,581.64

Babil 1 5,119,041.70 6 21,543,545.01 1 297,455,748.00 8 324,118,342.71

Baghdad 1 2,706,605.17 1 2,706,604.17 Amanat

Dahuk 1 80,701.67 1 80,702.67

Wasit 3 1,964,338.54 3 1,964,341.54

Maysan 1 1,728,319.33 1 1,728,320.33

TOTAL 1 39,627,027.71 73 333,395,702.98 63 132,759,939.48 5 301,148,405.87 142 $806,931,076.04

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 9 Supporting the KRG Ministry of Electricity

Improving the KRG MOE organizational structure and design. As part of long-term strategy assistance, IGPA/Takamul is working to assist KRG to enhance the organizational structure of the Ministry of Electricity (MOE) and its directorates, as well as make strategic recommendations for the overall electricity sector in the region. IGPA/Takamul will work with the related directorates to assess the current structure and propose more effective structures based on the required functions and processes.

Standard stock system. IGPA/Takamul completed a draft scope of work for the review of and updates to distribution equipment specifications (i.e. cables, transformers, switches/isolators) and recommended the standardization of equipment. Standardization based on updated specifications will not only improve the stock system, but ultimately also provide benefits related to procurement, tooling, training, and skills requirements for technical staff. A suitable STTA has been identified and will mobilize once contractual issues have been finalized and travel to Erbil can be arranged.

Electricity subscription process. IGPA/Takamul also began work to improve the customer subscription process for electricity services in the KRG. In line with this, IGPA conducted meetings with the General Directorate for Distribution at the MOE as well as in Erbil with a view to understanding the current subscription process and the related issues. A scope of work for an expert STTA is under development to conduct a detailed assessment throughout Kurdistan Region and both implement immediate improvements in the short-term, as well as make recommendations for medium- and long-term improvements.

Improving the KRG MOE master plan. IGPA/Takamul is working with the General Directorate of Planning and Projects to update and improve the strategic master plan for the transmission and bulk distribution networks within the Kurdistan provinces, as well as enhance the planning capacity in the MOE. Market researches are ongoing for inclusion in the scope of work.

SHAQLAWA, ERBIL

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 10 Enhance the technical capacity of KRG MOE staff. IGPA/Takamul is working with the Ministry to enhance its service delivery through capacity building for technical staff. A number of technical training initiatives have been identified relating to power system modeling, transmission and distribution planning, protection, power lines/cable design, and quality of supply, which will be delivered to relevant technical staff during this fiscal year.

Improving waste collection and removal

Responding to an official request from the provincial governments of Najaf, Basrah, and Ninewa, IGPA/Takamul developed activity action plans for solid waste removal addressing collection, removing and lifting, and transportation to landfills. These comprehensive plans address private sector participation and the management of 1) collection services, 2) domestic and commercial waste transportation, 3) hazardous medical, agricultural, and construction waste, and 4) landfills. They also cover improving the solid waste management (SWM) monitoring and evaluation system and relevant legislation.

For the initial steps of the action plan, provinces are currently developing a survey to gather baseline information regarding the current and projected population, existing services and resources, and the actual and expected volume of waste. The action plan is expected to increase the efficiency of waste collection and transportation, suggest optimal investment of available resources, and reduce the government’s burden by involving the private sector in waste management.

In Ninewa, the Governor’s Office issued an official letter to the Mosul Municipality Directorate to select the target area to implement the solid waste collection and removal plan. IGPA/Takamul met virtually with the head of the Planning Division to select the area according to specific criteria to ensure the feasibility of the plan. In Basrah, al-Zubair Municipality was selected to implement the same activities. In Najaf, a technical working group was formed to study a comprehensive plan.

LANDFILL IN MOSUL CITY, NINEWA PROVINCE

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RESULT 1.2: Strengthen the strategic approach and capacity of line ministries and provincial directorates to better align service delivery outcomes with the priorities of provincial governments and local populations

Supporting the High Commission for Coordination between Provinces' Secretariat (HCCPSec)

Implementing legal competencies. IGPA/Takamul worked with the Higher Commission for Coordination among Provinces Secretariat (HCCPSec) to assess existing mechanisms in its exercise of competencies and to build staff capacity to support provincial governments. Part of this task is to recommend solutions to address the identified gaps. IGPA/Takamul’s proposed mechanisms were officially submitted to the HCCPSec chairman for adoption.

Thereafter, IGPA/Takamul trained HCCPSec staff in exercising legal competencies and applying the proposed mechanism to provide rapid assistance to provincial governments to ensure service delivery continuity and improvement.

Operationalizing the Local Coordination Commissions. The objective of this support is to assist HCCPSec to create the scope of work and to operationalize the Local Coordination Commissions (LCC). LCCs will coordinate local services between the district governments and provincial service providers. IGPA/Takamul developed the scope of work with the help of representatives of Anbar, Babil, and Najaf Governorates who determined selection criteria. The Project also worked with district mayors and sub-district administrators in pilot provinces to prepare a report that outlines the current authorities exercised at the district and sub-district levels.

The resulting scope of work contained in a report to HCCPSec proposed LCC duties and identified authorities to be delegated from the governors to the district mayors and sub-district administrators to improve service delivery. The HCCPSec publicized the final scope of work and directed the provincial governments to form their respective commissions. IGPA/Takamul met with members of the LCCs of Anbar, Babil, and Najaf–selected as pilot provinces– to explain the commission’s work and the authorities to be delegated to local executives from the provincial governor to improve services at the local level.

Gauging the effectiveness of decentralized functions in water and SWM. Following the IGPA’s assistance to HCCPSec to develop and operationalize its Performance Evaluation Department (PED), the HCCPSec requested an assessment and analysis of the effectiveness of transferred decentralized functions and authorities to governorates and their impact on service delivery at the local level.

Through several on-the-job trainings and site visits to key water and solid waste facilities in pilot provinces, IGPA and the PED reviewed and developed an initial analysis of decentralized functions transferred from ministries to provincial service providers. The analysis identified functions and authorities which were not yet fully transferred, impeding service delivery improvements currently being implemented. The analysis also cited impact on gender and technical relationships with relevant entities at the federal and provincial levels. The activity served as a training for the PED staff on performing similar technical assessment and analyses of the impact of decentralization on the areas of local water and SWM services.

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INSIGHT

OSAMA LATIF Head, Environment Department Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works (MOCHMPW)

“Before working with IGPA/Takamul, we had several challenges regarding our workflow. One of them was the lack of coordination with other entities such as the Baghdad Amanat, Ministry of Health and Environment, and decentralized directorates as their powers have been devolved to Governor’s Offices and other concerned institutions. IGPA is the bridge between our ministry and other entities and brought us together in workshops to discuss various matters.

Through IGPA’s assistance, we developed the criteria and indicators for solid waste management. We use the criteria to determine the needs of clients and gauge the quality of our services. Other provinces adopted them too.

IGPA also helped us in drafting the SWM Law and effectively harmonized two versions of the bill—one from the Council of Ministers and one from us—addressing overlaps and conflicting points. IGPA worked with each entity to unify our visions and opinions and developed a third draft that meets our needs.

We would like to thank IGPA/Takamul for their support and we would like to ask for more technical support to strengthen our service delivery, especially in developing a recycling and sorting program. We hope this fruitful collaboration with IGPA continues.”

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Institutionalizing the Performance Evaluation Departments and ensuring integration

Updating standards and indicators for water and SWM services. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul supported the PED in updating service delivery performance standards and indicators that will be used as a measuring stick for the performance of service providers in the areas of water and SWM.

IGPA/Takamul established a TWG which included PED representatives from pilot provinces, MOP, HCCPSec, and the MOCHMPW. The group identified existing standards and indicators, standards to be updated, and new standards to develop. After feedback from provincial governments, the updated service delivery performance standards were approved for the municipality sector.

PED Solutions

During this reporting period, directorates implemented local solutions which were identified by the PED in the performance audit report. The below serves as an example of implemented solutions:

Babil PED solution increases revenue for the Water Directorate. To address the lack of funds needed for spare parts and maintenance, the Babil PED decided to sell the Water Directorate’s depreciating and non-performing assets such as vehicles, water tanks, cars, and trucks. This solution was identified at a workshop hosted by IGPA/Takamul. After the governor’s approval in line with decentralized regulations, the Water Directorate started selling the unserviceable assets and used the proceeds to purchase spare parts for water trucks and maintenance expenses. The directorate is in the process of selling about 16 various assets.

Ninewa PED and Water Directorate solve water problem. The quality and flow of drinking water in some parts of Ninewa has significantly improved through the joint efforts of the PED and Water Directorate to solve the turbidity and water flow problems at the Dinada water source. The Water Directorate created an earth fill dam and cleaned the quarries surrounding the water intake, solving both the turbidity and water flow problems. The governorate funded the activity and IGPA/Takamul provided technical support.

Basrah PED and CSOs collaborate to improve waste handling. IGPA/Takamul identified possible areas of collaboration between CSOs and the Basrah Governor’s Office PED including the development of health and safety guidelines for waste removers and training on proper waste handling of the Municipality Directorates’ waste collectors. IGPA/Takamul partner CSOs will train municipal workers in coordination with the PED. The PED will obtain approval for these activities and select a unit from the Basrah Municipality Directorate to benefit from these collaborations.

Najaf PED introduces “maintenance workshop on wheels.” The Najaf Municipalities Directorate, in coordination with the PED, deployed a vehicle equipped with tools as a mobile workshop to conduct on-site maintenance. The deployment is the PED’s short-term solution to fix broken vehicles in Abbasiya, a Kufa subdistrict, 30 kilometers from the city center with about 20,000 residents. Currently, the local Municipality Directorate is limited to collecting trash from 2,600 residences in eight neighborhoods. The PED was introduced by IGPA/Takamul as a governance tool to monitor and improve the performance of provincial service delivery.

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PED initiates solution to Maysan’s six-year water problem. On November 1, the Maysan Water Directorate’s engineers and technicians connected the Amarah City water pipe network to the main pipe of al-Amara al-Kabeer water treatment project. This was a preliminary step in operationalizing the water plant and providing Amarah City citizens with sufficient water supply. These centralized operations should save the directorate on maintenance costs. IGPA/Takamul supported the Maysan PED in identifying solutions to improve water services; one of these was the completion of the 16,000 m3/hr capacity generator at al-Amara al-Kabeer WTP. Construction of this project stopped in 2014 at 85 percent completion due to the financial crisis. The Maysan PED successfully advocated for the release of the $2.2 million allocated by the MOCHPW to complete this project.

Developing a functional organization structure for the KRG MOE

The Project began working on improving the subscription process for electricity services in the KRG. IGPA/Takamul met with the General Directorate for Distribution to discuss simplifying the process for paying electricity service fees, enhancing customers’ awareness of new electricity fees, and conducting training and communication initiatives related to the benefits of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation.

Simplifying the process for paying electricity service fees in the KRG

IGPA/Takamul met with the General Directorate for Distribution to understand the process for paying electricity service fees and discuss ways of simplifying this process, as well as enhancing customers’ awareness of the electricity fee schedule. IGPA/Takamul also plans to conduct training and communication initiatives related to the benefits of utilizing renewable energy, and the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation.

Support service delivery management and improvement at the district level

Building the capacity of the new service units in the Hamdaniya District, Ninewa. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul completed the assistance package for Ninewa Plains. The assistance included various activities tailored to support the development goals and governance improvements of Hamdaniya District. The assistance package included:

• Developing the Hamdaniya Investment Plan for inclusion in the overall provincial development plan prepared by the Provincial Planning and Development Council and the Ninewa Investment Commission • Establishing, organizing, staffing, and building the capacity of six new units at the Hamdaniya District Mayor’s Office, namely: Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Unit; Financial Unit; Information Technology and Archiving Unit; Consultancy Unit; Performance Evaluation Unit; and the Citizen Service Desk • Capacity building activities on public finance, communications and advocacy, change management, planning, conducting surveys and case studies, and technical support to governance support groups such as the social accountability group (SAG), technical working group (TWG), and accountability platforms.

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• BAGHDAD SCALES UP TOP RE-ENGINEERING SUCCESS

Baghdad’s al-Nasir Wa Salam Municipality Directorate presented, as a model, the successful outcomes such as the maintenance of residual compacting vehicles, controlling and refilling of swamps, and converting waste areas into parks and playgrounds to all Municipality Directorates in Baghdad.

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INSIGHT

DILSHAD ZEBARI Head, Citizen Complaints Department Ninewa

“The Citizen Complaints Department was a small division called Citizens Affairs and had only one employee. Not surprisingly, it took a long time for citizens’ feedback to reach the governor or concerned offices. Because of this, people stopped submitting complaints altogether. Now, we have a full department with four sections: Complaints, Women, Follow-up, and Administration.

To make the department more effective, the Ninewa Governorate installed hotlines to receive complaints in addition to creating an online complaints window on the governorate’s official website. Citizens could likewise directly lodge complaints with government departments and district and subdistrict offices, giving citizens several options to communicate with the government.

IGPA/Takamul was responsible for establishing the Citizen Complaints Department. Through a workshop, I learned how to handle complaints and provide solutions. I also became acquainted with the staff of the complaints offices and departments in other governorates and learned their techniques.

I joined an IGPA online training during the [COVID-19] lockdown, but I prefer in-person workshops as I can personally interact with others and exchange experiences and learn from each other.

Thank you, USAID and IGPA for helping the Iraqis and the people of Ninewa in particular. I hope you will also conduct a training to educate people about filing a complaint and asserting their rights. I hope to attend more in-depth trainings on handling citizen complaints and strategies in resolving complaints.”

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RESULT 1.3: Enhance regulatory and procedural certainty to attract private sector investment

Supporting Public-Private Partnership in the GOI

IGPA/Takamul provided technical assistance to build the capacity of federal and local government staff in utilizing PPPs as a mechanism for improving the delivery of services, especially those related to water, SWM, and electricity. The Project also reviewed the current legal framework that governs PPPs in Iraq to determine if there are gaps and needed reforms.

The PPP draft legislation prepared by the Council of Representatives’ (COR) Finance Committee with assistance from IGPA/Takamul, passed the first reading in Parliament in September 2019 and the second reading in November 2019. During this quarter, IGPA/Takamul continued its advocacy efforts among members of parliamentary Committees for Economy and Investment, Finance, and Integrity to pass the PPP legislation into law. As part of these advocacy activities, IGPA/Takamul held two workshops: one at Parliament held in December 2020 presided over by the deputy speaker and attended by more than 15 COR members and the other with GOI entities such as the MOP, Ministry of Finance, and National Investment Commission (NIC) to modify and finalize the draft law for the vote.

MEMBERS OF THE IRAQI PARLIAMENT REVIEW THE DRAFT PPP LEGISLATION

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Supporting Public Private Partnership in the KRG

IGPA/Takamul continues to support the KRG Ministry of Planning (MOP) on the development of its PPP and Public Investment Management (PIM) programs. IGPA/Takamul provided inputs to the definition and scope of the PPP and PIM programs and also the institutional and regulatory frameworks through which these programs will be delivered and governed.

IGPA/Takamul’s approach to supporting the PPP program recognizes the requirements needed to make the program sustainable and also the time horizon over which program maturity and impacts must be considered. The Project will support the program by expanding capability and awareness within the KRG, seamlessly integrating PPP within the KRG’s wider planning and decision making and building investor confidence and interest in the KRG market.

IGPA is refining, in conjunction with the cabinet secretary, the drafting of an enabling bylaw for the program and preparatory work continues on an overarching regulation for the program.

The draft bilingual PPP manual which will support the emerging processes and responsibilities under the program will be subject to consultation process with line ministries to refine its content and create the foundation of the ongoing capacity building program.

Pilot project initiative. The KRG team is refining the pilot program methodology and selection criteria. The pilots will inform the draft regulation and wider process improvements to complement the consultations program scheduled to start in the next quarter. The proposed approach for the pilot projects’ structure is under discussion with the KRG. The suggested methodology and evaluation arrangements will provide practical, real environment learning to inform the relevant stakeholders about the ongoing development of regulatory and delivery frameworks. It will also serve to further inform near term capacity building and knowledge transfer requirements.

PPP Unit. Preparations for the PPP Unit have been accelerated and include proposed organizational structuring and functional analysis, job description reviews, and detailing more than 60 principal standard operating procedures. IGPA/Takamul continues to work with the MOP team on determining the approach to resourcing the unit and refining governance arrangements. The PPP Unit will be the primary KRG entity responsible for the execution of the PPP program.

A series of one-on-one sessions has begun under the leadership of the PPP Unit to build the technical awareness and confidence of staff. This is being carried out in tandem with ongoing design and configuration work with the unit.

Supporting the legislation of a national SWM law

Currently, there are three versions of draft SWM laws but each one fails in some respect to meet national requirements. IGPA/Takamul’s immediate focus will be placed on Law 133, 1996; Law 13, 2001; and the draft SWM Law, 2016 to determine areas of overlap and redundancies as well as existing gaps that affect the delivery of solid waste services at the local level. IGPA/Takamul’s task is to recommend key legal reforms to improve the SWM system, clarify the roles of different players in the delivery of solid waste services, and address overlaps and duplications.

On December 14, IGPA/Takamul participated in a meeting called by Baghdad Amanat to discuss their comments on the draft SWM law to clarify issues raised and the tasks of the Baghdad Amanat. Some of the key comments discussed included amending operational definitions such as municipal waste

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 19 and waste storage, amendments to the validity of the law, and including the tasks of the Baghdad Municipality in waste management in a separate article under “ministries and agencies responsible for solid waste management.”

On December 21, the Ministry of Construction and Housing, Municipalities and Public Works (MOCHMPW) discussed the comments of the Baghdad Amanat and the Ministry of Health and Environment (MOHE) on the draft SWM law and updated the draft law accordingly. The director of the MOCHMPW’s Environment Department agreed on most of the comments made and stressed the importance of coordination between Baghdad Amanat and the municipal entities on the one hand, and the MOHE on the other, to align plans for the various stages of waste management.

On December 22, representatives of the Baghdad Municipalities Directorates thoroughly reviewed and updated the draft SWM legislation and discussed the recent notes proposed by Baghdad Amanat and the MOHE. The review was in preparation for the meeting at the Iraqi Parliament with the relevant committees. The manager of the Baghdad Municipalities Directorates suggested adding to the draft law representatives from each governorate as members of the National Center for Solid Waste Management.

Facilitating local and foreign investments

The National Investment Commission (NIC) is Iraq’s investment promotion agency responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign and local investments in the country. According to Law No. 13 Article 32b, the NIC plays an important role in facilitating public-private partnerships in Iraq by confirming that investment partners are eligible for investment project benefits. Benefits include exemptions of customs, taxes, and governmental fees as well as simplified registration and licensing procedures. The NIC is one of IGPA/Takamul’s key partners in activities that aim to leverage the use of public-private partnerships as a mechanism of improving the delivery of services in Iraq.

As part of IGPA/Takamul’s support in promoting investment in Iraq, the Project is providing technical assistance to six Provincial Investment Commissions (PICs) in Baghdad, Najaf, Anbar, Wasit, Ninewa, and Basrah, as well as to the National Investment Commission. The Project’s support focuses on developing the PICs’ capacity to develop and implement business enabling environment programs and integrate their activities and planning more fully with the National Investment Commission. The six local commissions welcomed this much-needed initiative coming at a time when diversification of the economy at the national and local levels is crucial.

IGPA presented the findings of the assessment of the provincial investment landscapes and economic profile which were conducted in the previous months. These were accepted by the governorates of Anbar, Basrah, and Ninewa. During this reporting period, the said provinces formed their respective task forces to work with IGPA to propose activities to address organizational needs. The task forces will lead in analyzing challenges in human resources, marketing, and the legal framework, as well as designing capacity building programs to respond to the overall needs of the commission. The task force will also lead in conducting sessions to analyze the Investment Law.

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SUCCESS STORY THE WATER DIRECTORATE BUILDING IN MOSUL CITY, GOVERNMENT CAPACITY NINEWA PROVINCE

Ninewa PED addresses distress

calls of contract workers

With the country’s economy hampered by the Governorate, including to a member of the Iraqi pandemic and plummeting oil prices, Ninewa has Parliament’s Service Committee to request action been struggling to pay 1,830 contractual daily- from a higher level. wage employees of the Water Directorate for months at a time throughout 2019 and 2020. Liqa’ The ministry subsequently responded and Al Sarraf, a programmer at the Ninewa Water disbursed the 2019 salaries for the employees. Directorate, told IGPA, “For months, the Ninewa Governorate also earmarked an amount directorate was unable to secure salaries due to for 2020 salaries. As a result, all 1,830 employees the lack of funds from the ministry and challenges have been paid their full 2019 salaries and are with the transfer of the directorate’s management awaiting the release of those for 2020. from the ministry to the governorate. Our

salaries were abruptly frozen, leaving us empty- Ninewa Governorate’s Performance handed and our savings depleted.” Evaluation Department (PED) steps

in to facilitate payment for 1,830 Maan Jasim, Ninewa’s PED Manager, said that with contractual workers whose salaries the pandemic and the multiple concerns faced by have been suspended for months. the local government, employee salary payments became low on the priority list. “This is why it becomes really important to voice your concerns For Thamir Atiya, a daily cash pay operator at and bring your complaints to the right Ninewa Water Directorate and an internally department,” he added. displaced person (IDP) from Baaj District, PED’s intervention allowed him to pay the tuition fees Contacting the right department indeed solved for his evening studies. “We now have an account the issue. Liqa’ and her colleagues reached out to in the Ministry of Finance, and it is expected that Mr. Jasim who listened to their complaint and we will receive our salaries every month,” he promised to raise their concerns to the Ninewa shared.

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OBJECTIVE 2: IMPROVED PROVINCIAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Improved Public Financial Management (PFM) is the foundation of IGPA/Takamul’s approach to strengthen the governance of provincial and national government institutions that perform essential functions impacting the delivery of basic services such as water, electricity, and SWM. IGPA’s main areas of support implemented under Objective 2 include PFM initiatives for local revenue generation and collection, planning and budgeting, financial reporting, and oversight and monitoring. This workstream implements PFM interventions in key national GOI and KRG ministries including the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Planning (MOP) and the 15 non-Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) provinces and four KRI provinces in an integrated approach with Objectives 1, 3, and 4.

A key focus for Objective 2 during the first quarter of FY2021 was to help prepare the PFM Law regulations which will provide the foundation for PFM practices and processes now for the next budget cycle for FY2022. Objective 2 also finalized PFM toolkits for local revenue collection and management, budgeting, and financial reporting to introduce international best practices in the provincial government to strengthen fiscal decentralization. These toolkits are important for ensuring the sustainability of Objective 2’s training and capacity building activities. IGPA also finalized the development of a Public Investment Management framework and guidelines which were approved by the KRG MOP for implementation. These will assist the MOP to select viable small and large capital projects and oversee their implementation at the national and provincial level for improved service delivery. IGPA also built the capacity of the provincial Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorates (AFAD) and self-funded directorates (i.e., water, sewerage, municipality) in using a working model and templates for preparing a basic program and performance budget for MOF’s 2021 budget for the first time.

Another important milestone occurred when the KRG’s Minister of Finance and Economy (MOFE) issued an approval letter for IGPA to implement PFM strengthening initiatives with the KRI provincial

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 22 finance and accounting units. This signaled the start of much needed PFM technical support to the MOFE and the KRI provincial finance and accounting units to improve budgeting and financial management processes and procedures.

RESULT 2.1: Strengthen capacities of provincial Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorates (AFAD) and support their conversion into fully operational financial management offices

Supporting the implementation of a cost recovery model for planning and budgeting

During this reporting period, IGPA completed the requirements for this activity which involves expanded costs recovery model work for the KRG Ministry of Electricity MOE), Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism (MOMT), and for the General Directorate for Water and Sewerage as well as for the Water, Municipality, and Sewerage Directorates of Anbar, Basrah, Babil, Baghdad, and Ninewa. This involved preparing the activity scope of work, conducting market research for qualified vendors, and financing the activities for the expanded cost recovery model for these governmental entities as a pilot. This activity is building on a Year 3 workplan activity that introduced a basic cost recovery model that will be expanded to improve the quality of the data underlying the model, develop a sustainability plan, and link the cost recovery model to more effective utility management and operations for the service delivery units.

Building capacity of AFAD, decentralized, and self-funded directorates on public financial management

IGPA/Takamul raises awareness of key PFM law provisions among governorates. During the reporting period, IGPA focused on building awareness of the key PFM law provisions related to local revenue generation, financial management, accounting and reporting, and oversight and monitoring for provincial governments. To do so, IGPA conducted three PFM law awareness workshops in Erbil, Baghdad, and Basrah for 72 AFAD managers and legal directors of and advisors to the Governor’s Office. Participants from 14 provinces—Diyala, Salah al-Din, Baghdad, Ninewa, Anbar, Najaf, Karbala, Babil, Wasit, Qadisiya, Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Maysan, and Basrah attended the workshops. The Project reviewed key provisions of the PFM Law No. 6, 2019 and the link between certain provisions of Law 6 and Law 21, 2008 on administrative and fiscal decentralization.

The feedback and notes provided by the provincial authorities during these workshops were consolidated for the two-day working session IGPA facilitated for key stakeholders from Council of Ministers’ Secretariat (COMSec), the COR, HCCPSec, the MOF, and provincial governments (three governors from Wasit, Baghdad, and Diwaniya and five AFAD directors from Basrah, Najaf, and Anbar) to discuss and resolve key provincial legislative and budget issues.

IGPA briefed governorates on planned PFM support to launch Year 4 work plan activities. During the reporting period, IGPA presented the project’s 2020-2021 planned PFM technical assistance to most of the governorates including Baghdad, Babil, Anbar, Karbala, Diwaniya, Najaf, Muthanna, Basrah, Dhi Qar, Wasit, Salah al-Din, and Maysan. The purpose of the briefings was to share the Project’s training and capacity building plan and to solicit feedback and input from the

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beneficiaries prior to launching the Year 4 work plan activities. This is important to ensure buy-in and support from the provincial governments and to build on existing working relationships and develop new working relationships as the Project expands its outreach and communication to other provinces that were not previously targeted in Year 3.

As an example, during the 2020-2021 briefing session for Najaf Governorate’s AFAD director and staff, the director noted that one of the governorate’s priorities is to improve the self-funded directorates’ (i.e. water and municipality) budget preparation to meet MOF requirements. They requested IGPA’s assistance in this area. IGPA developed guidelines and a worksheet template that the self-funded directorates can use to prepare a multi-year program and performance budget. The Project also conducted three workshops for nine provinces to train and build capacity to follow the guidelines and use the worksheet template to prepare the FY2021 budget. This assistance enabled the self-funded directorates to respond to an October 2020 letter from the MOF requesting the directorates to submit their annual budgets for review and consideration in accordance with MOF requirements.

Enhancing skills of AFAD and local entities on financial management and reporting using worksheet tools

IGPA facilitated provincial budget and legislatives issues working sessions with key GOI stakeholders. As part of IGPA’s ongoing capacity-building support to the GOI to implement the PFM Law and strengthen fiscal decentralization in the provinces, IGPA facilitated working meetings from December 18-19 with high level officials from the COM; COR; MOF; governors of Wasit, Baghdad, and Qadisiya; and five AFAD managers of Basrah, Anbar, Babil, Qadisiya, and Najaf. The sessions clarified provincial budget and legislation approvals without the provincial councils in place; federal revenue sharing with provinces; continued administrative, financial, and management training; and capacity building of provincial officials and staff.

STAFF OF AFAD AND SELF FUNDED DIRECTORATES FROM BABIL, NAJAF, AND WASIT GOVERNORATES PARTICIPATE IN A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP ON PREPARING PROGRAM AND USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 24 PERFORMANCE BUDGETS FOR PROVINCIAL SELF- FUNDED DIRECTORATES.

As a result of the working sessions, the key stakeholders agreed to grant governors direct authority to approve budgets for self-funded directorates, to activate the commission to monitor federal revenue sharing in provinces, and to clarify the federal revenue provisions of the PFM law in the regulations currently being drafted by the government.

The main agreements of the key stakeholders to address critical provincial legislative and budget issues because of the working session included:

• Provincial budget approval. Until the provincial councils are reactivated, the stakeholders agreed that the provinces can send their annual proposed budgets directly to the MOF to be discussed and included in the draft federal budget. • Activating the committee to monitor federal revenues transferred to provinces. During the workshop, the head of HCCPSec, Kadhim Alsahlani, and the head of the Regions and Provinces Committee of the COR, Sherwan Jamal, agreed to meet with the governors to discuss how to activate this committee. A working session will be held with the HCCPSec, the COR Regions and Provinces Committee, governors, Economic and Financial Affairs division of COMSec, and the COR Financial Committee to discuss how to activate the committee and develop a plan for doing so. • Clarify PFM Law (Article 29) Local Revenue Provisions. The key stakeholders agreed that Article 29 and the provision related to 50% of federal revenues to be shared with the provinces needs to be clarified and then specified in the PFM Law regulations. The MOF will ensure that Article 29 regarding federal revenue sharing provisions is clarified in the PFM Law regulations. • Governor’s budget approval authority. Dr. Ahmed Abdulkareem al-Ma'aeni, Chair of the Legal Committee and Drafting PFM Law Regulations Committee of COMSec, suggested that the governors send him an official letter requesting the authority to approve the annual budget of the self-funded directorates and he would grant it to them. After the workshop, the HCCPSec agreed to prepare the letter on behalf of the governors and to send it to Dr. Ma’aeni for his action. • Training and capacity building of provincial staff. The stakeholders agreed that there is a need for continuous administrative and financial management training and capacity building of the provincial managers and staff. Ms. Sahar of the MOF mentioned that there will be training courses by the MOF’s Financial and Accounting Training Center. IGPA has also conducted training and capacity building of provincial staff and will continue to do so. IGPA will follow up with the governorates and AFADs on identifying additional administrative, financial, and management training needs to consider. • PFM Law regulations drafting finalization. The core committee drafting the regulations will hold one-on-one meetings beginning in mid-January 2021 with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Ministry of Trade (MOT), MOP, and MOLSA for their inputs to the final draft of the PFM Law regulations. Budget preparation workshops for provincial service delivery departments. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul conducted three regional workshops for nine provinces (Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Maysan, Wasit, Najaf, Babil, Anbar, Baghdad, and Ninewa) on preparing program and performance budgets for service delivery directorates. Seventy-two participants from planning, accounts, and budget divisions of the AFADs and water, municipality, and sewerage directorates

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INSIGHT

RABAR SIDDIQ Deputy Minister Finance & Economy KRG

Public Financial Management Law

“We look forward to having our own public finance law like the PFM Law that was passed by the Government of Iraq. There is a lot of convergence between the GOI and the KRG, but as an autonomous region, we have a different governmental configuration and certain exclusive powers. The PFM Law can be adapted for the KRG, and I believe this law will help settle our issues with the federal government.

We will cooperate with IGPA/Takamul in drafting a PFM Law for the KRI, which could be sponsored by the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, or the Parliament.

These working meetings [referring to the series of meetings conducted by IGPA] are necessary to develop instructions to implement the PFM Law. Looking back, it would have been better, if during the drafting of the law, there was already a coordination between the GOI and the KRG as our governmental setups are different. The KRI enjoys a certain financial and economic autonomy and this requires a different set of guidelines.”

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 26 attended the two-day workshops for an overview on program and performance budgeting for provincial self-funded directorates.

IGPA trained the participants on how to use an Excel worksheet tool following guidelines developed by the Project to prepare program and performance budgets in accordance with the MOF requirements for annual budget preparation. The participants formed working groups to develop programs and activities with the estimated costs related to their service-delivery directorates. IGPA will conduct additional workshops for the remaining six provinces and follow up sessions in January 2021 to support the provinces to prepare the draft budget and submit it to the MOF for review and consideration.

Anbar AFAD adopts budget monitoring tool. During the reporting period, IGPA demonstrated the budget execution monitoring reporting tool that it developed for provincial AFADs and the decentralized directorates to the Anbar AFAD Manager. The worksheet tool lets the finance unit create monthly reports that track how much the governorate has spent and the operational budget balance to avoid exceeding the total budget for the year. The AFAD and the Governor’s Office can use the reports to closely track spending. As a result of the meeting and demonstration, the AFAD Financial Planning Director agreed to adopt the tool for budget execution monitoring moving forward.

Improving fixed assets tracking and reporting at the provincial level

The non-KRI and KRI provincial units have no accurate recording systems or databases for registering fixed assets. IGPA is developing and implementing an intranet database system to register fixed assets in the provincial AFAD and stock departments for Anbar, Basrah, Babil, Baghdad, and Ninewa provinces. IGPA is also developing an offline system to register the fixed assets of the KRG’s provincial finance and accounting units, the finance departments of the Water and Sewerage Directorate and other relevant directorates under the KRG’s MOMT, and the Ministry of

IGPA AFAD ADVISOR DEMONSTRATES THE BUDGET EXECUTION MONITORING REPORTING TOOL IGPA DEVELOPED TO THE SULAIMANIYA GOVERNORATE’S FINANCE UNIT.

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Electricity’s relevant directorates. These registries list all the fixed assets a public institution owns. The fixed assets registry also tracks the book value and depreciation of public assets and verifies the status of each fixed asset. The fixed asset registry database information is used to prepare the operating budget for each department.

During this reporting period, IGPA worked with the Anbar, Basrah, and Ninewa AFADs, select decentralized directorates, and KRG ministries to agree on the requirements and desired features for a proposed provincial fixed asset registry. This included understanding the accounting system currently used by the provinces which will be the basis for developing the registry, the current method of registering assets, and tracking and calculating depreciation of governmental assets. IGPA will provide technical support by developing a proper system and training. The registry will help the Anbar, Basrah, and Ninewa Governorates; KRG ministries; and provincial units to manage their fixed assets more efficiently.

Enhancing knowledge and skills of financial and accounting staff on budgeting and financial management

During the reporting period, IGPA supported the Erbil, Sulaimaniya, and Halabja governorates to prepare an annual budget calendar for the budget preparation process. IGPA worked with the Governorate Accounts Directorate and Investment Budget and Operating Budget Managers to prepare the budget calendar. The calendar is used to show the key steps and dates for budget planning, preparation, execution, and reporting based on the PFM Law 6, 2019. The calendar also helps the governorate understand the timeframe for the annual budget process for capacity building in planning and budgeting.

Additionally, IGPA met with the KRG MOFE’s Minister Awat Janab and his deputy, Mr. Rabar Mohammed, to gain their approval for PFM strengthening activities planned for the KRI provincial finance and accounting units. The KRG MOFE issued an approval letter for IGPA to start working on this activity. The IGPA PFM team will begin next quarter.

RESULT 2.2: Support the development of federal oversight mechanisms, such as financial audit procedures, of provinces’ finances

Improving the capacity of AFADs and decentralized units in efficient internal audit

IGPA/Takamul met with the head of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit’s (FBSA) training unit to tailor Project support to FBSA’s existing training capacity. The FBSA training unit has approximately 180-190 trainers and offers a wide range of subjects, including technical and soft skills and advanced internal auditing. The unit is equipped with dedicated training rooms that can seat between 20 and 80 delegates. With the pandemic, FBSA has been conducting online training. IGPA is exploring the possibility of leveraging the FBSA staff and facilities to deliver internal audit training to improve the capacity of AFADs and decentralized units.

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(SECOND FROM RIGHT) MR. RAFEL KHUDAIR YASEEN, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL BOARD OF SUPREME AUDIT, WITH IGPA INTERNAL AUDIT TEAM DISCUSS HOW TO SUPPORT THE FBSA’S VISION AND PLAN FOR GOVERNMENT INTERNAL AUDITORS.

Enhancing the capacity of the KRG Board of Supreme Audit in public sector financial auditing

To determine how best it can support the Kurdistan Board of Supreme Audit (KBSA), IGPA met with the KBSA chairman to discuss the challenges it faces. The chairman shared that, in addition to the absence of Budget Laws for a number of years, key challenges for the KBSA include obtaining access to certain ministries, the inability to obtain key financial information necessary to perform some audits, and a general lack of communication and transparency between the federal and Kurdistan Board of Supreme Audit offices in Erbil and Sulaimaniya. He also mentioned the absence of feedback on the various reports they submit to the president, the prime minister, and the parliament, which would help them improve their strategy and performance, and shortcomings in the governance structure for KBSA, with some key oversight roles being vacant.

RESULT 2.4: Enhance budget-cycle planning, development and execution against decentralized expenditure assignments

Supporting the COMSec, MOF, MOP, and FBSA in preparing PFM Law regulations

The GOI enacted the PFM Law in August 2019 to lay the foundation needed for the national, regional, and provincial governments to adopt and institutionalize PFM practices in budgeting, financial management and accounting, debt management, oversight and monitoring, and transparency to strengthen the nation’s economic and financial systems. By 2020, the GOI had not yet prepared the instructions required to guide all levels of government to effectively implement the law. As part of IGPA’s capacity building support to the GOI in PFM strengthening, the Project facilitated and

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supported key stakeholders from the government including the FBSA, the COM’s Economic Affairs Committee, and the MOF to discuss the law’s provisions and begin drafting the regulations.

First, IGPA facilitated a workshop from September 16-18 with key stakeholders to address provincial budget and legislative issues related to the law. Twenty-nine representatives attended including those from the COM, COR, HCCPSec, and the MOF and governors or deputy governors (from Baghdad, Wasit, Qadisiya, and Ninewa) and AFAD directors (from Anbar, Babil, Basrah, Qadisiya, and Najaf). The two-day working session allowed provincial and federal officials to openly discuss the PFM Law 6 and Law 21, provincial budgets and legislative approvals, and revenue maximization—issues that affect local service provision for citizens.

On the second day of the sessions, participants reached an understanding and agreement enabling the governors to approve self-funded directorates’ annual budgets, to activate a COR committee that monitors federal revenue sharing in the provinces, and to clarify federal revenue sharing for the provinces in the regulations currently being drafted.

IGPA facilitated the second round of working sessions from October 29-31 to allow high-level government officials to review the first draft of the PFM law regulations prepared by the MOF. A total of 22 representatives from the COM, COR, federal and KRG finance ministries, FBSA, and the federal MOP participated. The participants openly discussed and marked up the first draft of the instructions which focused on the roles and responsibilities of Ministries of Planning and Finance under the law and general PFM law provisions. Four KRG MOFE officials participated led by Finance and Economy deputy secretary, four members of the COR Finance Committee, and the Legal Director of the MOP. The core committee extended invitations to these key stakeholders to ensure their input was provided for the PFM regulations and that they were actively engaged in the process.

The core committee will convene separate meetings with the other key stakeholders to discuss the relevant provisions for the draft regulations. After the separate stakeholder meetings with feedback and input, the core committee under the MOF will finalize the draft regulations and submit them to the COR for review and approval. Once the regulations are finalized, the MOF, with support from IGPA, will conduct PFM law implementation awareness workshops for ministries and provinces.

Wasit governor calls to expedite PFM law implementation. During the reporting period, IGPA briefed Wasit Governor Dr. Mohammed Jamil al-Mayahi, the AFAD Director, and senior staff on the Project’s Year 4 planned activities and integrated approach. The governor raised the importance of expediting the instructions to facilitate the implementation of the PFM law to increase local revenue generation for services and development projects. Additionally, IGPA presented the materials for the upcoming 2021 budget preparation for self-funded directorates to the AFAD director and staff in advance of the workshop scheduled for the last week of December.

Developing a systematic capital investment budgeting approach for the KRG MOP, ministries, and governorates

The quality of public infrastructure is essential for sustainable and equitable economic growth, and the benefits of prioritizing investment in infrastructure depend on how it is managed. A strong PIM system leads to clarification of a government’s efforts to make public investment more efficient. The benefits of a strong PIM system include comprehensiveness, accessible, practical capital investment needs being addressed, and stronger coordination and follow up support by development partners.

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The key features of the PIM system involve planning, allocating, and implementing priority capital investments.

As such, IGPA developed a PIM framework model (see ANNEX 6) and guidelines to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the KRG PIM system and to improve the related technical procedures and processes of implementing agencies during a project’s life cycle. The guidelines developed by the Project aim to achieve the following objectives: • Assist implementing agencies in designing viable projects to meet development plans and needs; • Assess feasibility of the project, and if appropriate, prepare project designs; • Provide sufficient information to ensure that decisions are well-informed; and • Ensure that any significant project risks are identified and mitigation measures put in place.

The guidelines are a useful tool for projects financed and procured through both traditionally implemented projects and those implemented through joint ventures and PPPs.

During the reporting period, IGPA joined with the KRG MOP’s Director General of Capital Investment Budget and the Deputy Minister of Planning Zagros Fatah to discuss the current capital investment budget cycle and calendar in the KRI. The Project is helping the KRG align its current capital budgeting process with a more formalized PIM based on best practice, allowing for more effective and efficient service delivery. The director general emphasized the importance of this alignment as the KRG has not followed the standard capital budgeting processes since the 2014 budget crisis. As such, IGPA prepared standard guidelines for an enhanced PIM process to enable the KRG to apply best practices, attract investment in capital assets, and align its budget practices with the federal government in accordance with the PFM law.

Additionally, IGPA confirmed its support for the ministry’s planned capital investment project system and process improvements with the federal MOP Government Investment Director, Adeel Abud Zaid. The ministry requested the Project’s continued support for building the capacity of line ministries and provinces in using the Iraq Development Management System to track and monitor capital project implementation and for planned upgrades to the system during 2021.

The Planning deputy minister suggested the PIM guidelines be applied and rolled out across service delivery line ministries to align and unify procedures and content in the PIM process. He explored options for strategically applying the PIM framework to coordinate medium-term development and budgeting plans. He also shared that the application of the Kurdistan Development Management System as a transparent knowledge-sharing platform across line ministries could greatly impact the effectiveness of capital investment budget planning and coordination in the KRI. Ultimately, he approved the PIM concept, approach, and guidelines that IGPA developed for the regional government.

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Key GOI stakeholders review PFM Law Regulations

As part of the support to the Government of Iraq to implement the Public Financial Management (PFM) Law, IGPA held a second round of working meetings on October 28-31 with 23 high level officials from the Council of Ministers, Federal Board of Supreme Audit, federal and KRG Ministries of Finance, the Council of Representatives’ Finance Committee, and the Ministry of Planning.

Promoting the PFM Law provisions among governorates

On November 25-26, IGPA/Takamul held two PFM Law awareness workshops in Erbil and Baghdad for 41 Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorate managers, Governor’s Office legal directors, and advisors to governors from 11 provinces – Diyala, Salah al-Din, Baghdad, Ninewa, Anbar, Kirkuk, Najaf, Karbala, Babil, Wasit, Qadisiya.

The Project reviewed key provisions of the PFM Law No. 6, 2019 and the link between certain provisions of Law 6 and Law 21, 2008, on administrative and fiscal decentralization.

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Advising the KRG on payroll management and eService's initiatives

During the reporting period, the KRG’s biometric registration resulted in the suspension of illegal salary payments to 16,505 individuals. The entire KRG payroll consisted of 1,350,000 employees but was reduced to 1,251,451 after the biometric registration. The spokesman suggested that the 53,549 that did not register could have been ghost employees or workers illegally receiving double compensations. The biometric registration is part of the Identity Management System (IMS) supported by IGPA under the KRG reforms. IGPA played a significant role in the design and implementation of the biometric registration of the IMS which streamlines the payroll process and HR records of the civil service sector.

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SUCCESS STORY GOVERNMENT EFFECTIVENESS

Implementing a

landmark law

Empowering the governors to

approve budgets for

decentralized service COUNCIL OF MINISTERS directorates will impact the SECRETARIAT’S LEGAL DIRECTOR quality and speedy delivery of DR AHMED ABDULKARIM AL

local services MA’AENI AT THE IGPA-ORGANIZED MEETING TO DEBATE THE LAW’S GUIDELINES

In 2019, the Iraqi Parliament promulgated Law No. 6, IGPA also invited the Kurdistan Regional Government to known as the Public Financial Management (PFM) Law. participate in the meeting as the law will impact the self- Local governments welcomed the decree. However, it governing region. In addition, IGPA also conducted will require clear and detailed implementing regulations awareness workshops for all 15 federal provinces to before it can bring about the intended benefits. familiarize them with the PFM Law. Certain provisions in the PFM Law are linked to Law 21 of 2008 that contains Dr. Ahmed Abdulkareem al Ma'aeni, Legal Director for the decentralization mandate, and these provisions need the Council of Ministers’ Secretariat and chair of the to be harmonized. committee appointed by the prime minister to draft the PFM Law regulations, said: “The PFM Law is the In December 2020, the first draft of the PFM Law framework for preparing the country’s budget. We will implementing guidelines was developed. Although this need implementing guidelines to clearly spell out how has yet to be finalized, officials are applauding the this will be done, specify the roles of the different decision to give governors the authority to approve the ministries such as finance and planning and the roles of budget, transfer allocations, and raise funds for governors, including funding decisions for devolved directorates and offices that are now under their agencies. These guidelines are paramount, and thankfully management. IGPA initiated these working meetings to get all the key “This will make a big impact on our ability to respond to actors in one place so we can discuss, debate, and agree citizens’ needs and will help us achieve stability in on the different suggested ideas.” operations and effective programming,” Wasit Governor The PFM Law aims to enable the Government of Iraq to Mohammed Al-Mayahi said. improve the economic and fiscal status of the country as The clear beneficiary of this decision are the citizens, well as improve governance, transparency, and who will be assured that basic services such as accountability in PFM through institutionalizing best electricity, water, or garbage management will be fully practices and efficient systems. funded and will not be affected by uncertainties at the national level. USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 34

OBJECTIVE 3: STRENGTHENED MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT OF SERVICE DELIVERY AND PUBLIC EXPENDITURE

Under this objective, IGPA/Takamul works to develop good governance practices that align citizen needs with government planning and public service delivery. Particularly, the Project focuses on ensuring government transparency, accountability, and oversight of government service delivery. As such, Objective 3 develops strong relationships and partnerships with government officials, citizens groups, and partner organizations. In addition to encouraging government engagement with citizens, Objective 3 ensures underserved marginalized communities are provided equal access to services and to channels of communication with local government. Overall, these programs are designed to increase efficiency in public service delivery, empower citizen groups to advocate for change, enable government to be responsive to citizen concerns, and build citizen confidence in their government.

During this reporting period, Objective 3 worked to build sustainable and institutionalized mechanisms to facilitate government/citizen interaction with the GOI and KRG. These activities focused on integrating CSOs into the provincial public service sector and providing tools for citizens to shape the delivery of public services. They also worked to integrate CSO and citizen inputs into PEDs, Provincial Planning and Development Councils (PPDC), and crisis management cells. This quarter, the accountability platforms established within PEDs brought about public service improvements based on citizen inputs, and CSO groups worked with crisis management cells to develop crisis response plans. In addition, Objective 3 seeks to build institutionalized networks between government and citizens groups through the establishment of CSO coordination boards and work with the Council of Ministers Secretariat (COMSec) Nongovernmental Organizations Department (DNGO) as well as provincial CSO offices.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 35 Some specific examples of these efforts include:

• In Basrah, the Project facilitated the development of Women’s Empowerment Units which all service directorates were authorized to establish. The Basrah Water Directorate was the first to establish such a unit. • Working with CSO partners in Halabja and Sulaimaniya to develop provincial crisis plans. The next step is to submit them to local governments for approval and adoption. • The Project worked with local partners in Ninewa to establish a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Coordination Board. The board will coordinate activities among civil society, government, and donors. In January 2021, the Governor of Ninewa approved the establishment of the board. • Accountability Platforms were established and sustained in Sulaimaniya, Halabja, Anbar, Ninewa, and Basrah. New platforms were created in Sulaimaniya and Halabja. In Anbar, Ninewa, and Basrah, reviews of citizen satisfaction with public services were also conducted by the Accountability Platforms. • The Social Accountability Groups (SAG) continued to strengthen their relationship with local government partners by providing them, through water and SWM services case studies, with quantifiable evidence of citizen concerns with public service delivery. • The technical working group (TWG) is a semi-formal coalition of CSOs and government representatives from the Governor’s Office and Water and Municipality Directorates. Created by IGPA/Takamul in the provinces, the TWG collects and acts on citizen complaints and service delivery problem and notifies the relevant service directorates. TWGs also lead campaigns with participation from CSOs and the local governments.

CLEAN RIVERS – ONE OF THE GOALS OF THE TWG AND THE MUNICIPALITY DIRECTORATES UINSAID.GOV BASRAH IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 36

RESULT 3.1: Strengthen capacity of selected provincial institutions to establish effective citizen participation and outreach mechanisms

Improving dialogue between CSOs and NGO Directorate

A significant mechanism for institutionalizing the relationship between CSOs and the Iraqi government is the COMSec DNGO. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul supported the DNGO in the development of a CSO guidebook for the creation of provincial CSO Departments. In addition to the guidebook, IGPA/Takamul assisted in developing supplemental materials for internal and external DNGO use. The Project and the DNGO office are now reviewing capacity development programs for provincial CSO Departments. The Project also worked with the DNGO to review a pilot CSO Department in Anbar. A set of activities were identified and IGPA plans to follow on technical assistance between IGPA/Takamul, DNGO, and the Anbar CSO Department.

Supporting transparency in decentralization

The HCCPSec supports the decentralization process in Iraq. HCCPSec’s website on decentralization is a communication and reference tool on decentralization processes. IGPA/Takamul worked to develop the HCCPSec website and provides training and maintenance services to support it. During this period, the Project designed the main landing page and the structure of the website. The initial roll-out and testing will begin by February 2021.

Supporting awareness campaigns on proper waste disposal

IGPA/Takamul worked with TWGs to implement citizen-focused communication programs on the rights and responsibilities of citizens and government regarding SWM. TWGs strive for behavior change by citizens, government, and civil society and they operate in Baghdad, Babil, Basrah, Najaf, Ninewa, Wasit, Baghdad

Baghdad Amanat, and Anbar. This quarter, the TWGs conducted independent campaigns with only technical support from IGPA/Takamul both through online and door-to-door campaigns to change citizen behavior on water use and SWM. TWGs conducted 985 campaigns in Baghdad, Basrah, and Baghdad Amanat, with the GOI contributing a cost share of $1,516,900 for these projects.

In addition to these campaigns, the TWGs across Iraq have been launching initiatives to use government hotlines, social media sites, and applications such as WhatsApp to submit concerns about public service delivery. In Baghdad, the TWG conducted a campaign called #We_respond_to_you, which rehabilitated broken pipelines that provided over 500,000 citizens with access to more and/or clean water. In Basrah, the TWG urged citizens to use the Municipality Directorate’s hotline numbers, Facebook page, and WhatsApp account to send their service requests and worked on a new electronic procedure form for building or rehabilitating houses.

Strengthening the role of Provincial Women Empowerment Department

In Basrah, IGPA provided technical assistance to create Women’s Empowerment Units within public service directorates. Both IGPA/Takamul Objective 3 (oversight and accountability) and Objective 4 (equity and inclusion) contributed to these programs. Basrah municipalities and service directorates participated in capacity building events such as one from December 29 to 30. During the event,

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IGPA/Takamul provided capacity building training to the staff of these new organizations on outreach, communications, and coordinating activities with local CSOs. All service directorates were authorized to establish Women’s Empowerment Units. The Basrah Water Directorate was the first to establish such a unit.

The Equity & Inclusion team supported Objective 3 during a two-day workshop held in Basrah on December 29-30. The workshop aimed to help the Provincial Women’s Empowerment Department (PWED) to identify challenges faced by women and underserved communities and support the provision of services with a focus on the Basrah Water Commission.

Establishing Coordination Board to harmonize INGOs/CSOs efforts in Ninewa

IGPA/Takamul worked with local government and CSO partners to establish NGO Coordination Board to coordinate activities among civil society, government, and donors. Support included the development of the board’s structure, scope of work, coordination mechanisms, membership, and roles of organizations on the board. During the first half of January 2021, an administrative order was issued by the Governor of Ninewa to approve the establishment of the board including the recommendations on structure, membership, and activities as outlined by IGPA/Takamul.

Training provincial crisis cells to establish roles and mechanisms for coordinating with CSOs

The Project continued its efforts to provide capacity building programs to crisis teams and CSO partners in Halabja and Sulaimaniya. The Project assisted CSOs to develop provincial crisis plans to respond to over 17 types of crisis ranging from natural calamities, such as farm fire, drought, and earthquakes, to virus outbreaks, unemployment, immigration, domestic conflicts, terrorism, and drug addiction.

WORKSHOP FOR CSOS IN HALABJA PROVINCE TO DEVELOP CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLANS

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Developing the capacity and administrative structure of the CSO Department

During the reporting period, the Project, as an initial step, coordinated with the Basrah CSO Department to create a social media platform to promote advocacy and unify the messaging of various CSOs in the province.

Strengthening government engagement with CSOs

CSOs and the Performance Evaluation Departments (PED). The Project conducted several programs linking CSOs and PEDs. The PED was introduced by IGPA/Takamul as a governance tool to monitor and improve the performance of provincial service delivery. In Maysan, with technical assistance from IGPA/Takamul, the PED identified ways to improve water services to several neighborhoods that had faced water shortages for over six years. Once the solution was identified, the PED advocated for the release of $2.2 million in government funding to complete the project. In Baghdad, Babil, and Qadisiya, citizen surveys and performance reviews conducted by the PED led to reforms in public service provision. In Ninewa and Diwaniya, new standards for reviewing public services, developed in conjunction with IGPA/Takamul, were introduced by the PEDs.

In Ninewa and Wasit, IGPA/Takamul and its CSO partners advocated the PEDs for more engagement between the PEDs and local CSOs to institutionalize the channels of CSO engagement with governance.

CSOs and the Provincial Planning and Development Councils (PPDC). Like the work with PEDs, the Project conducted multiple activities with the PPDC in Anbar, Wasit, and Ninewa to engage CSOs in the development of provincial plans. The PPDC is an advisory group designed to provide technical consultation to the governor in drafting provincial development plans. In Anbar, the PPDC deputy head invited the CSOs Department to encourage citizens to participate in activities like budgetary priority development, service delivery performance, social cohesiveness, and development planning. In Ninewa, citizen priorities were reviewed by the Ninewa PPDC and the assistant governor and were included in the new provincial plan.

BAGHDAD AMANAT’S CAMPAIGN DISTRIBUTES COLORING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN THAT TEACH THE VALUE OF CLEANLINESS.

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INSIGHT

OMAR YASEEN Head, CSO Department “The CSO Department was Anbar established to organize and facilitate

the work of civic groups and volunteers in our province. Before the establishment of our department, the province was not quick to respond or easy to coordinate with. IGPA/Takamul brought us together and developed a communication mechanism and platform to facilitate collaboration. We also asked IGPA to train the CSOs on community outreach.

The workflow of CSOs in Anbar is much easier now because CSOs already have a system to follow. They can refer matters to us or register their organizations with us rather than with the Baghdad CSO Department. Our department issues a permit for CSO activities, and in this way their work is coordinated with us.

IGPA not only worked with the CSO Department but also with the PED, PWED and the Anbar Provincial Government to build their capacities. We would like to ask IGPA to train the CSO Department staff as most of them are newly employed.

Finally, I would like to thank the project for working in Anbar. I credit IGPA’s support has helped to successfully implement many activities here.”

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RESULT 3.2: Enhance public capability and willingness to participate in planning, monitoring, and evaluating public services

Strengthening citizen oversight and government accountability

SAGs continued to strengthen their relationship with local partners by providing quantifiable evidence of citizen concerns with public service delivery. This data is being collected through the conduct of case studies. The Basrah SAG conducted water and SWM case studies in coordination with the PED in several neighborhoods. The results of these case studies were shared with the service directorates and have led to changes that improved public services in these areas. Similar efforts in Baghdad led to public service improvement recommendations that Baghdad’s Deputy Governor directed relevant service directorates to address.

Tracking citizen complaints and government response

Accountability platforms work as a channel to bring citizens face-to-face with service directorates and promote improved governance practices within institutions. The Project worked on establishing and sustaining accountability platforms in Sulaimaniya, Halabja, Anbar, Ninewa and Basrah. New platforms were created in Sulaimaniya and Halabja. In Anbar, assistant governor shared the results of a recent survey of citizens in two districts with public service directorates to improve public services. In Ninewa and Basrah, the Accountability Platforms also conducted similar reviews of citizen satisfaction with public services.

Other support

Promoting the use of electric smart meters. On November 17, IGPA/Takamul launched online campaigns and posted two short videos on social media and local television networks targeting young families and children in the KRI. The videos advocate for power conservation and promote new smart electric meters. The videos garnered 603,920 views to date. The STOP Organization, an IGPA/Takamul partner, posted videos on social media and local Kurdistan networks for a total of four weeks. These activities are part of IGPA/Takamul’s assistance package for electricity services in the KRI. IGPA/Takamul trained the STOP Organization on behavior change communications, equipping members with skills to undertake awareness campaigns.

Improving communication skills of public servants. IGPA/Takamul and its partner Kurdistan Institute for Public Administration (KIPA) conducted six capacity building programs for 147 participants from the KRG and Kurdish CSOs. This project was designed to build the capacity of government employees and local CSOs and improve the KRG’s communication and coordination with CSOs and citizens.

IGPA/Takamul delivered the training to KIPA and government ministries between October and November 2020. The training courses focused on enhancing government performance on service delivery and accountability with specific modules on behavior change, leadership, and oversight techniques; gender equality; public relations; and planning and budgeting. Initial evaluations indicate that participants made measurable improvements in their knowledge of the topics covered in all six trainings.

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INSIGHT

LUIS MARQUS AYOB Deputy Head, Hamorabi Human Rights Organization Ninewa

“Today, IGPA is venturing into two important areas: solid waste and water services management, which are a growing problem across Iraq. As the Iraqi population increases, there is a need to engage citizens and government departments to sustain the water supply and turn to technology to identify problems and streamline complaints. Appropriate solid waste management has become more essential during the outbreak of COVID-19 and has helped us to manage even during the continuing pandemic.

We, as change agents, also focus on these two areas in our planning and engagement with the service departments and the public. If we remain consistent and build on IGPA’s work, we can achieve good results that will ripple across the country.

Thankfully, the pandemic did not disrupt our communication with IGPA, as the project moved to virtual meetings and trainings, providing us with a platform to discuss and evaluate ideas to see if they have any community viability. We are now slowly transitioning to face-to-face meetings. Last time, we suggested several project proposals to be implemented in Mosul and agreed on a proposal to provide disinfection tunnels in front of schools.”

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CIVIL SOCIETY CAPACITY SUCCESS STORY

Citizens voicing their

concerns lead to improved public services

Citizen satisfaction with public service delivery sewage networking. This affects our movement is critical to community stability and good with roads becoming blocked during rainstorms governance. Social Accountability Groups (SAG) and sewage systems are not adequate for the collect data and support citizen advocacy entire area.” campaigns to improve public service. In Basrah, the SAG recently conducted area surveys on Feedbacks from citizens gathered public service in the Al-Maaqal and Al-Mishraq in a survey by civil society Al-Qadeem area. The surveys identified citizens’ concerns with public service that were then volunteers were successfully reported to the appropriate government addressed by the government officials. This is one of multiple surveys the SAGs have conducted throughout Iraq. According to one PED representative, “The majority of citizens interviewed never submitted The SAG’s survey identified the main issues to a complaint nor know to whom it should be be a general lack of understanding of solid waste submitted. Civil society plays a key role in management practices, a dearth of waste encouraging communities to raise awareness collection points, an insufficient number of trash through this incident about the role of this containers for proper disposal, and that trash network in Basrah Province. This will help collection vehicles do not reach the entire connect citizens and governments.” community. One resident of Al-Maaqal said, “Trash collection services do not reach the The findings and recommendations from the alleys of this area. This is the first time that we SAG’s survey were shared with the Basrah were asked for our feedback regarding these Performance Evaluation Department (PED) and services. We have issues with the accumulation the local government and the SAG will continue of trash which causes illness. Some citizens have to advocate for improvements. Basrah has submitted complaints previously, but they didn’t implemented recommendations from previous receive any response.” surveys, so the SAG has hope that the same will be true this time. Another resident from Al-Mishraq stated, “This area suffers from unpaved roads and insufficient

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Restoring a stable

SAHAR QASSIM AND TA’AWN AND BASRAH water supply to al- SAG MEMBERS DISCUSS THE WATER REHABILITATION WORK. “HAVING Maqal citizens SUCCEEDED IN ADVOCATING FOR THIS MAJOR WORK, WE REALIZED WE CAN ACTUALLY DO BIG THINGS FOR OUR COMMUNITY,” DECLARED SAHAR.

Unchecked and unauthorized connections onto able to resurface roads after all the drilling is the water network in Basrah’s southern al- done, which now becomes a responsibility of Maqal area have left residents suffering water the Municipality Directorate." shortages for four years. In addition to this illegal practice, supply problems and damages to Through a collaboration with service the water network have resulted in taps not directorates, Basrah’s Ta’awn and working for hours or even days at a time. For Social Accountability Group (SAG) Um Fadhil, a mother of four, it was extremely successfully solves a water problem inconvenient and expensive as she needed to fill in Basrah’s al-Maqal a large tank and six jerrycans in reserve to Ta’awn and SAG took it upon themselves to ensure her household had enough water. “The lead the effort and coordinated with the Basrah only alternative for citizens when the water Water Directorate and Municipality Directorate supply stops is to buy water from private along with a private company. The Water trucks.” Directorate provided 6-inch pipes and replaced the damaged network. Using advocacy Makram al-Edani, head of the Operation Unit at techniques learned from IGPA’s training, Ta’awn the Water Directorate, told IGPA,"Financial approached a private contractor that had resources are often lacking and insufficient, recently completed construction projects in thereby hindering effective measures to repair Basrah to restore the streets after the water the delivery network. To address the full pipe repairs for free. spectrum of this community’s water supply needs, IGPA-trained Ta’awn [a government/civil With daily follow-up from Ta’awn and SAG for society group] and the Social Accountability each step of the piecemeal replacement of Group (SAG) collaborated with the Water water pipes and resurfacing of the road where Directorate to secure a sustainable access to an pipes were completed, a stable water supply acceptable quantity. The Water Directorate soon reached the families in al-Maqal. may provide the pipes needed, but it will not be

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Catchy chimes bring fun to

tedious task

Musical tunes announcing the arrival of garbage trucks is a refreshing change and brings comfort to residents knowing that the government works to keep the streets clean

In Wasit, mistrust between municipal services much better now. It is modern.” He told IGPA staff and citizens led to poor SWM practices that the music was a little strange at the and increased citizen frustration regarding the beginning, but it helps to know when the trash services they received. As part of an outreach vehicle is coming and makes him feel better campaign, two IGPA/Takamul partner about public services. organizations, Saqar Organization for Humanitarian Relief and Development and Monqith Mr. Waheed Hussein, a resident of al-Maymoon, Al Insan Charity Organization, worked with city said, “The sound system speakers are beautiful officials to place speakers on 60 trash collection and an indication of good service delivery.” He vehicles. The sound systems alert citizens to added that it has been a great experience, and when the trucks are in their neighborhood. he hopes it will be continued and rolled out to other neighbourhoods. Following the installation of the sound systems, IGPA and the partner organizations shared Mr. Mahdi Mohsen Abdulsadah, the head of the information about them and new procedures Damook and al-Zahraa Solid Waste with citizens in the Damok, al-Zahraa, al- Management Unit, noted that this program has Khajiyah, and al-Maymoon neighborhoods. The helped the drivers of the trash vehicles areas where the system has been used have announce their arrival. He believes citizens have seen customer satisfaction with solid waste started to recognize that the municipality is services increase dramatically and trash working to serve them and help them properly collection improve. A local resident, Mr. Ahmed dispose of their trash. Abdullah, said, “The trash collection service is

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OBJECTIVE 4: IRAQI CHANGE AGENTS SUPPORTED

During Year 4, IGPA/Takamul’s Objective 4 was merged with the equity and inclusion component under a Change Agent and Inclusion (CAI) Component team lead and staff at federal and regional levels. The CAI component is providing cross cutting Iraqi Change Agents support to all three components and ensuring equity and inclusion during the Project’s activity implementation.

Change Agents are a sustaining element of IGPA/Takamul program interventions. IGPA/Takamul develops the abilities of champions of change inside and outside of the Iraqi government institutions to lead system change, policy reform, legal reform in support of service delivery improvements at the national and local levels. Change Agents seek to ensure systematic, sustained innovations and reforms in the areas of public service delivery and financial management that IGPA/Takamul introduces at different levels (national, regional, provincial, and district) of the Iraqi government. These Change Agents, identified by each component during the implementation of IGPA activities, are expected to sustain the positive effect of IGPA’s work. In return, they receive specific training in areas related to advocacy, alliance building, leadership, and communication, as well as access to a national network of Change Agents to enable them to advocate for policy reform and budget increase at the federal level.

RESULT 4.1: Enhanced capacity of Change Agents

Engagement with the KRG Ministry of Electricity (MOE) about IGPA/Takamul, Change Agents, and the important role that they can play led to MOE nominating two representatives to serve as Change Agents.

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INSIGHT “What really distinguishes IGPA/Takamul is

that its objectives complete and re-enforce LINDA MAJED NAUOM the work of various departments. I worked Baghdad Municipalities with IGPA’s business process reengineering Directorate- Head of Planning unit team to redesign core functions at al-Jisr Baghdad Municipality Directorate. We achieved improvements in quality, output, cost, and cycle time. With the Change Agents team, we decided to select the functions that were previously redesigned to ensure consistency and continuity. Using the tools that we learned, we evaluated the targets, identified weaknesses, and proposed a solution.

More importantly, we were well-positioned to reach out to everyone when the whole province was affected by COVID-19. We chose the most suitable communication platform. In our directorate, we trained department heads on the use of this communication platform to ensure that our information-sharing modality is adjusted in accordance with the current health measures that encourage social distancing.”

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The Project continued the assessment of the training centers belonging to the GOI Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works in Baghdad and Kurdistan Institute of Public Administration. in Erbil.

The Change Agents in Basrah participated in a meeting with the District Mayor Ismael Khadim and officers of the service directorates in Abu Khaseeb District. The Change Agents stressed ongoing challenges within the district with specific reference to the increasing population and its demand on the water supply, the district’s failure to maintain the water station and water network, and a lack of community awareness regarding water consumption and access. According to the Change Agents, the capacity of the water station does not meet the increased demand and members of the public installed a water pipe network without engagement or permission from the government.

RESULT 4.2: Enhance capacity of women and vulnerable populations to represent their needs within government decision-making processes

Gender Units in the KRG

IGPA/Takamul initiated contact with the governors in Dahuk, Sulaimaniya, and Halabja to offer support for their Gender Units. On December 14, 2020, the Governor of Halabja executed a letter officially establishing the unit and authorized its three members to engage with IGPA/Takamul.

To help activate and functionalize the Sulaimaniya Gender Unit, the Project met with the Gender Unit in November and December 2020 to lay the groundwork for promoting gender equity and fostering inclusion of women’s equity issues at the provincial level. The governor has agreed to allow IGPA/Takamul to assist in operationalizing the Gender Unit and to allow the members to participate in project activities.

Gender safety audit. With the support of IGPA/Takamul, the Erbil Gender Unit conducted a Gender Safety Audit of the Darashakran Camp on December 22, 2020, due to a multitude of complaints of harassment within the refugee camp. The audit identified numerous challenges -

ERBIL’S GENDER UNIT TEAM CONDUCTS A GENDER SAFETY AUDIT IN A REFUGEE CAMP.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 48 including a non-functioning surveillance system, significant reporting of sexual harassment and abuse with no accountability for perpetrators, women failing to report from feelings of shame or from tribal constraints, lack of medicine, lack of electricity, and the non-existence of obstetrics and gynecological services. The Erbil Gender Unit is working toward finding solutions to these problems.

High Council for Women’s Affairs (HCWA). As a result of an introductory meeting with the Secretary General, Dr. Khanzad Ahmed, on December 12, the HCWA agreed to engage with the Project and requested support for the gender units in nine ministries.

PWEDs in the GOI

On December 17, COMSec, at the request of Dr. Yusra Muhsin Kareem, Director General of the Women’s Empowerment Directorate (WED), issued an order elevating the Provincial Women Empowerment Divisions/Units to the status of Department. In addition, COMSec published a statement of work outlining the legal framework for the PWEDs, their structure, roles and responsibilities, and requirement that the governors allocate funds for the PWEDs in their annual budgets. This order has resolved the lack of focus and the inertia which existed throughout the PWEDs.

Engagement with HCCPSec. The Director of the HCCPSec inquired as to whether IGPA/Takamul had or was in the process of developing a manual outlining the roles and responsibilities of governors. IGPA/Takamul previously developed a manual, but it is being reviewed and updated.

IGPA/Takamul assesses capacity and future support for the PWEDs. IGPA/Takamul met with managers of the PWED of Anbar and Baghdad to introduce the IGPA/Takamul project. The team also conducted a rapid assessment of the relationship between the PWEDs and local stakeholders including CSOs, the WED, and other PWEDs; assessed the existing referral mechanisms women rely upon to reach other service providers; clarified their reliance on gender

A 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER- BASED VIOLENCE ACTIVITY LED BY THE ANBAR PWED DEFINED ACTION STEPS THAT WERE AGREED TO BY PARTICIPANTS IN ANBAR.

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mainstreaming theories; and identified the types of activities the PWED conduct at both the community and provincial level. The Anbar PWED agreed to provide feedback on IGPA/Takamul’s recommended capacity-building training packages prior to the next coordination meeting. The Baghdad PWED agreed to share the results of their research on domestic violence during the pandemic with IGPA/Takamul.

Supporting the 16-Days of Activism. The Provincial Women Empowerment Department (PWED) in Anbar, which is an active recipient of support and capacity-building opportunities through IGPA/Takamul, hosted an event at the VTC in al-Ramadi on December 9 regarding combating gender-based violence (GBV) and the 16 Days of Activism campaign. In addition to the staff of the PWED, trainees from the VTC, representatives from CSOs such as al-Wafaa and Anbarna, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) staff, and representatives from the World University Services of Canada attended the event (30 people in total). The Anbar Satellite Channel covered the event and interviewed the manager of the Anbar PWED. The discussion included a history of the 16 Days of Activism, the situation of women and girls subjected to GBV and domestic violence, appropriate incident response, prevention mechanisms, and those who are responsible for providing support (e.g., health, legal, and financial services) to survivors of violence. Many participants identified with the presentation and remarked on the lack of access to healthcare during COVID-19, especially in al-Jazeera and al-Garbyea Districts. At the end of the event, action steps were agreed to by the participants, the Anbar PWED, and the Women’s Gathering Institute in Ramadi.

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SUPPORT TO MACROECONOMIC & GOVERNANCE REFORMS

Public Financial Management (PFM) Macroeconomic support

Support to the GOI White Paper

In early October 2020, the GOI released the White Paper for Reform, which outlined a new government reform program with five pillars aimed to diversify growth and achieve peace, stability, and a better standard of living for the Iraqi people:

• Pillar 1: Sustainable Financial Stability • Pillar 2: Strategic Macroeconomic Reform • Pillar 3: Improve Basic Infrastructure • Pillar 4: Provide Essential Services • Pillar 5: Improve Governance and the Legal and Administrative Environment In response to a request from PM Kadhimi for support from the international community, IGPA recruited additional advisors for the MOF, the lead GOI entity for many of the reforms.

Current and future IGPA activities to strengthen public financial management and enhance delivery of public services align broadly with the GOI objectives described in the white paper. The Project plans to support both short- and medium-term reforms that are critical in addressing current challenges with cash management and fluidity while setting the foundation for achieving longer term objectives. In October 2020, the Project developed a table (ANNEX 7) reflecting the various ways current IGPA support addresses the GOI’s five pillars, illustrating that IGPA is well positioned to play a leading role in supporting short- and medium-term reform priorities in 2021 and beyond.

During the last quarter, IGPA planned expanded programming to accommodate other requests related to the White Paper:

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White Paper Governance Plan. The IGPA Reforms Advisor embedded in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) began working with the white paper team at the PMO in November 2020. They helped to develop the governance plan for the implementation of the white paper reforms which is planned to be presented to the COM for approval in mid-February 2021. This governance plan will detail the roles and responsibilities of various government entities in implementing and monitoring the reform projects. Once the governance plan is approved by the COM, meetings will take place with various donor organizations that have expressed willingness to provide support.

Coordination with Potential Donor Community Involvement. GOI leadership has launched a broad consultation process with a variety of potential donors including the UK, France, Germany, the UN, the World Bank, and other international financial institutions. In light of the pre-existing support IGPA provides, the depths of the relationships already developed with key GOI entities, and the speed with which IGPA can field additional long- and short-term advisors, IGPA project advisors are positioned to help both the PMO and MOF to coordinate with donors, maximize donor resources, and minimize a duplication of efforts. This is important given the urgency with which some of the reforms must be implemented and their impacts realized.

Support to the Reform Agenda of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Although the white paper primarily focuses on issues and reforms at the federal level, IGPA programming supports similar reforms in the KRI. Ensuring that reforms are coordinated and integrated between the KRG and the GOI is a top priority for IGPA programming.

Reforms to the Industrial Bank of Iraq. In late November 2020, Minister of Finance Allawi asked IGPA to work with the Chairman of the Industrial Bank of Iraq (INDB), Mr. Bilal Sabah, to help with bank reforms. The first step was to develop an action plan for the INDB including the setup of an electronic core banking system and the audit of financial statements by an international auditing firm, which IGPA is subcontracting to Ernst and Young. Additional support will include the development of INDB’s capacity in anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism, measures that need to be taken before the bank can be accredited by the international Financial Action Task Force.

PFM Reform Initiatives

As part of this broad reform effort IGPA made significant progress on PFM activities during the reporting period, the core focus of the white paper reforms. More specifically, IGPA’s newly arrived Macroeconomic Advisor:

• Completed initial assessments and developed the PFM Reform Roadmap • Developed revised macroeconomic approaches, functions, and structure within the MOF • Completed staff capacity assessments of key MOF departments • Developed a training curriculum for MOF and MOP

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Initial assessments and development of the PFM Reform Roadmap. Following a series of consultations with the PMO, MOF, and MOP senior management, IGPA developed a roadmap for PFM reform. The roadmap outlines the major tasks required over the next 12 to 18 months and ties together the work of the project’s embedded advisors in the areas of macroeconomics, budget reform, cash accounting, and other components within the classical PFM framework:

As a result of the assessments and reform roadmap, the following tasks have been incorporated into the Year 4 Work Plan:

Objective 1: Improve Policy Analysis and Strategy Formulation Task 1.1: Establish a macroeconomic framework including analyzing and quantifying macro-fiscal aggregated variables over the medium term Task 1.2: Identify strategies for diversifying overall revenue and enhancing and mobilizing non-oil revenues, including forecasting by source and by sector Task 1.3: Develop approaches to prioritize government recurrent and development expenditures by sector and activity Task 1.4: Design approaches for private sector development within the macroeconomic framework, including strategies for enhancing the business enabling environment and competitiveness Task 1.5 Strengthen investment planning, including project selection, project prioritization, and public investment management (PIM) systems Objective 2: Strengthen Planning and Budgeting Processes Task 2.1: Develop a medium-term fiscal framework and medium-term budget framework Task 2.2: Improve the quality of revenue and expenditure forecasting by sector and spending unit Task 2.3: Develop the foundations for performance-based and program-based budgeting (PBB) Objective 3: Improve Budget Execution and Procurement Processes

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Task 3.1: Build the capacity of spending units to implement budget commitments Task 3.2: Design and implement quarterly budget reviews including planned and actual spending, ensuring alignment between the budget and overall development and growth objectives Task 3.3: Strengthen procurement processes and support the establishment of a Central Procurement Authority Objective 4: Strengthen Internal Audit, Accounting, and Reporting Task 4.1: Implement an accounting training program and expand it throughout the GOI Task 4.2: Establish a Single Treasury Account Task 4.3: Strengthen the Office of the Supreme Audit Authority Objective 5: Establish External Oversight Task 5.1: Engage citizens on budget processes, including the development of the Citizen’s Needs Budget Task 5.2: Disseminate relevant reports, including annual audited accounts, pre-budget statements, and mid-year budget reviews Task 5.3: Support public participation and academic forums on the GOI budget and strategic priorities Objective 6: Strengthen Legislative Scrutiny Task 6.1: Support implementation of PFM Law 2019 Task 6.2: Strengthen parliamentary budget oversight Task 6.3: Support legislative hearings and field visits by relevant COR committees Cross-cutting Element 1: Designing and implementing IFMS Task CC1.1: Design interim automation solutions in coordination with the WB prior to IFMIS roll- out Task CC1.2: Oversee the roll-out of IFMIS Cross-cutting Element 2: Developing human resources Task CC2.1: Strengthen ministerial training institutions to provide analytical and professional capacity and training to the MOF and MOP Task CC2.2: Review staff capacities, scopes of work, and organizational charts Development of revised macroeconomic approaches, functions, and structure within the MOF. IGPA/Takamul undertook a series of assessments and consultations with senior leadership of the MOF as part of the Project’s effort to redesign the macroeconomic capacity of the ministry. The initial report (ANNEX 8) was well received by the Deputy Minister of Finance and the recommendations contained within will be the subject of organizational development activities beginning in February and March 2021. This approach is based on the comprehensive assessment of the Macroeconomic Conditions and Trends of the Iraqi Economy in 2020 (ANNEX 9).

Staff capacity assessments of key MOF and MOP departments and the development of training curricula for MOF and MOP. Beginning in October 2020, IGPA undertook a series of staff capacity assessments of the following entities:

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MOF • Economic Department • Budget Department • Accounting Department

MOP • Central Statistics Office • Economic Department

These findings contributed to the development of training curricula for both ministries, which will be the focus of a broad training program beginning in February 2021 and will continue into 2022. The existing training institutes of both ministries will conduct the training, and IGPA will assist institute staff to ensure sustainability. A similar program of assessment and curriculum development will be undertaken with relevant ministries within the KRG beginning in March 2021.

KRG Reforms

IGPA/Takamul provides advisory support, through a Reform Coordinator, to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to coordinate the implementation of reforms related to the Identity Management System (IMS). The Reform Coordinator ensures the timely implementation of IMS- related projects by assisting the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office (DPMO) in orchestrating reforms related to improving service delivery and operations, as well as in the decentralization process involving the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

KRG’s Economic Reform Roadmap

• Represented the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in a series of meetings to discuss the economic reform roadmap that the Economic Council of KRG prepared based on the World Bank’s economic reform recommendations. The meetings were chaired by the deputy minister of planning and emphasized the role of several ministries, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, the Board of Investment, and others. Assisted in identifying appropriate ways to customize items on the roadmap according to the nature of each ministry’s or entity’s activities and goals.

Xizmat – KRG Reforms

• Reviewed services that were translated into Arabic on the Xizmat portal, identified common Arabic translation errors and solecisms for the translators, and agreed on a collaborative mechanism to improve future translations. • Led a discussion with the Xizmat team to develop a strategy on involving the Quality Assurance Directors (QAD) at the ministries in the Xizmat program according to the guidelines set in the Council of Ministers Decree #78 of October 21, 2020. • Led several Xizmat team meetings to classify the updated services as “Government to Citizens” or “Government to Government” services. Additionally, identified several issues that hinder the update process and identified appropriate solutions.

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• Initiated discussions with the Department of Media and Information (DMI) to integrate the Xizmat portal with the KRG government portal. • Drafted criteria to identify priority services to be re-engineered to make them faster, simpler, and cheaper then launched a series of discussions with several ministries to discuss re-engineering and/or creation of a single window (one-stop-shop) for their procedures. The Xizmat team decided on creating a single window solution after reviewing the Ministry of Justice’s services on the Xizmat portal and presenting the resulting recommendations to the Xizmat team.

Engagements with donors regarding KRG reforms

• Organized a discussion between the chief of the economic unit at the U.S. Consulate General in Erbil and the senior advisor to the deputy prime minister (DPM) to explore opportunities for additional support from the U.S. Government for reform programs. Subsequently, organized and participated in a follow-on discussion with the Deputy Mission Director of USAID. The discussion emphasized the need for direct and continuous communication between the two parties on the reform agenda. • Participated in presenting the biometric registration system to USAID. The presentation included background of the program, current program status, costs, challenges, and notable achievements, including the registration of more than 1.25 million wage-earners in less than 6 months. • Communicated with the Consulate General of the United Kingdom (UK) to arrange an update meeting on reform efforts. The purpose of this activity is to connect donors with KRG departments implementing reforms, update them on progress, and seek assistance to support KRG reform efforts. • Met with the Second Secretary of the UK Embassy – Iraq and the Senior International Trade Advisor along with the senior advisor to the DPM, in response to a request from the Consulate General of the UK in Erbil. The discussion focused on budget talks between the Federal Government of Iraq and the KRG and the transfer of KRG shares; the general economic situation in the KRI; internal revenues, including customs and oil revenues; how the UK could help in Baghdad during Prime Minister Kazimi’s visit to the UK; and how to reduce spending on salary payments and deduplication of wages. • Engaged with the Consulate General of the UK in Erbil to investigate the benefits to which the KRG might be entitled under support mentioned in an Expression of Interest issued by the Secretary of State of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the Government of Iraq. • Participated in a two-day virtual conference on Post-COVID-19 Economic Priorities in the KRI and provided a summary of the DPM’s remarks to IGPA in which he commended the assistance given by USAID. • Discussed plans to develop an automated citizen vaccination record system for the Ministry of Health with UNCTAD. IGPA expressed the need to engage the Department of Information Technology and the Xizmat team in this effort to assure the operability and compatibility of this system with the KRG’s Identity Management System.

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Internal Revenue Survey by KRG’s Economic Council

• Provided clarifications and guidance about the aim of the revenue survey mandated by a decree from KRG’s Economic Council (EC) for representatives of several ministries including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Interior. Communicated the need for more and simplified data after reviewing the information provided in forms returned from some ministries. Chose selective ministries to present their revenues and recommendations to the EC to identify ways to improve revenue generation.

World Bank – European Union PFM Support Coordination

• Obtained periodic updates from the World Bank’s PFM team on the development of a payroll system for KRG under the European Union-funded Strengthening Public Finance Management Oversight and Accountability Institutions Project.

Company Registration Re-engineering

• Participated in several meetings led by KRG’s DPM to finalize the steps of re-engineering the company registration process. Provided recommendations to enhance the proposed procedure and organized several discussions to follow up.

Legislative Support

• As a follow up to the discussion with the Economic Section of the U.S. Consulate General, provided a list of legislation for which the KRG requires additional assistance to modify. Some of the legislation that affects the private sector and the labor force needs significant changes to align with government policies related to the business enabling environment. The KRG is already considering several laws for redrafting.

GOI White Paper

• Reviewed and provided highlights of the GOI White Paper to the senior advisor of the DPM and discussed the areas where the KRG can benefit from similar actions.

Private Sector Development in the KRI

• Followed up with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) representative in Erbil to discuss the status of the GIZ and European Union-funded Private Sector Support Project. Consequently, provided an update to the senior advisor to the Council of Ministers. • Participated in a roundtable meeting that was organized by the Netherlands’ Consulate General in coordination with KRG’s Council of Ministers. The aim of the meeting was to address issues experienced by business owners and startups and to exchange ideas on solutions to ultimately develop a policy improving the business environment.

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IMS-related systems

The Identity Management System (IMS), also referred to as the Biometric Registration System, is used to register all wage-earners of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Having this information in one place streamlines the process of payroll, human resources, and identifying individuals who are receiving services from the public sector. During the reporting period, IGPA/Takamul’s IMS-related activities include:

• Discussions to utilize the e-court system developed by Aktor Co., an Estonian company, for Sulaimaniya courts to be propagated in Erbil and Dahuk. • Review of the document that outlines the private sector pension management system requirement for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and, after making some modifications. • Coordination with Objective 1 on the social security contribution project to ensure the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs can register private sector employees and manage their pension funds effectively.

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•

TASK ORDER 4: NINEWA INVESTMENT FACILITATION INITIATIVE

TASK 1: ESTABLISH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER (BDC)

Mosul Business Development Center

NIFI’s Mosul Business Development Center (BDC), hosted by Mosul Space, remained only partially operational during this reporting period due to continuing concerns related to COVID-19. Nevertheless, NIFI conducted two in-person training workshops at its Mosul BDC on topics of Lean Canvas Business Planning and Marketing for 14 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Ninewa. Participants and trainers followed proper COVID-19 safety protocols including social distancing and mandatory wearing of masks.

Consistent with its sustainability plan, NIFI’s planning and delivery of the Entrepreneurship Program in collaboration with the University of Mosul prepared NIFI’s partner, Mosul Space, to lead the planning and delivery of the next entrepreneurship program in collaboration with the Northern Technical University. IGPA NIFI’s entrepreneurship program with the Northern Technical University is scheduled for February.

Once the coronavirus situation improves, NIFI’s Mosul BDC will play a greater role in managing the delivery of business development services to SMEs in Ninewa and will accelerate the migration of NIFI business development services to Mosul Space.

Conduct Entrepreneurship Program with the University of Mosul

During November and December, NIFI conducted an Entrepreneurship Program with the University of Mosul, an initiative that was an outcome of a conference IGPA/Takamul organized with the Ninewa Governor and his office on July 9, 2020. When NIFI announced the program on October 27,

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the application was made available on both IGPA/Takamul’s Facebook page and NIFI’s website (www.biz-iraq.com). NIFI’s website also serves as a digital BDC through which NIFI received more than 1,000 applications from Ninewa Governorate. The total number of participants from the University of Mosul was 365 (262 male, 103 female).

The Entrepreneurship Program comprised ten webinar sessions. These sessions were entitled A Lean Startup Approach, Selecting and Working with Co-founders and Technical Partners, Business Registration, Tech Stack Selection, Digital Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs, Cash Flow Projections for Startups, Startup Financing, Lean Canvas Business Modelling and Planning, and Developing and Presenting a Pitch Deck.

During the ninth session of NIFI’s Entrepreneurship Program, the trainers walked participants through the steps of composing a Lean Canvas for their business ideas. NIFI provided participants with a copy of the Lean Canvas template and encouraged them to submit their completed Lean Canvases to NIFI to access further assistance to help plan their startups. Nearly 100 participants approached NIFI and requested follow-up sessions to answer questions on how to prepare their Lean Canvas business plans. NIFI conducted two additional sessions to respond to participants’ requests.

TASK 2: PROVIDE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Firm Level Technical Assistance to SMEs in Ninewa and Northern Iraq

NIFI conducted 57 firm level technical assistance engagements including financial facilitation. Types of technical assistance included inventory management, bar coding, cash flow projections, social media marketing, feasibility study development, and food safety based on good manufacturing practices (GMP). Below are a few examples from NIFI’s firm level technical assistance program offered to selected SMEs during this quarter:

• NIFI launches GMP-based food safety technical assistance program for food processing companies. NIFI conducted its first on-site food safety handling technical assistance program based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards for Al-Kubba al-Sharqia, a woman-owned packaged food company. NIFI selected Al-Kubba al-Sharqia as the first beneficiary of this program because the owner demonstrated strong commitment to continuous improvement. NIFI previously facilitated the financing of $60,000 in a COVID- 19 Relief loan from GroFin for the purchase of a refrigerated delivery truck. Al-Kubah al- Sharqia has an excellent reputation in the market for their 21 different types of kubahs, a popular local dumpling. NIFI developed this special food safety program to address a gap common to food processing businesses in Iraq and because food safety has become a high priority for the GOI. Furthermore, demonstrated adherence to food safety standards is an important factor that many financial institutions use in deciding whether to grant credit to food processors and agribusinesses. Lack of properly implemented food safety standards puts a business at higher risk of being shut down by health authorities or going out of business due to food poisoning incidents.

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AL AMEEN DAIRY IS ONE OF THE TOP DAIRY PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS IN MOSUL. NIFI IS ASSISTING THE COMPANY ACCESS FINANCING TO BUY ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT TO INCREASE PRODUCTION.

• Developed three feasibility studies for investment opportunities. NIFI developed three business plans for investment opportunities. NIFI identified the investment opportunities and worked closely with the businesses to develop their business plans and promote them to investors. The investment opportunities are for a French fries factory for $13.5 million in Dahuk, a soft drink factory for $6.5 million in Mosul, and a solar power factory in Mosul for $1 million. • Soft drinks factory feasibility study submitted to three investors. NIFI submitted the feasibility study for Al-Hadbaa Soft Drinks Factory to three international investors—the Finn Fund, the Khudairi Group, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The factory was established in Mosul in 2006 and produced a well-known soft drink brand called “Basha Cola.” During the War on ISIS, the factory was destroyed. The owner is now seeking financial support to rebuild the factory and add more products, including water and juices. The initiative will require $7.5 million to rebuild the facility and buy equipment and new production lines. • French fries factory feasibility study submitted to three international investors. NIFI submitted a feasibility study for the Jutiar French Fries Factory to three international investors—the Finn Fund, the Khudairi Group, and the IFC. The Jutiar project is an investment opportunity to establish a high-end French fries production facility in Dahuk. Sales of French fries have increased over time in Iraq, but, currently, no such facility exists to produce them. The Jutiar project will produce French fries that cater to the increasing demand for a higher quality product at a more affordable price. The owner plans to expand the facility after three years to produce potato chips. This project has the potential to create over 30 jobs and will benefit dozens of potato farmers. • Developing a solar power factory feasibility study. NIFI completed the development of Al-Hadbaa al-Haditha for Solar Power that seeks $1 million in financing to expand the existing business from a solar panel trader to a manufacturing company based on the significant growing demand for reliable and cheaper sources of power. The company was established in 1991 and imports solar panels and batteries and sells them to both the government and private sector. NIFI is sharing the feasibility study to various financial institutions and investors for financing.

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NIFI VISITS THE PROPOSED STATE- OF-THE-ART FRENCH FRIES MANUFACTURING PROJECT. NIFI IS DEVELOPING THE FEASIBILITY STUDY THAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO POTENTIAL INVESTORS.

• Siraj Paints – Dahuk. NIFI assisted the firm by improving the company’s Facebook page profile, cover photos, and company description using the CANVA graphic design platform. Additionally, NIFI conducted a detailed session on boosting Facebook advertising posts and using demographic parameters to target specific audiences. NIFI outlined the steps needed to make online payments for Facebook ads by using a locally sold prepaid card. Adnan Yonus from Siraj Paint said, “The information you provided was excellent!” NIFI is also helping Siraj Paints with financial facilitation. • Omera Food Processing Company – Baashiqa Subdistrict, Ninewa. NIFI provided technical assistance to help Al-Omera Food Processing Company implement a new inventory management system using an Excel-based tool developed by NIFI. Previously, the company did not use any tracking system at all. Al-Omera is located in Baashiqa Subdistrict in the Ninewa Plains. The SME produces popular local foods like kulba and sambousek. During the ISIS occupation, the factory was destroyed. After the liberation of Ninewa, the owner rebuilt the factory and restarted production. NIFI is assisting the owner to access financing for additional equipment lines to expand his product offerings. NIFI will also provide technical assistance on food production standards and social media marketing. • NIFI assists fast food restaurant with financial projections needed to apply for grant financing. Under its firm level technical assistance program, NIFI assisted Baghdad Fast Food to develop financial projections required for its application for a grant from the COVID-19 Response Grant Program funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by SPARKS, an Amsterdam-based organization. Baghdad Fast Food applied for a $7,000 grant to buy an industry-grade pizza oven and small appliances to expand their menu offerings. • NIFI assists women-owned online teaching platform with business registration and digital marketing. NIFI provided firm level technical assistance to Teachy, a woman- owned online teaching platform. NIFI advised Sausan Qader, the owner, on the documentation requirements and legal steps needed to register her business with the KRG’s Ministry of Education. Then, NIFI helped her develop a digital marketing strategy using Facebook to optimize her targeted marketing. NIFI walked her through how to allocate her

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advertising budget, how to boost advertising campaigns on Facebook, and how to use the value ladder and key performance indicators. Finally, NIFI assisted her to redesign her financial model and gave recommendations for increasing sales and reducing costs. • NIFI provides firm level technical assistance to Dalilaq app in Mosul. NIFI provided firm level technical assistance to the Mosul-based Dalilaq application to help them develop their revenue model and financial projections. Once their financial model is finalized, NIFI will assist Dalilaq to develop their investment profile for presentation to investors and other sources of financing including the KAPITA network of angel investors based in Iraq.

Financial Facilitation and Matching with Investors

• NIFI’s financing referral pipeline reaches $34.5 million. The amount of financing referrals and potential investments under consideration and discussion reached $34.5 million. In total, 43 SMEs were referred to various sources of financing. Two Ninewa Investment Forum (NIF) investors, Finn Fund and Khudairi Group, have re-engaged with NIFI in discussions regarding three of the larger financing and investment opportunities. NIFI also reached out by email to investors highlighting the new investment opportunities and referring them to the investment opportunities portal on NIFI’s website and virtual BDC (www.biz-iraq.com). • Shad group receives loan of $70,000. During this quarter, NIFI assisted Shad Group, a logistics company based in Erbil, to obtain a $70,000 COVID-19 Relief Fund loan from GroFin. NIFI matched and referred Shad Group to GroFin after assessing the setback sustained by the company from the COVID-19 pandemic during the months of April, May, June, and July. This loan will help the owner cover staff salaries that have been delayed. Previously, Shad Group attended the NIF and participated in NIFI’s Business Planning Workshop. Shad Group is considered one of the leading logistics, catering, and construction firms in northern Iraq. The company’s clients include international organizations such as the UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Aspen Medical, the Danish

TANAHI REINFORCED STEEL ELEMENTS FACTORY IN DAHUK ASKS FOR HELP WITH MANAGEMENT INVENTORY AND CASH FLOW PROJECTIONS.

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Refugee Council, and World Vision. Shad Group General Manager Shwan Aziz stated, “We are truly grateful to USAID NIFI for their sincere efforts, technical support, and follow-up in this critical time to facilitate a COVID-19 relief loan, which is helping us overcome this financial crisis. We are looking forward to more support.” • Yazidi-owned Hezheer Restaurant receives $60,000 loan. During this quarter, NIFI assisted Yazidi-owned Hezheer Restaurant to obtain a $60,000 GroFin COVID-19 Relief Fund loan. The loan proceeds will be used to pay for delayed rent and salaries and to cover renovation costs to expand the restaurant now that business is returning. The restaurant is located in Sinjar’s Sinune Subdistrict in Ninewa. NIFI helped the owner evaluate the business’s financing needs and collect the required documents, including business registration and health department approvals. NIFI will provide additional technical assistance including trainings such as Facebook marketing and NIFI’s food safety program. “Thank you NIFI for the outcome of your hard work and responsiveness. Without USAID NIFI, this financial assistance would not have occurred. I hope you can support more Yazidi-owned businesses and I will put NIFI in contact with other Yazidi SMEs,” said Hezheer Restaurant owner Ahmed Shingaly. • Discussions with Finn Fund for two potential investment opportunities. NIFI is in discussions with Finn Fund, one of the NIF investors, regarding two potential investment opportunities. The first opportunity is the Jutiar French Fries Factory which needs an estimated $7 million in investment. NIFI submitted the feasibility study for this project to Finn Fund. The second opportunity is the rebuilding and revitalization of al-Hadbaa Soft Drinks Factory that was destroyed during the ISIS occupation. The factory requires an estimated $6 million in investment. NIFI is in the process of preparing a feasibility study for the project. • Connecting three investment opportunities to IFC. NIFI discussed and presented three SME investment opportunities to the IFC. The first opportunity is Hawkary Group which is seeking $10 million to expand their pharmaceutical company. This opportunity was featured at the NIF in December 2019. The other two opportunities that were discussed with IFC include the French fries project and soft drinks factory mentioned above. • Initiating collaboration with Top Mountain. NIFI met with Top Mountain to discuss their grant program under their Business Accelerator Project funded by USAID. NIFI referred several SMEs to Top Mountain for consideration for grant funding. Currently Top Mountain is investigating one grant opportunity referred by NIFI. • Initiating collaboration with CEWAS Middle East. NIFI initiated discussion with CEWAS Middle East, an organization that invests in water and energy projects in the region. CEWAS launched a call for applications to fund projects in the region and NIFI assisted three SMEs from Ninewa and Erbil apply for grants from CEWAS through their online application. Established in 2013, CEWAS supports entrepreneurs in creating an environmental impact by fostering the right ecosystem for them through tailor-made trainings, programs, collaborations, and financial management.

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Training Workshops

NIFI conducted seven training workshops for a total of 59 SMEs and entrepreneurs (42 male, 17 female). Topics that the training workshops covered during this quarter included: Inventory Management and Barcoding, Business Registration in Iraq, Facebook Marketing, Production Management, Quality Management, and Lean Canvas Business Planning and Marketing.

Value Chain Study for Ninewa Agribusiness

NIFI completed the Agribusiness Value Chain Study Report through a consultant agribusiness specialist. Due to the travel restrictions caused by COVID-19, the specialist was unable to travel in early 2020 to Iraq to visit Ninewa and conduct face-to-face meetings and site visits. Therefore, the scope shifted to working with the NIFI field team to assist the specialist in conducting diagnostics via online in-depth hour-long interviews with key stakeholders including business owners, government officials, academics, and others. These interviews were set up and managed by the field team under the direction of the agribusiness specialist. The goal of the diagnostic study was to identify potential interventions that would allow projects to move beyond mainly providing relief aid to displaced populations and toward encouraging resilience as well as to find the best ways to assist the players in Ninewa’s agribusiness sector.

Recommendations from the report are listed below:

The Kurdish region is supportive of and actively investing in agriculture and vigorously competing for the same markets as Ninewa.

• This local reality needs to be recognized, learned from, and incorporated into any governorate level strategy. • At least some of Iraq’s bureaucracies are adept at diverting resources and using them to establish and maintain influence. This is a pervasive issue that, as always, needs careful consideration. • Other players (especially donors) operating in this sector should be drafted into this effort. • A decision is needed on scale—micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) or anchor firms (or both). Grants should have significant cost share and phased implementation. • Using internal criteria for selecting commodities and geographic locations risks creating resentment by those excluded. • Impact will require lots of local engagement, working through local entities or a number of small low-profile activities. IGPA/Takamul should coordinate/plan interventions with local authorities/projects/donors, engage with specific communities, and focus initially on two to three high potential commodities and locations by providing:

• Firm level technical assistance to selected key players in the target value chains; • Business planning with selected firms (set achievable goals and timelines, assign responsibilities, improve resource allocation for time, money, inputs, people, and identify new products and processes);

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• Business gap analysis (compare actual versus potential and markets, production, processes, and goals); • Quality control training for processors, especially small-scale home-based enterprises • Encourage local branding, advertising, and partnerships between enterprises/entities to share knowledge; • Make rapid assessments of the main target markets in addition to firm level gross margin analysis; • Disseminate information on the impact of key policies and/or on potential opportunities; • Select key partners and build relationships; • Share information widely with other actors in the geographic location and technical area; • Consider mentoring of new entrepreneurs by experienced farmers, especially for new techniques and technologies; • Support various demonstrations such as those regarding off-season vegetables, inputs, and irrigation; • Consider facilitating large equipment hire or leasing; • Review storage techniques for market timing, especially of vegetables and potatoes; • Test, produce, and store improved cereal varieties; and • Work with NGOs and universities to train minority youth in agribusiness.

NIFI IS PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO MOSUL- BASED AL WATANYA DAIRY FACTORY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AND FINANCING FROM ISLAMIC BANK OF IRAQ TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO INCREASE PRODUCTION AND SALES.

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TASK 3: CONDUCT NINEWA INVESTMENT FORUM

NIFI continues to follow up on NIF-featured SMEs. NIFI continues to work with the NIF-featured SMEs that were redirected to GroFin for financing. The following is the status and actions taken to facilitate these transactions:

Amount # SME Name Status Location Requested NIFI submitted a three-year cash flow projection to GroFin in support of Al-Ghazal Al-Ghazal Hamdaniya - 1 $600,000 Dairy loan application. Currently the client is Dairy Ninewa Plains in Turkey to finalize the machine and production line selection and purchase. GroFin is currently reviewing this loan application. Hamdaniya - 2 Gajo Company $240,000 NIFI helped Gajo Company revise its business Ninewa Plains plan and worked with GroFin to structure the loan. The company submitted its renewed license to GroFin after follow-up from NIFI. The business is shortlisted for a loan from the COVID-19 Relief Fund. NIFI helped the Al-Laith company determine their financial needs to 3 $50,000 Mosul Company overcome COVID-19 and to complete the online application for the loan. Previously, NIFI supported the company with its $2 million loan application for purchasing a new production line for their air-conditioners. Bashiqa GroFin is currently reviewing this loan 4 $88,000 Mosul Chicken application. NIFI helped Samim Tahini identify the documents needed based on discussions with GroFin. NIFI scanned the financial vouchers Bashiqa - 5 Samim Tahini $504,000 and assets equipment registry documents and Ninewa Plains submitted them to GroFin. The financial statement will be submitted in the coming week. NIFI facilitated a meeting between the business and GroFin to follow up on pending issues with the business’s loan application. GroFin requested new dated ownership Bashiqa - 6 Al-Aela Tahini $600,000 documents for the collateral and discussed Ninewa Plains the loan amount with all the shareholders. Al- Aela Tahini started the documentation renewal process and is scheduled to submit their full papers by next week. NIFI helped TeamMart submit all required 7 TeamMart $2,000,000 Erbil documents to GroFin.

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REHABILITATION, LIVELIHOOD, PRIVATE SECTOR SECTOR MOBILIZATION SUCCESS STORY

Solving production

issues to boost sales

Determined to regain its previous prominence in the Ninewa market, a family enterprise sought NIFI’s technical support to solve a crucial production issue and boost sales.

The Alaela Tahini Factory is experienced in all machinery. Alaela began to rebuild in 2017, tahini production, but its product has had an hoping to reclaim its former market and issue of excessive separation of oil from the customers. However, the new equipment did tahini sauce instead of smoothly blending not perform as well as their old machinery throughout. even if they were using their old tested recipe.

Alaela was a previous client of USAID’s In collaboration with the company, NIFI Ninewa Investment Facilitation Initiative (NIFI), worked on different solutions such as and the company was featured and introduced conducting an oil separation test, finding the to international investors during NIFI’s Ninewa right roasting temperature, and carefully Investment Forum. The company approached selecting raw ingredients. After many NIFI again to ask for help in solving the critical experimentations, NIFI found that the problem production problem of oil separation which, if was caused by an incorrect roasting left unsolved, would cost the company not temperature. NIFI’s experimentation also only sales but also devoted customers. helped the company identify additional machinery they required. The company is not new to this business. In fact, it was one of the market leaders in the “NIFI’s non-financial technical assistance 2010s, with average annual sales reaching $1 offered us modern methods to move forward million, and with markets around Iraq and in our business. Their suggestions will help us some exports to Germany. But in 2014, the to lower our production costs,” said factory invading ISIS force destroyed their factory and owner Abdullah Naif Darwish.

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Entrepreneurship program sparks creative ideas

IGPA’s Ninewa Investment Facilitation Initiative’s Entrepreneurship Program inspired students from the University of Mosul to conceive unique and viable business ideas.

Sahira Saleh Sharif, a budding entrepreneur, program aimed to make the participants was excited to open an organic vegan think creatively about non-traditional restaurant in Mosul. She wanted to offer business projects that would fill a market health-conscious and like-minded young need. professionals and expatriates living in Ninewa a new-age lifestyle and creative hub. After completing the program, Sahira pivoted from her plan to start an organic When she heard of the Entrepreneurship vegan restaurant to saffron producing. “I Program offered by USAID’s Ninewa realized that the investment and risk Investment Facilitation Initiative (NIFI) in associated with opening a restaurant is too partnership with the University of Mosul, high, whereas with just $3,000 I can start a her alma mater, she quickly registered. NIFI saffron business. Saffron is a unique product offered the entrepreneurship program in in Iraq and Ninewa and the demand for this response to Ninewa Governor Najim al- expensive spice is worldwide,” she said. Jabouri’s request for support to revitalize entrepreneurship in the province. Of the 365 students who participated, NIFI conducted follow up sessions for more than The program, consisting of 10 webinar 100 who requested further assistance in sessions, was designed to take aspiring developing their business ideas. From this entrepreneurs or those who are newly group, more than 50 have developed a full engaged in small trade through the whole business plan, and 18 of them have potential process of setting up a business—from to be viable ventures. NIFI extended planning to choosing viable industries, individualized technical support to finetune traditional and digital marketing strategies, these outstanding ideas, including Sahira’s market positioning, financial literacy, and saffron business proposal. NIFI is now cash flow projection for start-ups, among providing the next phase of technical others. Aside from covering the basics, the support—fund sourcing.

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A community staple

survives COVID-19

lockdowns

A Yazidi-owned business withstood the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which shuttered many businesses in Ninewa, thanks to financial facilitation from USAID’s Ninewa Investment Facilitation Initiative.

Hezeer Restaurant is a pleasant family Ahmad Shingaly, the owner of Hezeer restaurant in Sinjar, a district in Ninewa Restaurant, eagerly coordinated with NIFI that is home to the Yazidi minority. After to secure financing from GroFin who was painstakingly rebuilding the restaurant offering COVID-19 relief funding for from the destruction of the ISIS invasion qualified SMEs. After weeks of support in 2014, the business was flourishing once and guidance from NIFI, Ahmad’s loan again when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in application was approved for $60,000. early 2020. The loan was used to settle 10 months of back rent, pay delayed staff salaries, The Ninewa Investment Facilitation complete repairs, and expand the space. Initiative (NIFI) is a USAID-funded NIFI’s support also included preparing the enterprise designed to support the SME’s documents for a business license rehabilitation of the war-ravaged Ninewa and health department approval, planned Plains, especially disadvantaged ethnic and Facebook marketing, and a food safety religious groups, through business training. development. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, NIFI intensified its “Thank you, NIFI, for the outcome of business development efforts to aid small your hard work and responsiveness. and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help Without USAID and NIFI, this financial them keep afloat during lockdowns when assistance would not have occurred. I revenues reduced drastically. The Project hope you can support more Yazidi-owned reached out to national and international businesses and I will put you in contact financing organizations working in Iraq, with other Yazidi SMEs,” said Ahmad. especially those offering relief financing. At the same time, NIFI worked with the SMEs to prepare documents needed for loans or grants.

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IGPA/Takamul MEL System

During this quarter, IGPA/Takamul’s MEL Unit focused its monitoring efforts on capacity building sessions, including training and on-the-job trainings, workshops, and follow-on sessions. The team monitored other events depending on their importance and sensitivity, such as meetings and technical assistance events. IGPA’s MEL Event Monitoring Log was updated to improve planning weeks ahead for all monitoring visits, to guarantee adequate resource utilization, and plan proper coverage for all significant events.

Amid the continued COVID-19 crisis, IGPA’s MEL unit continued measuring the effectiveness of its training programs employing the Kirkpatrick Model which uses four levels to measure the effectiveness of training programs:

Level 1: Participant’s satisfaction with the training; Level 2: Immediate change in individual knowledge and skills; Level 3: Change in individual performance back in the workplace; and Level 4: Change in the overall performance of the institution.

An assessment at each level assesses whether the training program was successful, and each level provides a diagnostic checkpoint for problems envisaged at the succeeding level. The information for Levels 1 and 2 is collected during the implementation of the training program through feedback forms and pre- and post-test forms.

The MEL Unit is developing and planning to pilot a methodology to measure change at Level 3, to determine whether participants’ performance at work has changed because of the training. This is perhaps the most important level of assessment as it centers on the application of training received and whether their behavior has changed as a result of learning new skills and knowledge. These assessments also identify factors enabling or impeding participants to implement what they have learned in their places of work. Level I and 2 findings will be presented in the following sections. During the following quarter, the MEL team will be presenting a strategy for the sampling and data collection method, data sources, and triangulations for conducting Level 3 and 4 assessments. The findings will be provided during this fiscal year.

Lastly, to report on IGPA’s Indicator 1: Percentage of citizens reporting improvements to service delivery platforms, IGPA commissioned a follow-up Public Opinion Survey (POS). The POS measured the level of satisfaction of the population in six provinces of federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to the responsiveness of the Government of Iraq (GOI) and local government to citizens' needs in respect to the delivery of public services. It also asked about the general population’s involvement in the decision-making processes regarding the prioritization of and resource allocations to specific public services. The POS centered on six basic indicators that measure progress toward achieving IGPA's objectives. The large-scale survey was conducted in Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, Erbil, and Ninewa using a multi-stage stratified sampling strategy between November 11, 2020 and December 4, 2020.

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Number of Participants Attending IGPA/Takamul’s Interventions

IGPA conducted a total of 21 roundtable discussions and workshops during Q-1 of FY2021. Overall, a total of 501 participants attended roundtable discussions or workshops—390 men (78%) and 111 women (22%). In terms of employment or affiliation, 49% of the participants were provincial GOI officials, 33% were federal officials, and 8% were affiliated with civil society organizations (CSO).

Number of Participants Attending

IGPA/Takamul’s Interventions by Number of Participants Attending Gender IGPA/Takamul’s Interventions by Type of Employment or Affiliation and Gender

250 208 22% 200 150 126 100 42 37 35 20 19 78% 50 13 0 Federal GOI Provincial CSOs Others* Officials GOI Officials Female Male Female Male

*Others include private sector actors trained, including UN employees and activists.

The highest number of participants attending the sessions came from Sulaimaniya (22%), followed by Halabja (17%), Baghdad (15%), and then Ninewa (6%). Objective 3, with an average of 34 participants attending per session, had the highest number of participants present in roundtable discussions and workshops conducted, with a total of 201 trainees. Objective 2, with an average of 23 participants attending per session, had 180 participants attend their workshops sessions. With 17 participants on average attending their workshops, Objective 1 had 120 participants overall during this reporting period.

Number of Participants Attending IGPA/Takamul’s Interventions by Governorate and Gender

80 73 61 70 61 60 50 40 37 29 25

22 Female

30 20 17 16 16 15 13 13 12 20 12 8 6 6 6 6 Male 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 10 0 0

Roundtable discussions and workshops covering the governance capacity building sector had the highest percentage (61%) of participants attending, followed by civil society and advocacy (33%), emergency first response (3%), and waste management (2%).

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 72 Our participants’ most represented age brackets for this reporting quarter were older than 45 years (47%) and then 36–44 years old (31%). Participants between the ages of 18 and 26 years represented 2%, and those 27–35 years of age were 16% of the total. ANNEX 1 shows the total number of participants attending IGPA trainings.

Number of Individuals Trained

IGPA conducted a total of 31 training and on-the-job training sessions during Q-1 of FY2021. Overall, a total of 381 trainees attended training or on-the-job training—294 men (77%) and 87 women (23%). In terms of employment or affiliation, 64% of the trainees were provincial GOI officials, 31% were federal GOI officials, and 5% were affiliated to CSOs.

Number of Individuals Trained by Number of Individuals Trained by Gender Type of Employment or Affiliation and Gender

250 208 200 23% 150 100 74 44 35 12

50 8 77% 0 Federal GOI Provincial GOI CSOs Officials Officials

Female Male Female Male

The highest number of trainees attending training or on-the-job training came from Erbil (31%), followed by Basrah (27%), Anbar (9%), and then Ninewa (7%). Objective 1, with an average of 10 trainees attending per session, had the highest number of trainees present in the training and on-the-job training sessions conducted, with a total of 258 trainees. Objective 3, with an average of 21 trainees attending per session, had 123 trainees attending their training and on-the-job training sessions.

Number of Individuals Trained by Governorate and Gender 100 82

80 70

60 47 35 28

40 27 Female 22 18 9 7 20 7 Male 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0

The water sector had the highest percentage of trainees (48%) attending training and on-the-job training sessions, followed by governance capacity building (43%) and waste management (9%). Our trainees’ most represented age brackets for this reporting quarter were older than 45 years (36%)

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 73 and then 36–44 years old (32%). Trainees between the ages of 18 and 26 years represented 4% of the total, while those aged 27–35 years old represented 22% of the total.

A total of 341 trainees (90%) successfully completed the training (i.e. met the 75% attendance requirement1). Overall, there was an average of a 95% attendance rate. The highest attendance rates were in Anbar, Maysan, Ninewa, and Qadisiya (100% each), while the lowest were in Babil (88%), Erbil (92%), and Baghdad (94%). ANNEX 2 reflects the total number of individuals receiving training sessions and on-the-job training. ANNEX 3 shows the total number of participants trained.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Training Programs

Since the beginning of the project, IGPA/Takamul has assisted the GOI and civil society partners to develop effective, accountable, and transparent public service delivery and public financial management sector institutions. Much of that support has been in the form of capacity building programs for professionals working at the federal and provincial levels of the government and non- governmental organizations, who provide monitoring and oversight of service delivery and public expenditure. To assess the effectiveness of these training programs, IGPA/Takamul employs the Kirkpatrick Model, which uses four levels to measure the effectiveness of training programs: Level 1: Participant’s satisfaction with the training; Level 2: Immediate change in individual knowledge and skills; Level 3: Change in individual performance back in the workplace; and Level 4: Change in the overall performance of the institution.

An assessment at each level assesses whether the training program was successful, and each level provides a diagnostic checkpoint for problems envisaged at the succeeding level. The information for Levels 1 and 2 is collected during the implementation of the training program through feedback forms and pre- and post-test forms.

Level I – Participant’s satisfaction with the training

During Q-1 of FY2021, IGPA collected trainees' feedback from 30 of its 31 training and on-the-job training sessions. Trainings covered an introduction to KIPA, capacity building for water treatment facilities staff, and priority topics for Local Coordination Commission members. Seventeen items identified from the Training Evaluation Forms constitute an aggregate measure of participant satisfaction with IGPA's training sessions. The items were selected from the following scoring areas: Training Environment and Organization, Training Quality, and Training Utility in the Workplace.

1 Indicator 13 Requirements for satisfactory completion of training: Individuals who participate in any structured training course offered by IGPA, whether the training is a face-to-face or online training, are expected to attend 100% of the training. Successful completion requires that a trainee participates for at least 75% of the training length (for instance, participants have to attend at least 4.5 days of training for a 6-day training course, 4 days of training for a 5-day training course, 3 days of training for a 4-day training course, or 1.5 days of training for a 2-day training course).

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 74

TABLE 2: Training Evaluation Findings for FY21, Q1 (n=434) Items/Questions Fully agree Agree Neutral Disagree Fully disagree Training Environment and Organization My expectations of this training course were 42% 47% 6% 4% 0% fully met

The overall organization of the training was 49% 41% 6% 3% 0% good

The group of participants was suitable 44% 47% 7% 2% 0%

The duration of the training was suitable 28% 39% 14% 15% 5%

Training Quality The training methods used were well suited 42% 43% 9% 6% 1% to the training content

Examples given during the training are 41% 45% 10% 4% 1% suitable for local context The training was delivered in a way that allowed sufficient interaction between trainer 48% 40% 9% 3% 0% and participants The training was well suited to my level of 44% 44% 9% 3% 0% understanding of the subject.

There is a development in the knowledge 40% 45% 13% 2% 0% level I have after I attend this training The different topics of the subject were sufficiently and coherently covered in the 35% 46% 16% 3% 0% training I had enough opportunity to express my 43% 43% 12% 3% 0% points of view and experiences The training comprised a good balance between theory and practical 34% 46% 16% 4% 0% experience/exercise. The trainer(s) was/were very knowledgeable 57% 34% 8% 1% 0% on the subject of the training. The trainer(s) conveyed their knowledge and experience to me in a very understandable 59% 32% 7% 2% 0% manner. The trainer(s) answered my questions in a way that helped me better understand the 57% 34% 7% 2% 0% subject of the training. Training Utility in the Workplace You will use the training materials in your 45% 43% 10% 2% 0% future work

The training fully addressed problems I 44% 44% 9% 3% 0% experience in my daily work. OVERALL AVERAGE / Final Average 43% 42% 11% 4% 0%

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 75 Some 85% of trainees indicated that they were satisfied with the training (agree or fully agree). Most (91%) of the participants who attended the in-person training sessions indicated higher satisfaction compared with 71% of participants who attended virtual (online) sessions.

The 30 training sessions were held across nine provinces. The highest percentages of satisfaction were recorded in Baghdad (92%) and Maysan (92%); the lowest were recorded in Erbil (79%) and Ninewa (82%).

In terms of sectors covered during this reporting period, the 30 training sessions covered governance capacity building, waste management, and water. The latter had the highest satisfaction rate (88%), followed by waste management (86%) and governance capacity building (83%).

The greatest percentage of participants satisfied with the training sessions attended Enhanced GOI Service Delivery Capacity training sessions (91% satisfaction), followed by those who attended Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service Delivery and Public Expenditure training sessions (87%).

Table 3 below reflects the level of satisfaction among all trainees. Among the three areas, 84% were satisfied with Training Environment and Organization, 85% with Training Quality, and 81% with Training Utility in the Workplace.

Level 2 – Immediate change in individual knowledge and skills

IGPA’s MEL team designed a system for obtaining quantitative and qualitative information on aspects of capacity building initiatives. One of these aspects is to provide evidence that guarantees the efficiency and reliability of the training process. To meet this objective, the knowledge and skills of participants attending a training is assessed before and after a session.

TABLE 3: Immediate change in individual knowledge and skills FY21 Q-1 Trainees and Training Percentage Number of Average Average Post- Characteristic Average of Participants Pre-tests tests Gains Score Governorate Anbar 9 57 68 15% Babil 23 49 81 63% Baghdad 30 47 88 74% Basrah 100 40 70 47% Erbil 170 45 67 35% Maysan 10 64 91 74% Najaf 17 55 86 68% Ninewa 20 44 78 59% Qadisiya 8 55 63 5% Objective 1: Enhanced GOI Service 252 51 79 54% Delivery Capacity 3: Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service Delivery and 135 33 58 32% Public Expenditure Sector Governance Capacity Building 188 32 72 54% Waste Management 37 57 87 68% Water 161 51 71 36%

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 76 TABLE 3: Immediate change in individual knowledge and skills FY21 Q-1 Trainees and Training Percentage Number of Average Average Post- Characteristic Average of Participants Pre-tests tests Gains Score TOTAL Q1 FY21 387 47 74 49%

Pre- and post-tests were completed by 387 training participants (73% male and 27% female), representing 91% (423) of the total number of trainees participating in training sessions this reporting quarter. The average learning gain was 49%. The highest percentage average gain scores were recorded in Baghdad (74%) and Maysan (74%); the lowest were recorded in Qadisiya (5%) and Anbar (15%). From the data analyzed, trainees attending virtual training sessions had a higher percentage (57%) learning gain compared with trainees attending in-person training sessions (48%). The greatest percentage average score learning gains were recorded for those who attended Enhanced GOI Service Delivery Capacity training opportunities (54%) and Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service Delivery and Public Expenditure training opportunities (32%). Trainees attending training sessions on waste management showed the highest knowledge gain (68%), compared with trainees attending governance capacity building (54%) and water (36%). The table above provides more details on the matched pre-post data used to calculate averages in the gains scores:2

Public Opinion Survey

During Q-1 of FY21, IGPA commissioned a follow-up POS to collect data on the level of satisfaction of the population in six provinces in federal Iraq and the KRI regarding the responsiveness of the GOI and local government to citizens’ needs in delivering public services. The POS also surveys the population’s involvement in decision-making processes regarding the prioritization of and resource allocations to specific public services.

The POS centers on six basic indicators that measure progress toward achieving IGPA/Takamul’s objectives.

• Percent of respondents who report improvements to IGPA-supported service delivery platforms. • Percent of respondents who report satisfaction with IGPA-supported service delivery platforms. • Percent of respondents who rate the local government’s performance of IGPA-supported service delivery platforms as “Excellent” or “Good.” • Percent of respondents who have confidence in the local government to deliver IGPA- supported public services.

2 Data were analyzed using a “traditional” method – the correct/incorrect tally. The normalized gain was calculated using the average of gains formula. First, the normalized gain for each participant is calculated, then averaged as gain = < (Post − Pre)/(100 − Pre)>. This method thus calculates each participant’s gain and then averages, rather than calculating the gain from the class average pre- and post- scores. Using the average of gains formula allows us to relate individual participants’ gains to class average gains meaningfully and allows MEL team to use matched data. Most researchers argue that the calculation of knowledge gain should include only data for participants who took both the pre-and post-test, commonly referred to as “matched” data. This is to avoid inflating the gain by including pre-scores of participants who dropped or stopped attending class.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 77 • Percent of respondents who believe the local government engages the public in planning public service provision. • Percent of respondents who engage the local government to provide feedback on the provision of public services. To assess these indicators, a large-scale survey was conducted in Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, Erbil, and Ninewa using a multi-stage stratified sampling strategy between November 11, 2020, and December 4, 2020. After data quality assessments and thorough data cleaning, 3,872 household survey responses were analyzed.

POS’s Basic Indicators Summary

• 51% of respondents stated that government services have improved in the past year, as opposed to 39% in 2019 and 18% in 2018. • 43% of respondents were satisfied with the service delivery platforms. This is a small improvement in public opinion compared to the 2019 survey when 38% of the respondents said they were satisfied with public services and 22% in 2018. • Across locations, 39% of respondents stated that they had confidence in the local government.

Indicator 1: Percent of respondents who report improvements to IGPA-supported service delivery platforms

78% 79% 69% 69% 66% 63% 63% 65%

51% 45% 47% 39% 39%

22% 18% 13% 8% 5% 1% 3%

Anbar Babylon Baghdad Basrah Erbil Ninewa TOTAL FY 2018 FY2019 FY2020

• 18% of respondents felt that the provincial government attempted to gather citizen input in planning public services. 27% of respondents are aware of the citizen service hotline. • 44% of respondents surveyed know where to submit a complaint to the government about public services. 65% of respondents mentioned social media and 36% mentioned public hearing sessions which are the platforms available to lodge a complaint.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 78 • 77% of respondents surveyed were not aware of the provincial budget. • 25% have provided feedback on the provision of public services to the local government. Younger people were more likely to engage with the local government than their elders.

Main Findings of POS’s Public Services

Water

93% of respondents have a water network system in their area. These percentages are reflected similarly across the six provinces surveyed.

44% of respondents feel that the government’s provision of water services has improved from last year.

Across locations, 66% rated the government provision of water from average to excellent. Overall, the ratings have improved since 2019 where positive ratings have increased and negative ones have decreased.

Solid Waste Management

74% of respondents have trash collection in their area.

46% of respondents state that the government’s performance on trash collection has improved since last year.

67% of respondents rated government performance on trash collection from average to excellent.

Electricity

Most respondents stated that they have the same amount of electricity compared to last year (42%), 26% stated they have more, and 10.5% stated a lot more.

62% of responding households make efforts to conserve electricity usage. 18% do not and 20% did know how. 89% of respondents have access to a generator.

42% of respondents felt that the government’s performance in delivering electricity had improved. 67% of respondents rated government electricity services from average to excellent.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 79 Sewage

64% of the survey respondents have a sewage system in their area.

49% of the respondents from all other governorates subject to this study believe there were improvements in the sewer services.

52% assessed the government’s performance on sewer services from average to excellent.

Across governorates, almost all indicators have improved. More specifically, feedback and perception from Anbar respondents are glowing, whereas Babil responses are less inspiring. Access to water, SWM, electricity, and sewage services generally increased.

Despite very positive reviews, there is still significant work to be done in terms of providing access to drinking water. Access to SWM is the service sector with the most positive reviews and feedback. In terms of electricity, rates of access either increased or stayed somewhat stagnant.

Although the percentage of respondents who feel that government public services have improved has decreased, satisfaction rates show nuanced praise for small but significant improvements. In general, feedback on sewage systems was the most critical. Still, access data shows that there have been important improvements as accessibility and connectivity to a sewage line increased from 59% to 64%. Respondents felt that improvement in sewage services had increased from 23% to 32%, and this improvement is noted in all governorates surveyed. There is still an important proportion of negative ratings on sewage services, but the decrease rate should be emphasized.

Monitored Events Summary

During Q1 of FY21, IGPA’s MEL Unit monitored 36 (40%) out of 91 events in total (19 workshops, 14 training sessions, and 3 on-the-job training sessions). The highest number of monitored events were implemented during the month of October (16), followed by December (12) and then November (8) (see ANNEX 4).

Number of events monitored by Type of Event 30 100%

25 80% 20 60% 15 40% 10 5 20% 0 0% Training Workshop On-the-Job Training

Number of Events Number of events monitored %

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 80 Out of the 36 monitored events during this period, 11 training sessions, 16 workshops, and two on- the-job training sessions were implemented physically (on-the-ground) by IGPA, totaling 29 events. Three training sessions, three workshops, and one on-the-job training session were virtual, totaling seven events monitored remotely.

The highest rate of monitored events (76%) took place in Erbil (19), followed by Baghdad (8) and Maysan (2), both with monitoring rates of (50%). These were followed by Sulaimaniya (2), Basrah (4), and Ninewa (2), with monitoring rates of 40%, 33%, and 13%, respectively.

AMELP Indicators Change Log

IGPA/Takamul MEL Unit added two new performance indicators to merge TO1 and TO3 under Objective 2 “Improve public financial management.” The rest of IGPA’s performance indicators remain the same as FY20 (PY3).

Indicator Indicator Title Added Dropped Updated No # Changes Number of IGPA/Takamul PFM Reform 16.1 Initiatives suggested to Federal Entities (for X both GOI and KRG)

Number of IGPA/Takamul PFM Reform 16.2 Initiatives approved by Federal Entities (in X both GOI and KRG).

Challenges and Lessons Learned

Classification of PWED Problem: A sense of inertia permeated within a majority of PWEDs due to a lack of uniformity in their designation. In some governorates, they were considered a department, while in others they were classified as a division. Much of this was due to confusion over the competing orders from the Council of Ministers Secretariat (COMSec) and the former prime minister.

Action: IGPA conducted numerous consultations with the PWEDs and governors and met with the Director General of the Women’s Empowerment Directorate (WED). This was an internal decision to be made by the Government of Iraq (GoI), and IGPA supported the direction the WED opted to follow. Despite the challenge, IGPA continued to support the PWEDs.

Outcome: The Director General of WED requested COMSec to issue a directive classifying all PWEDs as departments. The COMSec issued the directive along with a Statement of Work for the PWEDs.

Solid Waste Management (SWM) legislation

Lesson learned: During this reporting period, all the parties stated their support for the solid waste law, but their representatives refused to sign the draft. The various representatives continually return from their party leaders with new demands or requirements, complicating the proceedings.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 81 Direct meetings with authorized representatives at the general director level or minister deputy level will be required to ultimately finalize the law.

Collection and removal for solid waste

Lesson learned: A database is key for managing planning activities in the municipality sector regarding collection and removal of solid waste. Most municipalities do not update their databases and most of their work and activities are reactive to issues as they arise. The municipalities lack both short- and long-term plans to improve their efficiency.

Procurement

Problem: The most difficult challenge faced in completing IGPA’s part of these activities was the sudden decrease in crude oil prices which highly affected the implementation of the federal budget and, thus, the financing of procurement plans across Iraq.

Action: IGPA was able to convince some provincial procurement entities to acquire exceptions or to transfer the needed funds from other projects’ or other years’ allocations for vital service delivery projects being supported by IGPA.

Outcome: IGPA awarded five projects from October to December 2020.

Public Private Partnership

Problem: Progress on the PPP law has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts. The two main challenges are:

• The official responsible for reviewing the draft PPP law is not always present. IGPA has tried remote communication as well as in-person meetings with them and other relevant government agencies. • There is a general lack of understanding about partnership between the public and private sectors as well as confusion between investment and partnerships that are currently implemented according to the company law. Action: IGPA provided technical and legal support by continuous remote communication with target parties to discuss the draft law and its financial and legal impacts. IGPA also held multiple meetings within parliament and the MOP and held workshops with parliament representatives and relevant ministries to organize and submit notes to parliament.

Outcome: The concept of partnership between the public and private sector has become clearer and is now accepted by many parliamentary committees. Line ministries (i.e., MOP, MOF, and the National Investment Commission) have actively participated in identifying obstacles and presenting proposed solutions to parliament to organize the draft law according to financial and economic standards and put it to a vote.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 82 Rising COVID-19 infections in KRI and Iraq travel ban

Problem: KRG imposed travel ban to stem the rising COVID infections in the region and in the light of the news of the discovery of the new COVID variant. During the quarter, KRG reached the ultimate number in COVID-19 infections averaging 1,400 to 1,500 cases daily in a population of less than six million. In December, the Republic of Iraq imposed a travel ban on 21 countries to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 variant. This imposition impacted the scheduled arrivals of project experts who were, due to the ban, were not allowed to enter Iraq.

Actions: 1) IGPA diverted most workshops and stakeholders meeting from in-person to online ensuring that participants have access to online activities to avoid disruptions. 2) The IGPA North Regional Office facilitated an exemption from the KRG Ministry of Interior to allow all international staff to return in country to continue their work.

Outcome: Program implementation continued, and the international staff were able to enter the country with minimal disruptions.

Delay of program implementation due to COVID-19

Problem: A number of FY20 (Year 3) activities were delayed due to various reasons including the pandemic and as a consequence, travel restrictions worldwide. One of IGPA’s partners, who was supposed to administer an examination for trainees as a requirement for contracting certification, was not able to return in-country to continue activities that began in early 2020.

Action: IGPA continued to communicate with and find solutions to get the international examiners on the ground.

Outcome: The Project succeeded in completing this critical activity and as a result, the KRG now has 21 internationally certified trainers in contracting and procurement.

Problem: The lack of KRG partners interaction with the Project due to the COVID-19 emergency as well as government bureaucracy and new branding requirements for the Project delayed project implementation in some instances by up to two months.

Action: IGPA facilitated more consistent offline and online meetings to help implement activities in a timely manner given these new procedures.

Outcome: These additional meetings helped stakeholders understand administrative delays and ensured that they remained engaged in IGPA projects and supported project implementation.

Public demonstrations over the financial crisis

Problem: Withholding and non-payment of salaries of civil servants in the KRG led to bloody demonstrations in two of four provinces in the Kurdistan Region where looting, and burning of public buildings and political party’s offices, occurred. IGPA activities were delayed in these two provinces for two weeks in December.

Action: IGPA postponed two workshops until the situation calmed down to ensure participants' safety. The Project security reassessed the situation while IGPA staff remained engaged with the

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 83 stakeholders and government counterparts. Once the security assured confidence on safety to resume, preparations to conduct the workshops were done speedily and proceeded safely.

Outcome: IGPA succeeded in implementing the two workshops and other activities within the same month as initially designed.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 84 CHAPTER III: CONTEXT MONITORING OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GOVERNANCE OF IRAQ

Political Context and Governance Challenges

Political Dynamics and the Prospects of Early Elections

The reporting period featured political maneuvering ahead of deliberations relating to the elections law, as well as legislation related to required borrowing in advance of the submission of the 2021 budget. The debate around the elections law was particularly heated as it featured a restructuring of the electoral units, an approach aimed at allowing smaller political groups to participate and potentially succeed in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

On October 1, 2020, the Government of Iraq (GOI) awaited the parliamentary vote on the country’s new early elections bill, while Parliament discussed the bill’s controversial 15th article. The parliamentary open session continued even after several members of parliament (MP) representing the State of Law bloc of the former Prime Minister (PM) Nuri Al-Maliki and others left the session, breaking the quorum. According to political sources, four provinces’ representatives refused the proposed distribution of electoral districts, including the province of Ninewa, as the electoral districts had been determined according to the women quota. For example, out of a total of 83 female MPs, 17 female MPs are in Baghdad, so the number of electoral districts for Baghdad is 17. Former MP Hassan Toran argued that the electoral districts should instead be decided by an independent authority and not by parliament, since MPs would pursue their own interests.

Each political bloc, party, and even individual MPs demanded a different division for the provincial districts, largely influenced by personal and partisan interests—to ensure that they obtain parliamentary seats in early elections. Meanwhile, holding early elections was one of the main demands of protestors, so a solution was needed as quickly as possible. The resolution of the matter depended on the results of the meetings between the parliament presidency and the leaders of the blocs, and on October 29, the COR approved the districts’ division in all Iraqi provinces.

The next hurdle towards holding early elections is for the COR to vote on amending the Federal Supreme Court law. (The Federal Supreme Court is currently lacking two members for a full quorum.) However, some MPs have expressed their intent to create a new Federal Supreme Court law which would need the approval of about 220 MPs instead of just 83.

The final proposed district divisions were as follows:

Number of electoral districts in Iraq

No. of No. of Province No. of seats Province No. of seats districts districts

Baghdad 69 17 Najaf 12 3

Basrah 25 6 Diyala 14 4

Dhi Qar 19 5 Salah al-Din 12 3

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 85 Maysan 10 3 Sulaimaniya 18 5

Babil 17 4 Dahuk 11 3

Muthanna 7 2 Erbil 15 4

Wasit 11 3 Anbar 15 4

Qadisiya 11 3 Kirkuk 12 3

Karbala 11 3

On November 3, First Deputy Speaker Ka’abi signed the amended version of the election law and sent it to the Office of the President for approval.

As discussions of potential early elections increased, there was a call for political parties with armed wings to be banned from participating to ensure equality among participants. Many of the pro-Iranian militia participated in the elections of 2018 and secured numerous parliamentary seats after using weapons to intimidate voters especially in rural cities. Political analysts expect that the Asa’ib Ahl al- Haq (AAH) militia led by Qais Khazali will double its seats if no action is taken against them.

Activists launched a major campaign calling on the United Nations (UN) to blacklist the political parties with armed factions. New political parties had already registered to participate in the upcoming elections for two reasons: the new lists respond to protesters demands and larger parties are required to use candidates in small lists to secure seats under the new electoral law. Supporters of Iran-backed political parties, movements, and militias are circulating news that PM Mustafa al- Kadhimi is supporting two or three activist groups taking part in the upcoming elections on multiple lists including al-Marhala list.

Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he would participate in the upcoming elections and his goal is to get enough of a majority to choose a Sadrist PM. Sadr supporters held unified Friday prayers in Baghdad and the southern provinces to show solidarity ahead of the upcoming elections. Most of Sadr’s followers stood unmasked in the square, chanting: “Yes, yes for our leader.” Political analysts considered this to be Sadr’s message to other political parties and to the Iraqi public to show that he still has influence and supporters.

During Iraq's three parliamentary elections held between 2005 and 2014, the Sadrist movement maintained approximately 11 percent of the seats. In the 2018 vote, however, it won about 15.8 percent of the seats, making it the largest bloc with 52 MPs. Yet it seems unlikely that the Sadrist movement will have the upper hand in cabinet formation since they need to form alliances with other political forces.

On November 28, the GOI’s Program Implementation and Strategic Planning Committee announced that it was impossible to hold the parliamentary election in June 2021 as planned. The committee said that issues with the Federal Supreme Court, biometric voter ID, and contracts with companies to systematize the electoral data will cause delays. On December 1, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) called on the PM to postpone the elections until September 2021.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 86 Long-term Sentinel Indicators

IGPA/Takamul identifies the following issues as long-term sentinel indicators that will continue to impact Iraqi political and governance policies in 2020.

Public Anger, Mistrust, and Protests

On October 1, Iraqis across the country took to the streets to mark the anniversary of anti- government protests that erupted last year before internal splintering, United States (U.S.)-Iran tensions, and a lockdown imposed by the coronavirus pandemic brought them to an end. Protests resumed in Baghdad, Basrah, Dhi Qar, Najaf, Wasit, and Babil, with demonstrators demanding an end to corruption, unemployment, and an overhaul of the ruling elite. Protesters waved Iraqi flags and chanted slogans in support of the uprising, known in Arabic as "Thawrat Tishreen," while others sang patriotic songs and clapped.

Throughout October, the organizers of the October 2019 protests renewed their call to demonstrate but took additional measures to prevent the infiltration of the Shia militia in the protests. On October 20, the protesters announced that they removed the tents from the sit-in squares to the gates of the Green Zone in Baghdad. On October 27, many tents were removed from al-Tahrir square by the protesters as sporadic attacks on demonstrators continued. On the same day, the Iraqi authorities reopened a bridge in Baghdad leading to the Green Zone to signal easing tensions a year after the launch of the anti-government protest movement. Meanwhile, graduate students continued their sit-ins in Baghdad demanding employment.

On December 25, a large protest commemorating the October 2019 protest took place with mass demonstrations in Baghdad and the southern provinces. Clashes occurred between protesters and the security forces resulting in 40 people injured (mostly from the security forces). Sadr encouraged the use of violence against protesters gathering in Baghdad, calling them “infiltrators.” PM Kadhimi called on the Iraqi people and protesters to gather to pay respect to those killed during last year’s demonstrations.

Public Anger, Mistrust, and Protests in the Southern Provinces

Anti-government sit-ins in Basrah. In November, violence escalated between protesters and Iraqi security forces (ISF) members when anti-riot police stormed the sit in in al-Baharia square in Basrah without warning and used tear gas to disperse protesters before setting their tents on fire. Ten protesters suffocated. The square was subsequently reopened, and activists accused Governor Asa’ad al-Idani of issuing the order to remove the sit-in.

Activists circulated calls on social media for another sit-in and for the replacement of the sit-in tents that the ISF had removed. Clashes occurred again resulting in one protester killed and seven others wounded. The Operations Command stated that the protesters were free to hold demonstrations, but they were not permitted to stay at the site overnight. The protester’s death generated public outrage against the ISF and the government. The PM confirmed that the ISF member suspected of the killing was detained and would receive just punishment. The Ministry of Interior announced that the arrested member confessed to the crime and would be referred to the judiciary for sentencing. The police, however, stated that a group of saboteurs attacked ISF members with Molotov cocktails and stones to change the tone of the peaceful demonstrations and incite violence.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 87 Employee protests from the 30,000 Job Initiative. The Iraq High Commission on Human Rights (IHCHR) released its findings that Basrah is suffering from an increasingly high poverty rate, with almost 40 percent of residents living below the poverty line. The principal cause is attributed to unemployment due to the pandemic as well as the reduction in oil production and sales. The country's monthly oil revenues notably decreased from $6 billion to $1.4 billion between the months of February and April. The IHCHR called on the government to solve the unemployment issue and fairly distribute public wealth.

In October, the employees from the 30,000 Job Initiative who were hired during the 2019 demonstrations in Basrah continued their protest outside the provincial government building. They demanded the payment of their delayed salaries and a transfer to permanent contracts.

In a statement to calm the situation, Governor Idani’s office announced that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) approved the salaries of the 30,000 employees as part of the Borrowing Law approved by the COR. However, the provincial government then struggled to provide those salaries amidst the continuing protests. (Previously, the local government had used provincial revenues to pay salaries for a few months.) The issue remained unsolved and the provincial government was still unable to pay them their delayed salaries.

In December, the situation escalated and thousands of employees from the 30,000 Job Initiative blocked main roads to demand payment of their delayed wages. The protesters blocked al-Zubair, al-Shalamcheh, and al-Shuaiba roads with burning tires, as well as the main roads leading to both the South Oil Refineries Company and the port of Umm Qasr. As the protest continued, the protesters also closed the gate of al-Burjisiya Oil Field, blocked the road to Dhi Qar, and prevented vehicles from entering the province. Despite clashes with ISF, the protesters continued to block the roads and allowed only humanitarian services to pass.

Graduate students protest for employment. In October, graduates from the College of Science and Engineering demonstrated outside the gates of the Basrah Oil Company, demanding employment. The protesters prevented staff from entering company property and threatened to escalate the situation if the government neglected their demands. ISF arrested approximately 200 graduates.

In November, hundreds of graduates continued to protest outside Basrah Oil Company headquarters demanding jobs. According to local media, more than 850 graduates joined.

In December, engineering graduates continued the sit-in, blocking the road and preventing employees from entering company property. Videos and pictures were circulated on social media showing security members beating and assaulting the protesters at the company gate. Six individuals were detained. The IHCHR denounced the attacks against the graduates and called on the Oil Police Directorate to respect human rights regulations. IHCHR demanded the provincial government to launch an investigation into the incident.

Dhi Qar Province protests. In November, hundreds of protesters closed the Dhi Qar Provincial Government building and demanded the resignation of Governor Nadhim al-Waeli over the poor management of public services. The protesters swore to continue until their demands were met.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 88 Governor Waeli fired six directors in Suq al-Shuyukh and al-Aikika sub-districts in response to the protesters demands. This included the directors of the Municipality Directorate, the Agriculture Directorate, the Water Directorate, and the Sewerage Directorate.

On November 27, Sadr followers attacked the protesters' sit-in at al-Haboubi Square in Dhi Qar. When they were prevented from entering the square, Sadr supporters used live ammunition and set fire to tents, resulting in six deaths and 60 people injured. The police commander thereafter announced a curfew in Dhi Qar. Hours after the incident, PM Kadhimi fired the police commander, citing police inaction in stopping the skirmishes, and assigned a new commander. The PM also formed a committee to investigate the incidents, declared a curfew, and cancelled permits to carry weapons.

PM Kadhimi ordered the formation of a crisis cell, led by National Security Adviser, Qassem al-Araji, to manage the security and administrative situation in Dhi Qar. The crisis team arrived in Dhi Qar the same day and met with local officials, protesters, and tribal leaders. Two regiments of federal police also arrived under the PM’s orders to restore law.

The crisis team met with Sumer Operations Command to discuss the security situation. The team, in collaboration with directors of the service directorates, found that the province suffers from poor services and delays in implementing projects. It urged the service directorates to work on improving services in line with the PM’s instructions.

The crisis team then arrived in al-Haboubi Square and held a press conference. Araji called on the ministers and decision makers to visit Dhi Qar to address the issue of poor services in the province. He also confirmed that detainees who did not have civil claims would be released.

Activists circulated posts on social media about a large campaign of arrests against protesters and activists. These were reportedly posted after midnight to avoid media attention. According to a security source, three activists were arrested on charges of terrorism during the campaign. The source indicated that the arrest warrants were issued centrally from the federal government.

In December, protesters blocked the main road linking Dhi Qar and Muthanna in al-Bat'ha sub- district with burning tires to reject the ISF’s arrests of activists. Hundreds of people joined the protest in the center of the province shortly after the arrest of an activist named Mustafa Zahra.

The U.S-Iran Conflict in Iraq

In October 2020, the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, informed Iraqi officials that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would likely close after it was targeted several times by Katyusha rockets. PM Kadhimi formed a supreme military and security committee to investigate attacks that targeted diplomatic missions in Baghdad and took measures to protect them. PM Kadhimi also met with 25 top diplomats and pledged to protect their foreign missions from future attacks. Sadr warned against the targeting of diplomatic missions in Iraq by Shia factions, demanding the legalization of the foreign presence and the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. A source said that a special security team was deployed to protect the Green Zone, including the Presidential Palace, strategic governmental facilities, and the U.S. Embassy building, in addition to other foreign embassies and diplomatic missions. Sadikoun parliamentary bloc, which represents the AAH movement, expressed their disapproval of this move.

On October 10, the Iraqi militia including Kata’ib Hezbollah, AAH, and al-Nujaba announced the suspension of their military operations against U.S. and foreign forces in Iraq to give them enough

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 89 time to withdraw. These comments hinted at de-escalation following weeks of tension, but diplomats in Iraq were skeptical about Iran-backed armed groups delivering on their promise to stop attacks on U.S. troops and personnel stationed in the country.

On October 22, the U.S. Department of the Treasury blacklisted Iraj Masjedi, Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq. The U.S. said that Masjedi had supported the Iraqi militia groups responsible for attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. Furthermore, the U.S. seized two domain names linked to pro-Iranian groups operating in Iraq. The websites, “Aletejahtv.com” and “kataibhezbollah.com,” were being used by Kata’ib Hezbollah to publish content designed to destabilize Iraq and recruit others to join their cause. On October 23, Iran imposed sanctions on the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, and two other U.S. diplomats in Iraq (Tueller's deputy, Steve Fagin, and the U.S. Consul of Erbil, Rob Waller) in a tit-for-tat move after Washington blacklisted Tehran’s Baghdad envoy.

On November 19, Khazali announced the end of the truce with the U.S. in Iraq, stressing the need to remove the foreign presence. On the same day, armed factions launched a missile attack targeting the U.S. Embassy. The major armed factions close to Iran denied responsibility and condemned the attacks. The head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Esmail Qaani, arrived in Baghdad thereafter and met with PM Kadhimi, Hadi al-Amiri the head of Fatih list, and Khazali of the AAH to discuss the division between armed factions. (Discourse on the truce remains inconsistent, even among Shia political blocs that are considered close to Iran-aligned factions.) The Iranian General failed to end the differences between the Iraqi armed factions and stated that some faction leaders rejected Iran’s orders and felt they had a right to defend themselves against the U.S.

Several Shia commanders and politicians confirmed that the AAH rebelled against Iran’s orders and continued targeting U.S. military bases in Iraq. Without coordinating with other pro-Iranian militia in Iraq, AAH carried out several attacks against U.S. bases, indicating that the AAH is operating outside Iranian control and has split from Kata’ib Hezbollah. This also means that the AAH is no longer relying on Iran’s protection or the assistance of other Iraqi militias. AAH’s disobedience is a surprise to Shia political and armed forces. The AAH’s message to the Iraqi people and other pro-Iranian militia seems to be that it will no longer follow Iran’s orders which will gain them supporters in the upcoming elections and position them to claim they are the head of the armed factions in Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government

The Kurdistan Region Context and Developments

During the reporting period, protests of delayed salaries broke out in more than a dozen towns in Sulaimaniya. So far, eight protestors have been shot and killed by the security forces guarding party and government offices and many other people have been wounded, including security personnel. In response, authorities shut down the opposition media network Nalia Radio and Television, limited local Internet access, imposed a curfew, and halted oil exports from the Gazprom-operated Sarqala field. This led to more protests, similar to the fallout of protests in other parts of Iraq last year. PM Masrour Barzani called the latest demonstrations a conspiracy against the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), while other officials blamed Turkey’s outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for instigating the unrest. Soon afterward, security officials threatened residents to avoid further protests.

Beset by depressed oil prices and economic mismanagement, the KRI has been unable to dispense full salaries and social service payments in a timely manner. Eligible residents have received only six of their monthly payments, with each check reduced by anywhere from 18 to 50 percent. The KRI’s

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 90 finances have also been hampered by its ongoing dispute with Baghdad over budget and oil revenue sharing terms. Despite publicly committing to make structural reforms that would lessen its crippling dependence on the federal government, the KRI has not done so, and its negotiations with Baghdad have failed to secure a sustainable deal.

Finally, the Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said that the KRG is ready to hand over oil to Baghdad following a meeting with the Kurdistan Region Parliament on December 28. Talabani said that the KRG’s share of the budget is the same as in 2019—at 12.67 percent— “less than what we expected and deserve.” Moreover, the representative of KRG in Baghdad said that a high-level Kurdish political delegation headed by President Nechirvan Barzani would visit Baghdad to secure a sustainable deal for the KRI.

On October 4, PM Barzani met with an Iraqi delegation led by PMF/Hashed leader Falih al-Fayyad and Iraqi Military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah. They discussed developments in Iraq and the wider region and the importance of cooperation between the Kurdish and federal security forces in the fight against Da’esh. The meeting came days after six rockets struck outside the Erbil International Airport. Kurdish security officials directly blamed PMF/Hashed members for the attack.3

Tensions rose between the KDP and the PKK following the PKK’s attack on a Turkish-owned pipeline transporting oil from the KRI to Turkey. The KRG issued a statement that described the attack as terrorism and added that the KRG would never allow threats against its interests and citizens’ livelihoods. An investigation was launched to identify those behind the attack. Despite the KRG’s statement, Turkey’s military incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan continued.

On November 11, family members of Peshmerga (Kurdish military forces) who were killed in the fight against Da’esh destroyed donations from a U.S. organization, burning the aid outside of Erbil’s Peshmerga hospital. Roads of Success (ROS) works to advance the quality of life for people both locally and internationally and, through the Peshmerga Ministry, contacted the families of some 250 Peshmerga fighters who were killed in the last six years fighting Da’esh. The organization distributed winter aid for 500 families. The families and the Peshmerga Ministry reported that they did not expect ROS to provide winter clothes and shoes, the estimated value of which did not compensate for their transportation fees to Erbil. The families said that it was not aid, but disrespect for the families of martyrs.

Faith-Based Communities

On October 1, an agreement was signed between the GOI and the KRG for the installation of a new administrative council and changes in security oversight in Ninewa province. The changes would restore security and stability, normalize conditions in the district in accordance with constitutional and judicial principles, remedy the suffering of Sinjar residents in preparation for the return of displaced persons, and reorganize the administrative and security framework in the district. On October 11, several Sinjar district residents staged a demonstration, protesting the agreement and demanding to have a say in any decisions or agreements.

On November 8, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from Sinjar held a protest in Kurdistan’s Dahuk Province to call on the KRG, the GOI, and the UN to accelerate the Erbil-Baghdad agreement’s implementation to normalize the situation in Sinjar. The demonstrators wanted the PMF/Hashed and

3 https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/320c6963-97cf-44a8-bda0-057567c3f12d

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 91 the PKK to leave their area. Former Iraqi Interior Minister and current National Security Advisor Araji visited Sinjar and shared his commitment to implementing the Sinjar agreement to allow Yazidi IDPs to return to their homes.

However, a Yazidi militia leader from Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) in the disputed area of Sinjar condemned the Erbil-Baghdad agreement and warned of “war” if the agreement is implemented. The leader is also a leader in the Sinjar Autonomous Council, a civil society administration formed by PKK-affiliated groups which govern the district.4

Several notable leaders from Sinjar have formed a new Yazidis Assembly with the aim of conveying the demands of residents and monitoring government work. There has been a demand for this kind of assembly since before 2014. The new assembly consists of 60 members who were elected by the residents of the district. Each member represents 5,000 citizens in Sinjar. Between 10 and 15 seats were allocated to women representatives.

Finally, the KDP reported that the PKK elements are responsible for preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people of Sinjar while a member of the PKK’s Relations Committee accused the KDP of creating discord between the PKK and the citizens of Sinjar.

More than 10 Kakai villages in Diyala’s Khanaqin area have been emptied following repeated attacks by Da’esh. Since 2014, Kakai Kurds have been targeted by Da’esh because of their religious beliefs. Many now live near Kirkuk, Khanaqin, and in the Ninewa Plains.

The U.S. Consul General, Robert Waller, visited the Lalish Temple in Sheikhan District, met with Yazidi leaders, and announced an additional $500,000 for the temple’s renovation. This brought the total allocated for renovations to $1 million.

Christians have slowly started to come back to the area, including to the historic village of Karemlash, southeast of Mosul. Half of the village's roughly 800 families have returned, with others hesitating due to a lack of public services and tensions among state-sponsored armed groups in the surrounding plains. Iraq once counted more than 1.5 million Christians in its citizenry, but the community has been ravaged by back-to-back conflicts. Now, an estimated 400,000 Christians remain in Iraq. Pope Francis was formally invited to Iraq in 2019 by President Barham Saleh, but the trip was recently cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Economic Dynamics

In October 2020, the GOI worked intensively to develop an economic reform plan while Iraq faced complex economic crises, most notably the need to secure $3.6 billion per month in salaries for about 6.5 million employees and retirees. The reform plan was supposed to include amendments to the salary scale, put an end to the discrepancy in salaries of state employees, and organize both the payrolls of retired employees and the Federal Service Law. This plan gathered both domestic and foreign support and was even backed by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

However, economic reform was complicated by the drop in oil prices and Iraq’s commitment to reducing its oil production in accordance with the OPEC+ agreement. This means that the GOI needs to borrow consistently as public employees’ salaries cannot be fully paid from the sale of oil. In the two months prior, Iraq achieved $7 billion in revenue from the sale of oil, which is the amount

4 https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/251120203

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 92 it needed to pay employees’ salaries alone. The government was looking to borrow $5 billion from the International Monetary Fund and $8 billion from internal banks. This indicated the size of the economic burden the GOI faced and reflected its inability to reduce government expenditures. Over staffing in the past 15 years also exhausted the Iraqi state, as jobs were used for electoral purposes. The Parliamentary Finance Committee commented on the borrowing law by stating the following points:

• In contrast to the federal financial administration law, the government did not include the borrowing bill in the 2020 federal budget. • The principle that the law adopted might lead to an economic collapse. • The COR did not adhere to the legal terms that are included in the borrowing bill regarding the control (electronically) of state employees’ salaries. • The committee was in favor of approving such a law but not with its then total of $47.8 billion as this number was significantly high. It would need to be reduced to about $12.5 billion. • Legal deadlines required the government to submit the 2021 federal budget on October 15, and the government failed to meet this date. In October 2020, the GOI approved the economic reform plan. The three-year plan addresses the economic and fiscal crisis mainly through cutting public spending, stopping waste, fighting corruption, and diversifying from mainly oil revenues. It targets the productive and service sectors of the government to improve public services and debilitated infrastructure. It calls for the private sector to provide loans and facilitate procedures to create jobs. Some of the proposed reforms can be achieved within months, while others will need a year or two.

In early November 2020, Parliament held its session and finished the reading of the borrowing law. The Parliamentary Finance Committee expressed its reservations regarding the Borrowing Law, highlighting the large amount of funds requested by the GOI, and suggested it be amended to borrow only $29 billion.

On November 12, 2020, Parliament passed the borrowing law allowing the government, which suffers from a lack of liquidity, to borrow from abroad to finance the delayed salaries of employees, within the fiscal deficit of about $28 billion. However, some of the MPs approved less than a third of the required amount to pay salaries only, while the Kurdish blocs boycotted the voting session.

The GOI asked Parliament for a mandate to borrow an amount of 31 trillion IQD (about $28 billion) to finance salaries between October and December, but Parliament approved only 12 trillion IQD ($10 billion) which Parliament considered sufficient to cover the salaries expenses of about 5 million state employees. World Bank estimates showed that Iraq's economy would contract by 9.7 percent in 2020 due to low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, following its 4.4 percent growth in 2019.

Currency Devaluation and the 2021 Federal Budget Bill

Many news channels circulated a leaked document of the 2021 federal budget that suggested changing the Iraqi dinar (IQD) exchange rate from 1,240 to 1,450 for each U.S. dollar, which is a devaluation of 20%. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) then announced that it adopted this new exchange rate. Parliament must review and vote on the bill, so amendments are possible.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 93 The 2021 federal budget aims to reduce the expenditures and the deficit by cutting down the salaries of employees in addition to devaluating the currency. Such a move could incite mass demonstrations. Many people started circulating calls on social media to join mass protests. According to economic experts, the plan has a positive short-term impact, but the long-term consequences would be an increase in prices. This could set a precedent for the government whenever facing inflation, public discontent, and an IQD loss in value.

On December 19, the Council of Ministers (COM) held an emergency session but failed to vote on the 2021 federal budget. The COM intended to amend some of the items in the bill before sending it to Parliament. On December 22, the COM held another session and approved the bill. The total budget is 150 trillion IQD ($103 billion), based on an oil price of $42 per barrel, and will result in a deficit of 63 trillion IQD ($43 billion).

Although the government claimed that there were several working versions of the budget, the leaked version contained several figures which illustrate the GOI’s current thinking and assumptions:

• Oil exports: 3.25 million barrels per day (bpd) with a price of $42 per barrel • Exchange rate: IQD 1,450 for every U.S. dollar • Expenditures: IQD 150 trillion ($102 billion) • Revenues: IQD 92 trillion ($62.5 billion), with IQD 73 trillion ($49.6 billion) from oil • Deficit: IQD 58 trillion ($39.4 billion) Commentators questioned the GOI’s approach to calculating both expenditure and revenue. Revenue is set at $62.5 billion with oil revenue standing at $49.6 billion and non-oil revenue at $13 billion, which is extremely optimistic given past performance in generating income locally. Expenditure is $102 billion, but critics noted the breakdown between recurrent operational costs at $83 billion and only $19 billion for capital investment and raised questions regarding the GOI’s ability to undertake necessary development projects and support the expansion of the private sector. Lastly, critics have highlighted that, despite a bloated and unsustainable public sector, the budget includes a proposed expansion of 108,713 new jobs for 2020 and an additional 34,469 for 2021.

Regional Economic Engagement

In November 2020, PM Kadhimi held an online meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two agreed to:

• Increase bilateral cooperation in various areas. • Share experiences on energy and commit to the OPEC and OPEC+ decisions. • Cooperate to confront extremism and terrorism. • Avoid regional tensions. • Enhance coordination in multilateral diplomacy. • Benefit from the outcomes of the 2018 Kuwait Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq. • Seek to implement the provisions of the Arab Free Trade Zone Agreement. • Plan to start a project to build a sports stadium funded by Saudi Arabia.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 94 • Open the Arar border crossing within a week. (The border crossing was opened on November 18.) On December 27, Iran decreased the amount of natural gas it exports to Iraq and threatened further cutbacks, which affects electricity production in Iraq significantly. Iraq has been receiving 5 million cubic meters a day since Iran cut its daily exports from 50 million cubic meters. The Ministry of Electricity (MOE) announced that these cuts would reduce power supplies for Baghdad and the southern region and called on the MOF to pay the dues for Iranian gas to avoid losing the supply. The National Iranian Gas Company announced that Iraq owed more than $6 billion to Iran for importing gas.

Impacts on IGPA/Takamul Programming

Over the past quarter, as with previous quarters, there was a large number of political developments at the national, provincial, and local levels that have current or potential impacts on project programming.

In October, the COR Committee on Regions and Provinces began a program of visiting the provinces to investigate issues that are negatively impacting service delivery and delaying the implementation of projects. The committee visited Babil Province where they met with the provincial governor, deputy governor, and key staff. The committee chairman promised the Babil Governorate that the committee will invite the ministers of the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works and the Ministry of Planning (MOP) and the chair of the Federal Investment Commission to identify issues behind the suspension of some projects. The chair also announced that his committee was encouraging government entities to reduce bureaucracy and support decentralization. These decisions align with IGPA/Takamul’s programming particularly in the areas of water and solid waste management (SWM).

The COR committee established to investigate the Ministry of Electricity’s (MOE) contracts issued its report. The report cited corruption and misuse of public funds as the main reasons behind the deterioration of the power supply across the country. The committee also stressed the importance of using the prepaid fee system through the installation of “smart” meters and of contracting with well-known international companies to collect fees. The committee recommended developing legislation on government contracting. The COR committee’s request to accelerate the legislation of government contracting is an essential part of the IGPA/Takamul Year 4 Work Plan. As IGPA/Takamul supports smart meter usage in the KRG, the GOI MOE also expressed interest in receiving IGPA/Takamul’s assistance on smart metering and wanted to review the KRG’s achievements in this regard.

In November, the Council of Ministers Secretariat (COMSec) wrote to all the federal provincial governments stating that the secretary-general approved the upgrading of the Provincial Women’s Empowerment office to department level within the Governor’s Office’s structure. Administratively, the department will report directly to the governor and, technically, the entity will be linked to the Women’s Empowerment Directorate at COMSec. This directive ends the ongoing debate regarding the Provincial Women’s Empowerment Department (PWED) status and reporting lines. Upgrading the administrative structure of the PWED is significant for the implementation of IGPA/Takamul’s assistance as the project builds the capacity of PWEDs across federal governorates to exercise their roles and responsibilities in enhancing service delivery in the context of gender and vulnerable populations.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 95 In December, the COR’s deputy speaker hosted a meeting for all the governors and key provincial government representatives to discuss priorities of each provincial government in the 2021 budget and delayed and ongoing projects. The governors requested that provincial governments be given authority over ministry-funded projects to identify priorities, announce bid analyses and awards, and complete the financial and technical monitoring of projects. The governors also requested authority to exclude companies that perform badly. The deputy speaker requested that the next meeting include the relevant ministers to brief participants on the reasons behind the suspension or delay of projects. Attendees also discussed the status of decentralized directorates and the challenges experienced by each province. Authority over financial and technical monitoring will lead to provincial governments requesting more IGPA/Takamul support in these two areas.

In a related matter, IGPA/Takamul obtained a copy of the official letter to form the council of independent entities and entities not affiliated with a region that will be headed by the PM. The letter outlined responsibilities of the council and the PM’s duties as council head. While reviewing the council’s mandate and membership, the Higher Commission for Coordination among Provinces Secretariat (HCCPSec) is represented in the council through its chairman, which will ensure that issues encountered by provincial governments are appropriately escalated to the management level. In addition, one of the council’s mandates is to focus on streamlining procedures related to the delivery of essential services—which is aligned with IGPA/Takamul’s business process reengineering activities for some citizen-based services—and promoting increased cost recovery at the local level.

The HCCPSec discussions detailed above and the renewed emphasis made by the federal authorities on the importance of decentralization as an instrument to improve service delivery and generate revenues is aligned with the objectives of IGPA/Takamul programming. IGPA/Takamul will accelerate its support for a study initiated by the HCCPSec on the successes of and challenges to decentralization considering the ongoing talks.

Also, in December, the COR Committee on Regions and Provinces called for a governors’ meeting sponsored by the COR leadership and attended by representatives from the COR’s Finance and Services committees. Attendees discussed the 2021 provincial budget, the continued and new projects funded through the investment budget and Accelerated Region Development Program budget (ARDP), decentralized directorates according to Law 21 as amended, and a general discussion of the problems encountered by each province. The meeting between the COR leadership and the governors demonstrates the legislative branch’s interest in decentralization at a time when decentralization is also being debated within the COM.

This initiative coincided with the release of a set of proposed reforms from the COR Finance Committee, which sent IGPA/Takamul a copy earlier that week. The project is studying this document and will develop approaches wherein the priorities of the COR can be reconciled with those expressed in the White Paper.

Lastly, the recent show of strength by the Sadrist movement in advance of elections described in the previous section above raises the issue of whether the project will be impacted by a future government dominated by Sadrists at the federal level. With its practical focus on supporting sectors of high priority to Iraqi communities and supporting government leaders and functionaries at all levels, IGPA/Takamul is well positioned to continue its programming regardless of the political composition of a future government. Another mitigating factor is the Project’s use of Iraqi national staff within its senior management, a trend towards sustainability which will increase during Year 4 and beyond.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 96 ANNEXES

ANNEX 1: PROJECT SNAPSHOT ...... 98 ANNEX 2: NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING IGPA/TAKAMUL’S INTERVENTIONS ...... 103 ANNEX 3: NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS TRAINED ...... 106 ANNEX 4: PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY 2020 BASIC INDICATOR FINDINGS ...... 109 ANNEX 5: NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES MONITORED ...... 111 ANNEX 6: THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ...... 114 ANNEX 7: USAID CURRENT & FUTURE PROGRAMMING RESPONSES TO GOI WHITE PAPER PRIORITIES ...... 123 ANNEX 8: IGPA SUPPORT TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC REFORMS ...... 128 ANNEX 9: THE MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS & TRENDS OF THE IRAQI ECONOMY DURING 2020 ...... 136 ANNEX 10: QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION – FY21, Q-1 ...... 139 ANNEX 11: OVERVIEW OF SUBCONTRACTORS ...... 142 ANNEX 12:* SUCCESS STORIES IN ARABIC...... 144 ANNEX 13: CONTRACTUAL DELIVERABLES ...... 145 ANNEX 14: QUARTERLY SUB ACTIVITY REPORT ...... 146 ANNEX 15: QUARTERLY MEDIA COVERAGE ...... 153

*This annex is submitted separately and can be found in the link below: FY21 Q-1 Success Stories in Arabic

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 97 ANNEX 1: PROJECT SNAPSHOT

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 98

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 99

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 100

TABLE 4: SUMMARY TABLE OF RESULTS ACTUAL FY21 FY21 ACTUALS FY21 FY21 NO. INDICATORS COMULATIVE CUMULATIVE % FY18, 19 & 20 TARGET Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 (Q1+2+3+4) ACHIEVED 1 Percentage of citizens reporting improvements to service delivery platforms. 51% 47% - - 0%

Number of improved business processes implemented by provincial governments as a 100 42 0 0 2 0% result of IGPA/Takamul support.

3 Number of contracts awarded by the GOI as a result of IGPA/Takamul support. 137 45 5 5 11.1%

$505,782,670.15 $122 M 301,148,405.87 301,148,405.87 246.8%5 4 Value of contracts awarded to improve service delivery as a result of IGPA support. USD

Number of initiatives implemented by IGPA/Takamul supported provincial 5 58 37 1 1 2.7% institutions.

Number of government institutions adopting SOPs as a result of IGPA/Takamul 2 32 0 0 0.0% 6 support at the national, regional or provincial level.

7 Number local revenue laws passed by local governments as a result of IGPA support 2 36 0 0 0.0%

Number of provincial in-year budget reports produced in accordance with law or 8 87 10 4 4 40.0% best practice as a result of IGPA/Takamul support

Number of mechanisms developed, or implemented, to establish effective citizen 9 14 13 1 1 7.7% participation, outreach and communication

10 Number of interventions implemented by IGPA/Takamul-supported CSOs and SAGs 90 63 1 1 1.6%

Number of civil society organizations (CSOs) receiving USG assistance engaged in 11 113 22 6 6 27.3% advocacy interventions

Number of policy changes by provincial government as a result of advocacy 12 2 15 2 2 13.3% interventions implemented by CSOs/SAGs or TWGs

5 A major contract that was put on hold was awarded during this reporting quarter for the value of $297,455,748.00 USD. Target for this indicator will be revised during FY21 Q2. 6 This target will be revised in the next update of Activity MEL Plan. USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 101 13 Number of individuals trained by IGPA/Takamul7 1,2168 1,385 341 341 24.6%

14 Number of participants attending IGPA/Takamul’s interventions 4,529 5,415 501 501 9.3%

Number of persons trained with USG assistance to advance outcomes consistent 15 with gender equality or female empowerment through their roles in public or private 4 40 0 0 0.0% sector institutions or organizations.

Number of IGPA/Takamul PFM Reform Initiatives suggested to Federal Entities (for 16.1 0 15 0 0 0.0% both GOI and KRG)9

Number of IGPA/Takamul PFM Reform Initiatives approved by Federal Entities (in 16.2 0 7 0 0 0.0% both GOI and KRG).10

TASK ORDER 4 - NIFI

TABLE 5: SUMMARY TABLE OF RESULTS FY21 FY21 ACTUALS FY21 ACTUAL COMULATIVE FY21 CUMULATIVE NO. INDICATORS % FY19 & FY20 (Q1+2+3+4) TARGET Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 ACHIEVED 1 Number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) that access 35 60 2 2 3.3% or mobilize financing as a result of USG assistance

2 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical assistance for improving business performance (Standard Economic Growth Indicator 256 300 41 41 13.7% 5.2.1)

7 This Indicator was re-defined during Year 3 to avoid double counting. The total number of participants trained by IGPA/Takamul for years 1 and 2 was 10,372. 8 Reported actuals achieved from FY20 were revised in lights of the recommendation received from USAID Third Party Monitoring Project after the Data Quality Assessment during August 2020. 9 New Performance Indicator introduced in IGPA/Takamul FY21 Work Plan and Activity MEL Plan. 10 New Performance Indicator introduced in IGPA/Takamul FY21 Work Plan and Activity MEL Plan. USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 102 ANNEX 2: NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING IGPA/TAKAMUL’S INTERVENTIONS

TABLE 6: Number of Participants attending IGPA/Takamul’s interventions FY 21 Trainees and Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 CUMMULATIVE Training Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T

Governorate

Anbar 0 13 13 0 13 13

Babil 3 12 15 3 12 15

Baghdad 16 61 77 16 61 77

Basrah 12 17 29 12 17 29

Dahuk 1 6 7 1 6 7

Dhi Qar 2 6 8 2 6 8

Diyala 0 3 3 0 3 3

Erbil 2 16 28 2 16 28

Halabja 25 61 86 25 61 86

Karbala 1 6 7 1 6 7

Kirkuk 0 5 5 0 5 5

Maysan 6 22 18 6 22 18

Muthanna 0 8 8 0 8 8

Najaf 1 13 14 1 13 14

Ninewa 3 29 32 3 29 32

Qadisiya 1 20 21 1 20 21

Salah al-Din 0 4 4 0 4 4

Sulaimaniya 37 73 110 37 73 110

Wasit 1 15 16 1 15 16

Age Range

18 to 26 years 2 6 8 2 6 8

27 to 35 years 30 48 87 30 48 87

36 to 44 years 25 132 157 25 132 157

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 103 TABLE 6: Number of Participants attending IGPA/Takamul’s interventions FY 21 Trainees and Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 CUMMULATIVE Training Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T

older than 45 years 48 189 237 48 189 237

Not Reported 6 15 21 6 15 21

Type of Employment/ Affiliation

Federal GOI 42 126 168 42 126 168 Officials

Provincial GOI 37 208 246 37 208 246 Officials

CSOs 19 20 39 19 20 39

Others* 13 35 48 13 35 48

Directorate

AFAD 2 21 23 2 21 23

Qadisiya Provincial 0 18 18 0 18 18

Council

Ninewa Provincial 1 13 14 1 13 14

Council

Basrah Provincial 4 8 12 4 8 12

Council

Sulaimaniya 4 7 11 4 7 11

Provincial Council

Sulaimaniya Water 2 7 9 2 7 9

Directorate

Halabja Provincial 1 8 9 1 8 9

Council

Halabja Education 4 5 9 4 5 9

Directorate

Babil Provincial 1 7 9 1 7 9

Council

Baghdad University - 2 5 7 2 5 7 College of Engineering

Other 90 291 381 90 291 381

Type of Activity Attended

Roundtable 50 116 166 50 116 166

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 104 TABLE 6: Number of Participants attending IGPA/Takamul’s interventions FY 21 Trainees and Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 CUMMULATIVE Training Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T

Workshop 61 274 335 61 274 335

Objective

1: Enhanced GOI Service Delivery 20 100 120 20 100 120 Capacity

2: Improved Provincial and National (Federal) 23 157 180 23 157 180 Government Public Financial Management (PFM).

3: Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service 68 133 201 68 133 201 Delivery and Public Expenditure

Sector

Civil Society & 50 116 166 50 116 166 Advocacy

Emergency First 8 9 17 8 9 17 Response

Governance 51 256 307 51 256 307 Capacity Building

Waste Management 2 9 11 2 9 11

TOTAL Q1 FY21 111 390 501 111 390 501

* Others include private sector actors trained, including UN employees and activists.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 105 ANNEX 3: NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS TRAINED

TABLE 7: Number of Individuals attending IGPA/Takamul’s training sessions and on-the-job training Trainees and FY 21 Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 Training CUMMULATIVE Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T Governorate

Anbar 0 35 35 0 34 34 Babil 0 28 28 0 27 27 Baghdad 3 9 12 3 9 12 Basrah 22 82 104 19 62 81 Erbil 47 70 117 47 69 116 Halabja 0 1 1 0 1 1 Maysan 3 7 10 3 7 10 Najaf 2 18 20 2 17 19 Ninewa 3 27 30 3 27 30 Qadisiya 3 5 8 3 5 8 Sulaimaniya 4 7 11 4 7 11 Wasit 0 5 5 0 5 5

Age Range

18 to 26 years 5 12 17 5 12 17

27 to 35 years 26 57 83 26 57 83

36 to 44 years 35 87 122 35 87 122

older than 45 years 17 119 136 17 119 136

Not Reported 4 19 23 4 19 23

Type of Employment/ Affiliation

Federal GOI Officials 44 74 118 44 74 118

Provincial GOI 35 208 243 35 108 243 Officials

CSOs 8 12 20 8 12 20

Others* 0 0 0 0 0 0

Directorate

Basrah Sewage 14 56 70 14 56 70

Directorate

Ninewa Water 2 26 28 2 26 28

Directorate

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 106 TABLE 7: Number of Individuals attending IGPA/Takamul’s training sessions and on-the-job training Trainees and FY 21 Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 Training CUMMULATIVE Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T Ministry of Planning in 8 10 18 8 10 18

Kudistan

Anbar Water 0 19 19 0 19 19

Directorate

Ministry of 6 9 15 6 9 15 Municipalities and Tourism in Kurdistan

Ministry of Health in 6 8 14 6 8 14

Kurdistan

Ministry of 4 7 11 4 7 11 Agriculture and

Water Resources in Kurdistan

Ministry of Electricity 3 7 10 3 7 10

in Kurdistan

HCCPsec 1 8 9 1 8 9

Qadisiya Water 2 4 6 2 4 6

Directorate

Basrah Municipalities 4 3 7 4 3 7

Babil Provincial 0 10 10 0 10 10

Council

Rapareen Municipality 1 4 5 1 4 5

Other 36 123 159 36 123 159

Attendance rate (requirements for satisfactory completion of training)

75% and above of the 67 274 341 67 274 341 training length

Less than 75% of the 20 20 40 20 20 40 training length

Type of Activity Attended

On-the-Job Training 4 37 41 4 37 41

Training 83 257 340 83 257 340

Objective

1: Enhanced GOI Service Delivery 36 222 258 36 222 258 Capacity

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 107 TABLE 7: Number of Individuals attending IGPA/Takamul’s training sessions and on-the-job training Trainees and FY 21 Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 Training CUMMULATIVE Characteristic F M T F M T F M T F M T F M T 3: Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service 51 72 123 51 72 123 Delivery and Public Expenditure

Sector

Governance Capacity 53 130 183 53 130 183 Building

Waste Management 11 22 33 11 22 33

Water 23 142 165 23 142 165

TOTAL Q1 FY21 87 294 381 87 294 381

* Others include private sector actors trained, including UN employees and activists.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 108 ANNEX 4: PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY 2020 BASIC INDICATOR FINDINGS

POS Basic Indicator Consolidated Anbar Babil Baghdad Basrah Erbil Ninewa

Percent of respondents who report improvements to 51% 78% 13% 45% 63% 69% 65% IGPA-supported service delivery platforms

Percent of respondents who report satisfaction with IGPA- 43% 69% 6% 33% 55% 70% 56% supported service delivery platforms

Percent of respondents who rate the local government’s performance of IGPA- 4% "Excellent" 19% "Excellent" 0% "Excellent" 4% "Excellent" 1% "Excellent" 4% "Excellent" 1% "Excellent" supported service delivery 18% "Good" 33% "Good" 2% "Good" 10% "Good" 24% "Good" 43% "Good" 26% "Good" platforms as “Excellent” or “Good”

Percent of respondents who have confidence in the local 39% 66% 3% 29% 45% 71% 55% government to deliver IGPA- supported public services

Percent of respondents who believe the local government 18% 48% 0% 23% 18% 8% 2% engages the public in planning public service provision

Percent of respondents who engage the local government 25% 15% 5% 44% 23% 14% 1% to provide feedback on the provision of public services

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 109 POS Basic Indicator Consolidated Anbar Babil Baghdad Basrah Erbil Ninewa 93% water 97% water 100% water 87% water 97% water 100% water 95% water 74% SWM 94% SWM 79% SWM 58% SWM 86% SWM 99% SWM 76% SWM Access to services 100% electricity 100% electricity 100% electricity 100% electricity 100% electricity 100% electricity 100% electricity 64% sewage 71% sewage 25% sewage 74% sewage 63% sewage 84% sewage 48% sewage

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 110 ANNEX 5: NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES MONITORED

TABLE 8: Number of IGPA/Takamul’s activities monitored

Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 FY 21 CUMMULATIVE

Characteristic # # # # # Observed # Observed # Observed # Observed # # Observed Total % Total % Total % Total % % (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) Events (Monitored) Events Events Events Events

Governorate

Anbar 4 0 0% 4 0 0%

Babil 3 0 0% 3 0 0%

Baghdad 16 8 50% 16 8 50%

Basrah 12 4 33% 12 4 33%

Dahuk (KRI) 1 0 0% 1 0 0%

Erbil (KRI) 25 19 76% 25 19 76%

Halabja (KRI) 2 0 0% 2 0 0%

Maysan 2 1 50% 2 1 50%

Najaf 3 0 0% 3 0 0%

Ninewa 16 2 13% 16 2 13%

Qadisiya 1 0 0% 1 0 0%

Sulaimaniya (KRI) 5 2 40% 5 2 40%

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 111 TABLE 8: Number of IGPA/Takamul’s activities monitored

Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 FY 21 CUMMULATIVE

Characteristic # # # # # Observed # Observed # Observed # Observed # # Observed Total % Total % Total % Total % % (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) Events (Monitored) Events Events Events Events

Wasit 1 0 0% 1 0 0%

Regional Office

Central Region / Baghdad 54 19 35% 54 19 35%

Northern Region / Erbil 28 12 43% 28 12 43%

Southern Region / Basrah 9 5 56% 9 5 56%

Type of Activity Monitored

Training 26 13 50% 26 13 50%

Workshop 25 19 76% 25 19 76%

On-the-Job Training 5 4 80% 5 4 80%

Follow-up Sessions 1 0 0% 1 0 0%

Meetings 18 0 0% 18 0 0%

Seminars / Roundtables 4 0 0% 4 0 0%

Type of Implementation

Regular – on the ground 72 28 39% 72 28 39%

Remote - Online 19 8 42% 19 8 42%

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 112 TABLE 8: Number of IGPA/Takamul’s activities monitored

Q1 FY21 Q2 FY21 Q3 FY21 Q4 FY21 FY 21 CUMMULATIVE

Characteristic # # # # # Observed # Observed # Observed # Observed # # Observed Total % Total % Total % Total % % (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) (Monitored) Events (Monitored) Events Events Events Events

IGPA/Takamul Objective

/ TO

1: Enhanced GOI Service 35 18 51% 35 18 51% Delivery Capacity

2: Improve public financial 11 10 91% 11 10 91% management

3: Strengthened Monitoring and Oversight of Service 27 5 19% 27 5 19% Delivery and Public Expenditure

4: Support Iraqi change agents (cross-cutting 2 0 0% 2 0 0% objective)

Task Order 4: NINEWA INVESTMENT 16 3 19% 16 3 19% FACILITATION INITIATIVE

TOTAL 91 36 40% 91 36 40%

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 113 ANNEX 6: THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

EIGHT STAGES OF THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (PIM) SYSTEM

As good Public Investment Management (PIM) does not promote a “one-size-fits-all” solution, this PIM Guideline has adopted international best practices as proposed by the World Bank and the IMF and applied them to create a customized set of processes applicable for capital investment budgeting and infrastructure governance in the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Coupled with the IMF approach, the PIM Diagnostic Framework formalized by the World Bank has also been applied to analyze the presence of quality institutional arrangements required to support the performance of the 8 “must-have” functionalities across the project and capital budgeting cycles. These are:

Stage 1: Strategic Guidance and First Level Screening (Project Concept Note): National and/or sector strategy documents are specific enough and have sufficient coherence and authority to actually guide public investment and are used systemically to screen new projects (with at least some projects dropped at the preliminary stage).

Stage 2: Project Appraisal (Pre-feasibility Study): Project development follows a standardized and well-defined set of procedures, and projects are appraised (ex-ante evaluation) using the full range of techniques as appropriate. They are comprehensive central guidelines on project appraisal, including specific detailed guidance on the appraisal of PPPs.

Stage 3: Independent Appraisal Review (Feasibility Study): The risk of line ministries “adjusting the numbers” to ensure a project passes appraisal is limited by an independent review of the project. This is a key feature which can be implemented in various ways and with various degrees of “independence” of the entity in charge of the reviews.

Stage 4: Project Selection and Budgeting: In general, only projects that have been subject to thorough appraisal, and have been independently reviewed, are selected for funding in the budget. Multi-year budget authority with adequate financing and funding predictability supports effective project implementation.

Stage 5: Project Implementation: There is a strong focus on managing the total project costs over the lifetime of each project. Clear roles and responsibilities are in place for project implementation, with regular reporting on financial and non-financial progress and close monitoring by the relevant central agencies. Sound procurement systems are in place and are consistently implemented, with advanced techniques for allocating risks between government and contactor.

Stage 6: Project Monitoring and Adjustment: Specific mechanisms are in place to trigger a review of a projects’ continued justification if there are material changes to project cost, schedule, or expected benefits.

Stage 7: Facility Operation and Maintenance: Financing and other resources for operation of the facility is planned for and made available by the relevant authority. Comprehensive and reliable asset registers are maintained and are subject to external audits.

Stage 8: Basic Completion Review and Evaluation: All advanced countries put significant effort into ex-post reviews. Investment projects are subject to audit by the supreme audit institution, including value-for-money (VfM) audits.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 114 Figure 2 below outlines the proposed Public Investment Management Cycle which governs public investment decision making in the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as Cabinet approvals. The 8-Stage Process is meant to ensure that all projects meet the same set of rigorous standards. Each stage is explained further in the subsequent section.

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USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 121 USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 122 ANNEX 7: USAID CURRENT & FUTURE PROGRAMMING RESPONSES TO GOI WHITE PAPER PRIORITIES

White Paper Priorities USAID IGPA Response Short term Mid term Long term 1-6 months 6-12 months 1-3 years

Pillar 1: Sustainable Financial Stability

Expenditure rationalization • Develop and launch operational and investment allocations on a quarterly basis X X

• Design and implement quarterly budget reviews including planned and actual spending, and ensuring X X X the alignment between budget and overall development and growth objectives

• Review public expenditures, and help GOI to allocate them on various sectors, ministries and X X government agencies, according to GOI priorities

• Enable sub-national governments to better track and allocate expenditures based on local needs X X

Revenue increase and cash • Enhance GOI capacities to collect revenue in water, solid waste and electricity sectors X X X flow improvements • Enhance GOI capacity to implement a cost recovery approach to decrease subsidies on public X X X

service, including water, solid waste and electricity

• Engage communities and civil society to increase payments of fees and taxes X X

Potential support: X X X • Increase tax and custom revenue through improvements to administration and collection

Public Financial Management • Establish PFM Reform Unit in MOF and provide embedded advisors: X X X reforms o Executive Advisor to the Minister for Reform (MOF) o Senior Financial Advisor (MOF/ERU) o Macro-economic Advisor (MOF/MOP) o Budget Processes Adviser (MOF/MOP) o Cash Management Specialist (MOF) o E-governance and E-Payment Solutions Specialist • Identify and mobilize short-term advisors as required

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 123 • Strengthen the Economic and Budget Departments in MOF X X

• Strengthen the Economic Department and Central Statistics Office of MOP X X

• Support implementation of PFM Law 2019 to reflect reforms in White Paper X X

• Support automation of the financial system at MOF directorates, including the single treasury account X X X and initial IFMIS implementation

• Enhance budget processes, support conducting the medium-term budget, and introduce basics for X X implementing Program-Based Budgeting

• Support establishment and work of inter-ministerial working groups on: domestic revenue X X mobilization; public expenditures; macroeconomic reform and budget processes.

• Strengthen the training institutes of the MOF and MOP through institutional capacity approaches and X X curriculum development for staff of MOF, MOP and other GOI entities

Pillar 2: Strategic Macroeconomic Reforms

Financial Sector Reforms • Draft regulation related to private banks reform to increase lending to the private sector X X

Private Sector Reforms • Support government lending to private sector X X X

• Provide business development services, training and mentoring to SMEs X X

• Support revitalization of selected provincial investment commissions – Baghdad, Ninewa, Anbar, X X Basra, Najaf, and Wasit

• Support review and amendment of Investment law in coordination with National Investment X X Commission

• Expand the use of PPP through reform and implementation of PPP Law X X X

• Improving business enabling environment: reengineering registration process and various licenses X X

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 124 • Improving business enabling environment: reviewing legal and regulatory frameworks X X

Pillar 3: Improved Delivery of Basic Infrastructure

Infrastructure Planning • Support the development of Public Investment Management Unit in MOP X X

• Support improved assessment, prioritization and management of large infrastructure projects, X X including greater use of economic and social impact assessments

Electricity • Identify strategies to reduce unsubscribed users X X

• Promote use of the Smart meters to reduce waste X X

• Support pre-feasibility studies for greater use of renewable energy X X

Water • Support rehabilitation of six mega water treatment plants – two each in Baghdad, Babil, and Ninewa – X X to restore optimum service capacity and expand water services coverage

• Support rehabilitation of 14 water treatment plants in Basra X X

• Install fleet management systems for Water Directorates service fleet of the Basra Baghdad and Erbil X X with GPS systems to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs

Free Zones Potential support: X • Support the review and amendment of the Free Zones Law to reflect modern approaches

Pillar 4: Provision of Essential Services

Provide potable water and • Conduct water, sewage and solid waste sectors cost analyses and support feasibility studies X X for agriculture and complete setting up sewerage systems • Support improvements to the functioning of sector directorates through business reengineering X X processes

• Support the establishment and functions of the Basra Water Management Committee X X

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 125 • Implement water sector assistance packages to Baghdad, Babil, Basrah, Ninewa, Erbil, and Sulaimaniya X X provinces in four main areas of water utility management: technical, administrative/human resources, financial, and customer service

• Conduct water asset documentation program in the provinces of Anbar, Babil, Baghdad, Basrah, and X X Ninewa

• Support water conservation campaigns in various provinces, including: Basrah, Anbar, Baghdad, Erbil, X Dahuk, Sulaimaniya, Halabja, Ninewa

• Support provincial development plans through the provision of feasibility studies for the water sector X X for 13 target provinces including: Ninewa, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Anbar, Diyala, Baghdad, Babil, Wasit, Karbala, Najaf, Dhi Qar, Basrah, and Baghdad Amanat.

• Support PPPs in the water, sewage and solid waste sectors and open them to investors and qualified X X operators

• Support the participation of marginalized and minority groups in resource planning to ensure equity X X X and inclusion

• Develop the network of CSO offices in the provincial governorates to ensure engagement of civil X X society in resource planning and distribution

Pillar 5: Improve Governance, and the Legal and Administrative Environment

Enhance transparency and • Provide technical assistance to MOP to expand the use of standard bidding documents (SBD) within X X effectiveness in public procurement processes nation-wide procurement • Support electronic government initiatives in field of procurement, and collection of taxes and duties X X

Governance and public • Support planning evaluation and finance structures at the provincial level to increase good governance X X X management reform and effective decentralization in key sectors in all provinces

• Implement pilot projects in key municipalities such as Hamdaniya to replicate successes and lessons X X learned at the provincial level

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 126 Potential support X X • Support revisions to the mandate and structure of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit and develop legal amendments to reflect

Potential support X X • Support the use of market standards in public service provision

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 127 ANNEX 8: IGPA SUPPORT TO THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC REFORMS

CONCEPT NOTE

Strengthening the Macro-Fiscal Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance in Iraq: Mandates, Functions, and Institutional Structure

1. Introduction

The Macro-Fiscal Policy Department (MFPD) was established to improve the capacity of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Government of Iraq (GOI) to better understand and analyze the impact of budgetary and related macro-fiscal policy choices on macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth performance. MFPD analytical activities are designed to help the GOI establish a sound annual and medium-term budgetary envelope consistent with its price and exchange rate stability goals. They will also help the GOI to understand the trade-offs inherent in alternative expenditure and revenue allocation policies for attaining macro-stability and poverty-reducing growth goals. MFPD’s activities will inform decision-makers regarding the impact of key structural constraints on economic stability and broad-based growth performance.

The establishment of the MFPD in the MOF will both use and strengthen the GOI’s economic expertise. The MFPD will be composed of representatives from the MOF and other related economic institutions. The MFPD will strengthen the MOF’s capacity through the improved use of financial analytics and better engagement with international financial institutions (IFI). It will also strengthen cooperation among government agencies by working closely and in a coordinated manner with other ministries, donors, and stakeholders.

Iraq as a nation and the ministries themselves have professionals with strong economic and other relevant advanced expertise. However, over the past few decades or so, these human resources have become isolated from innovative and modern economic development planning and from best practices in fiscal management approaches and expertise. Unfortunately, most local professionals have also left the country.

The main objective of the MFPD is to harness the GOI’s economic potential through using international best practice to inform medium and longer-term macroeconomic and fiscal forecasting and policies. In fulfilling their obligations, officials within the MFPD will need to establish efficient and effective relationships with other major economic ministries, such as the Ministry of Planning (MOP), Ministry of Oil (MOO), Ministry of Trade (MOT), Ministry of Industry (MOI), the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), and the Central Statistical Organization (CSO).

The proposed MFPD will strengthen the capacity of the MOF itself, enabling it to meet the increased responsibilities demanded of it by this new era of economic reform and development and by GOI’s intense engagement with IFIs. It will provide high-quality information and advice to ministers and deputy ministers in considering domestic economic policy (including the annual budget) and in negotiations with the IFIs.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 128 2. Purpose and Objectives

The main purpose of the MFPD is to strengthen macroeconomic and fiscal policy-making capacity and coordination.

The MFPD has two principal objectives:

• Monitor, research, develop and analyze key macroeconomic data and trends to inform robust medium-term fiscal forecasts consistent with international best practice; and • Provide policy advice to finance ministers based on anticipated challenges in the fiscal and macroeconomic forecasts. In achieving these objectives, the MFPD will strengthen the coordination of economic and public finance policies across the GOI and improve procedures and the methodological approach use to achieve effective fiscal management and national economic reform.

The core element for sound fiscal policy management is sufficient capacity for macroeconomic and fiscal policy analysis to assess the financial position of the public sector, including public enterprises, and effective interplay of medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal policies. By developing a medium- term macroeconomic perspective, the GOI can more effectively work toward macroeconomic stability and pursue efficiency and equity goals through expenditure and revenue policies. Prudent macro-fiscal management will also help ensure adequate coordination with monetary and exchange rate policies to support price stability. Responsibilities of the CBI versus the MFPD on monetary policy will need to be clarified and agreed upon by the Council of Ministers (COM) and the CBI.

At present, however, there is little capacity in the MOF to conduct such macroeconomic and fiscal policy analyses. Several factors make effective macro-fiscal coordination a complex task, including a lack of macroeconomic data, fragmented data sources on fiscal operations, a lack of assessment of the GOI’s financial position, and weak macro-fiscal guidance for the budget cycle.

3. The Mandates and Principal Functions of the Proposed MFPD at the MOF

The following are the recommended mandates and functions of the proposed MFPD at MOF:

• Devise and prepare a medium-term macroeconomic policy framework aimed at creating and enhancing the consistency among various macroeconomic variables, particularly those that are fiscal, monetary, and external. Thus, provide decision makers with relevant policies to effectively handle various economic issues and needs in the Iraqi economy, such as the budget deficit, enhancing non-oil revenue, price distortion, leakages, bloated government employment, and general unemployment. • Achieve coordination between various departments within the ministry and between the ministry and other government agencies, such as the MOP, CBI, MOO, MOI, MOT, and CSO. • Expand and enhance MOF functions through the development of effective fiscal policy tools and macroeconomic and fiscal forecast modelling. • Provide economic and budgetary advice to assist and accelerate restructuring, growth, and development of the national economy. • Study, review, and analyze various bilateral and multilateral economic agreements and participate in various international financial events related to the Iraqi economy and its economic reform program.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 129 • Gather and subscribe to local and international research and periodicals and use the contents to advance the department’s work. • Study and survey other countries’ experience in devising methods to enhance domestic non- oil revenues and reduce the budget deficit. • Restructure public expenditures and allocate them to various sectors, ministries, and government agencies according to economic development priorities. • Gather, collect, and collate data on macroeconomic variables to establish an operational macroeconomic and fiscal database system in the MOF. • Cooperate and coordinate data collection and streamlining with the CBI, CSO, the MOP, the MOT, other ministries and government agencies, stakeholders, and private sector organizations. • Upgrade the national data system and contents to be compatible with international standards. • Disseminate macroeconomic and fiscal statistical information on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. In order for the MFPD to handle its mandate and to fulfil its functions in an effective manner, the department has to be staffed with qualified staff from within the MOF and new local hires. Staff will require training and capacity building in methodologies and relevant areas of analysis.

4. The Structure of the MFPD

4.1 Administrative and Reporting Arrangements

The MFPD should report directly to the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Finance, or the Deputy Prime Minister.

The MOF must decide which option is most appropriate, taking into consideration the needs and competing priorities of the GOI.

4.2 The Proposed MFPD Structure and Organogram

The MFPD structure is based on the distinction between macroeconomic and structural aspects of fiscal policy. There will be three divisions to the MFPD: the macroeconomic division, the fiscal policy division, and the support division.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 130 Figure 1: Illustrative Organogram for the Proposed MFPD

Minister of Finance, Senior Minister, Deputy Minister(s)

Senior Advisor

Macroeconomic and Fiscal Policy Department (MFPD)

Personal Assistant Advisor(s) -TAs-

Macroeconomic Fiscal Policy Div. Support Div. Analysis Div.

Research & Real Sector Revenues Statistics

Monetary & Expenditures IFI Advising & External Coordination

Social Sector Financing ICT & Admin. Support

Consolidation

4.2.1 Macroeconomic Division

Within the Macroeconomic Division, there will be three sections: 1) the real sector, 2) the monetary and external sector, and 3) the socioeconomic sector. The division will maintain the quantitative macroeconomic framework that provides the basis for budget preparation, fiscal forecasting, and fiscal policy analysis.

Macroeconomic Components Statistical Data

Real Sector Section

The term “real sector” refers to the sector in which there goods and services are produced through the combination of raw materials and other production factors such as labor force, land, and capital, or by means of a production process. These data include:

National Accounts Aggregates. This is gross domestic product (GDP). More specifically, it is productions and expenditures, national income, per-capita income, personal consumption patterns, income groups, private consumption, public consumption expenditure, investment, saving, sector value-added, profit, trade margin, wages, productivity, terms of trade, etc. Production Indexes: This is by sectoral products, inputs, outputs, by commodity, etc.

Price Indexes: These are the wholesale price index, retail price index, consumer price index (CPI), import price index, export price index, inputs price and cost index, inflation, terms of trade, etc.

Employment/unemployment

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 131 It is envisaged that the Real Sector Section will, over time, provide:

• Analyses of macroeconomic policy effects on real sector development, with a focus on the productive sectors; • Analyses of the likely impact on key macroeconomic variables of alternative GOI policies relating, but not limited to: government revenue, public expenditure, prices, investments, wages, interest rates, and exchange rates; • Analyses of factors impeding progress in certain economic sectors (e.g., industry, agriculture, construction, and trade) and policy recommendations to develop these sectors and accelerate economic growth; • Studies of issues of private sector development and competitive policy; • Analyses of challenges to entrepreneurship, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and equilibrium in the commodity market; • Support to implement new methodological approaches in the activities of public agencies; • Capacity building of state practitioners through informal trainings and involvement in research activities; and • Established relationships with international experts, research institutions, and donor organizations.

Monetary (Financial) Sector Section

The respective responsibilities between the CBI and the MFPD for analysis of the monetary sector will need to be clarified. Normally, the CBI would do most of this analysis. It is, however, envisaged that the MFPD will review the analysis undertaken by the CBI, if any, with the view of providing advice through the Minister of Finance to the COM on key monetary policy issues.

Monetary sector analysis usually incorporates the following:

• Developments in the Monetary Sector - Inflation - Market and policy interest rates - Domestic liquidity and credit

• Developments in the Foreign Exchange Market • Developments in the Banking Sector - Capital adequacy - Quality of loan portfolio - Real estate exposure

• Central Bank Policy Directions - Monetary policy - Exchange rate policy - Banking sector policy and reforms - Supervisory and regulatory framework - Market infrastructure

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 132 External Sector Section

The external sector usually deals with issues related to:

• The balance of payments, balance of trade, current account balance, international reserve, transfers, remittance, etc.; • Merchandise trade including imports by commodity and origin, exports by commodity and destination, direction of trade; and • Exchange rates, real effective exchange rate (REER), etc. The primary role for the MFPD’s external sector is anticipated to be analysis of developments in the key areas such as external debt and trade. The external sector will need to coordinate with the CSO and MOT.

Socioeconomic Sector Section

The social sector section will be mainly responsible for analysis of the socioeconomic impacts of new policy proposals, such as the removal of subsidies and industrial restructuring. The MFPD will undertake Poverty Social Impact Analysis (PSIA). PSIA is an analysis of the distributional impact of policy reforms on the well-being or welfare of various groups, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable segments of the society.

This section would be responsible for:

• Analyzing the link between policy reforms and their effects on poverty and society writ large; • Outlining the trade-offs among reforms on the basis of their distributional impacts; • Enhancing the positive impacts of reforms and minimizing their adverse impacts; • Designing mitigating measures and risk management systems; • Assessing policy reform risks; and • Building country ownership and capacity for analyses . The data this section uses in its analyses will likely include:

• population statistics, • poverty indicators and inequality, • education statistics, • health and vital statistics, • social insurance and social security, • and pensions.

4.2.2 Fiscal Policy Division

The Fiscal Policy Division incorporates four sections: 1) revenues, 2) expenditures, 3) financing, and 4) consolidation. The division will report, evaluate, and forecast revenues, expenditures, deficits, and debts to inform the design of the macroeconomic framework. Its mandate will extend beyond the central government to include operations of development partners within the agreed Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF). The division will review budget implementation and MTFF policy.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 133 Revenues Section

The Revenues Section is responsible for the consolidation of short- and medium-term forecasts of oil revenue, non-oil revenue, and tax and non-tax revenues and their integration into the broader fiscal model. It will also provide advice on tax policy and domestic revenue mobilization (DRM).

Expenditures Section

The Expenditures Section is responsible for the analysis of expenditure data, including geographical distribution; economic, functional, and administrative classification; and policy advice on program reforms (e.g. social security and social safety net reform, civil service pay, pension, and public enterprises). The treasury department would normally provide this data and consequential analysis through its accounts department, so respective roles will need to be clarified. This section also provides key advice on medium-term expenditure ceilings and the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF).

Financing Section

The Financing Section will advise on financing arrangements for deficits, utilization options for surpluses, and debt positions and debt reduction strategies (in liaison with the debt and cash management units).

Consolidation Section

The Consolidation Section is responsible for the consolidation of forecasts and the consolidation of central and broader government operations, investment programs, and development partner projects. This section also provides key advice on medium-term expenditure ceilings at the sectoral and subnational level.

4.2.3 Support Division

The Support Division incorporates three sections: 1) IFI advice and coordination, 2) research and statistics, and 3) information and communications technology (ICT) and administrative support. The division will be a key link to IFIs, provide research support to the MFPD sections, and provide ICT and functional support.

IFI Advice and Coordination Section

This section liaises with IFIs, ensuring the timely delivery of fiscal and structural reports. The section will provide briefings to the Minister of Finance and their deputies on the implications of IFI reportable data and policy dialogues with IFIs. The section will also provide briefing coordination for international meetings.

Research and Statistics Section

The Research and Statistics Section will be responsible for research in key areas that are associated with the core business of the MFPD. The section will research and document international evidence on transmission of policy shocks and lessons learned. The section will provide timely research on macroeconomic and fiscal topics such as policies for tax and non- tax revenue, energy, food, and public enterprise subsidy reform; distributional impacts on poverty; and general economic and financial trends.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 134 ICT and Administrative Support Section

This section will provide ICT and office support. The MFPD will require dedicated ICT support for the hardware and software needed to perform its mandates. Office support will involve inventory management, file management, and organization of seminars, workshops, and committee meetings.

5. Staffing Aspects

Special priority has to be given for the recruitment of qualified national professionals to support its proposed structure and functions. The structure and consequential staffing requirements of the MFPD will need to be reviewed periodically as progress is made.

To facilitate the functions and activities of the MFPD, experienced staff from other economic institutions, such as the MOP, CBI, MOT, and MOI should be offered an opportunity to transfer or be promoted to this new department.

6. Technical Assistance

International advisors of the USAID-funded IGPA/Takamul project will initially support the MFPD, with remote support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IGPA will continue the discussion with the MOF and its relevant personnel to decide on future medium and long-term support throughout IGPA’s performance period.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 135 ANNEX 9: THE MACROECONOMIC CONDITIONS & TRENDS OF THE IRAQI ECONOMY DURING 2020

AN OVERVIEW

Preamble

The COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting all aspects of activities and functions throughout the world, including Iraq. It is affecting Iraq in the areas of health, supply chains, food access, shelter, education, production, transportation, trade, tourism, infrastructure utilization and maintenance, resources mobilization, and economic development. It is also hampering the structural economic and fiscal reform that the Iraqi economy needs to diversify, reducing its current dependency on crude oil revenues. External and internal factors impacted by the pandemic will require extraordinary measures to overcome the challenges now facing the Iraqi economy and its efforts for reform.

External Factors

First, COVID-19’s damage to the global economy is drastically reducing the demand for oil—Iraq’s major revenue source—and, consequently, the plummeting of crude oil prices. Second, the impact of the virus worldwide has drastically reduced the global production of goods and services, disrupting Iraq’s supply chain, which is heavily dependent on imports for both consumer goods and services, including medical supplies, equipment, and medical expertise.

Internal Factors

Iraq today faces several major domestic crises, with the COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously compounding civil unrest and being compounded by continuing unrest and related security issues. The pandemic is also creating a reduction in the volume of oil exports and the plummeting of oil prices—the country’s principal source of foreign exchange and the main revenue for financing the country’s budget. Iraq’s inefficient governance and administrative systems, tainted by corruption, are not capable of weathering such shocks. The degree of the severity of the impact of COVID-19 on Iraq will be heavily influenced by whether these major crises can be managed appropriately.

Additionally, the internal impacts of COVID-19 include increased costs and an abrupt slowdown in productivity due to workers contracting the virus as well as precautions such as social distancing, lockdowns, and a shift to virtual work interactions. The burdens on funding streams and service provision, especially to health facilities and services, are becoming more acute, as are the impacts on employment, production, and distribution of goods and services, particularly basic needs like food.

The external and internal factors will compound each other’s impact on the domestic economy, shrinking prospective revenues and, thus, shrinking the government’s development expenditures. The government will be unable to pay inflated public sector employees’ salaries and private and non- oil sector activities will stall, particularly investment in manufacturing, transport, services, and trade. With supply chain interruptions and local production and transportation reduced, inflation and unemployment in the private sector will be accompanied by greater budget deficits and more rapid depletion of Iraqi assets, the investment value of which will also fall with declining global equity markets. Finally, the debt burden will increase.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 136 Key Challenges Particular to Iraq

As Iraq seeks to cope, it faces unique and formidable challenges, including: 1) ongoing security threats that create daunting security challenges, 2) weak governance and an administrative system with rampant corruption and poor service delivery, and 3) the current reduction in oil exports, oil prices, and hence, oil revenue—Iraq’s only major source of foreign exchange earnings and financing the national budget, replete with recurrent expenditures which mainly pay inflated salaries for government employees and retirees. These challenges also levy a toll on each of the country’s economic functions impaired by COVID-19. The consequences for the health sector are disastrous with its already poor and overburdened infrastructure and inadequate numbers of well-trained personnel. Additionally, there are wide disparities among Iraq’s regions and governorates, most with weak and nearly dilapidated infrastructure, which all require assistance.

During 2020, Iraq experienced and is still dealing with declining sources of foreign exchange and budgeting revenue as oil exports and oil prices decrease. This is compounded by the prospect of consistently low oil prices in the future due to the COVID-19-induced slowdown of the global economy. In addition, normal public sector processes have slowed from the shift to remote work. Finally, there are unprecedented pressures on healthcare systems—both public and private—and a resulting pressure on the government to provide fiscal stimulus in response to the crisis.

The Real Economy Development and Conditions During 2020

Analysis of the available statistical data from the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) at the Ministry of Planning (MOP) for Q-3 of FY2020 regarding the total real gross domestic product (GDP) and real oil and non-oil GDP figures reveals the dual impact of COVID-19 and the declining oil exports and prices on the Iraqi economy during 2020, compared to the same quarter of 2019. The table below shows this comparison.

Iraqi GDPs in IQD Trillion and Growth Rates in 2020

Amount Growth/ Item Sector Declining 2020 2019 Rate (%) 1 Oil Sector GDP 26.5 33.8 -21.6 2 Non-Oil Economy GDP 19.4 21.5 -9.8 3 Total GDP 45.9 55.3 -16.9 Source: CSO/MOP- National Accounts Statistical Data

The table shows that the real total Iraqi GDP has declined during FY2020 by 16.9 percent in comparison to the same time period in 2019. Of that total real decrease, the oil GDP has declined by 21.6 percent, while the non-oil GDP declined by 9.8 percent.

As for the domestic price movement, the inflation rate, which reflects price trends, have increased to a level that has not been experienced during the last few years. Inflation rate has accordingly increased by 4.2 percent during the full year of 2020, i.e. on year-to-year basis (December 2020 in contrast to December 2019). This increase is due to the leaked 2021 budget document, and its recommended policy of devaluating the IQD versus the USD from 1,182 to 1.440. Accordingly, the market reacted to such change and most of tradeable commodities, particularly, the imported commodities prices, changed upward. Price increase occurred as a result of the relatively high increases in electricity, medicines, tobacco, transport, communication, home appliances, and furniture, among others. Thus, the main causes of any price increase, and hence, rise of inflation, is

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 137 the imported inflation, and not due to the accelerated economic activities and the likely stronger demand in the national economy.

Public Financial Management Systems Structure Challenges

The Iraqi government needs to ensure that their PFM system is equipped to meet the additional requirements and new challenges in terms of: a) additional budgetary and financial resources to finance the increasing demand on health services and other related necessities; b) availability of funds for service delivery units and disbursing them efficiently with the necessary controls and monitoring; c) tracking resources deployed in emergency response and transparently reporting their efficient use; d) ensuring continuity of production and business activities even when faced with a large-scale absence of staff and employees; and e) providing the needed capacity to absorb the pandemic shock and to cope while available capacity and resources may be diverted from existing projects and expenditures to more urgent tasks and service deliveries.

To mitigate the above list of PFM challenges, continue with reforms, and cope with the economic shocks the pandemic is causing, IGPA recommends that the Iraqi government with IGPA’s technical support and assistance, take the following measures:

• Prioritize and rationalize public expenditures, reallocating funds to other activities that were not accounted for in previous budgets. • Use the approved contingency appropriations from previous budgets to cope with shocks and challenges. Hence, the government has to borrow more, domestically and externally. • Spend more than the budgeted emergency provisions and direct available resources towards emerging needs. • More resources were required than the available budget had included for additional activities and areas of socially justified spending and services. This has led to a higher budget deficit than originally calculated for the 2020 budget. Accordingly, more borrowing and more fiscal imbalances occurred in FY2020. These borrowed funds need to be economically and rationally utilized. Besides, concerted efforts and right policy have to be taken to mobilize the non-oil domestic revenue • Consider further external borrowings, grants, assistance, as well as sectoral specific budget support programs for years to come. In conclusion, the external and internal factors impacted by COVID-19, and the resulting burdens they placed on the national economy during 2020, have prompted Iraq’s new government to take drastic measures, steering it toward constructive steps and policies that will ultimately strengthen its capacity to govern effectively. Its efforts to improve PFM systems, with the technical support of IGPA, have led to a restructuring of the 2021 budget and its appropriated size, sectoral, and spatial allocations and the introduction of significant fiscal policy. As such, the FY2021 budget will be more responsive to the economic reality of the Iraqi economy and will mitigate challenges imposed by the pandemic’s repercussions, including global oil demand and prices in the coming year.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 138 ANNEX 12: SUCCESS STORIES IN ARABIC

This annex is submitted separately and could be found in the link below: FY21 Q-1 Success Stories in Arabic

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 144 ANNEX 13: CONTRACTUAL DELIVERABLES

DELIVERABLE TITLE SUBMISSION DATE STATUS

IGPA Weekly Progress Reports Weekly USAID approval not needed

Weekly Political and Security Report Weekly USAID approval not needed

Task Order 4 (NIFI) Weekly Progress Weekly USAID approval not needed Report

Task Order 4 (NIFI) Monthly Progress Monthly USAID approval not needed Report

Public Opinion Survey December 22, 2020 Approved by USAID on December 30, 2020

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 145 ANNEX 14: QUARTERLY SUB ACTIVITY REPORT DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 30 Sep - 01 A-BAG-0206-E015 PFM law legal frame Maysan PG 2.1.2-Y3 Oct

27 Sep - 01 A-BAS-0023-E006 Provide technical training to Basrah sewage Basrah PG 1.2.6-Y3 Oct projects operators - Session 2

02 - 03 Oct A-BAG-0137-E016 Training on systems and mechanisms for staff of Ninewa PG 1.2.9-Y3 six units

02 - 03 Oct A-BAG-0155-E015 Site follow-up phase on the Accountability Ninewa CSO 3.2.3-Y3 Platform Survey

04 - 05 Oct A-BAG-0135-E034 Training PEDs and SWM directorates Basrah PG 1.2.2-Y3

04 - 05 Oct A-BAG-0135-E035 Training PEDs and Water directorates Qadisiya PG 1.2.2-Y3

05 Oct A-BAG-0155-E018 Site follow-up phase on the Accountability Anbar CSO 3.2.3-Y3 Platform Survey

06 - 07 Oct A-BAG-0135-E036 Training PEDs and Water directorates Anbar PG 1.2.2-Y3

06 - 07 Oct A-EBL-0099-E002 Introductory communication and behavior change Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3 training

07 - 08 Oct A-BAG-0161-E006 Crisis plan workshop – Sulaimaniya Sulaimaniya CSO 3.2.2-Y3

08 Oct A-BAG-0209-E002 Meeting on HCCP proposed mechanisms by Baghdad NGA 1.2.17-Y3 IGPA

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 146 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 04 - 08 Oct A-BAS-0023-E007 Provide technical training to Basrah sewage Basrah PG 1.2.6-Y3 project operators – Session 3

11 Oct A-BAG-0155-E016 Public round table discussion – Halabja Group 1 Halabja Citizens 3.2.3-Y3

11 - 12 Oct A-BAG-0135-E038 Training PEDs and SWM Directorates Najaf PG 1.2.2-Y3

12 Oct A-BAG-0155-E017 Public round table discussion – Halabja Group 2 Halabja Citizens 3.2.3-Y3

12 - 13 Oct A-EBL-0072-E001 Capacity building for the staff of water treatment Ninewa PG 1.1.1-Y3 facilities - Left Coast

13 - 14 Oct A-BAG-0135-E037 Training PEDs and Water Directorates Babil PG 1.2.2-Y3

14 Oct A-BAG-0155-E019 Public round table discussion – Sulaimaniya Sulaimaniya Citizens 3.2.3-Y3 Group 1

13 - 14 Oct A-EBL-0099-E003 Introductory leadership training – KIPA Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3

14 - 15 Oct A-BAG-0135-E039 Training PED and Municipality and Municipalities Maysan PG 1.2.2-Y3 Directorates in Maysan

15 Oct A-BAG-0155-E020 Public round table discussion – Sulaimaniya Sulaimaniya Citizens 3.2.3-Y3 Group 2

11 - 15 Oct A-BAS-0023-E008 Technical training to operators of Basrah Sewage Basrah PG 1.2.6-Y3 projects-Session 04

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 147 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 14 - 15 Oct A-EBL-0072-E002 Capacity building for the staff of water treatment Ninewa PG 1.1.1-Y3 facilities - Right Coast

18 - 19 Oct A-BAG-0135-E041 Training for the PED and Municipalities Baghdad PG 1.2.2-Y3 Directorate in Baghdad

18 - 19 Oct A-BAS-0028-E003 Running the system and training a selected Basrah PG 1.1.1-Y3 number of employees on its use and maintenance

18 - 19 Oct A-EBL-0058-E002 On-the-job training on fleet management Erbil NGA 1.1.1-Y3

19 - 20 Oct A-BAG-0135-E040 Training for Ninewa PED on the new standard Ninewa PG 1.2.2-Y3 indicators

21 Oct A-BAG-0141-E036 Awareness campaign in Shatt al-Hilla Babil Citizens 3.1.2-Y3

20 - 21 Oct A-EBL-0099-E004 Introductory oversight techniques training – KIPA Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3

27 Oct A-BAG-0209-E003 Capacity building for HCCPSec staff on exercising Baghdad NGA 1.2.17-Y3 legal competencies

26 - 27 Oct A-BAG-0211-E007 Capacity building for Babil Local Coordination Babil PG 1.2.18-Y3 Commission members

26 - 28 Oct A-BAS-0023-E009 In-house capacity and knowledge transfer Erbil PG 1.2.6-Y3 (training of trainers)

27 - 28 Oct A-EBL-0099-E005 Introductory gender equality training – KIPA Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 148 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 28 - 29 Oct A-BAG-0211-E008 Capacity building for Najaf Local Coordination Najaf PG 1.2.18-Y3 Commission LCC members

29 - 31 Oct A-BAG-0188-E002 PFM Law working workshop (Round 2) Erbil Financial Institutions 2.4.1-Y3

31 Oct A-BAG-0210-E006 On-the-job training on delegated authority Baghdad NGA 1.2.19-Y3

02 - 03 Nov A-BAG-0211-E009 Capacity building for Anbar Local Coordination Baghdad PG 1.2.18-Y3 Commission LCC members

03 - 04 Nov A-EBL-0099-E006 Introductory public relations training – KIPA Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3

08 Nov A-BAG-0270-E003 Present PFM workplan for Baghdad AFAD Baghdad PG 2.1.5-Y4 Manager

09 Nov A-BAG-0270-E004 Present PFM workplan for Anbar AFAD Manager Anbar PG 2.1.5-Y4

12 Nov A-BAG-0214-E001 Coordination meeting with PWED of Baghdad Baghdad PG 4.2.1-Y3

10 - 12 Nov A-EBL-0099-E007 Introductory planning and budgeting training - Erbil CSO 3.1.2-Y3 KIPA

16 - 18 Nov A-EBL-0093-E007 Refresher TOT workshop on procurement and Sulaimaniya NGA 1.1.3-Y3 contracting

17 - 19 Nov A-BAG-0189-E001 Training for water treatment plant staff on SOPs Erbil PG 1.1.1-Y3

19 - 21 Nov A-BAG-0246-E001 Development of TOR for auditing firm in Mosul Erbil NGA 1.1.25-Y4

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 149 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 25 - 26 Nov A-BAG-0270-E001 PFM law workshop for Central Region provinces Baghdad PG 2.1.5-Y4

25 - 26 Nov A-BAG-0270-E002 PFM law workshop for North Region and Erbil PG 2.1.5-Y4 Baghdad governorates

29 Nov A-BAS-0036-E001 Meeting with Women Empowerment Basrah PG 3.1.12-Y4 Department in Basrah

22 Nov - 01 A-BAS-0024-E002 Non-Revenue Water, Water Network Basrah PG 1.2.7-Y3 Dec Maintenance, SOPs, and Leak Detection training

07 Dec A-BAG-0258-E003 Meeting with Tawasul team Najaf Citizens 3.1.11-Y4

08 Dec A-BAG-0258-E004 Meeting with TWG team Baghdad PG 3.1.11-Y4

09 Dec A-BAG-0258-E002 Meeting to review and discuss the Wasit Citizens 3.1.11-Y4 implementation tools of Y4 activities - Wasit province

10 Dec A-BAG-0215-E003 PWED awareness session Anbar Citizens 4.2.1-Y3

08 - 10 Dec A-EBL-0070-E002 MOLSA “To Be” BPR workshop Erbil PG 1.1.1-Y3

11 - 12 Dec A-BAG-0222-E001 Basrah SWM investment opportunity workshop Erbil PG 1.1.19-Y4

13 Dec A-BAG-0236-E001 Public-private partnership workshop Baghdad PG 1.3.1-Y4

11 - 13 Dec A-BAG-0246-E002 Central workshop on Sectoral Standard Bidding Erbil PG 1.1.25-Y4 Documents (SSBD) for electromechanical works

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 150 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 16 Dec A-BAG-0221-E001 Meeting in HCCPSec to review progress of the Baghdad NGA 3.1.3-Y4 implementation of HCCPSec Website

16 Dec A-BAG-0278-E002 Basrah SAG case study in al-Maaqal Basrah CSO 3.2.1-Y4

17 Dec A-BAG-0278-E003 Basrah SAG case study in al-Mishraq Basrah CSO 3.2.1-Y4

14 - 18 Dec A-BAS-0024-E003 In-house capacity and knowledge transfer Erbil PG 1.2.7-Y3 (training of trainers)

18 - 19 Dec A-BAG-0272-E001 Key stakeholder workshop on provincial Erbil NGA 2.4.13-Y4 legislative and administrative issues and the PFM Law

20 Dec A-BAG-0268-E001 Meeting with heads of internal audit units in Basrah Financial Institutions 2.2.2-Y4 Basrah

20 Dec A-EBL-0138-E001 Meeting with the Assistant of Ninewa’s Governor Ninewa PG 3.1.16-Y4 for Organizations and IDPs Affairs

21 Dec A-BAG-0232-E001 A meeting with MOCHGWM Baghdad NGA 1.3.2-Y4

22 Dec A-BAG-0232-E002 A meeting with the municipalities of Baghdad Baghdad PG 1.3.2-Y4 governorate

23 - 24 Dec A-BAG-0270-E005 Program and Performance Budget Workshop Baghdad PG 2.1.5-Y4 (Central region)

23 - 24 Dec A-BAG-0270-E006 Program and Performance Budget Workshop Erbil PG 2.1.5-Y4 (North Region)

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 151 DATE ACTIVITY TITLE PROVINCES MINISTRY/SECTOR WP RESULT 23 - 24 Dec A-BAG-0270-E007 Program and Performance Budget workshop Basrah PG 2.1.5-Y4 (South Region)

27 Dec A-BAG-0278-E005 Meeting with Policy-Making team in Baghdad GO Baghdad CSO 3.2.1-Y4

28 Dec A-BAG-0221-E002 Website implementation progress and follow up Baghdad NGA 3.1.3-Y4 meeting with the HCCPSEC

27 - 28 Dec A-BAG-0246-E003 Bids Opening and Evaluation Processes Sulaimaniya PG 1.1.25-Y4 Workshop

30 Dec A-BAG-0279-E001 Meeting with the Secretary of PPCD in Ninewa Ninewa PG 3.1.20-Y4 Province

30 Dec A-BAG-0280-E001 Meeting with the Head of PED in Ninewa Ninewa PG 3.1.18-Y4 Province

29 - 30 Dec A-BAS-0036-E002 Workshop on strengthening Women’s Basrah PG 3.1.12-Y4 Empowerment Division

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 152 ANNEX 15: QUARTERLY MEDIA COVERAGE

DATE TITLE OR DESCRIPTION POSTED BY LINKS

Oct 02 Al-Nahrawan, and al-Wehda water centers responded to citizen Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate complaints to repair a broken pipeline

Oct 04 BasraH Municipality Directorate continued its cultivation campaign by Basrah Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media planting perennial trees in Tananeer’s main squares, and roadsides Media

Oct 04 Basrah Municipality removed trash accumulation and rubble from Basrah Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media Hamdan, Yaseen Khrebet, Khura, and Shamsumiya Media

Oct 06 IGPA/Takamul team presents plans for the Performance Evaluation HCCP HCCP Department at the HCCPSec head.

Oct 10 The Sheikh Hamad Water Center responded to citizen complaints of Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate water service disruption in Albadebil Village and solved the issue by fixing a broken pipe.

Oct 10 The Abu Ghraib Municipality Directorate continued removing trash Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality accumulation and rubble in al-Zuhoor, al-Madfaee, al-Nahiya, and Athar Directorate Directorate 1 neighborhoods.

Oct 11 The Basra Municipality Directorate continued promoting the service Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media hotline numbers on its Facebook page to encourage citizens to raise Media their complaints.

Oct 11 The Basrah Municipality removed trash accumulation and rubble from Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media the industrial areas of Hamdan, Yaseen Khrebet, and al-Sahafeeyen. Media

Oct 11 The Basra Municipality Directorate posted Covid-19 precautions on its Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media Facebook page. Media

Oct 11 The Basra Municipality Directorate posted Covid-19 precautions on its Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media Facebook page. Media

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 153 Oct 11 The Basra Municipality Directorate posted Covid-19 precautions on its Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate Media Facebook page. Media

Oct 11 The Baghdad Amanat TWG in coordinating with all Baghdad Amanat Al-Shula Municipality Directorate Al-Shula Municipality Directorate entities responded to several requests from citizens to pave the 600- meter portion of al-Jewadain main street, sector 450.

Oct 11 The al-Mahmoodiya Municipality Directorate planted trees and Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality ornamental plants in the gardens and the main entrance to al- Directorate Directorate Mahmoodiya.

Oct 11 The Nahrawan Municipality Directorate responded to citizen complaints Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality Al-Shula Municipality Directorate to maintain the streets and remove trash in al-Montather, al-Zahraa, Directorate Hakeem, Bader, and Ahrar neighborhoods.

Oct 13 The Baghdad Municipality Awareness Department, with support from Al-Shula Municipality Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate IGPA/Takamul, conducted an awareness campaign on proper waste disposal in Baghdad’s Sector 438.

Oct 14 The Municipality Directorate’s Awareness Department, with Baghdad Municipal Awareness Municipal Awareness Department IGPA/Takamul support, conducted a cleaning drive in Sector 955 in Department Zufraniya district.

Oct 14 The Municipality Directorate’s Awareness Department, with Baghdad Municipal Awareness Municipal Awareness Department IGPA/Takamul support, conducted a cleaning drive in al-Sadr district. Department

Oct 14 The Al-Rasheed Municipality Directorate responded to citizen Outskirts of Baghdad Municipalities Outskirts of Baghdad Municipalities complaints with a huge cleaning campaign to remove trash accumulation in the south entrance and al-Suwayrah street.

Oct 14 The Al-Mahmoodiya Water Center responded to citizens’ complaints in Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate social media and changed the submersible water pump in al-Quds compounds, restoring clean water to 18,000 citizens.

Oct 17 The Basrah Municipality Directorate continued cleaning and removing Basrah Municipality Media Basra Municipality Media mud from al-Balam, al-Jebela, al-Zaytoon, and part of Shatt al-Arab rivers.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 154 Oct 18 The Al-Wehda Water Center responded to a citizen complaint to Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate repair a 6-inch pipeline in al-Karaziya area.

Oct 18 The Al-Zawraa Water Center repaired the water air valves in al-Amal Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate compounds, and fixed a broken ductile pipe in al-Shaoora, al-Karama, Abd al-Oda village, and al-Bawiya.

Oct 18 The Basrah Municipality Directorate removed rubble and trash Basrah Municipality Media Basra Municipality Media accumulation from the industrial areas of Sha'ab al-Rebat, al-Khoura, and al-Ghadeer.

Oct 20 The al-Naser and al-Salam Water Centers, in corporation with the Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Technical Working Group (TWG) respond to citizen complaints and rehabilitated broken pipelines in 6000 area.

Oct 20 The al-Wehda Water Center, in corporation with the Baghdad TWG Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate rehabilitate broken pipelines in Abather-Mamal area.

Oct 20 The al-Nahrawan Water Center cleaned the river and changed the air Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate valves of the water filters in the 9th compound

Oct 21 The Ishtar team under Noon Foundation CSO conducted an awareness Nedaa Ali Nedaa Ali campaign called “for prettier Hilla” and distributed promotional materials.

Oct 21 The Lenahia Besalam Foundation in Anbar was honored with certificate Lenahia Besalam Foundation Lenahia besalam foundation and that’s due to the support and implementation of service projects around Anbar under the supervision of IGPA/Takamul.

Oct 21 Nabd al-Hayat Foundation was honored with certifications valuing their Nabd al-Hayat Foundation Nabd al-Hayat foundation efforts in cooperating with IGPA/Takamul in implementing activities and programs.

Oct 21 The al-Nahrawan Municipality Directorate responded to citizen Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality complaints by removing trash from government offices and schools, Directorate Directorate maintaining streets, removing trash accumulation from yards in al- Montather, Al-Zahraa, main street, and Al-Mojtaba neighborhoods.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 155 Oct 21 The al-Latifiya Municipality Directorate removed trash accumulation Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality from neighborhoods, main streets, and yards in al-Zahraa and al-Salam Directorate Directorate neighborhoods and watered plants in Baghdad-Hilla streets.

Oct 21 The al-Zohur Municipality Directorate responded to several complaints Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality and started a huge cleaning campaign, removing rubble and trash in main Directorate Directorate the market, Khadamat Street and Sectors 211 and 225.

Oct 21 The al-Wehda Municipality Directorate responded to several complaints Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality and started a huge cleaning campaign to remove rubble and trash in Directorate Directorate Moqdad, Murtatha, and al-Khalesa neighborhoods.

Oct 22 The Baghdad al-Jedeedah Municipality Directorate conducted a cleaning New Baghdad Municipality New Baghdad Municipality Directorate campaign for Sector 751 – 23 street and disseminated information to Directorate citizens about the importance of engaging with local government and raising their complaints through phone hotlines and Facebook.

Oct 22 The al-Shula Municipality Directorate and Baghdad Amanat TWG, Al-Shula Municipality Directorate Al-Shula Municipality Directorate maintained and paved 220 m of road in the main street of Al-Jewadain 450 sector.

Oct 22 The al-Sheikh Hamed Water Center rehabilitated pipelines in Abo Asaf Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate and Sheikh Amer areas.

Oct 23 The al-Jiser Municipality Directorate started an awareness campaign to Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality change citizen behavior and clean up streets, schools and distribute Directorate Directorate trash containers. They also did maintenance work on the Salman Bak Square.

Oct 23 The al-Naser and al-Salam Water Center, in corporation with Baghdad Outskirts of Baghdad municipality Outskirts of Baghdad municipality TWG, rehabilitated pipelines in Dubliya and Abo Munaser areas. Directorate Directorate

Oct 23 The Baghdad Amanat Water Directorate rehabilitated broken pipelines Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate in al-Mansour area.

Oct 24 The Basrah TWG started preparing the land for conversion to public Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate media gardens in al-Mudraa neighborhood. media

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 156 Oct 25 Mercy Hand Organization led citizens in a gardening and tree planting New Baghdad Municipality New Baghdad Municipality Directorate campaign in Baghdad al-Jedeedah Municipality. Directorate

Oct 25 The Basrah Municipality Directorate removed the accumulation of Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate media rubble from the industry areas of Hamdan, al-Rebat, and Yassen media Kherebet.

Oct 25 The Basrah Municipality Directorate cleaned and desilted the rivers of Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate media Jenenah, al-Ablah, Nowab al-Dhubat, al-Zaytoon, and parts of Shatt al- media Arab.

Oct 29 As directed by the Baghdad Provincial Water Director in al-Zawraa Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate District, TWG transferred and installed water tank to al-Shishan strengthening station in al-Bawiya

Oct 29 Akarkoof Water Directorate responded to citizens complaint to Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate rehabilitate a broken pipeline of Fakhriya tank

Oct 29 As part of #We_work_together campaign, Baghdad Amanat TWG Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad continued to raise awareness by distributing flyers, and emphasized the Municipality Municipality importance of citizen engagement with local government and using hotlines and social media to submit their service delivery complaints

Oct 29 Continued the maintenance of the streets, and Salman Pak square in al- Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Jsir municipality

Oct 29 Cleaning Department cleaned streets and sidewalks Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad Municipality Municipality

Oct 30 Al-Taji village Water Directorate added a new water pipeline for Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate Bizayiz, and Hoor al-Basha villages

Oct 30 Sewerage Directorate conducted cleaning campaign on the main Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad sewerage lines and rain lines Municipality Municipality

Oct 31 Continued maintaining the cleanliness in Salman Pak square in al-Jisir Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Municipality

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 157 Oct 31 Cleaned sewerages in sector 952 (21 and 10 sub-sectors) and sector Baghdad Amanat – Karrada Baghdad Amanat – Karrada Municipality 965, 25 sub-sectors Municipality

Oct 31 Sewerage Directorate conducted a cleaning campaign on the main Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad Baghdad Amanat – New Baghdad sewerage lines and rain lines also Municipality Municipality

Nov 01 Al-Nahrawan Water Directorate fixed a broken pipeline in al-Dawanim Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate area, al-Mustafa and al-Jawad neighborhoods

Nov 01 Basrah Municipality, with the same work policy in Ta’awn program, Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate media cleaned the inner rivers of the city while removing waste from the media shoulders of the Shatt al-Arab.

Nov 01 Al-Mushahda Water Directorate replaced the main connecting piece of Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate a pipeline from 150 ml to 200 ml, that feeds several villages in Abu Siryoweel sector, now the citizens have access to clean water

Nov 01 Baghdad Amanat TWG led the cleaning of streets, removed trash Baghdad Amanat – Shaab Baghdad Amanat – Shaab Municipality accumulation, and cleaned canals and sewerages Municipality

Nov 01 Najaf Water Directorate removed several squatters on the main Najaf Water Directorate Media Najaf Water Directorate Media pipeline in al-Hirafeen neighborhood

Nov 01 Najaf Water Directorate responded to citizen complaints about the lack Najaf Water Directorate Media Najaf Water Directorate Media of water in Imam Mahdi neighborhood, and now all the citizens have access to clean water.

Nov 01 Al-Rasafa Center Municipality Directorate maintained public greeneries, Baghdad Amanat – al-Rusafa district Baghdad Amanat – al-Rusafa district and cleaned street sidewalks and the gardens in sector 504

Nov 02 Competitive greening campaigns of Basrah Municipality Directorate and Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate media the volunteers in the governorate were conducted to plant trees and media

Nov 05 The al-Hilla Municipality Directorate, in coordination with Babil Al-Hilla Municipality Directorate Al-Hilla Municipality Directorate Media governor deputy, Babil assistant governor for technical affairs office, and Media al-Aghsan Foundation for Agricultural and Environmental Development CSO (part of Baghdad TWG) planted approximately 750 tree seedlings in

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 158 Shatt al-Hilla, donated by al-Aghsan CSO. They also cleaned and trimmed trees from Bab al-Hussein bridge to Billy bridge. This activity expands the green spaces in Babil and improves the environment of the surrounding area.

Nov 05 The Basrah Technical Working Group Responded to citizen complaints Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate to maintain and pave the 3,500 meter main street and the streets in al- Jamia third area.

Nov 07 Maintained public greeneries, trimmed trees, and erected seat benches Baghdad Amanat -Al-Shaab Baghdad Amanat -Al-Shaab Municipality in al-Qudus street Municipality Directorate Directorate

Nov 07 Rehabilitated the pipelines in Karrada, al-Za’afraniya, Saba’a Qusoor Karrada Municipality Directorate Karrada Municipality Directorate area, al-Saha street and Baladiyat

Nov 07 The al-Yousifiya Municipality Directorate responded to citizen Al-Yousifiya Municipality Al-Yousifiya Municipality Directorate complaints to pave all the streets in al-Sajad area. The next steps will be Directorate to pave other streets and sectors in al-Qasr al-Awsat.

Nov 07 Conducted cleaning campaigns to remove trash accumulation and wash Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate streets in al-Muntadhar, al-Makrama, al-Hakeem, sector 104, al-Salam, al-Sahiroon, al-Shuhadaa, Bab al-Sheikh neighborhoods.

Nov 08 Cleaned al-Riyadh bazaar, Taha mosque, the municipality council Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate building, and multiple streets and yards.

Nov 08 Expanded the drive to clean the streets, sidewalks, canals and sewerages Baghdad Amanat - New Baghdad Baghdad Amanat - New Baghdad and removed accumulated garbage in multiple neighborhoods. Municipality Municipality

Nov 08 Cleaned, and maintained the fountains in Kahramana, al-Tahariyat, al- Karrada Municipality Directorate Karrada Municipality Directorate Wathiq, and Abdulqadir squares

Nov 08 Conducted sterilization campaign in two schools, al-Jawahiry and al- Al-Ghadeer Municipality Al-Ghadeer Municipality Directorate Shemoos Directorate

Nov 11 Responded to citizen complaints and started a massive cleaning Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality Outskirts of Baghdad Municipality campaign to remove rubble and trash accumulation in al- Zahraa, al- Directorate Directorate

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 159 Rasool and al-Miqdad neighborhoods.

Nov 11 Removed rubble and trash accumulation in al-Muftiya, al-baradi'yah, and Basra Municipality Directorate Basra Municipality Directorate al-Sahafiyeen, Hamdan, al-Jumhuriyah and near Mohammed al-Qasim bridge.

Nov 11 Maintained and paved al-Qudus and Hay al-Basateen streets, and other Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate streets from different sectors

Nov 12 Watered trees, distributed trash containers, and promoted non-littering Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate practices

Nov 13 Al-Aghsan CSO planted more than 20,000 trees in al-Latifiya Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate Municipality in order to reduce dust storms and pollution.

Nov 13 Launched an awareness campaign in al-Zawraa park and distributed Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate brochures and educational materials.

Nov 14 Conducted cleaning campaigns to remove trash accumulation from al- Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Makrama, al-Muntadhar, al-Hakeem, and sector 104 neighborhoods.

Nov 14 Responded to citizen complaints to pave the streets in al-Shuhadaa, al- Al-Youssifia Municipality Al-Youssifia Municipality Directorate Sajjad area and other areas. Directorate

Nov 14 Raised citizens’ awareness about agriculture and motivated them to Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate plant seeds under the campaign #Cleanliness_is_the_mark_of_civilization.

Nov 18 Responded to citizens’ complaints to clean the streets, sidewalks, canals Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate Al-Shaab Municipality Directorate and sewerages, remove accumulated garbage, and rehabilitate damaged manholes in multiple neighborhoods.

Nov 18 Conducted cleaning campaign to clean the streets of Hakeem, Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Muntadhar, Farook, sector 101, and al-Tarmiya court

Nov 18 Continue to establish a park at the entrance of Tal-Abta sub-district, as Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate well as organizing the entrance and constructing a gate.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 160 Nov 18 Rehabilitated and paved several streets in various neighborhoods Mosul Municipality Directorate Mosul Municipality Directorate

Nov 19 Cleaned water filters, removed illegal tapping, and rehabilitated pipelines Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate in several areas

Nov 20 Cleaned sewerages in al-Ma’qal, al-Ribat, the city center, and al-Khora Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate Media streets Media

Nov 21 Al-Zohoor Municipality Directorate conducted cleaning in reaction to Baghdad outskirts municipalities Baghdad outskirts municipalities heavy rain Directorate Directorate

Nov 21 Removed flooded water on the streets caused by a heavy rain Al-Shula Municipality Directorate Al-Shula Municipality Directorate

Nov 25 Launched a cleaning campaign to remove rubbles in al-Nahrawan Mosul Municipality Directorate Mosul Municipality Directorate neighborhood and plans to open a Municipality Department in the area.

Nov 25 Rehabilitated manholes and changed damaged ones in sectors 424, 426 Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality and 438; distributed brochures to urge the citizens keep the manholes Directorate Directorate clean.

Nov 26 Removed squatters that caused the closure of al-Arab street in Basrah Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate Media City center; also removed rubble and waste accumulation from the area Media in response to several complaints received from citizens.

Nov 26 Conducted awareness campaign to urge citizens to stop littering; Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate cleaned the streets and schools, and distributed trash containers.

Nov 26 Removed rubble and remnants of war, opened blocked streets, Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate removed rubble accumulation, washed streets and planted trees, in addition to maintaining and paving the streets to encourage the displaced people of Sinjar District to return.

Nov 27 Planted grass carpets in street medians. Mosul Municipality Directorate Mosul Municipality Directorate

Nov 28 Drained our accumulated rainwater from streets. Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 161 Directorate Directorate

Nov 28 Completed several projects in Qayyarah sub-district, including opening Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate the 5km Lazaka Village street, and a 2km road that connects al-Aghar village with the Mosul-Baghdad highway, as well as the opening of 6km of road within al-Askary neighborhoods.

Nov 28 Promoted the complaint hotline on social media to encourage citizens Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate Media to submit their complaints and avoid fines and shared information on Media COVID-19 precautions.

Nov 29 Promoted the use of electronic forms to apply for building or Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate Media rehabilitation permits of houses. Media

Nov 29 Started a project in the northern entrance of al-Qayyarah sub-district to Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate construct arches and the gate, as well as establishing a second side road.

Nov 29 Drained out accumulated rainwater from several streets. Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate Media Media

Dec 02 Conducted awareness campaign and urging citizens to stop littering; Al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate cleaned the streets and school premises, and distributed trash containers.

Dec 02 Paved the main street of Batnaya town as part of the project to pave Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate and construct separate streets in the district of Tilkaif and its suburbs to encourage displaced people to return.

Dec 02 Opened and resumed operations of Shetitan Water Compound after Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate five years of shutdown.

Dec 02 Concreted sidewalks and prepared other streets for paving in Yarmouk Ninewa Municipalities Directorate Ninewa Municipalities Directorate complex, Sinjar district.

Dec 02 Removed accumulated garbage from several neighborhoods and cleaned Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality Baghdad al-Jadeeda Municipality the streets, sidewalks, manholes, sewerage, and canals. Directorate Directorate

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 162 Dec 03 Removed rubble and trash accumulation, cleaned sewerage and canals in Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate several areas.

Dec 04 Rehabilitated al-Samah neighborhood streets by constructing a 15,000- Mosul Municipality Directorate Mosul Municipality Directorate meter long asphalt street; built 30-km long side blocks and extended sewerage system and electricity networks.

Dec 05 Fixed an electrical issue with one of the water pumps in al-Husseiniya Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate project in Baghdad.

Dec 06 Installed new pipelines in al-Shuhadaa and Jaboor al-Sha’ar areas and Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate removed illegal connections from water mains in multiple areas.

Dec 06 Promoted complaint hotlines on social media to encourage citizens to Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate submit their complaints, avoid littering fines, and shared information on COVID-19 precautions.

Dec 06 Continued promoting electronic applications for new residential building Basrah Municipality Directorate Basrah Municipality Directorate or rehabilitation.

Dec 07 Baghdad Amanat continued promoting hotlines on social media to Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad al-Jidida Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad al-Jidida encourage citizens to submit their service delivery complaints. They Municipality Directorate Municipality Directorate removed trash and clean streets and sidewalk.

Dec 07 Baghdad Amanat continued promoting hotlines on social media to Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad al-Jidida Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad al-Jidida encourage citizens to submit their service delivery complaints. They Municipality Directorate Municipality Directorate cleaned manholes.

Dec 07 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, TWG in al-Jisr Municipality Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Directorate conducted a cleaning campaign in al-Salam neighborhood to clean the city and raise citizens’ awareness about throwing trash properly.

Dec 13 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate is Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continuing to conduct a cleaning campaign in the subdistrict clean the city and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 163 Dec 13 Al-Nasr Wasalam Water Center conducted a campaign to remove all Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate illegal connections.

Dec 15 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, TWG in al-Jisr Municipality Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Directorate and in response to citizens’ complaints, conducted a cleaning campaign in al-Taqa Street to clean the city and raise citizens’ awareness about throwing trash properly.

Dec 15 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, TWG in al-Jisr Municipality Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Directorate continue to conduct a cleaning campaign to clean the city and raise citizens’ awareness about throwing trash properly.

Dec 15 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continues to conduct cleaning works to clean the city, streets, public parks and raise citizens’ awareness about throwing trash properly.

Dec 15 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continues to clean streets, public parks and raise citizens’ awareness about throwing trash properly.

Dec 15 The Cleaning Department (night shift) continues following up the trash Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad Jadida Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad Jadida removal and the cleaning of street. Municipality Municipality

Dec 17 Let’s Work Together campaign was conducted in schools to raise Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad Jadida Baghdad Amanat/Baghdad Jadida students’ awareness over the cleanliness and water conservation of Municipality Municipality their city. Folders containing hotlines were distributed.

Dec 17 Al Qaiara Municipality Directorate staff continues providing services to Ninewa Municipality Directorate Ninewa Municipality Directorate the city. The work is to install traffic lights and other pavement work.

Dec 17 Under the direction of the Director of Baghdad Water Directorate and Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate with the presence of TWG, a pump with 200/M3 in al Ihsan Compact Units.

Dec 18 Following the recommendation of the governor to increase Najam al-Jubouri Najam al-Jubouri coordination between various department, Municipalities Directorate in Ninewa, in coordination with IGPA/Takamu, provide the Municipalities

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 164 Direcotrate with 1000 plants to be planted in districts and subdistricts.

Dec 19 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate is Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continuing to conduct a cleaning campaign in the subdistrict clean the city and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

Dec 20 Under the direction of the Director of Baghdad Water Directorate and Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate with the presence of TWG, Abu Edham water network has been laid with a length of 700 m.

Dec 20 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate is Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continuing to pave the street of the subdistrict. Ground leveling is under way to be prepared for paving the streets.

Dec 20 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, al-Jisr Municipality Directorate is Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continuing to conduct a cleaning campaign in the subdistrict clean the city and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

Dec 20 IGPA held a workshop in Erbil to evaluate the administrative issue HCCP HCCP related to PFM of provinces. A number of high-level officials attended to this workshop which came up with a number of recommendations which can help find the legal and administrative remedies to the outstanding problems.

Dec 21 Under the directions of Director of Baghdad Water Directorate, the Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate pipeline 250 ml supplying Arab Jobor city was fixed after receiving complaints by citizens of that area.

Dec 24 Under the direction of the Baghdad Water Director in collaboration Baghdad Water Directorate Baghdad Water Directorate with the TWG, the maintenance team of Al-Zuhor Water Center fixed a water leakage in al-Zuhor subdistrict.

Dec 27 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, the al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continued to conduct cleaning campaigns in the subdistrict and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

Dec 28 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, the al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate https://web.facebook.com/aljisir/posts/35 continued to conduct cleaning campaigns in the subdistrict and to

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 165 receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines. 09741672479647

Dec 28 IGPA held a workshop in Erbil to evaluate administrative issues related HCCP HCCP to PFM in federal provinces. High-level officials attended the workshop, who presented a number of legal and administrative remedies to outstanding problems.

Dec 29 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, the al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continued to conduct cleaning campaigns in the subdistrict and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

Dec 29 With technical support from USAID, Wasit is working to improve USAID Iraq USAID Iraq citizens’ access to potable water across the province by extending the water network to Adar, Ansar al-Hussein, al-Husseini, al-Musharaka, al- Nasr, al-Talaa, Beit al-Dahi, Sayed Abdul Nabi Layd, and Muhammad al- Haeri in al-Bashaer District.

Dec 29 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, the al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate is continuing to pave the streets in the subdistrict. Ground leveling is under in preparation for street paving.

Dec 29 In cooperation with IGPA/Takamul, the al-Jisr Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate Al-Jisir Municipality Directorate continued to conduct cleaning campaigns in the subdistrict and to receive citizens’ complaints through hotlines.

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 166 ACRONYMS

AFAD Administrative and Financial Affairs PPDC Provincial Planning and Development Council Directorate AMELP Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and PPP Public-Private Partnership Learning Plan BDC Business Development Center PWED Provincial Women’s Empowerment Directorate BPR Business Process Reengineering RFP Request for Proposal CBI Central Bank of Iraq SAG Social Accountability Group COM Council of Ministers SBD Standard Bidding Document COMSec Council of Ministers’ Secretariat SDP Sectoral Development Plan COR Council of Representatives SME Small- and Medium-sized Enterprise CSO Civil Society Organization SOP Standard Operating Procedure CSR Corporate Social Responsibility SOW Scope of Work DPM Deputy Prime Minister STTA Short Term Technical Assistance DPMO Deputy Prime Minister’s Office SWM Solid Waste Management E&I Equality and Inclusion TOT Training-of-Trainers GOI Government of Iraq TWG Technical Working Group HCCPSec Higher Commission for Coordination U.S. United States among Provinces’ Secretariat HRMS Human Resource Management System USAID United States Agency for International Development ICT Information and Communication Task Order 4 (NIFI) Technology IDP Internally Displaced Person/Population ARDC Al-Rabiein Development Center IFMIS Integrated Financial Management and BDC Business Development Center Information System IGPA Iraq Governance and Performance BDS Business Development Services Accountability IMS Identity Management System CBI Central Bank of Iraq IPP Independent Power Producer GMP Good manufacturing practices KRG Kurdistan Regional Government HCWA High Council of Women Affairs (KRG) KRI Kurdistan Region of Iraq IFC International Finance Corporation MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning IOM International Organization for Migration MOE Ministry of Energy JDA Joint Development Associations MOF Ministry of Finance KFCCI Kurdish Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry MOFE Ministry of Finance and Economy MENA II USAID Middle East and North Africa Investment Initiative MOH Ministry of Health MSME Micro, small, and medium enterprise MOMT Ministry of Municipalities and Tourism NCCR Ninewa Center for Consulting and Research MOO Ministry of Oil NIB Ninewa Investment Board MOP Ministry of Planning NIC Ninewa Investment Commission MOU Memorandum of Understanding NIF Ninewa Investment Forum MP Member of Parliament NIFI Ninewa Investment Facilitation Initiative NIF Ninewa Investment Forum NLT Newly Liberated Territories (of Iraq) O&M Operations and Maintenance PSD Private sector development PDD Public Debt Department PSI Private sector investment PEA Political Economy Analysis PSITL Private Sector Investment Team Lead (NIFI) PED Performance Evaluation Department SME Small and medium enterprises PFM Public Financial Management UNDP United Nations Development Programme PM Prime Minister USIBC U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S.-Iraq Business Council PMF Popular Mobilization Forces

USAID.GOV IGPA/TAKAMUL FY21 QUARTER 1 REPORT | 167