Conformed Copy - C2121 - Agricultural Sector Adjustment Program - Development Credit Agreement

Page 1 CONFORMED COPY CREDIT NUMBER 2121 MAI Development Credit Agreement (Agricultural Sector Adjustment Program) between REPUBLIC OF MALAWI and INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION Dated April 11, 1990 CREDIT NUMBER 2121 MAI DEVELOPMENT CREDIT AGREEMENT AGREEMENT, dated April 11, 1990, between REPUBLIC OF MALAWI (the Borrower) and INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION (the Association). WHEREAS: (A) the Association has received a letter dated March 12, 1990, from the Borrower describing a program of actions, objectives and policies designed to achieve structural adjustment of the agricultural sector 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 required during such execution; and (B) 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 in two tranches as hereinafter provided; NOW THEREFORE the parties hereto hereby agree as follows: ARTICLE I General Conditions; Definitions Page 2 Section 1.01. The "General Conditions Applicable to Development 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 Development 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 Development Credit Agreement, the performance by the Borrower and the Association oftheir respective obligations under the Development Credit Agreementand the accomplishment of the purposes of the Credit."; and (c) the last sentence of Section 3.02 is deleted. 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) "RBM" means the Reserve Bank of Malawi, the Borrower's Central Bank established pursuant to the Reserve Bank of Malawi Act, 1989 (Act No. 8 of 1989); (b) "SITC" means the Standard International Trade Classification, Revision 3 (SITC, Rev. 3), published by the United Nations in Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 343 (1986); and (c) "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 Borrower, on the terms and conditions set forth or referred to in the Development Credit Agreement, an amount in various currencies equivalent tofifty-two million six hundred thousand Special Drawing Rights (SDR 52,600,000). 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. (b) The Borrower shall, for the purposes of the Program, open and maintain in dollars a special deposit account in a commercial bank 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, 1991 or such later date as the Association shall establish. The Association shall promptly notify the Borrower of such later date. Section 2.04. (a) The Borrower shall pay to the Association a commitment charge on the principal amount of the Credit not withdrawn from time to time at a rate to be set by the Association as of June 30 of each year, but not to exceed the rate of one-half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) per annum. (b) The commitment charge shall accrue: (i) from the date sixty days after the date of this Agreement (the accrual date) to the respective dates Page 3 on which amounts shall be withdrawn by the Borrower from the Credit Account or cancelled; and (ii) at the rate set as of the June 30 immediately preceding the accrual date or at such other rates as may be set from time to time thereafter pursuant to paragraph (a) above. The rate set as of June 30 in each year shall be applied from the next payment date in that year specified in Section 2.06 of this Agreement. (c) The commitment charge shall be paid: (i) at such places as the Association shall reasonably request; (ii) without restrictions 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 2.05. The Borrower shall pay to the Association a service charge at the rate of three-fourths of one percent (3/4 of 1%) per annum on the principal amount of the Credit withdrawn and outstanding from time to time. Section 2.06. Commitment and service charges shall be payable semiannually on March 15 and September 15 in each year. Section 2.07. (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) below, the Borrower shall repay the principal amount of the Credit in semiannual installments payable on each March 15 and September 15, commencing September 15, 2000, and ending March 15, 2030. Each installment to and including the installment payable on March 15, 2010, shall be one percent (1%) of such principal amount, and each installment thereafter shall be two percent (2%) of such principal amount. (b) Whenever (i) the Borrower's gross national product per capita, as determined by the Association, shall have exceeded $790 in constant 1985 dollars for five consecutive years and (ii) the Bank shall consider the Borrower creditworthy for Bank lending, the Association may, subsequent to the review and approval thereof by the Executive Directors of the Association and after due consideration by them of the development of the Borrower's economy, modify the terms of repayment of installments under paragraph (a) above by requiring the Borrower to repay twice the amount of each such installment not yet due until the principal amount of the Credit shall have been repaid. If so requested by the Borrower, the Association may revise such modification to include, in lieu of some or all of the increase in the amounts of such installments, the payment of interest at an annual rate agreed with the Association on the principal amount of the Credit withdrawn and outstanding from time to time, provided that, in the judgment of the Association, such revision shall not change the grant element obtained under the above-mentioned repayment modification. (c) If, at any time after a modification of terms pursuant to paragraph (b) above, the Association determines that the Borrower's economic condition has deteriorated significantly, the Association may, if so requested by the Borrower, further modify the terms of repayment to conform to the schedule of installments as provided in paragraph (a) above. Section 2.08. The currency of the United States of America is hereby specified for the purposes of Section 4.02 of the General Conditions. Section 2.09. (a) RBM 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 RBM with responsibility for the preparation of withdrawal applications under the Credit and for the collection of the documents and other evidence to be 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 $50,000 equivalent. ARTICLE III Page 4 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 each such exchange of views, 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. In order to assist the Borrower to carry out an integrated household survey and studies related to the impact of the Program on the poor, 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 principles and procedures satisfactory to the Association on the basis of the "Guidelines for the Use of Consultants by World BankBorrowers 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. (b) The Borrower shall: (i) have the records and accounts referred to in paragraph (a) of this Section, including those for 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 insuch detail as the Association shall have reasonably requested; and (iii) furnish to the Association such other information concerning said records and 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, records and accounts reflecting such expenditures; (ii) retain, until at least one year after the Association 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 records and accounts are included in the annual audits referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section and that the report of such audit contains a separate opinion by said auditors as to whether the statements of expenditure submitted during such fiscal Page 5 year, together with the procedures and internal controls involved in their preparation, can be relied upon to support the related withdrawals. 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 a situation has arisen which shall make it improbable that the Program, or a significant part thereof, will be carried out. ARTICLE V Termination Section 5.01. The date ninety (90) days after the date of this Agreement is hereby specified for the purposes of Section 12.04 of the General Conditions. ARTICLE VI Representatives of the Borrower; Addresses Section 6.01. Except as provided in Section 2.09 (a) of this Agreement, the Minister of Finance of the Borrower 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: Ministry of Finance P.O. Box 30049 Capital City Lilongwe 3, Malawi Cable address: Telex: FINANCE 44407 MI Malawi 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 MALAWI By /s/ Robert B Mbaya Authorized Representative Page 6 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION By /s/ Paul Isenman (Acting) Regional Vice President Africa SCHEDULE 1 Withdrawal of the Proceeds of the Credit 1. The table below sets forth the Categories of items to be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit, the allocation of the amounts of the Credit to each Category and the percentage of expenditures for items to be financed in each Category: Amount of Credit Allocated % of (Expressed in Expenditures Category SDR Equivalent) to be Financed (1) Goods 52,035,000 100% of foreign expenditures (2) Consultants' 565,000 100% services TOTAL 52,600,000 2. 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. 3. For the purposes of this Schedule, the term "foreign expenditures" means expenditures in the currency of any country other than that of the Borrower for goods or services supplied from the territory of any country other than that of the Borrower. 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 above, no withdrawals shall be made in respect of Category 1 in the table set forth in paragraph 1 of this Schedule for: (a) expenditures for goods included in the following SITC groups or sub-groups, or any successor groups or sub-groups under future revisions to the SITC, as designated by the Association by notice to the Borrower: Group Subgroup Description of Items 112 -- Alcoholic beverages 121 -- Tobacco, unmanufactured, tobacco refuse 122 -- Tobacco, manufactured (whether or not containing tobacco substitutes) 525 -- Radioactive and associated materials 667 -- Pearls, precious and semiprecious stones, unworked or worked 718 718.7 Nuclear reactors, and parts thereof, fuel elements (cartridges), nonirradiated for nuclear reactors 897 897.3 Jewelry of gold, silver or platinum group metals (except watches and watch cases) and Page 7 goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares (including set gems) 971 -- Gold, nonmonetary (excluding gold ores and concentrates) (b) expenditures for items included in any single SITC group or subgroup which exceeds, in the aggregate, the equivalent of SDR 10,500,000; (c) expenditures in the currency of the Borrower or for goods supplied from the territory of the Borrower; (d) payments made for expenditures prior to the date of this Agreement; (e) expenditures for goods procured under contracts costing less than $10,000 equivalent; (f) 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 (g) expenditures for goods intended for a military or paramilitary purpose or for luxury consumption; 5. Withdrawals for expenditures under contracts for the procurement of goods estimated to cost less than $250,000 may be permitted by the Association upon the basis of statements of expenditure under such terms and conditions as the Association shall specify. 6. No withdrawal shall be made and no commitment shall be entered into to pay amounts to, or on the order of, the Borrower in respect of expenditures to be financed out of the proceeds of the Credit allocated to Category 1 in the table set forth in paragraph 1 of this Schedule 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 SDR 26,035,000, unless the Association shall be satisfied, after an exchange of views as described in Section 3.01 of this Agreement based on evidence satisfactory to the Association: (a) with the progress achieved by the Borrower in the carrying out of the Program, (b) that the macro-economic policy framework of the Borrower is consistent with the objectives of the Program, and (c) that the actions described in Schedule 3 to this Agreement have been taken. 7. If, after the exchange of views described in paragraph 6 above, the Association shall have given notice to the Borrower that the progress achieved and actions taken are not satisfactory and, with in 90 days after such notice, the Borrower shall not have achieved progress and taken actions satisfactory to the Association, then the Association may, by notice to the Borrower, cancel the unwithdrawn amount of the Credit or any part thereof. SCHEDULE 2 Procurement 1. Contracts for the procurement of goods estimated to cost the equivalent of $2,000,000 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 Page 8 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 circulation; 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." (c) Paragraphs 2.55 and 2.56 of the Guidelines are deleted. 2. Contracts for the procurement of goods estimated to cost the equivalent of less than $2,000,000 shall be awarded: (a) by purchasers required to follow the Borrower's public procurement procedures for the importation of goods, on the basis of such procedures, provided that such procedures shall have been found acceptable to the Association; (b) by other purchasers, in accordance with established commercial practice, provided that such contracts shall be awarded on the basis of evaluation and comparison of quotations obtained from suppliers from at least two countries, except that direct contracting procedures acceptable to the Association may be used where considered appropriate under paragraph 3.5 of the Guidelines; and (c) by any purchasers, for the supply of commodities, on the basis of evaluation and comparison of quotations obtained from more than one supplier. 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 application 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 application 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 paragraph 4 of this Schedule, as the case may be, shall be furnished to the Association as part of the evidence required under paragraph 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. SCHEDULE 3 Actions Referred to in Paragraph 6 (c) Page 9 of Schedule 1 to this Agreement The Borrower has: 1. prepared and submitted to the Association a PublicSector Investment Program for 1990/91 - 1993/94, satisfactory to the Association; 2. maintained the exchange rate of the Malawi Kwacha and the fiscal deficit for 1990-1991 at levels satisfactory to the Association; 3. removed the requirement of prior RBM foreign exchange approval for all imports, other than a short list of items, satisfactory to the Association, consisting primarily of luxury goods; 4. adjusted subsidies on fertilizers to not more than 30% of full cost of fertilizers; and maintained the total amount of subventions for fertilizer subsidies at not more than 2% of total budgetary expenditures for fiscal year 1990/91; 5. implemented a two-payment price system for tobacco grown by smallholder farmers with the preplanting price being at least 45% of a three-year moving average of tobacco auction prices, based on the forecast auction price for the upcoming year and on the actual prices for the preceding two years; 6. implemented regulations allowing at least 5,000 smallholder farmers to grow burley-tobacco on customary land in areas where at least 75% of the farmers own less than one hectare of land; 7. implemented arrangements, satisfactory to the Association, for collecting estate land-lease rents through deductions at tobacco auctions; and 8. commenced to implement a pilot scheme targeting (a) fertilizer subsidies; and (b) agricultural credit to smallholder farmers with less than one hectare of land. 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 $20,000,000 to be withdrawn from the Credit Account and deposited in the Special Account pursuant to paragraph 3 (a) of this Schedule. 2. 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 shall be made as follows: (a) For withdrawals of the Authorized Allocation, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association a request or requests for a deposit or deposits which do not exceed the aggregate amount of the Authorized Allocation. On the basis of such request or requests, 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) (i) For replenishment of the Special Account, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association requests for deposits into the Special Account at such intervals as the Association shall specify. Page 10 (ii) Prior to or at the time of each such request, the Borrower shall furnish to the Association the documents and other evidence required pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Schedule for the payment or payments in respect of which replenishment is requested. On the basis of each such request, the Association shall, on behalf of the Borrower, withdraw from the Credit Account and deposit into the Special Account such amount as the Borrower shall have requested and as shall have been shown by said documents and other evidence to have been paid out of the Special Account for eligible expenditures. All such deposits shall be withdrawn by the Association from the Credit Account under the respective eligible Categories, and in the respective equivalent amounts, as shall have been justified by said documents and other evidence. 4. For each payment made by the Borrower out of the Special Account, the Borrower shall, at such time as the Association shall reasonably request, furnish to the Association such documents and other evidence showing that such payment was made exclusively for eligible expenditures. 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Schedule, the Association shall not be required to make further deposits into the Special Account: (a) if, at any time, the Association shall have determined that all further withdrawals should be made by the Borrower directly from the Credit Account in accordance with the provisions of Article V of the General Conditions and paragraph (a) of Section 2.02 of this Agreement; or (b) once the total unwithdrawn amount of the Credit, less the amount 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 equal the equivalent of twice the amount of the Authorized Allocation. Thereafter, withdrawal from the Credit Account of the remaining unwithdrawn amount of the Credit 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 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 an expenditure or in an amount not eligible pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Schedule; (ii) was not justified by the evidence furnished to the Association, the Borrower shall, promptly upon notice from the Association: (A) provide such additional evidence as the Association may request; or (B) deposit into the Special Account (or, if the Association shall so request, refund to the Association) an amount equal to the amount of such payment or the portion thereof not so eligible or justified. Unless the Association shall otherwise agree, no further deposit by the Association into the Special Account shall be made until the Borrower has provided such evidence or made such deposit or refund, as the case may be. (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. (c) The Borrower may, upon notice to the Association, refund to the Association all or any portion of the funds on deposit in the Special Account. (d) Refunds to the Association made pursuant to paragraphs 6 (a), (b) and (c) of this Schedule shall be credited to the Credit Account for subsequent withdrawal or for cancellation in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Agreement, including the General Conditions. Page 11