V
AID MANAGEMENT
63. There were no major new developments in the field of aid management during 1976.
The difficulties of managing the kind of complex projects which have arisen
from the new aid strategy have already been described, but so far at least our
reaction to these has been to intensify our own input both by visits from ODM
experts and administrators and by using technical cooperation expertise of
different kinds - to the day to day business of project identification and
implementation.
PREPARATION OF MULTI-YEAR PROGRAMMES
64. The annual White Papers on public expenditure indicate planned levels for the
net aid programme over a five-year period as part of the planning of the public
expenditure programme as a whole. The planning figures are in constant prices
and are of course subject to changes in policy. The aid programme is planned
within a four-year framework which covers the last four years of the public
expenditure survey. Once the survey has established the levels of future aid programmes in net constant prices, and these figures have been translated into
cash, the ODM decides how these sums should be distributed between the various
types of aid and between the recipient countries. This provides, in terms of
expected disbursements, a detailed breakdown of expenditure for the four-year
period. When agreed with other government departments this forms the basis on
which the ministry makes new aid commitments. This framework is rolled forward
each year and thus enables multi-year programmes to be planned in conjunction
with recipient governments. The framework is not published because it is based
on intentions and assumptions which may not be realised, but individual commitments
such as a loan to a particular country are announced as soon as they have been
entered into.
CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER DONORS
The World Bank
65. One way of avoiding some management difficulties is, of course, through co-financing
and other forms of co-operation with other donors. ODM has, therefore, sought
opportunities to co-finance suitable projects with the World Bank either through
"joint" or "parallel" financing arrangements according to the nature of the project.
In many sectors our approach is similar to the Bank's and there are potential
advantages to the recipient country, the Bank and to ODM in co-financing some
projects. During 1976 discussions took place between ODM and Bank staff on the