Niger - Structural Adjustment Credit : Credit 1660 - Credit Agreement - 2 - Conformed

REDIT NUMBER 1660 NIR OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS- Development Credit Agreement (Structural Adjustment Credit) between REPUBLIC OF NIGER and INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION Dated , 1986 CREDIT NUMBER 1660 NIR DEVELOPMENT CREDIT AGREEMENT AGREEMENT, dated )7 O1 I , 1986, between REPUBLIC OF NIGER (the Borrower) and INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (the Association). WHEREAS (A) the Association has received a letter dated December 30, 1985 from the Borrower describing a program of objectives, policies and actions designed to achieve structural adjustment of the Borrower's economy (hereinafter called the Program), declaring the Borrower's commitment to the execution of the Program, and requesting assistance from the Association in the financing of urgently needed imports and services required during such execution; and (B) the Borrower has also requested the Association in its capacity as Administrator of the Special Facility for Sub-Saharan Africa, established by its Executive Directors by Resolution No. IDA 85-1 of May 21, 1985, to provide additional assistance towards the financing of urgently needed imports and services required during the execution of the Program and by an agreement of even date herewith between the Borrower and the Association (the African Facility Credit Agreement), the Association as such Administrator (the Administrator) is agreeing to provide such assistance in an aggregate principal amount equivalent to thirty-six million six hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR 36,600,000) (the African Facility Credit); (C) the Borrower and the Association intend, to the extent practicable, that the proceeds of the Credit provided for in this Agreement, within each of the two tranches referred to herein, be disbursed on account of expenditures in respect of the Program after disbursements of the proceeds of the African Facility Credit provided for in the African Facility Credit Agreement are made; provided, however, that non-eligible expenditures under the African Facility Credit Agreement shall be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit; and (D) on the basis, inter alia, of the foregoing, the Association has decided in support of the Program to provide such assistance to the Borrower by making the Credit upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement; NOW THEREFORE the parties hereto hereby agree as follows: -2- ARTICLE I General Conditions; Definitions Section 1.01. The "General Conditions Applicable to Develop- ment Credit Agreements" of the Association, dated January 1, 1985, with the modifications thereof set forth below (the General Conditions) constitute an integral part of this Agreement: (a) Section 2.01, paragraph 9, shall be modified to read: "'Project' means the imports and other activities that may be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 1 to the Credit Agreement.", (b) Section 9.06 (c) shall be modified to read: "(c) Not later than six months after the Closing Date or such later date as may be agreed for this purpose between the Borrower and the Association, the Borrower shall prepare and furnish to the Association a report, of such scope and in such detail as the Association shall reasonably request, on the execution of the Program referred to in the Preamble to the Credit Agreement, the performance by the Borrower and the Association of their respective obligations under the Credit Agreement and the accomplishment of the purposes of the Credit."; (c) the last sentence of Section 3.02 is deleted; and (d) Section 6.02 (a) (ii) shall be modified to read: "(ii) under any other development credit agreement between the Borrower and the Association or under any African Facility Credit Agreement between the Borrower and the Association as Administrator of the African Facility,". Section 1.02. Unless the context otherwise requires, the several terms defined in the General Conditions and in the Preamble to this Agreement have the respective meanings therein set forth and the following additional terms have the following meanings: (a) "BCEAO" means Banque Centrale des Etats de 1'Afrique de 1'Ouest; -3- (b) "CFAF" and "CFA Franc" mean the common currency of the Borrower and of other members of the West African Monetary Union; (c) "CNCA" means Caisse Nationale de Cr6dit Agricole of the Borrower; (d) "OPVN" means Office des Produits Vivriers du Niger of the Borrower; (e) "SITC" means the United Nations Standard International Trade Classification, 1974 Revision (SITC, Rev. 2), published in Commodity Indexes for the Standard International Trade Classi- fication, Revised, Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 38/Rev.2 (1981); (f) "SNC" means Societe Nigerienne de Cimenterie of the Borrower; and (g) "Special Account" means the account referred to in Section 2.02 (b) of this Agreement. ARTICLE II The Credit Section 2.01. The Association agrees to lend to the Bor- rower, on the terms and conditions set forth or referred to in this Agreement, an amount in various currencies equivalent to eighteen million three hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR 18,300,000). Section 2.02. (a) The amount of the Credit may be withdrawn from the Credit Account in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Agreement, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time by agreement between the Borrower and the Association. (b) The Borrower shall, for the purposes of the Program, open and maintain in CFAF a special account in BCEAO on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Association. Deposits into, and payments out of, the Special Account shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Agreement. Section 2.03. The Closing Date shall be December 31, 1987 or such later date as the Association shall establish. The -4- Association shall promptly notify the Borrower of such later date. Section 2.04. The Borrower shall pay to the Association a service charge at the rate of three-fourths of one per cent (3/4 of 1%) per annum on the principal amount of the Credit withdrawn and outstanding from time to time. Section 2.05. (a) The Borrower shall pay to the Association a commitment charge at the rate of one-half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) per annum on the principal amount of the Credit not with- drawn from time to time. The commitment charge shall accrue from a date sixty days after the date of the Development Credit Agree- ment to the respective dates on which amounts shall be withdrawn by the Borrower from the Credit Account or shall be cancelled. (b) The commitment charge shall be paid: (i) at such places as the Association shall reasonably request; (ii) without re- strictions of any kind imposed by, or in the territory of, the Borrower; and (iii) in the currency specified in this Agreement for the purposes of Section 4.02 of the General Conditions or in such other eligible currency or currencies as may from time to time be designated or selected pursuant to the provisions of that Section. Section 2.06. Commitment and service charges shall be payable semiannually on May 15 and November 15 in each year. Section 2.07. The Borrower shall repay the principal amount of the Credit in semiannual installments payable on each May 15 and November 15, commencing May 15, 1996 and ending November 15, 2035 each installment to and including the installment payable on November 15, 2005, to be one-half of one per cent (1/2 of 1%) of such principal amount, and each installment thereafter to be one and one-half per cent (1-1/2%) of such principal amount. Section 2.08. (a) BCEAO is designated as representative of the Borrower for the purposes of taking any action required or permitted to be taken under the provisions of Section 2.02 of this Agreement and Article V of the General Conditions. (b) Without limitation or restriction to the foregoing, the Borrower hereby entrusts BCEAO with responsibility for the preparation of withdrawal applications under the Credit and for the collection of the documents and other evidence to be -5- furnished to the Association in support of such applications; such withdrawal applications shall to the extent practicable be consolidated so as to apply for withdrawal of aggregate amounts of not less than CFAF 400,000,000 equivalent. Section 2.09. The currency of the Republic of France is hereby specified for the purposes of Section 4.02 of the General Conditions. ARTICLE III Particular Covenants Section 3.01. (a) The Borrower and the Association shall from time to time, at the request of either party, exchange views on the progress achieved in carrying out the Program and the actions specified in Schedule 3 to this Agreement. (b) Prior to the exchange of views referred to under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to this Agreement, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association for its review and comment a report on the progress achieved in carrying out the Program, in such detail as the Association shall reasonably request. Section 3.02. Except as the Association shall otherwise agree, procurement of the goods to be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit shall be governed by the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Agreement. Section 3.03. The Borrower shall employ consultants whose qualifications, experience and terms and conditions of employment shall be satisfactory to the Association. Such consultants shall be selected in accordance with the principles and procedures satisfactory to the Association on the basis of the "Guidelines for the Use of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers and by the World Bank as Executing Agency" published by the Bank in August 1981. Section 3.04. (a) The Borrower shall maintain or cause to be maintained records and accounts adequate to reflect in accordance with consistently maintained sound accounting practices the expenditures financed out of the proceeds of the Credit. - 6- (b) The Borrower shall: (i) have the records and accounts referred to in paragraph (a) of this Section, including the Special Account, for each fiscal year audited, in accordance with appropriate auditing principles consistently applied, by independent auditors acceptable to the Association; (ii) furnish to the Association, as soon as available, but in any case not later than six months after the end of each such year, a certified copy of the report of such audit by said auditors, of such scope and in such detail as the Association shall have reasonably requested; and (iii) furnish to the Association such other information concerning said accounts and the audit thereof as the Association shall from time to time reasonably request. (c) For all expenditures with respect to which withdrawals from the Credit Account were made on the basis of statements of expenditure, the Borrower shall: (i) maintain or cause to be maintained, in accordance with paragraph (a) of this Section, separate records and accounts reflecting such expenditures; (ii) retain, until at least one year after the Asso- ciation has received the audit report for the fiscal year in which the last withdrawal from the Credit Account was made, all records (contracts, orders, invoices, bills, receipts and other documents) evidencing such expenditures; (iii) enable the Association's representatives to examine such records; and (iv) ensure that such separate accounts are included in the annual audits referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section and that the report thereof contains, in respect of such separate accounts, a separate opinion by said auditors as to whether the pro- ceeds of the Credit withdrawn in respect of such -7- expenditures were used for the purposes for which they were provided. ARTICLE IV Additional Event of Suspension Section 4.01. Pursuant to Section 6.02 (h) of the General Conditions, the following additional event is specified, namely, that an event has occurred which shall make it improbable that the Program, or a significant part thereof, will be carried out. ARTICLE V Effective Date Section 5.01. The date 120 days after the date of this Agreement, is hereby specified for the purposes of Section 12.04 of the General Conditions. ARTICLE VI Representative of the Borrower; Addresses Section 6.01. Except as provided under Section 2.08 of this Agreement, the Minister of the Borrower responsible for Planning is designated as representative of the Borrower for the purposes of Section 11.03 of the General Conditions. Section 6.02. The following addresses are specified for the purposes of Section 11.01 of the General Conditions: For the Borrower: Ministere du Plan B.P. 862 Niamey Niger Cable address: Telex: MINIPLAN 5463 NI Niamey -8- For the Association: International Development Association 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 United States of America Cable address: Telex: INDEVAS 440098 (ITT) Washington, D.C. 248423 (RCA) or 64145 (WUI) IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto, acting through their duly authorized representatives, have caused this Agreement to be signed in their respective names in the District of Columbia, United States of America, as of the day and year first above written. REPUBLIC OF NIGER By ~ %&~~4 Authorized Representative INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION By a/ /0§A<& t, 7&-4 t2 Regional Vice President Western Africa -9- SCHEDULE 1 Withdrawal of the Proceeds of the Credit 1. Subject to the provisions set forth or referred to in this Schedule, the proceeds of the Credit may be withdrawn from the Credit Account for expenditures made (or, if the Association shall so agree, to be made) in respect of the reasonable cost of goods and services required during the execution of the Program and to be financed out of such proceeds. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 above, no withdrawals shall be made in respect of: (a) expenditures for goods included in the following SITC groups or sub-groups: Group Sub-group Description of Items 112 - Alcoholic beverages 121 - Tobacco, unmanufactured tobacco refuse 122 - Tobacco, manufactured 667 - Pearls, precious and semi- precious stones, unworked or worked 688 - Uranium depleted in U235 and thorium, and their alloys, unwrought or wrought, and articles therefor, n.e.s.; waste and scrap of uranium depleted in U235 and of thorium 718 718.7 Nuclear reactors, and parts thereof, n.e.s. 897 897.3 Jewelry of gold, silver or platinum group metals (except watches and watch cases) and goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares (including set gems) - 10 - Group Sub-group Description of Items - 971.0 Gold, non-monetary (excluding gold ores and concentrates) (b) expenditures in the currency of the Borrower or for goods or services supplied from the territory of the Borrower; provided, however, that if the currency of the Borrower is also that of another country from the territory of which goods or services are supplied, expenditures in such currency for such goods or services shall be eligible for financing out of the proceeds of the Credit; (c) payments made for expenditures prior to the date of this Agreement; (d) expenditures for goods procured under contracts costing less than $10,000 equivalent; (e) expenditures for goods supplied under a contract which any national or international financing institution or agency other than the Association shall have financed or agreed to finance; and (f) expenditures for goods intended for a military or para-military purpose or for luxury consumption. 3. No withdrawal shall be made and no commitment shall be entered into to pay amounts to the Borrower or others in respect of expenditures to be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit after the aggregate of the proceeds of the Credit withdrawn from the Credit Account and the total amount of such commitments shall have reached the equivalent of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), unless the Association shall be satisfied, after the exchange of views as described in Section 3.01 (b) of this Agreement: (a) with the progress achieved by the Borrower in the carrying out of the Program, and (b) that the actions described in Schedule 3 to this Agreement have been taken. - 11 - SCHEDULE 2 Procurement 1. Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this Schedule, con- tracts for the procurement of goods estimated to cost the equivalent of $4,000,000 or more each shall be awarded through international competitive bidding in accordance with procedures consistent with those set forth in Sections I and II of the "Guidelines for Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits" published by the Bank in May 1985 (the Guidelines), subject to the following modifications: (a) Paragraph 2.8 of the Guidelines is deleted and the following is substituted therefor: "2.8 Notification and Advertising The international community should be notified in a timely manner of the opportunity to bid. This will be done by advertising invitations to apply for inclusion in a bidder's invitation list, to apply for prequalification, or to bid; such advertisements should be placed in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the Borrower's country and, in addition, in at least one of the following forms: (i) a notice in the United Nations publication, Development Forum, Business Edition; or (ii) an advertisement in a newspaper, periodical or technical journal of wide international circula- tion; or (iii) a notice to local representatives of countries and territories referred to in the Guidelines, that are potential suppliers of the goods required." (b) The following is added at the end of paragraph 2.21 of the Guidelines: "As a further alternative, bidding documents may require the bidder to state the bid price in a single currency widely used in international trade and specified in the bidding documents." - 12 - (c) Paragraphs 2.55 and 2.56 of the Guidelines are deleted. 2. Contracts for goods estimated to cost the equivalent of less than $4,000,000 each shall be awarded on the basis of the normal procurement procedures of the purchaser of such goods. 3. With respect to each contract referred to in paragraph 1 of this Schedule, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association, prior to the submission to the Association of the first applica- tion for withdrawal of funds from the Credit Account in respect of such contract, two conformed copies of such contract, together with the analysis of the respective bids and recommendations for award, a description of the advertising and tendering procedures followed and such other information as the Association shall reasonably request. 4. With respect to each contract referred to in paragraph 2 of this Schedule, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association, prior to the submission to the Association of the first applica- tion for withdrawal of funds from the Credit Account in respect thereof, such documentation and information as the Association may reasonably request to support withdrawal applications in respect of such contract. 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Schedule, where payments under a contract are to be made out of the proceeds of the Special Account, the copies of such contract or the documentation and the information to be furnished to the Association pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 3 or para- graph 4 of this Schedule, as the case may be, shall be furnished to the Association as part of the evidence required under para- graph 4 of Schedule 4 to this Agreement. 6. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 shall not apply to contracts on account of which the Association has authorized withdrawals from the Credit Account on the basis of statements of expenditure. - 13 - SCHEDULE 3 Conditions of Second Tranche Release List of actions referred to in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to this Agreement: 1. The Borrower shall have approved a budget acceptable to the Association for 1986/87. 2. The Borrower shall have approved a public investment program acceptable to the Association for the period 1986/87 to 1988/89. 3. The Borrower shall have reduced the number of products whose prices are subject to price control (taux de marque). 4. OPVN shall have made progress satisfactory to the Associa- tion in the implementation of grain marketing and storage reforms. 5. The Borrower shall have completed an audit of CNCA's opera- tions and shall have begun implementation of a program to improve debt collection. 6. The Borrower shall have completed the following studies upon terms of reference acceptable to the Association: a. The first phase of the study of the civil service system. b. A study of the formulation of the multisectoral development program for the Irhazer. c. A study of the possible extension of the cost recovery system. d. A study of SNC and interim report of the study of rural financial markets. - 14 - SCHEDULE 4 Special Account 1. For the purposes of this Schedule: (a) the term "eligible expenditures" means expenditures in respect of the reasonable cost of goods and services required during the execution of the Program and to be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Agreement; and (b) the term "Authorized Allocation" means an amount equivalent to CFAF 1,200,000,000 to be withdrawn from the Credit Account and deposited in the Special Account pursuant to paragraph 3 (a) of this Schedule. 2. Except as the Association shall otherwise agree, payments out of the Special Account shall be made exclusively for eligible expenditures in accordance with the provisions of this Schedule. 3. After the Association has received evidence satisfactory to it that the Special Account has been duly opened, withdrawals of the Authorized Allocation and subsequent withdrawals to replenish the Special Account may be made as follows: (a) On the basis of a request or requests by the Borrower for a deposit or deposits which add up to the aggregate amount of the Authorized Allocation, the Association shall, on behalf of the Borrower, withdraw from the Credit Account and deposit in the Special Account such amount or amounts as the Borrower shall have requested. (b) The Borrower shall furnish to the Association requests for replenishment of the Special Account at such intervals as the Association shall specify. On the basis of such requests, the Association shall withdraw from the Credit Account and deposit into the Special Account such amounts as shall be required to replenish the Special Account with amounts not exceeding the amount of payments made out of the Special Account for eligible expenditures. Each such deposit shall be withdrawn by the Association from the Credit Account in the respective equivalent amounts as shall have been justified by the evidence supporting the request for such deposit furnished pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Schedule. - 15 - 4. For each payment made by the Borrower out of the Special Account for which the Borrower requests replenishment pursuant to paragraph 3 (b) of this Schedule, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association, prior to or at the time of such request, such documents and other evidence as the Association shall reasonably request, showing that such payment was made for eligible expen- ditures. 5. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Schedule, no further deposit into the Special Account shall be made by the Association when either of the following situations first arises: (i) the Association shall have determined that all further withdrawals should be made directly by the Borrower from the Credit Account in accor- dance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of Section 2.02 of this Agreement; or (ii) the total unwithdrawn amount of the Credit, minus the amount of any outstanding qualified agreement to reimburse made by the Association and of any outstanding special commitment entered into by the Association pursuant to Section 5.02 of the General Conditions with respect to the Program, shall be equal to the equivalent of twice the amount of the Authorized Allocation. (b) Thereafter, withdrawal from the Credit Account of the remaining unwithdrawn amount of the Credit shall follow such procedures as the Association shall specify by notice to the Borrower. Such further withdrawals shall be made only after and to the extent that the Association shall have been satisfied that all such amounts remaining on deposit in the Special Account as of the date of such notice have been or will be utilized in making payments for eligible expenditures. 6. (a) If the Association shall have determined at any time that any payment out of the Special Account: (i) was made for any expenditure or in any amount not eligible pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Schedule, or (ii) was not justified by the evidence fur- nished pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Schedule, the Borrower shall, promptly upon notice from the Association, deposit into the Special Account (or, if the Association shall so request, refund to the Association) an amount equal to the amount of such - 16 - payment or the portion thereof not so eligible or justified. No further deposit by the Association into the Special Account shall be made until the Borrower has made such deposit or refund. (b) If the Association shall have determined at any time that any amount outstanding in the Special Account will not be required to cover further payments for eligible expenditures, the Borrower shall, promptly upon notice from the Association, refund to the Association such outstanding amount for crediting to the Credit Account. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION CERTIFICATE I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original in the archives of the Interna- tional Development Association. In witness whereof I have signed this Certifi- cate and affixed the Seal of the Association thereunto the i2 day of , 198 . FOR SECRETARY