RURAL SMALL AND MICROENTERPRISE
PROMOTION PROJECT

THE PROJECT

Procurement, Disbursement, Accounts and Audit

Procurement. The project will comply with the procedures and guidelines of the Government and IFAD. Overall responsibility for procurement and the signing of contracts will rest with the PCU. Specifically, all vehicles, goods and equipment costing more than USD 100 000 will be procured through international shopping procedures. Goods with a value of between USD 100 000 and USD 20 000 will comply with National Competitive Bidding (NCB). Civil works over USD 20 000 will follow NCB procedures. Goods and civil works below USD 20 000 will be procured by obtaining bids from at least three reputable suppliers. Technical assistance will be acquired on terms and conditions satisfactory to IFAD. Discussions are ongoing with the National Tender Board on tender procedures and decentralization, and IFAD has recently joined the Government/donor group, which is working on harmonization and decentralization.

Disbursement. The loan proceeds will be disbursed over seven years. To facilitate project
implementation a United States dollar-denominated Special Account will be opened and operated in a commercial bank acceptable to IFAD. The authorized allocation will be USD 1 million. IFAD will deposit the amount of USD 600 000 into the Special Account and the balance of the authorized allocation will be disbursed when the overall project disbursement has reached SDR 1 000 000. Withdrawals from the IFAD loan account will be made in accordance with IFAD disbursement procedures, using certified statements of expenditure (SOEs) as agreed by the borrower, IFAD and the cooperating institution. Documentation in support of SOEs will be retained for examination during supervision missions and the annual audit of project accounts.

Accounts and audit. A central project account (in RWF) will be opened to receive funds both from the Special Account and the Government’s counterpart contribution. An initial disbursement will be made by the Government of USD 30 000 equivalent and regularly replenished in line with workplan and budget requirements. Project accounts will be subject to an independent annual audit conforming to IFAD guidelines.