Democratic Republic of The Congo

IMF Country Report No.
23/58
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

CONGO
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORT ON PUBLIC INVESTMENT
January 2023 MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT - PIMA AND CLIMATE PIMA
This paper on the Democratic Republic of the Congo was prepared by a staff team of the
International Monetary Fund. It is based on the information available at the time it was
completed on March 2022.
Copies of this report are available to the public from
International Monetary Fund • Publication Services

PO Box 92780 • Washington, D.C. 20090
Telephone: (202) 623-7430 • Fax: (202) 623-7201
E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.imf.org
Price: $18.00 per printed copy
International Monetary Fund

Washington, D.C.
© 2023 International Monetary Fund

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
REPORT
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF
THE CONGO
Public Investment Management
Assessment - PIMA and Climate PIMA
January 2023
Prepared By
Fabien Gonguet, Laura Gores, Nicolas Hengy,
Ephrem Ghonda Makiadi, Pierre Roumegas and
Hoda Selim
Prepared By
Fabien Gonguet, Laura Gores, Nicolas Hengy, Ephrem Ghonda Makiadi, Pierre
Roumegas and Hoda Selim
Table of Contents
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... 5
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 7
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 9
I. PUBLIC INVESTMENT TRENDS IN THE DRC ............................................................................... 16

A. Trends in general government investment and capital stock .................................................... 16
B. Composition of public sector investment ................................................................................... 19
II. EFFICIENCY AND IMPACT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE DRC .......................................... 21
III. PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT .............................................................. 24

A. Overview of the assessment ..................................................................................................... 24
B. Planning Sustainable Levels of Public Investment .................................................................... 26
C. Allocating Investments To The Right Sectors And Projects ...................................................... 36
D. Delivering Productive and Durable Public Assets ..................................................................... 48
IV. PIMA CLIMATE CHANGE ASSESSMENT MODULE (C-PIMA)................................................... 55

A. Climate change and public investment in the DRC ................................................................... 55
B. PIMA Climate change module assessment framework ............................................................. 56
V. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES ............................................................................................................. 64

A. Legal Framework ....................................................................................................................... 64
B. IT support ................................................................................................................................... 65
C. Staff Capacity ............................................................................................................................ 67
FIGURES
0.A. Institutional design (FI) and Effectiveness (EFF) of public investment management in the DRC 10
0.B. Institutional design (FI) of the institutions of the C-PIMA module in the DRC .............................. 10
1.A. General government investment: regional comparisons .............................................................. 17
1.B. Share of general government investment in total investment ...................................................... 17
1.C. Public capital stock: regional comparisons .................................................................................. 18
1.D. Public capital stock per capita, 2019 ........................................................................................... 18
1.E. Sources of financing for central government investment spending .............................................. 19
1.F. Public investment by function: regional comparisons in 2018 ...................................................... 19
1.G. PPP Capital stock ......................................................................................................................... 20
2.A. Indicators of physical access to public infrastructure - 2019 ........................................................ 22
2.B. Infrastructure quality as perceived by business leaders ............................................................... 23
2.C. Insufficiencies in access to infrastructure as perceived by private companies ............................ 23
2.D. Efficiency frontier (physical access to infrastructure) ..................................................................... 24
3.A. The PIMA assessment framework ................................................................................................ 24
3.B. DRC: Strength of public investment management institutions ...................................................... 25
3.C. DRC: Effectiveness (EFF) of public investment management practices ...................................... 25
3.D. Capital budgets successively planned and voted by parliament (billions of CGF) ....................... 36
4.A. The C-PIMA assessment framework ............................................................................................ 56
TABLES
0.A. PIMA Summary table .................................................................................................................... 12
0.B. C-PIMA Summary table ................................................................................................................ 12
0.C. Priority Action Plan to strengthen public investment management .............................................. 14
3.A. Kinshasa City-Province projects executed using central government transfers, 2020 ................. 31
IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

3.B. Comparison of the ministerial capital spending ceilings presented in the MTEFs and envelopes
approved by vote in the 2022 budget law ............................................................................................. 37
3.C. Comparison between the routine maintenance needs and funding available .............................. 44
5.A. Legal texts underlying the PIM procedures in the DRC ................................................................ 65
BOXES
3.A. Gap between investment projects registered in the budget and those executed ......................... 40
3.B. Country examples for the joint preparation of the capital and current budgets ............................ 42
3.C. Budgeting in the medium term for the investment projects of the Ministry of Mines .................... 43
3.D. Example of inclusion of project maintenance costs: South Africa ................................................ 45
4.A. Climate budget tagging ................................................................................................................. 62
ANNEXES
Annex 1. Actions from the draft 2022-24 Priority Action Plan in connection with public investment
management ......................................................................................................................................... 69
Annex 2. Detailed PIMA assessment scores ....................................................................................... 75
Annex 3. Detailed C-PIMA module assessment scores ....................................................................... 76
Annex 4. Setting up a single office for coordination and oversight of externally financed projects ..... 77
Annex 5. Guiding principles for preparation of a decree on public investment management .............. 79
Annex 6. Illustration of the list of relevant selection criteria ................................................................. 80
Annex 7. Principles guiding the establishment of an integrated bank of projects ................................ 81

Acronyms and Abbreviations
ACE Congolese Environment Agency
ACGT Congolese Agency for Major Works
AE-CP Commitment Authorization - Payment Appropriation
AFRITAC Central Central Africa Regional Technical Assistance Center
ARE Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority
ARMP Public Contracts Regulatory Authority (ARMP)
BCECO Central Coordination Office
C-PIMA PIMA Climate Change Assessment Module
C2I Ministerial Information Technology Coordination
CFEF Fragile States Finance Implementation Unit
CISPIP Commission for identification and selection of public investment projects
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
COREF Public Finance Reform Orientation Committee
COPIREP Public Corporation Reform Steering Committee
CPCC Standing Council of Accounting of the Congo
CPIP Public Investment Programming Conference
CRD Dispute Settlement Committee
CRESP Coordination of External Financing and Project Oversight
CSNGHC National Solidarity Fund for Disaster and Humanitarian Management
CSP High Council of the Portfolio
CSPP Project and Program Oversight Unit
DCS Supervision and Oversight Directorate
DEP Research and Planning Directorate
DGCMP General Directorate for Procurement Supervision
DGDP General Directorate of Public Debt
DGPPB General Directorate of Fiscal Policies and Programming
DGTCP General Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounting
DRB Fiscal Risk Statement
DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo
DSA Debt Sustainability Analysis
ETD Decentralized Territorial Entity
FAD Fiscal Affairs Department
FONER National Road Maintenance Fund
GCA Government Chart of Accounts
GDP Gross Domestic Product
IGF General Inspectorate of Finance
IMF International Monetary Fund
LOFIP Law on Public Finance
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MAAH Ministry of Humanitarian Actions and Affairs
MEDD Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development
MTEF Medium-Term Expenditure Framework
MTFF Medium-Term Fiscal Framework
NBE Government Budget Classification
NDC Nationally Determined Contribution
OR Highways Office
OVD Office of Roads and Drainage
PDL(-145T) Local Development Plan for the 145 territories
PGAI Investment and Aid Management Platform
PIMA Public Investment Management Assessment
PIP Public investment Program
PIREDD REDD Investment Plan
PNA National Climate Change Adaptation Plan
PNDS National Health Care Development Plan
PNSD National Development Strategy Plan
POG General Operation Plan
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PREPABUD Budget Preparation (Préparation du budget -software application)
PTF Technical and Financial Partners

REDD Reduction of deforestation and forest degradation
RGCP General Public Accounting Regulations
SADC Southern African Development Community
SIGMAP Integrated Procurement Management System (Système intégré de gestion des marchés publics-
software application)
SNEL Société nationale d’électricité
TA Technical assistance
TSA Treasury Single Account
UC-PPP PPP Advice and Coordination Unit
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change

INTRODUCTION
In response to a request by Nicolas Kazadi, Minister of Finance of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), a remote mission of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF was held from February
28 through March 24, 2022 to carry out a public investment management assessment (PIMA). The
mission, led by Fabien Gonguet (economist, FAD), included Laura Gores (technical assistance
adviser, FAD), Hoda Selim (senior economist, FAD), Nicolas Hengy and Pierre Roumegas (experts,
FAD), as well as Ephrem Ghonda Makiadi (public financial management advisor, AFRITAC Central).
This mission was financed by the Government of Japan and by AFRITAC Central.
At the start of the mission, the team was welcomed by the Minister of Finance, accompanied by
Ginette Nzau Muteta, his Deputy Cabinet Director, and then by the Coordinator of the Public Financial
Reform Orientation Committee (COREF), Godefroid Misenga, and was given their advice and
guidance. From March 15 through 18, the mission held score validation meetings together with the
main contact points of the various committees and agencies met during the mission. The mission
submitted its findings to the Minister of Finance on Thursday, March 24, and then to the various
departments during a technical meeting chaired by Mr. Misenga. A meeting with the technical and
financial partners was also organized on March 24.
The mission held working meetings with the representatives of the following committees and
agencies: at the Ministry of Finance: the COREF, the General Directorate of Public Debt, the General
Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounting, the Directorate for Preparation of the Accounting
Law, and the Directorate for Accounting Quality and Regulation, the Central Coordination Office, the
Project and Program Oversight Unit, the Fragile States Finance Implementation Unit; at the Ministry
of Budget: the General Directorate of Fiscal Policies and Programming, the General Directorate
responsible for performance oversight and development, the General Directorate for Procurement
Supervision, the Directorate for Fiscal Supervision, the Directorate of General Administration and
Centralized Appropriations, and the Interministerial Information Technology (IT) Coordination
department; at the Ministry of Planning: the General Secretariat, the Directorate of Investment
Budgeting and Programming, the Directorate of Macroeconomic Research, the Directorate of
Infrastructure, the Supervision and Oversight Directorate, the Investment Aid Management Platform,
the National Institute of Statistics, the PPP Coordination Unit, and the National Investment Promotion
Agency; at the Office of the Prime Minister: the Public Contracts Regulatory Authority; at the Office of
the President: the General Inspectorate of Finance, the Coordination Unit of External Financing and
Project Oversight, and the Presidential Council for Strategy Monitoring.
The mission also held working meetings with the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior,
Security, and Customary Affairs; the Ministry of the Portfolio; the Ministry of the Environment and
Sustainable Development and the Congolese Environment Agency; the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Public Works and the Infrastructure Unit; the Ministry of Mines; the Ministry of Transport,
Communication Channels, and Improvement of Access; the Ministry of Rural Development; the
Ministry of Public Health; the Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Technical Education; the Ministry of
Land Management and Planning; the Ministry of Humanitarian Actions and Affairs; the Electricity
Regulation Authority; the Post and Telecommunications Regulation Authority. Finally, the mission met
with representatives of the Court of Accounts and the Provincial Ministry for the Budget of the City-
Province of Kinshasa.
The mission would like to express its thanks to the Congolese authorities for making themselves so
freely available. In particular, it is grateful to the COREF - Mr. Misenga and his team - especially
Kembé Sassé - for the exceptional support provided to the mission, specifically in organizing remote
meetings and coordinating the gathering of documents received from the various departments. The
mission would also like to thank Gabriel Léost, Resident Representative of the IMF, and Emmanuel
Gbadi, local economist, for helping to progress its work. Finally thanks are due to Ruxandra
Burdescu, Blandine Wu, and Mamata Tiendrebeogo from the World Bank for their support and
expertise on the topics covered by the mission.

Executive Summary
Despite some recovery in the 2000s, the levels of public investment in the DRC remain well
below the average for comparator countries. Investment by general government, financed to a
large part by external resources, has fluctuated around 4 percent of GDP since 2003, remaining
almost 50 percent lower than the averages for Sub-Saharan African countries and for low-income
countries. This enabled the rebuilding of part of the stock of public capital (46 percent of GDP
in 2019), but the stock of capital per capita continues to be among the lowest in the world (≈ US$200
in 2019). In addition, there are investments carried out by public corporations in the energy and
mining sectors (≈ 2 percentage points of GDP a year in recent years), as well as by the public-private
partnerships (PPPs) in the transport sector (stock of at least 4 percent of GDP).
The access and quality of infrastructure resulting from these investments are very poor, with
major risks of deterioration. In spite of gains in access to education, access per capita to electricity,
health services and drinking water have all fallen since the end of the 1990s. The perception of the
quality of infrastructure provided by the private sector has also deteriorated slightly over the past
decade. The risk of continued deterioration is high, as the COVID-19 pandemic stalled investment,
development of infrastructure is struggling to keep up with demographic growth, and, given the lack of
adequate maintenance efforts, the road, electricity, and water networks are suffering from dilapidation
and network losses. With the increasing prevalence of natural disasters, climate change is exposing
infrastructure to increasingly rapid deterioration.
While it is important to increase investment, that will not be enough; it is also necessary to
invest better, thanks to enhanced public investment management. In accordance with the IMF-
supported program, the government aims to meet part of these needs by creating fiscal space, in
particular by mobilizing a greater proportion of revenues to invest in the priority sectors. Greater use
of PPPs is also planned. It will, nevertheless, be essential that the authorities improve the efficiency
of investment: for every Congo franc spent, the authorities should endeavor to achieve the best
possible outcomes in terms of improving access to and quality of public services. That should come
about by strengthening public investment management practices. The IMF’s PIMA evaluation
framework is designed to help governments in measuring their strengths and weaknesses in this area
and identifying reform priorities.
Public investment management in the DRC suffers from weaknesses across the whole project
cycle, both on paper and in practice (Figure 0.A, Table 0.A, Annex 2). Although the DRC already
has adopted an advanced legal framework in the area of budget processes (Law on Public Finance
(LOFIP)), procurement and public accounting, it lacks clear laws and regulations in the area of
appraisal, selection, and monitoring of investment projects. The effectiveness of practices is weak,
particularly with regard to the budgeting and implementation phases. The most notable weaknesses
are: the lack of information on investment needs in the national and sectoral strategies, the absence
of standard project appraisal methodologies, the partial nature of the information on investment
projects in the budget documentation, the absence of clear project selection criteria, the large share
of direct agreements in public procurement, the lack of credibility of commitment ceilings
communicated to line ministries, and the scarcity of reports on the physical and financial execution of
projects.

Figure 0.A. Institutional design (ID) and Effectiveness Figure 0.B. Institutional design (ID) of the institutions of the
(EFF) of public investment management in the DRC C-PIMA module in the DRC
15. Monitoring of 1. Fiscal targets and rules PLANNING C5. Risk
IMPLEMENTATION Public Assets 3 Management C1. Climate-
14. Management 2. National and Sectoral C5c. Fiscal risk analysis C1a. National and
Aware Planning
Planning including climate risks sectoral planning
of Project
Implementation 3
2 C1b. Land use and
3. Coordination between C5b. Ex ante financing
building regulations
Entities mechanisms
13. Portfolio 2
Management and
C5a. Disaster risk C1c. Centralized guidance
Oversight 1 4. Project management strategy on planning
Appraisal 1
ID
ID
12. Availability of C2a. Coordination across
C4c. Asset management
Funding including climate risks central government
EFF 5. Alternative
Infrastructure
Financing C2b. Coordination with
C4b. Ex post review of subnational
11. projects governments
Procurement
6. Multi-Year C2c. Oversight C2.
C4a. Climate
Budgeting C4. Budgeting framework for public Coordination
budget
corporations
and Portfolio tagging between Entities
10. Project
Management C3a. Climate analysis in project
Selection 7. Budget C3c. Climate
appraisal
Comprehensiveness and consideration in project
C3b. PPP framework
9. Maintenance Unity selection
including climate risks
8. Budgeting for
Funding
Investment
C3. Project
ALLOCATION Appraisal and
Selection
Source: Mission Source: Mission
Administrative and legal fragmentation leads to lack of clarity with regard to project
management responsibilities and to dilution of capacity. The legal uncertainty, both in law and in
regulations, on the role of the various parties involved, their multiplicity, the lack of coordination, and
the absence of comprehensive and consistent information sharing processes constitute critical limits
to the efficiency of public investment management. The cumulation of ad hoc committees and
agencies for the management and oversight of project portfolios of variable sizes, often created to
circumvent ineffective procedures, sometimes at the behest of donors, weakens the technical
capacity for sound management of projects, in particular those with external financing. Moreover,
information flows are fragmented and/or redundant, leading to suboptimal use of human and
information technology (IT) resources.
The DRC’s commitments in the fight against climate change are only just starting to feed into
public investment management practices (see Figure 0.B, Table 0.B, Annex 3 for C-PIMA
scores). It is worth noting among emerging good practices, albeit still in the process of
operationalization, the role of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development in
providing inter-ministerial coordination of investment decisions, the emergence of an institutional and
financial framework for natural disaster risk management, and the legal obligation, recognized by all,
of conducting environmental and social impact assessments. The main weaknesses lie in the lack of
alignment and cross-cutting recognition of climate considerations in the national and sectoral
strategies, the absence of a legal framework and of a land management and planning strategy, and
the lack of methodologies supporting the assessment of climate risks and impacts on infrastructure.
Strengthening budget credibility is a key condition for the success of public investment
management reforms in the DRC. The lack of credibility of budget laws leads the authorities to
circumvent the traditional expenditure chain and to implement projects on the basis of the available
cash resources, without ensuring compliance with the priorities expressed at the time of budgeting.
Budget execution rates are very low, which discourages all participants involved in the processes of
project budgeting and implementation. It is crucial to ensure that the investment envelopes voted by
parliament are realistic in order to reestablish the budget law as a reference for project
implementation.
Based on the PIMA evaluation, this report puts forward seven high-priority recommendations
that could greatly improve public investment management in the DRC in the short to medium

term. Table 0.C presents an action plan for 2022-2024, which includes the following priority
recommendations:
• Adopt a decree on public investment management covering all stages of the project cycle and
structuring the institutional framework for project management (Annex 5);
• Set up a single office for coordination and oversight of externally financed projects, which
could be a public institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, with the aim of
streamlining these functions, pooling skills and knowledge, and centralizing information
(Annex 4);
• Improve the oversight over PPPs and associated fiscal risks, in particular by ensuring the full
implementation of the legal framework, dealing with conflicting norms as quickly as possible, and
building capacity for fiscal risk analysis, specifically within the General Directorate of Public Debt
at the Ministry of Finance;
• Include quantified investment needs and envisaged investment costs in strategic planning
documents (National Development Strategy Plan, sectoral strategies) and align them in a cross-
cutting way with the country’s climate objectives;
• Systematize preliminary appraisal of projects, by developing standard methodologies,
including with regard to climate impact assessment, and by setting up a central support agency at
the Ministry of Planning;
• Produce, maintain, and publish a comprehensive, realistic three-year Public Investment
Program, supporting a more transparent project selection process (Annex 6) and serving as
the main vehicle for reporting to the parliament on current and future projects;
• Take steps to develop an integrated bank of projects, supported by an IT system to monitor
projects, to be identified by a single code lasting the whole of their life-cycle (Annex 7).
The report proposes three medium-priority recommendations as well, also set out in
Table 0.C: (i) strengthen budget unity by improving integration of capital and current budget
preparation; (ii) ensure better coverage of maintenance needs by the adoption of standard
methodologies and the evaluation of additional maintenance needs linked to climate change; and (iii)
coordinate capital spending between central government and the provinces, in accordance with the
decentralization process.
Finally, other significant efforts to reform public finance management undertaken by the
Government will contribute to enhancing public investment management. This relates
particularly to the shift to a double budget appropriation system (autorisations d’engagement et
crédits de paiement), to the transition to program-based budgeting, and to the strengthening of
transparency and competition in public procurement. Annex 1 provides the relevant actions in these
areas, drawing from the draft 2022-2024 Priority Action Plan supporting the implementation of the
Government’s 2022-28 Strategic Public Finance Reform Program.

Table 0.A. PIMA Summary table
Stage/ Institution Institutional design Effectiveness Priority
Medium A golden rule is included in the LOFIP, but Medium The program with the IMF instills de facto
Fiscal Targets there is no rule on debt. A three-year MTFF is prepared discipline on debt levels. The investment envelopes set
1. Low
and Rules every year, distinguishing current expenditure from out in the MTFF guide the expenditure ceilings adopted in
investment spending. the budget.
Medium The PNSD and a number of sectoral strategies Weak The absence of a list of projects in the strategies
National and
are published, but provide little information on and lack of information on their costs hinder the
2. Sectoral High
investment projects and costs. A few sectoral strategies measurement of their effectiveness. Monitoring and
Planning include targets on outputs. evaluation of the various strategies have been limited.
A. Planning
Weak Coordination of projects between provinces and Weak Harmonization conferences are no longer held.
Coordination
the central government is planned on paper. Calculation Transfers deviate considerably from forecasts. The first
3. between Medium
of the transfer amounts is not transparent. The analysis fiscal risk statement (2021) provides analyses of some
Entities of contingent liabilities remains to be institutionalized. contingent liabilities.
Weak The legal framework does not compel to subject Weak Apart from external financing, appraisal is rare, the
Project projects to rigorous appraisal, according to a standard absence of a standard methodology and a central
4. High
Appraisal methodology, with the support of a central committee or committee or agency compromises the capacity for
agency and including risk analysis. selection, and risk analysis is too limited.
Medium The majority of infrastructure sectors are Weak Only the telecommunications sector is subject to
Alternative
competitive on paper. There is a law on PPPs, but not effective competition. The oversight of PPPs is not yet High
5. Investment
yet any policy. The legal framework does not require the centralized. There is no consolidated report on the (PPP)
Financing authorities to review SOE investment plans. financial statements or the investment plans of SOEs.
Weak There are significant discrepancies between
Medium The three-year capital expenditure projections,
capital expenditure projections and expenditure ceilings,
Multiyear broken down by ministry, are published, and indicative
6. on the one hand, and the budget laws, on the other. The High
Budgeting three-year ceilings are applied. The three-year Public
PIP does not cover all projects and is not regularly
Investment Program (PIP) is not published.
updated.
Weak Considerable investment spending is allowed Weak The investments of extrabudgetary entities and
Budget
without parliamentary authorization or information in the PPPs are partially included in the budget. The Ministry of
7. Comprehensive High
budget law. The capital and current budgets are Budget has no procedure to verify the consistency of the
ness and Unity presented in a single document. current and capital budgets.
B. Allocation
Medium The LOFIP provides for budgeting in AE-CP Medium Budgeting in AE-CP is not effective and ongoing
Budgeting for but does not protect ongoing projects up to completion. projects are often supplanted by new ones. Nevertheless,
8. Medium
Investment Transfers from capital to current appropriations are transfers of capital appropriations to current expenditure
possible. are effectively prevented in the system.
Medium Standard rules for forecasts of current Weak The financing required to deal with maintenance
Maintenance maintenance or renovation of nonfinancial assets only needs, whether current or for renovation, is clearly too
9. Medium
Funding exist in the road sector. The budget nomenclature low to preserve the value and ensure the durability of
clearly identifies such maintenance activities. infrastructure assets.
Medium The legal framework provides for the review of Weak The review is only applied to project fiches, the
Project appraisals, but does not provide for standard selection selection criteria used for budgeting are not relevant and
10. High
Selection criteria. The Plan has a list of projects that have been many projects seem to be selected from outside the list of
appraised, but there is no formal obligation to use it. appraised projects.
High The public procurement law is in line with best Medium Significant exemptions distort the rules of
practice in terms of competition, transparency, and competition and transparency, while the system for
11. Procurement High
handling of complaints, but public procurement handling complaints is satisfactory in terms of time limits
oversight is deficient in several ways. and fairness.
Medium Annual month-by-month cash flow forecasts Weak Quarterly commitment ceilings are overall not
Availability of are prepared, but the commitment plan is quarterly. The consistent with the cash flow forecasts. Donor funds are
12. High
Funding law stipulates that donor funds should be deposited at placed in accounts at commercial banks unrelated to the
C. Implementation
the Central Bank in the TSA. TSA.

Weak The legal framework does not require systematic Weak The reports do not systematically provide
Portfolio
ex post review of projects, but does allow reallocations information on delays and cost overruns, there are no
13. Management High
between projects, without, however, providing for reallocations between projects, and ex post reviews by
and Oversight systematic oversight and transparent procedures. the Government are rare.
Medium The arrangements for project management are Weak Staff responsible for implementing projects have
Management of not set in a robust framework, and there are no standard been appointed, but there is no information on
14. Project rules about project adjustments. The Court of Accounts adjustments made to projects. The Court of Accounts Medium
Implementation has the mandate to audit projects. does not audit large-scale projects.
Medium The Government does not have any

Weak Asset and inventory accounting are not performed.
Monitoring of comprehensive, up-to-date asset registers. The legal
15. Asset inventories are not implemented. Depreciations are Low
Public Assets framework provides for asset and inventory accounting
not applied.
rules in line with international standards.
Table 0.B. C-PIMA Summary table

Stage/ Institution Institutional design Priority
Weak Public investment planning and the central and provincial
Climate-aware
C1 regulations relating to land management and construction do not take High
Planning climate change into account.
Coordination Weak Public investment decisions relating to climate change are not
C2 across Public coordinated over the whole of the public sphere despite the existence Medium
Sector of thematic groups.
Project Weak The legal framework does not explicitly take into account
C-PIMA
C3 Appraisal and climate change in environmental impact studies, in the PPPs, or in High
Selection the criteria used by the Government to select projects for the budget.
Budgeting and Weak There are no specific practices in terms of budgeting, audits/
C4 Portfolio ex post reviews, or management of assets, which would help take Medium
Management into account climate change risks and objectives.
Medium The risks associated with the exposure of infrastructure to

Risk climate change are not covered in any publication or analysis of their
C5 Low
Management budget implications. There are, however, ex ante financing
mechanisms for such risks.

Table 0.C. Priority Action Plan to strengthen public investment management
Note: This table follows the format and numbering of the three-year 2022-2024 Priority Action Plan
prepared by the authorities to implement the updated 2022-28 Strategic Public Finance Reform Plan.
It presents the ten recommendations (“actions” as referred to in the Priority Action Plan) of the PIMA
and C-PIMA reports. Annex 1 sets forth the actions relating to the PIMA and C-PIMA already included
in the draft three-year Priority Action Plan, to which the mission made some amendments based on
its conclusions. Action 1.2.3 below is, exceptionally, a modified version that was included in the initial
draft of the Priority Action Plan.
STRATEGIC PILLAR IMPL

202 EME
SPECIFIC TARGET OUTCOME RESPON TA
EXPECTED 202 202 202 5 NTA PRIORIT
INDICATO REQUIREMENTS/ BENCHMARKS SIBLE NEE
OUTCOME(S) 2 3 4 202 TION Y
ACTION R(S) ENTITIES DS
8 STA
TUS
Strategic pillar 1: Budget reform
Specific target 1.2: Develop the fiscal risk management function
1. Signature of all implementing decrees of the
PPP law and clarification of the roles and
responsibilities of the ARMP, UC-PPP,
DGCMP, and Ministry of Finance (2022).
2. Establishment of a register of guarantees at
The the Ministry of Finance - DGDP (2022).
Government
3. Establishment and updating of a ARMP
has an
comprehensive register of PPPs by the ARMP
overview of PIMA 3c
and the UC-PPP and drafting of a procedures MINPLAN
the fiscal risks , 4c,
Action 1.2.3: Improve manual for the law and a guide to project
associated 5b
oversight of PPPs and X X appraisal, including the assessment of risks MINFIN High Yes
with the
associated fiscal risks relating to climate change (2022-23).
PPPs. C-PIMA
MINBUD
C3b 4. Signature of the decree on the procedures
The credibility manual for the law on PPPs (2023).
UC-PPP
of the budget
5. Operationalization of the Standing
is improved.
Committee on Project Validation with the
Ministry of Finance having a veto power over
the financial viability of projects (2023).
6. Adoption of a national policy relating to
PPPs (2023)
Strategic pillar 3: Public expenditure management
Specific target 3.7: Strengthen the management of public investments over the entire length of the project cycle (NEW SPECIFIC TARGET)
PIMA 4, 1. Adoption of the decree on public investment
The 6, 7, 8, management (2022). MINPLAN
Action 3.7.1: Adopt a decree management of 10, 11,
on public investment public 2. Preparation of the implementing regulations
X X X 13, 14 MINBUD High Yes
management covering all investments is of the decree, establishing the procedures
stages of the project cycle set in the legal manuals and guides on public investment
C-PIMA MINFIN
framework. management (2023-24).
C3
1. Definition of the institutional form of the
single office with emphasis on efficiency and
performance in the management of the
Steering of portfolio of externally financed projects.
externally
financed MINFIN
projects is 2. Creation of the single office replacing the
Action 3.7.2: Set up a single improved. current committees and agencies (2022).
PIMA 7 MINBUD
office for coordination and X X a, 7b, 1 3. Preparation of templates for agreement High
oversight of externally 3a between the single office and the sectoral
financed projects Oversight of ministries dealing with externally financed Sectoral
externally projects. ministries
financed 4. Preparation of regulations formalizing the
projects is relationships between the office and the
centralized. institutional users of the data on externally
financed projects (2022-23).
1. Addition to the reframed PNSD of an
MINPLAN
Action 3.7.3: Include The link estimate of the investment needs, a list of
PIMA 2
quantified investment needs between major projects, with their total costs and by
a, 2b, 2 Sectoral
and envisaged investment planning and year, and target indicators for the outputs and
c ministries
costs in strategic planning budgeting is X X X outcomes (2022). High
documents including those strengthened.
C-PIMA 2. Alignment of the reframed PNSD with the MEDD
in relation to climate The consistency C1a climate objectives of the contribution set at the
change. across the DRC national level (2022). ACE

202 EME
8 STA
TUS
various 3. Adoption of the new law on land
planning tools is management and planning (2022).
enhanced.
4. Publication of (i) sectoral strategies in the
economic infrastructure sectors, integrating
the climate objectives in a cross-cutting way
(transport, energy, water), and (ii) a land
management and planning strategy (2023-24).
5. Alignment of each sectoral pillar of
the 2024-28 PNSD with the climate objectives
of DRC’s nationally determined contribution
(2024).
1. Following a survey of the existing
methodologies, including the one currently in
the process of validation (BCECO),
preparation of standard appraisal
methodologies (2022).
MINPLAN
Comparative 2. Following preliminary analysis of the rate of
Action 3.7.4: Strengthen the analysis of the PIMA 4 execution of the appropriations allocated to the MINBUD
process of preliminary projects is a, 4b, 4 preinvestment fund, optimization and, if
appraisal of projects, improved. c necessary, increase of allocations to the BCECO
X X High
including assessment of the required level (2022).
The completion C-PIMA Sectoral
impacts relating to climate and financing of 3. Establishment within the Ministry of
change. C3a ministries
appraisals are Planning of a central support structure for
assured. project appraisal (2023)
ACE
4. Adoption of a standard methodology for
environmental and social impact studies,
including the systematic assessment of
climate change impacts (2023).
1. Introduction of mechanisms for
communication between the parties
responsible for preparation of current budgets
and the DEPs (2022).
A consistent 2. Establishment of procedures for verifying
and MINPLAN
Action 3.7.5: Strengthen the consistency of the two budgets by the
complementary DGPPB during the budget formulation period
budget unity by improving MINBUD Mediu
relationship X X X X PIMA 7c (2022). Yes
integration of capital and m
between capital
current budget preparation 3. Presentation of the operational classification Sectoral
and current
processes. crosschecked against the financial ministries
budgets is
assured classification (capital / current expenditure) in
the LFI for 2023 (2022)
4. Unification of the procedures for preparing
the capital and current budgets (2029).
1. Establishment of a list of selection criteria

and publication in advance in the annual
The link
circular of the Ministry of Planning (MP) on the
between
preparation of the PIP and in the annual
planning and
budget circular of the Ministry of the Budget
budgeting is MINPLAN
(MB) (2022).
strengthened.
PIMA 6 2. Following a preliminary analysis, clean-up of
Action 3.7.6: Produce, MINBUDI
The PIP a, 6b, 6 the MP’s database of projects to be financed
maintain, and publish a N
supports the c, 9c, 10 (2022).
comprehensive, realistic
programming, a,
three-year Public 3. Establishment of systematic, frequent
selection, and X X X 10b, 10 High Yes
Investment Program, feedback mechanisms of information on the BCECO
multiyear c
supporting a more cost of projects underway to the MP, and
budgeting of
transparent project automated sharing of the project database Sectoral
projects. C-PIMA
selection process. with the MB and the Ministry of Finance (MF) ministries
C3c
A rigorously (2022).
assessed ACE N
4. Incorporation of the review of the PIP in the
project pipeline
budget formulation process, and publication of
is available.
a PIP aligned with the budget as an annex to
the 2023 LFI (2022).
5. Inclusion of selection criteria aiming to
provide (i) priority to projects contributing to

202 EME
8 STA
TUS
combating climate change and (ii) priority to
asset rehabilitation projects (2023).
MINBUD
1. Preparation of standard methodologies for
forecasting maintenance and renovation MITPR
needs for all categories of nonfinancial assets (Ministry
PIMA 9 (2023). for
Action 3.7.7: Ensure better The a, 9b, 9 2. Completion of an assessment of the Infrastruct
coverage of the needs for sustainability of c additional asset maintenance requirements ure, Mediu
X Yes
ongoing maintenance and financial assets arising from climate change (2023). Public m
renovation of infrastructure is assured. C-PIMA Works
C4c 3. Formal request in the budget circular for and
identification and prioritization of maintenance Reconstru
needs by the sectoral ministries (2023). ction)
MINPLAN
Strategic pillar 6: Local and provincial financial management
Specific target 6.3: Strengthen the budget preparation process
1. Reestablishment of annual capital spending MINPLAN
harmonization conferences between the
provinces and central government, covering all MINBUD
Provincial sources of financing and the aspect of climate
investment change (2022).
budgets are Sectoral
Action 6.3.2: Improve PIMA 3
more credible. 2. Notification of the preliminary envelopes to ministries
coordination of capital a, 3b
provinces in June or July after the compilation Mediu
spending between central X X
The overview of the MTFF (2022). Provinces m
government and the C-PIMA
provinces. of provincial C2b 3. Operationalize the coordination mechanisms
project Sectoral
provided for in the PDL-145T, the REDD+ thematic
portfolios is program, and the sectoral thematic groups to
available. groups
integrate the climate change aspect in
planning at the provincial level (2022-23) MEDD
Strategic pillar 8: Digitization of the public finance management system
Specific target 8.3: Support public investment management by means of an efficient information system - NEW STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE
1. Establishment of a consultation framework
between the Ministry of Planning and the
Interministerial Information Technology
Coordination unit of the Finance and the
Budget Ministries (2022)
2. Inclusion in the project fiches of information MINPLAN
Oversight of the on the physical and financial monitoring of
physical and domestically-funded projects, consolidation of MINBUD
financial this information in the database of the Ministry (C2I)
execution of of Planning and pooling of this information with
projects is all those involved (2022). MINFIN
enhanced. PIMA 4,
Action 8.3.1: Develop an 6, 7, 10 3. Formalization with the PTFs of a simplified
integrated IT system (bank) The steering, X X X X structure with a standard form enabling Sectoral High Yes
, 13, 14
of investment projects monitoring, and periodic feedback to be provided of ministries
reporting of the information on physical and financial
project portfolio implementation of externally financed projects Implement
is (2022). ing
comprehensive, agencies
4. Validation of the functional specification
frequent, and
schedule of the information system for CRESP
pooled.
monitoring projects and mobilization of
financing sought (2023).
5. Development of software applications and
tests of the IT system for monitoring projects
throughout their life-cycle (2023)
I. Public investment trends in the DRC

A. TRENDS IN GENERAL GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL STOCK

1. Despite a recovery since the 2000s, the level of general government investment in the
DRC has been systematically lower than the averages for low-income countries and sub-
Saharan African countries (Figure 1.A). The DRC suffered a period of conflict and political
instability in the 1990s with major humanitarian and social consequences, as well as a collapse in
public services. Accordingly, investment by general government did not exceed 0.2 percent of GDP
between 1990 and 2001. With the relative abatement of the conflict, the recovery of growth, and the
rise in commodity prices, the beginnings of an effort toward reconstruction and rehabilitation got
underway in 2002. This led overall, in spite of some volatility, to a recovery in levels of general
government investment to an average of 3.6 percent of GDP between 2002 and 2019, peaking
at 6.6 percent in 2014. 1 These levels of investment have been more or less maintained despite efforts
toward budget rationalization in 2009-2011 as part of a program with the IMF and also in spite of the
collapse of commodity prices after 2014. These two factors mainly affected the level of current
expenditure. 2 Nevertheless, the average of 4.1 percent of GDP noted in the DRC between 2015
and 2019 remains well below the average of 7.8 percent of low-income countries and the average
of 7.1 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. General government investment fell sharply due to the COVID-
19 pandemic; according to budget execution statements, central government capital spending was
only 0.3 percent of GDP in 2020 and 1.2 percent in 2021.
2. General government investment only represented a small proportion of total

investment, however. Investment by general government only represented on average one fifth of
the total investment in the DRC between 2002 and 2019 (Figure 1.B). In contrast, the other sources
of investment - private sector, public corporations - tripled between 2002 and 2019
exceeding 20 percent of GDP. Private investment, in particular, increased substantially between 2010
and 2014 when the DRC launched a series of reforms aimed at improving the business environment
to protect property rights, strengthen governance, and develop financial and labor markets. In spite of
these efforts, total investment nevertheless remains lower than the averages of 23.2 percent
and 24.7 percent of GDP for sub-Saharan Africa and low-income countries, respectively.
3. Despite two decades of reconstruction efforts, public capital stock in the DRC remains
one of the lowest in the region. The 1990s conflict saw significant destruction of physical capital.
Thanks to the reconstruction efforts from 2003 onward, the stock of public capital has increased step
by step to reach 46 percent of GDP in 2019 (Figure 1.C). Although the gap has been partially
reduced, the stock of public capital remains far below the averages of other low-income countries or
that of sub-Saharan African countries; both of these groups are over 100 percent of GDP. The gap is
even greater in terms of public capital stock per capita, remaining at a level well below that of other
resource-rich countries in the region (Figure 1.D).
Figure 1.A. General government investment: Figure 1.B. Share of general government
regional comparisons (nominal, % of GDP) investment in total investment (%)
1 The DRC also reached the completion point of the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative
in 2010, enabling it to benefit from debt relief and, thus, an easing of the debt-servicing cost burden.
2 Despite the fall in commodity prices, public investment in the DRC remained at 4.6 percent of GDP
in 2015-2016 In other resource-rich countries, the drop in prices often leads to abrupt, significant cuts
in public investment.

10.0 35
DRC
9.0 Low-income countries
Subsaharan Africa 30
8.0
25
7.0
percent of GDP
6.0 20
percent of GDP
5.0
15
4.0
10
3.0
2.0 5
1.0
0
0.0
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
including general government
Total investment
investment
Figure 1.C. Public capital stock: regional Figure 1.D. Public capital stock per
comparisons (nominal, % of GDP) capita, 2019 (adjusted at purchasing power
parity in 2017 dollars, thousands)
140.0
Botswana 15.5
120.0 Angola 8.8
South Africa 5.9
100.0 Congo Rep. 4.6
Nigeria 2.8
percent of GDP
80.0 DRC CAR 2.6

Low-income countries Rwanda 1.4
Zambia 1.3
60.0 Subsaharan Africa
Tanzania 1.3
Ghana 1.3
40.0
Liberia 1.1
Mali 1.1
20.0
Sierra Leone 0.7
DRC 0.2
0.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
thousands of US$, 2017 PPP-adjusted
Source: IMF staff calculations
4. To fulfill the objectives of the 2019-2023 National Development Strategy Plan (PNSD) it
is necessary to contain public debt while creating the fiscal space to invest in the priority
sectors. The IMF’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) found that, despite fairly low external debt, the
DRC is at moderate risk of overindebtedness and that its capacity to service its debt remains weak.
This level of risk is basically caused by poor mobilization of tax revenues, which restricts the country’s
scope to enter into new loans without a deterioration of its risk level underlying the DSA. The debt is
particularly vulnerable to external shocks, leading to a fall in export revenues or in foreign exchange
reserves; this, in turn, could provoke a sharp and rapid deterioration in credit rating. As part of the
current program supported by the IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the authorities have
undertaken to hold the risk of external overindebtedness at a moderate level. That will rely on a more
prudent debt policy with, in particular, a ceiling on non-concessional external loans until 2023 and
efforts to mobilize more in the way of tax revenues, thereby enabling an increase in investments in
the priority sectors identified in the five pillars of the PNSD. Furthermore, in accordance with the
objectives of the program with the IMF, the Government decided to devote part of its allocation of
special drawing rights to public investment projects in the provinces. Taken as a whole, general

government investment should thus reach 6 percent of GDP in 2026. An increase in use of public-
private partnerships (PPPs) is also planned (see Paragraph 9).
5. For these investment efforts to come to fruition, measures to improve budget

execution capacity will, however, be indispensable. The DRC has weak rates of investment
budget execution, in the order of 50-70 percent (for the years 2018 -2019). This is particularly due to
the lack of credibility of the budget approved by the legislature, which considerably increases the level
of expected revenues during budget debates in order to inflate spending to optimistic levels. Budget
execution is also weakened by cumbersome internal control procedures which incentivizes the use of
emergency procedures, and by inconsistencies between the management of commitments and of
cash available. In order to resolve these weaknesses and to improve public financial management,
in 2021, the authorities adopted a new Strategic Public Finance Reform Plan (PSRFP) for 2022-2028.
Based on eight pillars, it aims, among other things, to provide the country with a modern, credible
budget framework that supports government policy priorities and ensures the efficiency of public
spending.
B. COMPOSITION OF PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT
6. General government investment in the DRC is largely externally financed by external

funding and favors economic infrastructure. Over the past five years, almost two thirds of general
government investment has been externally-financed (Figure 1.E). The government’s aim is to
reverse this trend progressively, to reach a level of 70 percent of domestic financing in 2026. In
addition, in 2018 (before the pandemic), investment spending in social sectors (including education,
health, housing, and social welfare) represented about 28 percent of capital spending, while
economic infrastructure construction represented 42 percent of the total. This breakdown is in line
with the average of comparator groups (Figure 1.F). The share of investment spending in social
infrastructure did however increase temporarily in 2020-2021, in response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Figure 1.E. Sources of financing for central Figure 1.F. Public investment by function:
government investment spending (% of GDP) regional comparisons in 2018*
2.5 100%
17% 17%
0.4 23%
2.0
80% 6%
1.0 13% 5%
1.5 20% 26%
0.5 60%
28%
1.0 1.9
0.7 40%
1.3
0.5 1.1
52% 51%
20% 42%
0.3 0.5
0.0 0.1
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 0%
DRC Low-income Subsaharan Africa
Externally-financed
countries
Domestically financed Economic affairs Social services
Defense and public order Other
Source: Data from the authorities and calculations by the mission.

* The amounts of investment by function for the DRC were not available. The mission calculated a proxy using data from
budget execution reports, by aggregating capital expenditure and construction outlays by ministry.
7. Provinces and decentralized territorial entities (ETDs) contribute moderately to the

public investment effort. Provincial governments carry out investment projects using their own

resources, fiscal transfers, and funding from donors. 3 They may use debt to finance their investments,
as allowed by the LOFIP, and they may enter into PPP arrangements (see paragraph 9). The
amounts of transfers actually executed are very low - less than 0.1 percent of GDP. Apart from these
fiscal transfers, reliable information on investment by provinces and ETDs is lacking. The 2022-24
Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) report nevertheless estimates 2021 capital spending by
provinces and ETDs at 0.8 percent of GDP.
8. Investment by public corporations in the DRC is substantial. The Government portfolio

includes some forty public corporations. 4 Although the mission was not able to obtain consolidated
data on investment executed by all public corporations, planned investment by all public corporations
over recent years is considered to have been in the order of 2 percent of GDP a year, according to
the Ministry of the Portfolio. Investment is basically carried out by the few large public corporations in
the portfolio, with, first and foremost, Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL) - the national electricity
company - whose investments represented one third of public corporations’ investment in 2021
according to the Ministry of the Portfolio. 5 Générale des Carrières et des Mines - mining exploration
and production company - is also a significant player, which has invested, in particular, in operation of
mines and other assets in the past few years. The remainder of investment by public corporations is
limited, and concentrated in the public transportation sector.
Figure 1.G. PPP capital stock (nominal, % of

GDP)
7.0
DRC
Low-income countries
6.0
Subsaharan Africa
5.0
4.0
percent of GDP
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Source: World Bank Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI)

database and IMF staff calculations
9. The stock of PPP capital
stock in the DRC is significant and growing. According to the World Bank’s Private Participation in
Infrastructure (PPI) database, the PPP capital stock never exceeded 0.5 percent of GDP in the past
two decades; this is well below the average stocks observed in low-income countries or Sub-Saharan
3 For example, the province of Kinshasa told the mission that its 2022 investment budget was broken
down as follows: CGF 630 billion for investments using transfers from central government, CGF 180
billion for investments using the province’s own funding, and CGF 299 billion for the Kin Elenda
project financed by the World Bank.
4 The Government holds all of the shares in 22 enterprises that have become commercial companies,
as well as 25 to 50 percent in joint ventures with a blocking minority in 19 companies (2022-2024

MTFF).
5 The most recent financial report of SNEL found on-line is that for financial year 2016. The
enterprise’s investments at that time had risen to US$284 million (0.8 percent of GDP).

Africa (Figure 1.G). Nevertheless, according to the latest statement on government fiscal risks, the
Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT, Agence Congolaise des Grands Travaux) currently
manages at least seven roads as concessions granted to the private sector, for a total contract
amount of over US$2 billion (about 4 percent of GDP); and several new contracts have been signed
since the adoption of the new legal framework applicable to PPPs in 2018. The Banana deep-water
port project will consist in the construction, within two years, of a 600-meter long quay and a logistics
area with a storage capacity of approximately 1.3 million metric tons of goods. The central
government signed a concession agreement in 2021 with DP World for the financing, construction,
operation, and maintenance of the port, at a cost of US$1.3 billion. The works should get underway
in 2022 and the length of the concession is initially set at 30 years. Finally, during the technical
meetings held with the mission, the existence of PPP projects involving provincial governments was
confirmed. However, the absence of a consolidated database is an obstacle to obtaining a
comprehensive overview of the stock. This stock is planned to increase in the next few years; the use
of PPPs was identified in the 2021-2023 Programme du Gouvernement as a key method for financing
major projects.
II. Efficiency and impact of public investment in the DRC

10. Despite recent efforts, access to most types of basic infrastructure remains limited.
Access to basic infrastructure, in particular to primary school, fell in the 1990s as a result of the civil
war. Despite the period of relative calm that followed, access to electricity, health services, and
drinking water are still very limited and have even reduced since the end of the 1990s due to faster
growth in the population than in the infrastructure (Figure 2.A).
• Electricity production per capita has stagnated over the last 20 years despite huge hydroelectrical
potential in the country. According to the World Bank’s worldwide development indicators,
although there has been a modest increase in access to electricity since 2000, only 20 percent of
the population was connected in 2018. Access to electricity is not at all uniformly available across
the whole of the country, with even some urban areas having no access, and often very limited
access in the provinces, even to supply strategic infrastructure. According to the health map of
the DRC developed with the support of USAID, 6 only 32 percent of health centers thus had
access to electricity in 2019. In addition, line losses are significant; at a rate of 40 percent, the
World Bank 7 considers them to be twice as high as the average for sub-Saharan Africa.
• In the health sector, the number of hospital beds per 1000 inhabitants, which was already low
during the 1990s, fell by one third over the past two decades and was less than 1 in 2019. The
health map mentioned above confirms that access to health services is very poor in the
provinces: in 2019, only 40 percent of provincial health divisions had at least one specialist doctor
and 47 percent had a general practitioner.
• The percentage of the population with access to drinking water is estimated at 45 percent as
against 70 percent for comparator groups. The network also suffers from lack of continuity in
distribution. Realized production by REGIDESO (the dominant public corporation in drinking
6Survey conducted between July and September 2019 in nine provinces. Results available at
https://dev.cartesanitairerdc.org/data#section-info
7République Démocratique du Congo Revue de la Gestion des Dépenses Publiques et de la Responsabilisation
Financière Accroître l’Efficacité et l’Efficience du Secteur Public pour Promouvoir la Croissance et le
Développement. (DRC: review of public expenditure management and financial accountability - Increasing
efficacy and efficiency of the public sector to promote growth and development), World Bank Report 2017 -
Volume II.

water distribution) decreased by 21 percent between 2006 and 2013, meaning that production
capacity per inhabitant fell by 7 percent over the same period, accordingly.
• Meanwhile, the road network (not included in Figure 2.A due to lack of comparative data) is
confronted with problems of dilapidation and lack of maintenance. According to the 2019-2023
PNSD, paved roads only accounted for 2.3 percent of the total network at the beginning of the
period, often leading to high transport costs as well as to delivery delays both for people and for
goods.
11. In contrast, access to public education infrastructure has shown positive development
since the 1990s. The number of secondary teachers per 1000 inhabitants nearly tripled in 20 years
to 4.2 in 2019, exceeding the ratio for comparator groups. However, other indicators reveal
weaknesses in relation to outputs and outcomes of education. The World Bank’s worldwide
development indicators show that in 2016, only 27 percent of the population (aged at least 25 years)
had completed secondary education, and 63 percent had completed primary education; and the rate
of illiteracy in those over the age of 15 was 20 percent.
Figure 2.A. Indicators of physical access to public infrastructure - 2019
DRC Low-income countries Subsaharan Africa

4.5 100%
4.0 90%
80%
3.5
70%
3.0
60%
2.5
50%
2.0
40%
1.5
30%
1.0 20%
0.5 10%
0.0 0%
Public education Electricity production per Public health People using at least basic
infrastructure capita infrastructure drinking water services
Source: World Bank Worldwide Development Indicators and IMF staff calculations
Note: The education infrastructure is measured by number of secondary level teachers per 1000 people; production of
electricity per inhabitant is in thousands of kWh per person; public health infrastructure is estimated using the number of
hospital beds per 1000 people.
12. Perception of the quality of infrastructure has deteriorated slightly since 2010 and
remains below that of comparators. According to the surveys conducted by the World Economic
Forum among business leaders, the perception of quality of infrastructure in the DRC in 2017 (score
of 2 on a scale of 1 to 7) was worse than that of comparator countries (average score of 3,
Figure 2.B). The World Bank’s logistical performance indicators reflect the same trend, even showing
a deterioration in perceived quality of trade-related and transport infrastructure since 2010. Finally,
although they are almost ten years old, the surveys conducted in 2013-2014 by the World Bank

among private enterprises 8 showed the impact of these weaknesses on the private sector. Almost all
of the enterprises surveyed stated, in fact, that they had suffered electricity outages, and over half
identified electricity as a major constraint on the business climate (Figure 2.C).
Figure 2.B. Infrastructure quality as Figure 2.C. Insufficiencies in access to infrastructure

perceived by business leaders (scale 1- as perceived by private companies (2013-14, % of
7) companies)
7.0 100
DRC 90
6.0 Average low-income developing countries
80 DRC Subsaharan Africa
Average Subsaharan Africa
70
5.0
60
50
4.0
40
30
3.0
20
2.0 10
0
1.0
Subject to Perceiving Subject to water Perceiving
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 electrical outages electricity as a isufficiencies transport as a
major constraint major constraint
Source: World Economic Forum, IMF staff calculations
Source: World Bank, 2013 Sample of 529 private enterprises
13. The very low levels of public capital stock per capita in the DRC only allowed to
achieve limited results in terms of access to and quality of infrastructure. The gap between the
DRC and its comparators in terms of public capital stock per capita is considerably more significant
than in terms of physical access to infrastructure. At first sight, this therefore reflects a high level of
efficiency of public investment compared with other countries, as calculated by IMF staff, with the
DRC even situated on the efficiency frontier (Figure 2.D). However, this result is not satisfactory in
itself and should be interpreted with great caution. Public capital stock per capita does not include the
infrastructure constructed through PPPs or by public corporations. The indicators for access to
infrastructure hide serious disparities between regions. The quality of infrastructure, low in the DRC
(see previous paragraph), is not taken into account in this figure. Also, the risk of regression is high;
infrastructure development struggles to follow demographic growth, and without regular maintenance
efforts, the electricity and/or water networks suffer from dilapidation and line losses, leading to a
progressive deterioration in the service. In sum, the DRC is still well below the standards of
development of the region. Meeting these needs will require considerable investments, while fiscal
space is limited. It will therefore be absolutely crucial to invest efficiently in order to obtain the best
possible outcomes in terms of improving access to and quality of public services.
8 A World Bank survey was conducted between August 2013 and May 2014 among 529 enterprises.
The survey results are available at

https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/2013/congo-dem-rep

Figure 2.D. Efficiency frontier (physical access to infrastructure)
Subsaharan Africa Other countries Frontier
160
140
Physical infrastructure index (output)
120
100
80
60
40
20 DRC
0
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000
Public capital stock per capita (input)
Source: IMF data and IMF staff calculations. The graph highlights the amounts of public capital stock per capita (x-axis) and a synthetic
index that aggregates the data for physical access to infrastructure presented in Figure 2.A. When a country is located on the frontier, this means
that it has maximized physical access relative to other countries, given the level of investment. However, the efficiency frontier loses its relevance
for countries with very low levels of capital stock.
III. Public investment management assessment

A. OVERVIEW OF THE ASSESSMENT
14. This section assesses the institutional design and effectiveness of the 15 public
investment management institutions in the DRC using the PIMA methodology (Figure 3.A). The
institutions are spread across three stages of the public investment management cycle. (I) ensuring
sustainable levels of public investment through a sound planning process; (ii) allocating resources to
the right sectors and projects; and (iii) implementing the investment projects within the specified
periods so as to deliver productive and sustainable assets. The following sections aim to assess the
institutional design (“on paper”) of each institution, based on the laws, regulations, and
manuals/guides, as well as its effectiveness (“in practice”) based on the study of actual practices in
the DRC. The assessment is based on meetings with the main parties involved and on the data and
documents gathered during the mission. The assessment is focused on the central government’s
practices in terms of planning, allocation of resources, monitoring of projects, and coordination with
the other public sector entities, such as the subnational governments - SNGs (provinces and ETDs)
and the public corporations.
Figure 3.A. The PIMA assessment framework

Source: IMF staff
15. There are significant deficiencies in the public investment management institutions in
the DRC, both on paper and in practice.
• Institutional design in the DRC is better in the project implementation stage than in the planning
and allocation stages (Figure 3.B). That is also true relative to regional averages and countries
with the same level of income, with the strengths lying in public procurement (institution 11), cash
management and asset management (institutions 12 and 15), while the main weaknesses are in
national and sectoral planning (institution 2), coordination between public sector entities
(institution 3), project appraisal (institution 4), and budget comprehensiveness (institution 7).
• In practice (Figure 3.C), the effectiveness of public investment management institutions in the
DRC is often lower than the legal framework suggests; this is particularly true in the areas of
public procurement (institution 11), cash management and asset management (institutions 12
and 15). Effectiveness is slightly higher than institutional design in some cases, thanks to
practices for the appraisal and oversight of externally-financed projects (institutions 4 and 13) and
to budget transparency initiatives going above and beyond legal obligations (institutions 3 and 7).
Finally, the effectiveness of public investment management practices in the DRC is, more often
than not, far below that of its comparator groups
Figure 3.B. DRC: Strength of public investment Figure 3.C. DRC: Effectiveness of public investment
management institutions and comparison with management practices and comparison with regional
regional averages and countries of similar income level averages and countries of similar income level

1. Fiscal targets
1. Fiscal targets 15. Monitoring of PLANNING
15. Monitoring of PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION and rules
IMPLEMENTATION and rules Public Assets 3
Public Assets 3 14. Management 2. National and Sectoral
14. Management 2. National and Sectoral
of Project Planning
of Project Planning
Implementation
Implementation 2
2 3. Coordination
3. Coordination 13. Portfolio
13. Portfolio between Entities
between Entities Management and
Management and
Oversight
Oversight
1
1
4. Project
4. Project Low- Appraisal
Low- Appraisal 12. Availability of income
12. Availability of income DRC DRC
Funding countries Funding countries
Subsaharan Subsaharan
Africa
5. Alternative
Africa 5. Alternative
Infrastructure Infrastructure
11. 11.
Financing Financing
Procurement Procurement
6. Multi-Year 6. Multi-Year
Budgeting Budgeting
10. Project 10. Project
Selection 7. Budget Selection 7. Budget
Comprehensiveness Comprehensiveness
9. Maintenance and Unity 9. Maintenance 8. Budgeting for and Unity
8. Budgeting for
Funding Investment Funding Investment
ALLOCATION ALLOCATION
Source: Mission Source: Mission
B. PLANNING SUSTAINABLE LEVELS OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT
1. Fiscal Targets and Rules (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Medium; Priority of reform:
Low)
16. The purpose of this institution is to ascertain the existence of fiscal targets or rules to
facilitate medium-term planning of public investment spending and to ensure long-term public
debt sustainability. Excessive volatility in investment spending undermines the efficiency of public
investment. The assessment focuses on the existence of fiscal objectives; it does not emphasize a
preference for any specific fiscal policy or the share of spending that public investment should
occupy. This first institution aims to ensure that (i) a target or limit is set to enable the Government to
ensure long-term debt sustainability, (ii) fiscal policy is framed by one or more fiscal rules, and (iii) a
medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) is in place to align fiscal policy and preparation of the annual
budget.
17. The government has no permanent quantitative target or limit for public debt that
would help ensure its sustainability, even though it is de facto constrained by commitments
made under the program with the IMF. As part of its membership in the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), one of the objectives of which is to ensure macroeconomic
convergence among its member countries, the DRC must formally avoid having a high percentage of
government debt to GDP. 9 High-level macroeconomic convergence criteria, including a public debt
limit of 60 percent, were adopted by the member countries in 2003 in a regional indicative strategic
plan. In the absence of an explicit reference to this limit in the documents produced by the
government, this criterion does not, however, constitute a formal constraint on DRC’s debt
sustainability. In practice, the General Directorate of Public Debt (DGDP) of the Ministry of Finance
attends to debt sustainability by setting a medium-term debt strategy, which provides annual debt
targets set in accordance with investment needs, while taking into account refinancing and foreign
exchange risks. However, the DGDP has not completed a debt sustainability analysis since 2017. As
things stand, the government’s financial and economic program established with the support of the
9 Articles 2 and 7 of the memorandum of understanding of 2011 and Articles 2 and 7 of the Annex on
Finance and Investment of 2006.

IMF’s Extended Credit Facility since 2021, instills effective discipline with regard to debt by
committing the country to maintaining a moderate level of risk of external debt distress, and setting
ceilings on non-concessional external borrowing entered into or guaranteed by the public sector, as
well as ceilings on total borrowing.
18. The law on public finance (LOFIP) sets a fiscal rule on the current deficit of the central
and local government, from which the authorities have deviated somewhat in recent years.
The only fiscal rule currently in force in the DRC, according to the IMF definition, 10 is described in
Article 15 of the LOFIP. This article requires the central government, and each province and ETD to
implement their budgets while balancing their current expenditure with domestic resources. 11 In other
words, this “golden rule” enables borrowing solely to finance investment. 12 However, this rule was not
complied with in 2019 and 2020 with a current balance deviating from equilibrium by 0.5 percentage
point of GDP, according to the mission’s calculations.
19. A multiyear macro-fiscal framework is prepared every year, enabling distinctions

between current and capital spending. As set forth in the LOFIP (Article 13), the Ministry of Budget
sets a three-year MTFF (including the ongoing year and the two following years) covering the whole
general government. It is based on macroeconomic assumptions supplied by the Ministry of Planning.
The MTFF provides aggregate projections for revenues, expenditure, balance, and debt. It
distinguishes between current and capital spending but does not distinguish expenditure on ongoing
projects from expenditure on new projects. In practice, the MTFF has helped to delineate the overall
amount of investment spending which gets approved in the budget. In the past three years, capital
appropriations approved in the budget laws have been on average 4 percent higher than the amounts
projected a few months earlier in the MTFFs. This gap was only 1 percent for the 2022 budget,
suggesting that the MTFF investment envelopes have served as effective ceilings for the budget.
20. Strengthened oversight of medium-term public debt is important, but is a low reform
priority. The discipline in practical terms imposed by the program with the IMF in force until end-2023
means that actions in this area are less urgent than other reforms covered by the PIMA framework.
Nevertheless, several actions could allow the authorities to ensure that planning and budgeting for
investment are consistent with the objective of public debt sustainability: (i) carrying out an public debt
sustainability analysis with a broad perimeter including the debt of public corporations, as well as
alternative scenarios incorporating all the debt instruments, the natural resource operating profiles,
the demographic projections, and contingent liabilities 13; (ii) the explicit verification, in the MTFF and
the budget execution reports, of compliance of the projections with the fiscal rule set by Article 15 of
10 A fiscal rule is a long-lasting formal constraint on public finances through predetermined numerical
limits to broad fiscal aggregates. The convergence criteria of the SADC and of the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which are indicative in nature, are not considered as
fiscal rules.
11 The rule excludes internal borrowing, grants, and repayment of loans and advances.
12 The experience of golden rules has shown that they have not always been able to maintain public
investments at high levels (see IMF paper, 2020. Well Spent, Chapter 7). Moreover, in the absence of
an explicit limit to the debt, such rules have often encouraged excessive indebtedness to finance
investment projects, frequently leading to unsustainable levels of debt and potentially requiring
significant reductions in public investments to support a fiscal adjustment that has become inevitable.
13Such an analysis, carried out by the DGDP in cooperation with the Ministries of the Portfolio,
Budget, and Planning, could also be conducted when debt is planned for major infrastructure
projects, in order to ensure sustainability.

the LOFIP; and (iii) the provision in the MTFF of the overall distinction between investment spending
on ongoing projects and on new projects.
2. National and Sectoral Planning (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of
reform: High)
21. Public investment should be guided by national or sectoral strategies or plans with
clear, realistic priorities, cost estimates and precise sectoral objectives. This institution looks,
first and foremost, into whether national and sectoral investment strategies covering all public
investment projects, whatever their source of funding, are prepared and published. It underlines the
importance of quantification of the costs of public investment plans and assesses whether sectoral
strategies identify measurable targets for public investment outputs and outcomes.
22. The National Development Strategy Plan (PNSD) and the various existing sectoral
strategies contain little precise information about major projects in their published versions.
The 2019-2023 PNSD (prepared in 2019 and in the process of being reframed) constitutes the main
development strategy of the DRC and is published. The PNSD was prepared by integrating the
priorities of each sector, broken down into strategic pillars, programs, subprograms, and actions to be
implemented, and retaining the strategic objectives set forth in the sectoral strategies when these are
available. 14 Among the major sectors of economic and social infrastructure usually taken into account
in the assessment, only two sectoral strategies - the 2019-2022 National Health Care Development
Plan (PNDS); and the 2016-2025 sectoral strategy for education and training - have been published
recently. There is no recent strategy relating to the economic infrastructure sectors. 15 Although the
published versions of the PNSD and the sectoral strategies considered here describe the actions by
major pillar or strategic objective, they do not identify clearly a portfolio of investment projects to be
implemented. The 2019-2023 Priority Action Program underlying the PNSD does indeed identify
investment projects in some sectors (for example, transport, electricity, housing, etc.), but it is not
published. By contrast, the 2021-2023 Government Program identifies a list of priority infrastructure
projects, in particular in the sectors of transport, electricity, and water. In practice, some major
projects identified in the Government Program or the PAP may be found in the 2022 budget law; the
absence of a comprehensive list of projects annexed to the strategies prevents more in-depth
checking. However, the standard project fiche that monitors every investment project from its
identification to its implementation (see institution 4) requires a relationship with the PNSD and the
sectoral strategies to be established, suggesting the existence of a link between the initiation of a
project and its inclusion in planning.
23. The majority of the national and sectoral strategies do not present information on
underlying costs of investments, whether in total or at individual project level. The PNSD
estimates that the total cost of the strategy over five years would be US$47.6 billion, taking all
sources of funding combined (including funding to be identified). Nevertheless, neither the PNSD, nor
14 The PNSD is also supported by sectoral thematic groups created by a decree in 2013, which
serves as a framework for consultation and harmonization of sectoral actions among the
Government, donors, civil society, and the private sector. These groups also aim to ensure ownership
of the sectoral strategies by the various parties involved as well as to mobilize the necessary
financing for their implementation.
15 The authorities have also pointed out strategies that have not been updated in the transport and
energy sectors. In addition, some subsectors less directly linked to public infrastructure (industrial
development plan, 2025 national digital technology plan) are covered by a strategy.

its underlying PAP, 16 although it is more detailed, present the total cost of investments attached to the
strategy. The Government Program does not provide any information on the costs of investment,
either at the total or the individual project level. The 2016-2025 sectoral strategy for education and
training is the only one to present annual costs of investment by education cycle, but without
providing any information on the costs of individual projects. For these various reasons, it is not
possible to appraise the overall consistency between the total amounts of investment spending in the
strategies and those recorded in the successive budget laws.
24. The sectoral strategies taken into consideration include measurable targets for their
outputs and outcomes, but the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of these
targets seems weak. The sectoral strategies for health and education mentioned above are
associated with M&E frameworks specifying the monitoring indicators, their data sources, and annual
target values. Accordingly, the two strategies propose measurable indicators that allow progress in
terms of access, fairness, and efficiency to be measured relative to target values. 17 The system of
assessment also provides for the completion of surveys enabling the ongoing collection of data and
results by the departments and ministries involved. For these two strategies, interim reviews are
planned to measure progress achieved and to assess the relevance of the actions carried out, as well
as, if necessary, to review the value of the targets set out at the start of the strategy. It is worth noting
that within its sectoral pillars, the 2019-2023 PNSD indicates objectives, outcomes, and indicators for
the monitoring process, making the link with the various objectives of sustainable development, but it
does not present any quantified target. The efforts to reframe the PNSD already underway aim to
strengthen M&E by including quantified targets.
25. Improving information on the nature, costs, outputs, and outcomes of the investment
projects underlying planning is a high priority for reform. The main planning documents - PNSD
and sectoral strategies - should therefore also include the total and annual amounts of investment
needed to achieve these strategies. When it is reframed, and for the next cycles, the PNSD should
include a list of major investment projects, regardless of their sources of funding, as well as their
expected costs. This will require sectoral ministries to carry out an exercise to identify their needs for
major projects, using their sectoral planning mechanisms. The formulation and publication of sectoral
strategies in the major economic infrastructure sectors (transport, water, energy) would be helpful in
this regard. Finally, the PNSD should attach quantified targets to its indicators to enable its
performance to be monitored. The transition to program-based budgeting will provide the opportunity
to strengthen the links between planning and budgeting, for example by having some performance
indicators in common.
3. Coordination Between Entities (Institutional design: Weak: Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of

reform: Medium)
26. The various levels of government and agencies should coordinate their public
investment actions with a view to achieving consistent planning and implementation. First this
institution assesses the level of coordination between the Government and the provinces and ETDs,
and whether the Government uses a transparent, rules-based system to make capital transfers to the
regional, provincial and local authorities. It also analyzes the framework set up to monitor and publish
16 Costs are associated with the investment projects identified in the PAP, but not according to an
economic classification that would distinguish operating from capital expenditure.
17 As an example, for education: gross school enrollment rates, average scores in standardized tests,
and school dropout rates; for health: maternal and neonatal mortality rates, and rates of tuberculosis
or malaria.

the Government’s exposure to major fiscal risks relating to public investment projects carried out by
other government agencies (public corporations and PPPs).
27. The harmonization conferences between the central government and the provinces
planned in the legal framework are no longer organized in practice, and there is no joint
publication of investment plans. The memorandum of understanding of March 29, 2013 sets forth
the practical arrangements for joint management of capital appropriations in five sectors under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces. 18 According to Articles 8 and 10 of the memorandum,
investment spending funded by transfers to the provinces and ETDs are planned in accordance with
all the programs and projects of the country as whole, in the context of annual project harmonization
meetings coordinated by the Ministry of Planning. Transfer-funded capital spending is budgeted in the
budget law, but no multiyear provincial investment plans are published. Further, in practice, the
coordination mechanisms are only partially functioning. The investment harmonization meetings in
advance of budget formulation have not been held since 2018, as there has been a lack of financing
for organizing them. 19 New practices emerged in 2021 as part of preparation of the local development
plan in the 145 territories (PDL-145T), with planning meetings being held focusing, however, only on
the PDL projects. The effectiveness of the coordination is, in the final analysis, called into question by
the significant gap between capital transfers approved by vote in the budget and those actually
executed, both in terms of projects and amounts (Table 3.A).
28. The calculation formula used to determine the transfers is not known to provincial
governments, and effective transfers deviate significantly from the amounts planned. The
basic rules for establishing the transfers to the provinces and the amounts allocated to the National
equalization fund (Caisse nationale de péréquation) do exist, 20 but the calculation formula used by
the Ministry of the Budget to establish the base, the horizontal distribution among the provinces and
the ETDs, and among the three categories of transfer, 21is not known by the provinces. According to
the fiscal calendar, the provisional transfer envelopes are communicated in September of year n-1,
which is six months before the start of fiscal year n. In practice according to the authorities, this
communication is made in November, after the vote on the budget law. The amounts transferred for
investment differ significantly from those planned, with an average execution rate of 5.3 percent
in 2016-2021. 22 In 2020, according to the accounting law and the Court of Accounts, transfers to the
provinces had been budgeted for 858 projects, only 13 of which made use of their funds during the
year. In that same year, for the province of Kinshasa, four projects were executed with amounts on
18 Health, education, rural development, infrastructure, and other sectors under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the provinces (memorandum of understanding dated March 29, 2013 on the procedures
for the application of investment appropriations in the sectors under the exclusive jurisdiction of the
provinces.)
19 In practice, according to the Ministry of Planning, planning is carried out to a large extent by
redirecting unexecuted appropriations to the following year, and on the basis of written
communication with various provinces.
20 The LOFIP sets the main principles for the base of transfers to the provinces and ETDs. It is
expected that they will receive 40 percent of the total amount of national revenues. These revenues
are distributed among the provinces according to their contribution capacity and their demographic
weight, and potentially the need to compensate for environmental damage related to extractive
industry. In addition to this transfer the Constitution set up a National equalization fund, receiving
10 percent of national revenues.
21 Investments, remunerations, operation.
22 Calculation by the mission based on the data provided by the DGPPB of the Ministry of the Budget.

average 20 times higher than budgeted (Table 3.A). 23 Finally, although the respective sums have
been budgeted, in actual fact, the Caisse nationale de péréquation has never been supplied with
funds.
Table 3.A. Kinshasa City-Province projects executed using central government

transfers, 2020
Source: Court of Accounts, report on the 2020 accounting law Table 14 using data from the Directorate for Preparation of the
Accounting Law.
29. The analysis and publication of the contingent liabilities arising from major projects of
the provinces, public corporations, and PPPs still need to be institutionalized. The legal
framework does not ensure for either the provinces, 24 the public corporations, 25 or the PPPs that their
contingent liabilities are systematically reported to the Ministries of the Budget and Finance. For the
PPPs in particular, a decree providing a framework for granting the guarantees provided by the 2018
law on PPPs is still not available. 26 Despite these obstacles, in 2021 the General Directorate of Fiscal
Policies and Programming (DGPPB) of the Ministry of the Budget prepared, with the help of FAD, and
published an initial fiscal risks statement (Déclaration sur les Risques Budgétaires, DRB).
Specifically, it covers the fiscal risks linked to public corporations and PPPs, but not those related to
the provinces. In light of the conversations with the various entities holding information, the analysis
remains at an embryonic level, in particular because the information is often only partial. For public
corporations, for example, the DRB does not state the contingent liabilities arising from their major
investment projects. For the PPPs, the DRB prepares a partial list of the PPPs in progress, without
any analysis of the fiscal risks associated with the guarantees granted to these projects.
30. Improved coordination of capital spending between the provinces and central
government and analysis of fiscal risks are medium priorities for reform.
• The reestablishment of annual harmonization conferences on investment spending between the
provinces and the central government should provide a more realistic estimate of the projects to
be financed, and enable coordination that takes into account all sources of financing. This should
ultimately contribute to a more precise estimate of the expected expenditure for the fiscal year. In
23 Coordination problems between central government and the provinces, limited capacities of the
provinces to follow the procedure for the execution of transfers, and cumbersome administrative
processes all contribute to the weakness of execution rates. In particular, the provinces do not have
public procurement units; they depend on the central ministries to carry out the procurement
procedures and management of the expenditure chain.
24 The provinces’ debt is governed by Article 15 of the LOFIP, which sets forth rules for the amounts
and nature of the borrowing. However, there is no implementing regulation or formal mechanism
establishing that the DGDP of the Ministry of Finance supervises compliance with these rules.
25 The DGDP has information on the loans onlent to the public corporations that it supervises.
Nevertheless, neither the DGDP, nor the Ministry of the Budget has an overview of the financial
health of the enterprises or their investment projects. This is a result of there being a single authority
of financial supervision, specifically the Ministry of the Portfolio, without setting up any channel of
communication with the Ministries of the Budget and Finance.
26 The 2018 law on PPPs provides for a broad range of guarantees, likely to generate considerable
fiscal risks. Article 15 provides for sovereign guarantees for the effective execution of contracts,
whereby the terms for granting them must be established by decree. Moreover, the PPPs are eligible
for balancing subsidies without their calculation or verification methods being set out.

addition, preliminary notification of the envelopes to the provinces, more in advance of the fiscal
year, for example after the preparation of the MTFF planned in June, would be preferable to
enable the provinces to plan ahead for the preparation of their investment budgets.
• Managing fiscal risks arising from the PPPs assumes particular significance in light of the
substantial guarantees that may be attached to them. That requires the urgent adoption of the
decree operationalizing Article 15 of the law on PPPs. It would also be advisable for the Ministry
of Finance, through the DGDP, to play a strong role in the system for validating all guarantees
before they are issued. A veto power should be given to the Ministry so that it could oppose any
PPPs considered to be too risky during their review by the new Standing Committee on Project
Validation. It will also be important to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry in terms of analysis
of the risks attached to projects.
• The first DRB of 2021 is a significant step forward, and the underlying fiscal risk analyses should
be expanded and deepened in the future, in particular to include a review of contingent liabilities
arising from major investment projects and public corporations, as well as an analysis of the
guarantees granted to the whole portfolio of ongoing PPPs. Challenging actions include the
establishment of mechanisms to transmit information on risks from the various entities to the
DGPPB, and the strengthening of the tools for analysis and supervision of risks.
4. Project Appraisal (Institutional design: Weak: Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of reform: High)
31. Good practice in the area of appraisal aims to ensure that projects are analyzed using
a rigorous methodology before being selected and budgeted. The PIMA methodology requires
that major investment projects be subjected to rigorous financial, economic, and technical analysis
using a standard methodology with the support of a central authority and incorporating a risk analysis.
32. Besides donor-funded projects, in the absence of a legal framework imposing limits
and with the lack of resources, rigorous preliminary appraisal of public investment projects is
rare. There is no legal, 27 or even documentary 28 framework setting as principles the systematic
submission of large-scale investment projects to rigorous financial, economic, and technical analysis,
and the publication of the results of the analysis. In practice, even though externally financed projects
are generally assessed, 29 those using their own funds are rarely subjected to rigorous appraisal due
to the lack of resources. The existence of a preinvestment fund, 30 with the purpose of financing
feasibility studies for major projects using own funds, is a good practice. According to the Ministry of
Planning, the amount allocated to the fund would enable it to finance 10 appraisals a year. However,
the budget data analyzed by the mission for the 2018-2022 period, while not comprehensive, suggest
a very low level of execution (or even zero, depending on the year) of the appropriations allocated to
this fund. Overall, the ministries with which the mission met stated the frequent absence of appraisals
for domestically funded projects. According to the IGF, the poor quality of analyses, or absence
27 The order dated July 19, 2019 establishing the Commission for identification and selection of public
investment projects (CISPIP) lays down that technical subcommittees analyze and assess the project
feasibility studies without stipulating that they be systematic.
28 The public investment selection manual of the Directorate of Planning and Budgeting of the Ministry
of Planning (June 2018) specifies the process for feasibility studies, without mentioning anything
about it being a systematic process, or referring to their publication. The former procedures manual
on preparation, execution, and M&E of the PIP of November 2002 is obsolete.
29 The procedures of donors, especially multilateral, systematically include mandatory preliminary
appraisals and publication of their main results.

30 Interministerial order of May 20, 2013 establishing the organization and operation of the
preinvestment fund.

thereof, explains in part the delays and cost overruns found during implementation. Lastly, very few
appraisals are published on line and there is no single entry point for appraisals of externally financed
projects. The Central Coordination Office (BCECO) does expect for the future, however, to publish
the studies about its projects on its website.
33. The absence of standard methodology and of a central support structure for appraisal
compromises the capacity of the authorities to select the most mature projects. There is no
standard methodology or central support structure for the appraisal of major investment projects that
would ensure a consistent basis of the analytical process. The procedures of donors provide for their
own appraisal methodologies and are, thus, by definition, not standardized. The BCECO has a
methodology, which is, however, only applied to its own project portfolio; the mission was informed
that the Congolese Agency for Major Works (ACGT), which manages significant road infrastructure
projects does not have a standard appraisal methodology. The regulatory framework specifying the
powers of the technical secretariat of the Commission for identification and selection of public
investment projects (CISPIP) or of the BCECO does not explicitly task them with providing technical
advice about appraisals and cannot therefore be considered as central support agencies for appraisal
of major projects.
34. The absence of an institutional framework for risk assessment in the preliminary
studies has a negative impact on risk management during the implementation stage. There is
no legal framework requiring a systematic risk assessment during the appraisal of projects. In actual
fact, risk analysis remains too limited at the appraisal stage to enable active management of risks
during the implementation stage. Outside the externally financed projects, 31 according to the
ministries met during the mission, appraisal of domestically funded projects and PPPs does not
systematically measure the associated risks. The grid used during identification of projects (see §63)
provides a summary appraisal of whether the risks and the mitigation measures have been properly
identified, without, however, entering into an extensive analysis. According to the IGF, the risks
inherent to the projects mentioned by the ministerial departments, such as those in connection with
securing of land, provision of funds within specified periods, delays in execution, and cost overruns,
very often arise at the time of project implementation.
35. The strengthening of the preliminary project appraisal process is a high priority of
reform to support the selection of the best projects. The future decree on public investment
management will have to lay down the basic principles (i) of systematic submission of all major
investment projects, regardless of their method of funding, to a rigorous environmental, financial,
economic and technical appraisal using a standard methodology; (ii) of the publication of the results
of the analyses; and (iii) of the consideration of the risks in the appraisal and the need to provide for
mitigation measures. Standard appraisal methodologies will have to be prepared in the short term,
based on what is already available and on the various initiatives currently in progress. The financial
resources allocated to the prefinancing fund will have to be rationalized, and a central support
committee or agency for project appraisal should be set up, ideally at the Ministry of Planning, tasked
with producing advice to those responsible for projects and to the appraisers on the required analysis.
5. Alternative Infrastructure Financing (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority

of reform: High (PPP)
36. This institution aims to assess the regulatory framework for mobilization of private
investments on economic infrastructure markets, PPPs, and investments by public
31 In December 2021 the BCECO prepared a draft project management manual incorporating risk
management, which has to be validated at a workshop at a later date.

corporations. The assessment focuses on the existence of a legal and regulatory framework that
facilitates the participation to investment of the private sector, public corporations, and autonomous
organizations. It aims to ascertain that (i) a regulatory framework supports competition on the
contestable markets for economic infrastructure; (ii) a strategic and legislative framework guides the
preparation, selection, and management of PPP projects; and (iii) there is a framework for the
oversight of investment plans of public corporations and autonomous organizations, as well as of their
financial results.
37. The majority of major infrastructure sectors have been deregulated in law, but there is
only effective competition in the telecommunications market. The regulatory frameworks of the
electricity, telecommunications, and water sectors opened these markets to competition and
participation of the private sector. 32 Two regulatory authorities, the Electricity Sector Regulatory
Authority (ARE) and the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, have been set up and
given administrative and financial autonomy to oversee, among other things, the promotion of
competition. In practice, only the telecommunications market experiences effective competition
between several private operators. In the other two sectors, 33 the public corporations responsible for
the production, transport, and distribution of electricity and water - SNEL and REGIDESO - continue
to be de facto monopolies; the private operators are mainly present in the areas that are poorly
served by these two companies, such as the east of the country, or are used to overcome limits in
production capacity. 34 The role of the economic regulators also remains limited. For example,
according to the World Bank, the ARE is not able to maintain price competition, as the SNEL offers its
customers subsidized rates (below cost), which makes it difficult for the private operators to market
their electricity at reasonable prices. Transport, in particular road transport, is dominated by private
operators working in the informal sector.
38. As they are governed by a new legal framework that is in the process of consolidation,
the PPPs are still not covered by a clear national policy, although the PPP project portfolio is
already expanding. Law 18/016 of July 9, 2018 sets forth the procedures for identification, selection,
validation, and oversight of the PPPs. The law provides for strict separation between the functions of
management, regulation, approval, and oversight, and sets forth in particular the key role of the
Public Contracts Regulatory Authority (ARMP), which is responsible for the selection and appraisal of
PPP projects as well as their oversight both ex ante 35and ex post. In application of the law,
Decree 21/04 of October 2, 2021 creates the PPP Advice and Coordination Unit (UC-PPP) as a new
public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Planning. Among other tasks, the UC-
PPP is responsible for implementing the national policy relating to PPPs, maintaining a PPP
database, assisting with the preparation of projects, and reporting to the Government on the PPP
32For electricity: Law 14/11 of June 17, 2014 on the electricity sector, which does not apply to power
stations with power of less than or equal to 50KW, and Decree 16/013 of April 12, 2016 on the
creation, organization, and operation of the Electricity Sector Regulatory Authority. For water:
Law 15/026 of December 31, 2015 concerning water For telecommunications: Framework
Law 013/2002 of October 16, 2002 on telecommunications and Law 014/2002 of October 16, 2002
establishing the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
33 Several World Bank reports are used to support effectiveness in this dimension: Increasing Access to Electricity
in the DRC: Opportunities and Challenges. 2020; Democratic Republic of Congo Systematic Country Diagnostic:
Policy Priorities for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity in a Post-Conflict Country and Fragile State 2018.
34 In the electricity sector the mining companies have built their own electric power stations to
overcome SNEL’s production capacity limits.
35 By conferring oversight before the fact to the ARMP, the law on PPPs complicates the regulator’s
role, as it would be better for oversight before the fact to be the responsibility of the DGCMP, as
provided in the law on procurement and the decree on that directorate’s powers.

projects implemented every year. The UC-PPP also takes care of the technical secretariat of the
Standing Committee on Project Validation tasked with the technical approval and analysis of the
appraisals, requests for bids, and contracts. In this way this decree redistributes the functions that
were the responsibility of the ARMP in the 2018 law; in practice the decree is in the process of
operationalization. In addition, other implementing regulations are still needed for the full
implementation of the legal framework. 36 The DRC has no national policy to guide the use of PPPs 37
that the UC-PPP is responsible for applying. Until full application of the law on PPPs, the institutional
procedures underlying PPPs suffer from fragmentation among various agencies (in particular the
ARMP and the ACGT), and there is no centralized, consolidated oversight of the whole portfolio of
ongoing projects.
39. The legal framework for the oversight of public corporations does not require review of
their investment plans by the government, even if this is done in practice. The Ministry of the
Portfolio is responsible for financial oversight of public corporations, which includes monitoring their
financial performance (in cooperation with the ministries in charge of the technical oversight). 38 The
public corporations are required to submit their annual financial statements to the financial oversight
authority and to publish them, in accordance with the rules of the Organization for Harmonization of
Business Law in Africa (OHADA). The purpose of the High Council of the Portfolio (CSP), positioned
under the direct authority of the Minister of Portfolio, is to carry out the tasks of monitoring, oversight,
and assessment of the enterprises in the portfolio, as well as to put forward, if necessary, financial
recovery or restructuring plans proposed by the Public Corporation Reform Steering Committee
(COPIREP). 39 It is also responsible for preparing the consolidated financial statements of the
government’s portfolio and producing the activity reports, albeit without any explicit requirement to
publish them, and to advise the Minister on the investment and financing programs of the
corporations, in cooperation with relevant line ministries. Nevertheless, there is no explicit legal
obligation for the public corporations to submit their investment plans to the Ministry of the Portfolio
for review. In practice, according to the CSP, the public corporations submit their investment plans to
the CSP, however. By contrast, no consolidated report on these plans or on their financial statements
is published. The 2022 statement of fiscal risks does, however, contain information on the level of
debt and the financial performance of the corporations in the portfolio.
40. The clarification of the legal framework for PPPs is a high priority for reform. Given the
political will of the authorities to make significant use of PPPs to develop infrastructure, it is urgent to
finalize the implementing decrees of the PPP law, and to settle conflicts between the various legal
36 Theother implementing regulations must specify, among other things, the model project fiche, the approval
procedures, and the various categories of approval authorities and the procedures for granting this Government
guarantee. An order is also expected setting forth the approval authorities and establishing the approval
thresholds for PPP procurement, as well as a regulation establishing the response period of the contracting
authority to requests for clarification by candidates.
37A PPP policy is an official document, often adopted by the government, which aims to explain and
delineate the conditions for the use of this method of financing and which indicates the infrastructure
markets open to PPPs, the principles for risk-sharing, the PPP financing objectives to be achieved,
the type of contract, a list of viable projects able to be completed with a PPP, as well as information
on the project selection, oversight, and reporting criteria, among other things.
38 Law08/010 of July 7, 2008 establishing the rules on the organization and management of the Government
portfolio.
39 Decree 13/036 of September 3, 2013 on the creation, organization, and operation of the High
Council of the Portfolio and Decree 9/15 of April 24, 2009 on the creation, organization, and operation
of the COPIREP.

texts by clarifying the distribution of roles 40 among the various committees and agencies (in particular
the ARMP, UC-PPP, and DGCMP). The Ministry of Finance (DGDP) must also play a key role as
guarantor of the financial viability of the projects, in particular at the stage of their appraisal and
adoption. A national PPP policy should be set up, specifying the infrastructure markets open to PPPs,
the risk-sharing principles, the PPP financing objectives to be achieved, a list of viable projects that
could be implemented as PPPs, information on the project selection criteria, their oversight, and the
role of the public authorities throughout the process. An effort should also be made to enable the
ARMP and the UC-PPP to keep an up-to-date register of the whole PPP portfolio, including PPPs
currently managed by other agencies (such as the ACGT). Further, in light of the significance of
public corporations in the provision of basic public services, the transparency of their financial
relationships with the government, as well as their good governance and efficient oversight by the
government are critical, Although it may be a lower priority in terms of the PIMA, the authorities
should publish a consolidated annual report on the financial position of the public corporations, which
would include information on the amounts they are investing. The preparation and publication of
documents providing a portfolio strategy, covering the aims of the public shareholders and the
investment and performance targets of the corporations, would also be helpful.
C. ALLOCATING INVESTMENTS TO THE RIGHT SECTORS AND PROJECTS
6. Multiyear Budgeting (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of reform: High)
41. Major public investment projects have a fiscal impact spread over the medium term. it
is important to know the total costs and the forecast schedule of payment obligations relating to
execution, in order to ensure, at any time, the sustainability of the investment expenditures in relation
to the macro-fiscal framework. The amount of expenditures required for ongoing projects and new
projects must comply with the expenditure ceilings imposed by the macro-fiscal framework. Multiyear
forecasts of investment spending should appear in the budget documentation, even though the
budget system is annual. The three dimensions of this institution aim to check that the multiyear
perspective is taken into account in public investment planning. The first dimension reviews whether
there are any multiyear projections of investment spending and the degree of detail of such
projections. The second dimension assesses whether the ministries are notified of the multiyear
investment spending ceilings to enable them to prioritize their projects effectively. The third dimension
identifies whether the total costs estimated for each project and the expenditures required for each
year in this total are known and accessible by the public.
Figure 3.D. Capital budgets successively planned and voted by parliament (billions of CGF)
40 As expressed in the 2021 FAD report on the emergence of a fiscal risk management function,
under an ideal system, the Ministry of Planning would be involved in the identification of projects and
their selection in accordance with the development plan; the sectoral ministries would be in charge of
steering contract negotiations and entering into contracts under the regulation of the ARMP, which
would be advised by the technical unit attached to the Ministry of Planning, and with the active
involvement of the Ministries of Finance and the Budget for the financial approval of projects after
their appraisal, including the analysis of fiscal risks. The approval of contracts would be submitted to
the approval units that would be created by decree, with the Ministry of Finance having to play a key
role as guarantor of the financial sustainability of the projects. Oversight of contracts would be carried
out by the ARMP, the sectoral authorities, and the Ministry of Finance for fiscal risks.

billion CF
14,000 202 0 202 1 202 2 202 3 202 4
14,000
12,000 12,000
10,000 10,000
8,000 8,000
6,000 6,000
4,000 4,000
2,000 2,000
0 0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
MTBF 2020-2022 MTBF 2021-2023

MTBF 2022-2024 Approved budget laws
Actual expenditure
Source: MTFF 2020-2022, 2021-2023, 2022-2024, LFI (Titles VII and VIII) of 2020, 2021, 2022, Cour des Comptes: 2020
report on the accounting law, DGPPB: Fiscal Oversight Statement (ESB) of expenditure by heading as at December 31, 2021
42. The multiyear capital spending projections broken down by ministry are published, but
the appropriations in the approved budget differ significantly from them. The MTFF prepared
each year by the Government in accordance with Article 76 of the LOFIP contains the projection of
the capital spending envelopes for the next three years (see Institution 1). The Medium-Term
Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF), flowing from the MTFF, break down the capital expenditures over
three years by section (ministry) and heading. 41 Nevertheless, there are significant gaps between
these multiyear capital spending projections and the initial budget laws (LFIs) approved by vote,
which reduce the usefulness of the exercise for planning. The investment budgets of the last three
LFIs thus differ significantly (by up to nearly 40 percent) from the forecasts for n+1 and n+2,
contained in the MTFFs published previously (Figure 3.D).
43. Three-year capital spending ceilings are applied to each ministry on an indicative
basis, but they diverge strongly from the approved budget laws. The budget circular
communicated in June provides these indicative capital spending ceilings, broken down by ministry
and heading in the MTEF. 42 There are nonetheless significant gaps between these ministerial ceilings
and the approved budget laws, just as there are gaps between the MTEFs associated with the
MTFFs and the budget laws. The comparison of ceilings for four infrastructure-intensive ministries
(budget circular of 2022) with the amounts approved by vote in the 2022 LFI show significant
overshoots, with gaps in both directions, of over 15 percent (Table 3.B).
Table 3.B. Comparison of the ministerial capital spending ceilings presented in the MTEFs and
envelopes approved by vote in the 2022 budget law
Budget law
Estimate 2022, Estimate 2022, Ceiling in
voted in 2022, Gap
Sections - ministries MTEF 2020- MTEF 2021- LF 2022
in billions of (%)
2022, in 2023, in circular, in
CGF
41 There are three headings relating to investment: externally financed investments, investments
financed from own funds, and investments funded by transfer to the provinces and ETDs.
42 According to the 2022 budget preparation circular, the determination of the needs of each sector
should take into account the budget constraint, in particular the sectoral envelopes as notified in the
annex to the circular (presenting the MTEFs).

billions of billions of billions of
CGF CGF CGF
42 - Infrastructure and public works 673 360 257 1,063 314%

37 - Public health, hygiene and prevention 373 822 1,001 946 -5%
38 - Primary, secondary, and technical education 949 821 796 624 -22%
51 - Transport and communication channels 485 365 276 388 40%
Sources: Budget circular for the preparation of the 2022 budget, 2022 LFI, 2020-2022 MTEF (October 2019), 2021-2023 MTEF
(July 2020)
44. The projections for total construction costs for major investment projects are neither
published, consolidated, nor kept up to date comprehensively, even internally. The Ministry of
Planning manages the Public Investment Program (PIP), the purpose of which is to ensure the
linkage over a rolling three-year time horizon between planning and budgeting. 43 The PIP 44 is broken
down by ministry and includes the total costs of the projects as well as the annual expenditures
planned for the next three years. The PIP seems, however, no longer to have been published with the
budget documentation since the 1990s. 45 The version kept internally does not comprehensively
encompass all the projects, thus totaling overall amounts that are well below those budgeted each
year. Moreover, it is not kept up to date regularly. In practice, the link between the PIP, a tool
managed by the Ministry of Planning, and the budget formulation process is weak. The Ministry of the
Budget only has access to the PIP on request, and the PIP is not currently used in the budget
formulation process.
45. The use of the PIP as a central tool linking planning with budgeting is a high priority
for reform. The role of the PIP as a basis for planning, multiyear budgeting, and selection of projects
should be included in the future decree on public investment management. The publication of a
multiyear PIP in the budget documentation showing total project costs over a multiyear horizon is
considered to be international good practice. This would imply introducing a more systematic and
more frequent provision of information on total costs (and their development) of planned and current
projects by line ministries to the Ministry of Planning. Accordingly, it is important to ensure automated
sharing of this information with the Ministries of the Budget and Finance, the incorporation of the
review of the PIP in the budget formulation process, and its publication with the budget
documentation alongside the budget law. In the short term, a PIP, in which the total amount is aligned
with the budget and the MTFF, could be produced and published with the 2023 LFI. An update of the
current PIP will be necessary to ensure that it encompasses all ongoing projects and those about to
start.
7. Budget Comprehensiveness and Unity (Institutional design: Weak: Effectiveness: Weak: Priority
of reform: High)
46. The purpose of this institution is to assess the comprehensiveness and unity of the
investment budget. Only a presentation of all capital spending in the context of the budget and the
coordination of capital spending with the corresponding current expenditures enable optimal budget
decisions to be made. Accordingly, the following must be ensured: (i) capital spending is carried out
for the main part within the budget framework, (ii) all investment projects, regardless of source of
43 The 2009 PIP manual details the procedures for preparation, execution, and follow-up assessment
of the PIP The manual is not formally covered at present by any legal text, but it draws its origins from
Law 86/001 of March 7, 1986 on the approval of the first five-year plan of 1986-1990.
44 The analysis here is mainly based on the most recent version of the PIP submitted to the mission,
covering the period 2021-2023.

45Source: Ministry of Planning, Public Investment Programming Conference report 2020-2022

funding, are presented in the budget documentation, and (iii) the capital and current budgets are
prepared and presented together in the budget documentation.
47. While the legal framework allows significant capital expenditures to be made by means
of extrabudgetary entities and without parliamentary authorization, a large part of their
expenditure using Treasury financing is included in the budget. 46 Extrabudgetary entities
supporting investment projects exist in the form of public establishments, such as the Highways
Office (OR) and the Office of Roads and Drainage (OVD), and public services, such as the ACGT.
They are not under the obligation to obtain parliamentary authorization for their investment spending
financed by the Treasury or to register them in the general budget. The authorization of their budgets
and their oversight are the responsibility of their oversight ministry (the Ministry of Infrastructure and
Public Works in all three cases). 47 Nor does the LOFIP provide for their expenditures to be included in
the LFI, even for information purposes. The mission was not able to verify the annual investment
budgets of these entities, but it is likely that they are significant. 48 In practice, the capital expenditures
of the OR and the OVD are at least partially included in the budget documentation, but not the
expenditures of the ACGT. 49 According to the mission’s estimates, over 75 percent of the
extrabudgetary entities’ domestically-funded capital expenditures are presented in the budget. 50
Despite this positive practice for some, it is worth noting that the failure to register projects in the
budget law is a frequent occurrence for all types of projects, including those of budgetary entities,
which hence poses a problem of credibility of the budget (Box 3.A).
48. There is no obligation to include the investment projects of public corporations or

PPPs in the budget documentation, even though some do appear in it. The LOFIP sets forth
externally financed capital expenditure as a heading in the budget law, even though donor-funded
projects are often executed by extrabudgetary entities that are exempt from registering their budgets
in the budget law (such as the ACGT or the BCECO). For PPPs and for public corporations’
investment projects, the LOFIP only provides for their inclusion in the budget documentation for
information. The analysis of the 2022 LFI nevertheless shows that in practice the budget
documentation covers projects in all three categories. It is not possible, however, to ascertain that the
majority of the projects are included, as there is no consolidated list of projects in any of the three
categories.
46 This paragraph (dimension 7a of the assessment) focuses on the extrabudgetary entities that
execute expenditures using Treasury financing. The externally funded projects and PPPs are covered
by the following paragraph (dimension 7b). Even though the ACGT was created first and foremost to
manage externally financed projects, its role has changed to also manage Treasury-financed
projects.
47 Law 08/009 on public establishments does not provide for their budgets to be included or annexed
to the LFI, or authorized by the National Assembly. Public services, in turn, enjoy financial and
administrative autonomy pursuant to the decrees that established them (see Decree 08/17 of
August 26, 2008 on the creation, organization, and operation of the ACGT). Here, too, the oversight
ministry approves the budget, without a mandatory parliamentary authorization or inclusion in the
budget law.
48 The ACGT states that it manages a budget of US$2.3 billion (website). By comparison the capital
expenditures of the annual budget of the DRC in the 2022 LF total US$3.6 billion.
49 Some capital expenditures of the OR and the OVD are registered in the annual budget of the 2022
LF under investment by the MITP (Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Works). As for the ACGT,
although its budget appears in the budget law, the investment projects that it manages are outside
the general budget.
50 Very approximate estimate, based on the 2022 LF (figures for the OVD and the OR), and the 2017
annual report of the ACGT.

• Externally financed projects are included in the LF, in principle, even though some - in particular
the projects of the ACGT financed by Chinese partners and some other projects executed by the
BCECO 51 - do not appear in the LF. Also, it is often the case that projects are executed without
being registered in the budget in advance (Box 3.A).
• Some PPP projects have appeared in the budget documentation since the 2022 LFI. The DRB in
effect includes a list of the ACGT’s PPPs, but omits other PPPs, such as those supported by the
OVD or the Banana deep water port. 52
• Some projects supported by public corporations are also included. The respective oversight
ministries supervise the capital expenditures and their potential recording in the LFI.
Box 3.A. Gap between investment projects registered in the budget and those executed
The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability report estimates that only 31.6 percent of the projects
executed in 2018 had been registered in advance in the budget. The latest accounting law for fiscal year 2020
highlights a similar finding:
• Overruns of budgetary investment appropriations are significant (with an execution rate of
over 120 percent).
• A significant number of projects not initially registered in the LF are executed, above all externally financed
projects (292 projects executed, whereas 153 had been registered).
• Conversely, a large number of projects registered in the LF are not executed, particularly projects financed by
own funds (41 projects executed as opposed to 708 registered).
Source: Court of Accounts: Report on fiscal year 2020, Section 3.2.1.2. N.B.: execution rate comparing execution
with the supplementary budget.
49. The capital and current budgets are presented together in the LFI, but prepared
relatively separately. According to Article 77 of the LOFIP, the Ministry of the Budget prepares the
draft budget law for the year (covering both the capital and the current budget), which is submitted in
the form of a consolidated document to the National Assembly. The transition toward program-based
budgeting is underway and should be completed in 2024. The budget contains a presentation by
51 According to the BCECO, it only acts as an agency executing such projects, in the capacity of
delegated contracting authority. The responsibility for registering such projects in the LF lies with the
project manager.
52 The 2022 LFI includes appropriations for the deep-water port of Banana for the Société congolaise
des transports publics (Congolese public transport company). However, it appears that there has
been a mistake in the registration, given that this entity was removed from the management of the
PPP.

functional classification, but, as it is not crossed with the economic classification, it is not possible to
know how the capital and current budgets complement each other. In fact, there is significant duality
in the preparation of budgets. The preparation of the capital budget is coordinated by the Ministry of
Planning, which gives specific instructions to the sectoral ministries. 53 The result of this process is
presented to the Ministry of the Budget at the budget conferences. Although the project fiches shared
by the sectoral ministries include information on the needs for current appropriations flowing from
capital projects, the Ministry of the Budget has no procedure to check that the estimates are reliable
or that the concomitant appropriations are registered in the current budgets. Furthermore,
classification by chapter (titre) is not fully adhered to; Chapters VII and VIII, which normally constitute
capital expenditures, comprise some current expenditure in practice. 54
50. The inclusion in the budget law of all capital expenditure is a high priority for reform
and the strengthening of the integration between capital and current budgets is a medium
priority.
• The inclusion in the budget documentation of all capital expenditure, all types of management,
and sources of financing combined, is a high priority for reform. Significant work is necessary to
strengthen the credibility of the budget, and this work is provided for under the Priority Action Plan
for the implementation of the updated Strategic Public Finance Reform Plan. As things stand, a
significant portion of the capital spending comes under exceptional management rules, often
managed by extrabudgetary entities. The rules will have to be strengthened to make sure projects
are systematically included in the budget documentation, thus ensuring transparency and
creating the basis for appropriate fiscal reporting. The future decree on public investment
management should contain the principle that all public investment projects should be included in
the budget.
• A second reform priority, of medium importance, is to better integrate the preparation processes
for capital and current budgets (Box 3.B). The coordination could be strengthened, in the first
instance, in the sectoral ministries, through mechanisms for communication between the
Directorates for Research and Programming (DEPs) and the staff responsible for preparation of
the current budgets, and, in the second instance, through procedures for checking the
consistency of the two budgets by the Ministry of the Budget ahead of and during the budget
conferences. The transition to program-based budgeting should help to better integrate the
capital and current budgets. A commented version of the Government Chart of Accounts would
be helpful to effectively ensure the appropriate economic coding of expenditures. Over the seven-
year horizon of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, more advanced unification of
the capital and current budget preparation procedures should be sought, so as to align the DRC
53 The Ministry of Planning has organized investment planning conferences, with the participation of
the sectoral ministries and the Directorate of Preparation and Monitoring of the Budget (DPSB) of the
MB (Ministry of the Budget) until 2018.
54 The presentation of the investment projects in the budget law does not include any coding that
would break down project expenditures by economic type. The totality of the amounts associated with
the projects is considered as investment, while the annual budgeted work plans (PTBAs) of the
projects do contain a description of expenditure of all types (goods and services, operation of project
units, etc.). Other projects, judging by their name, only seem to cover current expenditures
(consultants’ fees, etc.) The DRC should move toward having a coding of projects by type of
expenditure, so as to isolate, within each project’s expenditure, the part representing gross fixed
capital formation from operating expenditure.

with international best practice and to ensure optimal coordination of the various categories of
spending.
Box 3.B. Country examples for the joint preparation of the capital and current budgets
Indonesia
• Recent reforms of the budget planning and formulation process promote allocation of resources based on
outcomes, regardless of whether it is a matter of capital or current appropriations. To ensure integration of
capital and current spending, many sectoral ministries have created integrated planning and budgeting
divisions within their directorates. For example, within the Ministry of Education, the General Directorate of
Schools has five divisions, each of which has a planning and budgeting division covering both infrastructure
and current expenditure. This organizational structure promotes communication and coordination.
• The capital and current spending proposals are presented under one and the same activity program and
function, and are discussed jointly when annual work programs and budgets are formulated. In addition to
this integration of the budget formulation and planning processes, harmonized budget classifications are
used in the information systems.
Jordan
• The capital and current budgets are formulated by the General Directorate of the Budget and are presented
in the same document. The Ministry of Planning plays a key role, in particular, in the selection of public
investment projects, but does not participate in the process of preparing the consolidated budget.
Mauritius
• The process for preparing the public sector investment plan (PSIP), the annual budget, and the MTFF are
well coordinated and closely integrated. The budget includes information on capital and current spending
classified according to a program structure (with over 200 programs). Details on the investment projects are
provided in the PSIP, presented each year with the budget documentation to the Parliament.
• Sector Ministry Support Teams, (SMSTs) at the Ministries of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED)
carry out reviews of the sectoral plans of the ministries and their budget proposals. The MOFED is also
involved in the process of appraisal and selection of public investment projects.
Source: Mission, information from previous PIMA missions
8. Budgeting for Investment (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Medium; Priority of

reform: Medium)
51. Budget procedures should aim to facilitate the availability of appropriations over the
multiyear construction cycle of projects. The three dimensions under this institution are focused
on three procedures. The first dimension assesses whether future commitments linked to the
investment projects are reflected in the budget documents. Decision makers should always be aware
of the total cost of a project and the amount that has to be allocated in the future. The second
dimension relates to the possibility of reallocating funds from capital expenditures during the fiscal
year. The capital budget may be reduced if the investment appropriations can be transferred to the
current budget, which can make the implementation of the capital budget more difficult. Finally, the
third dimension relates to the prioritization of ongoing projects over new ones. If ongoing projects do
not receive sufficient funding to cover the expenses planned in the budget year, these projects will
suffer from implementation delays that lead to inefficiencies and cost overruns.
52. Budgeting based on commitment authorizations (autorisations d’engagement AEs)

and payment appropriations (crédits de paiement CPs), which allows to monitor future
payments associated with investment projects, is not yet applied. Articles 42 and 78 of the
LOFIP provide for budgeting based on AE-CP, as well as the production of an annex to the draft
budget law presenting the AEs and their consumption, in order to produce information on total costs
of projects, the amounts committed, and the amounts disbursed. In practice, this reform is underway,

which means that at this stage, the budget documents only contain the payment appropriations
associated with the projects for the first year. The PIP prepared internally by the Ministry of Planning
shows the total cost of the investment projects, as well as a projection of the payment appropriations
for the next three years. However, the PIP is not fully comprehensive and is not part of the budget
documentation submitted to the parliament (see Institution 6). In all, the budget documentation sent to
the parliament does not contain information on the total or multiyear costs of investment projects.
53. Transfers of appropriations from capital to current expenditure are possible by way of
ministerial order; this is however not done in practice. Article 47 of the LOFIP provides that
transfers of appropriations may be made between chapters (titres) by order of the Minister in charge
of the budget; that indicates therefore that the Minister of the Budget may allow transfers of capital
appropriations to current appropriations. The LOFIP does not provide any ceilings on the amount of
such transfers. In practice, however, no transfers of capital appropriations to current appropriations
have been applied in recent years. 55 This is related, among other things, to the fact that a module for
managing movements of appropriations was developed by the Interministerial Information
Technology Coordination department (C2I) in the PREPABUD software to apply a “lock” on transfers
of appropriations.
Ongoing projects are not prioritized in the allocation of budget resources to guarantee their
completion in due time. The annual circular on the preparation of the budget and the letters from
the Minister of Planning, which frame the preparation of the capital budget, recommend that the
sectoral ministries prioritize ongoing projects in their requests for appropriations. However, there is no
other more stringent mechanism to prioritize the allocation of appropriations to the execution of
ongoing projects. Consequently, some projects that are in the process of implementation are
sidelined from one year to the next in favor of new projects; then they eventually reappear in the
budget for subsequent fiscal years, depending on the choices and decisions of the sectoral ministries,
with no oversight by the Ministry of Planning, or the Ministry of the Budget (see the case of the
Ministry of Mines in Box 3.C). This situation prolongs the duration of projects and actually increases
their final cost of completion due to the interruptions in implementation, in the absence of budget
appropriations.
Box 3.B. Budgeting in the medium term for the investment projects of the Ministry of
Mines
From 2019 to 2022, there was a discontinued decrease from six to three in the number of projects budgeted for
the Ministry of Mines; this shows that inclusion in the budget is no guarantee that the project will stay in the
subsequent budgets until full completion.
• Three of the six projects budgeted in 2019 were not budgeted in 2020.
• Two of the three projects budgeted in 2020 were not budgeted in 2021.
• One project budgeted in 2019 that was not budgeted in 2020 was revived in 2021.
• In 2022, three new projects were budgeted and all the other projects underway were put on hold, one of
which was revived in the end with a different coding, with a total cost significantly revised upward, which
classified it as a new project.
Source: Mission, using the database of the Ministry of Mines.
55 This was said by the ministries met by the mission and verified by the mission on the basis of an
extract from the appropriation transfers produced for the 2021 supplementary budget.

54. The reform on safeguarding capital appropriations is of medium priority and should be
included in the transition to program-based budgeting. The scope for improvement lies above all
in the full implementation of AE-CP budgeting by 2024 and in communicating the PIP to parliament,
which would enable better knowledge and monitoring of the total cost and the multiyear commitments
relating to each project (Institution 6). The procedures guide to AE-CP budgeting should, in particular,
specify that reports on the consumption of AEs should contain a breakdown by project. This
information would also help to enable ongoing projects to be prioritized before financing new ones, a
general principle that could be formally established in the future decree on public investment
management.
9. Maintenance Funding (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of reform:

Medium)
55. An infrastructure asset cannot offer the benefits promised at the time of its design if it
is not maintained correctly. This institution focuses on whether maintenance needs are known, and
how these maintenance needs are reflected in the budget and in planning. The first dimension relates
to the existence of a methodology enabling the determination of the need for routine maintenance.
Barring exceptions, routine maintenance is financed by the current budget. The second dimension
covers the existence of a methodology enabling the determination of the need for capital
maintenance (major improvements, restoration, and reconstruction). In principle, expenditures linked
to this type of maintenance are included in the capital budget. The third dimension relates to the
availability of information to establish the amount of maintenance funding included in the national or
sectoral plans, and allocated in the budget.
56. The estimation of routine maintenance needs is hindered by the lack of standard
methodologies to assess them, except in the road sector. According to the ACGT, a standard
methodology is used to support road maintenance; however, the mission did not have access to this
methodology. There is no methodology in other sectors, including maintenance of buildings. In the
road sector, the maintenance processes are well established; they are taken care of by the road
management agencies (OR, OVD, and the Office for Farm Roads) and funded by the National Road
Maintenance Fund (FONER). Despite this institutionalization, the needs are greater than the financing
available. The financial needs to cover routine maintenance of the DRC's road network are estimated
by the FONER at US$340 million a year. 56 By contrast, the Annual Road Maintenance Program
for 2020, formulated on the basis of the needs expressed by the road management agencies, was
only US$108 million, or 32 percent of the actual needs; and only 73 percent of these amounts were
effectively allocated to routine maintenance (Table 3.C).
Table 3.C. Comparison between the routine maintenance needs and funding available (in
U.S. dollars)
Road management agencies Actual needs Needs expressed Resources allocated
Highways Office - 64,109,631 27,507,280
Office of Roads and Drainage - 33,323,492 42,322,209
Office for Farm Roads - 11,416,034 3,000,000
Infrastructure unit - - 4,673,456
Protection of road assets - - 500,000
Other FONER activities - - 1,000,000
Total 340,000,000 108,849,157 79,002,945
Source: Mission using the database of the 2020 FONER Annual activity report
56 FONER, 2020 Annual activity report

57. The estimation of financing requirements for renovation and restoration is not based
on standard methodologies, except for the road sector. According to the ACGT, as in the case of
routine maintenance, a standard methodology is used to support the assessment of needs for
restoration and renovation of roads; however, the mission did not have access to this methodology. In
practice, several restoration and renovation projects can be found, in particular in the road sector,
mentioned and included in the PNSD and the Government Program, as well as in the budget laws.
Nevertheless, it is not clear whether that is enough to meet infrastructure restoration needs. The
mission was not able to verify the financial coverage of needs relating to renovation work registered in
the Government budget, as it did not receive an account of the budget requests discussed in planning
and budgeting conferences.
58. Routine maintenance and major improvement expenditures can be distinguished

precisely from each other, but there is no such distinction in the budget documentation. The
DRC’s Government Budget Classification (2015) allows routine maintenance to be distinguished from
maintenance which increases the value of assets. 57 The central government budget is based on this
classification, which codifies routine maintenance work as current expenditure and renovation and
restoration work as capital expenditure, accordingly. The information system is able to provide this
data with all the details by government department and economic type, in terms of both forecast and
execution. Nevertheless, the budget documentation submitted to the parliament does not provide this
distinction, thus preventing the parliament from holding more in-depth discussions on the consistency
of the policy for the preservation of the value of government assets.
59. The reforms needed to maintain the assets in good condition and to improve their
durability and value are of medium priority. First, infrastructure asset managing authorities should
be provided with standard methodologies for the estimation of routine maintenance, renovation, and
restoration needs; then, sufficient resources should be allocated in the budget, for example by
requesting that the sectoral ministries identify and prioritize their requirements for routine
maintenance and restoration in their budget proposals (Box 3.D). The future decree on public
investment management will have to express the principle of systematic inclusion of project
maintenance at the time of project design, budgeting, and implementation.
10. Project Selection (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of reform: High)
60. Project selection based on objective, transparent criteria and procedures is a key
factor in the efficient management of public investment. The selection of projects consists in
choosing public investment projects, taking into account the financing constraints, based on a plan or
a set of projects, appraised against the relevant political, environmental, social and economic
conditions, to ensure perfect coordination between stages of the investment cycle. The PIMA
methodology takes into account (i) the existence of a review of the appraisal of major projects before
including them in the budget; (ii) the publication of standard selection criteria and processes and
compliance with them; and (iii) the existence of a list of appraised projects, pending inclusion in the
annual budget.
Box 3.D. Example of inclusion of project maintenance costs: South Africa
57 Current maintenance is recorded in Title 5 (expenditure on services), categories 5-615

(maintenance and repair of materials and equipment) and 5-617 (maintenance, decoration, and repair
of works and buildings). Capital maintenance works are included in Title 8 (construction, repair,
restoration, addition of works and buildings, purchase of real estate), categories 8-233 (restoration,
repair, addition of works and buildings).

In South Africa, procedures for annual estimation of maintenance costs by type of infrastructure have been
established, as well as those relating to the needs for renovation or replacement, with a view to effective
budgeting to ensure the durability of nonfinancial government assets.
Replacement or Major
Average Annual Rehabilitation over and
Type of
Maintenance above the Annual
infrastructure Key Assumptions
Budget as % of Maintenance Budget
Replacement Cost requiring specific capital
budget
Mostly for periodic repair of electrical and mechanical works, storm damage repair, routine
Bulk water storage 4-8% every 30 to 50 years
maintenance and periodic maintenance
Water treatment
4-8% Mostly for electrical and mechanical equipment every 20 to 30 years
works
Generally low maintenance mostly of telemetry and electrical equipment, storm damage
Water reservoirs 2-3% every 20 to 30 years
repair, pipe work repair, safety and security, routine maintenance and periodic maintenance
Mostly for telemetry and pumping equipment, emergency leak repair and ongoing leak
Water reticulation 4-8% every 20 to 30 years
repair due to degradation, storm damage repair
Sewage treatment
4-8% Mostly for electrical and mechanical equipment, storm damage and periodic maintenance. every 20 to 30 years
works
Mostly for pumping equipment, emergency leak repair and ongoing leak repair due to
Sewer reticulation 4-8% every 20 to 30 years
degradation, blockage removal, storm damage repair,
Roads and storm Mostly for emergency repair, storm damage repair, and periodic maintenance (resurfacing
5-10% every 20 to 30 years
water every 7 to 10 years).
Mostly for emergency repair, storm damage repair, and periodic maintenance (e.g.
Public buildings 4-6% every 30 to 50 years
repainting and cosmetic upgrades every 5 to 10 years).
Hospitals 5-8% every 20 to 30 years
repainting every 3 to 5 years, and cosmetic and operational upgrades every 7 to 10 years).
Schools 4-6% every 30 to 50 years
repainting every 5 to 7 years, ).
Mostly for electrical and mechanical equipment and dependent on age and technology of
Electricity generation 5-8% every 30 to 50 years
works
Mostly for emergency repair, storm damage repair, safety and security, routine maintenance
Electricity reticulation 10-15% every 20 to 30 years
and periodic maintenance (e.g. every 7 to 10 years).
Source: Mission
61. The regulations confer upon the CISPIP the responsibility for reviewing preliminary
appraisals, but the CISPIP does not meet in practice, and the review of project fiches remains
superficial. The 2019 order on the CISPIP 58 gives it the role of analyzing and assessing the
feasibility studies of projects before their potential selection for inclusion in the PIP and the budget.
Within the CISPIP, four technical subcommittees relating to the four sectors of planning are in charge
of the work of analysis and assessment of the feasibility studies of projects using own funding and the
counterparties of projects that are externally funded. 59 Nonetheless, the regulatory framework does
not provide for the review of all major projects with the contribution of independent experts or an
independent organization. In practice, the CISPIP is not in operation. Although projects are reviewed
by the Ministry of Planning, this review only looks into whether project fiches have been filled in. This
review is carried out during the CPIP, which meets annually in June 60 under the auspices of the
Ministry of Planning. According to the various departments consulted during the mission, there is no
review of externally financed projects, given the difficulties in obtaining comprehensive information
58 Order of the Minister of Planning dated July 19, 2019: many DEPs of the ministries spoke of their
lack of knowledge of this order, which has not really entered into force.
59 Article 4 of the order provides for the presence within the CISPIP of the director of coordination of
external funding, the director or a representative of the PGAI, and the adviser in charge of the CSPP
to gather information on financing conventions and agreements entered into with donors for
cofinanced projects.
60 As part of the CPIP, domestically funded projects are reviewed by the DPB and the sectoral
directorates, with the experts from the DEPs of the sectoral ministries.

from the Aid and Investment Management Platform (PGAI), 61 in the absence of a framework for
consultation between the government and donors. During the budget conferences, the Ministry of
Budget relies on the information contained in the project fiches, validated by the Ministry of Planning,
without undertaking any review of the assessments. With regard to the review of appraisals of PPP
projects, the Standing Committee on Project Validation provided for in the laws and regulations (see
Institution 5) is not yet in operation.
62. There are no published specific criteria for the selection of appraised projects to be
included in the budget, and the criteria used in practice are not appropriate. The budget circular
mentions superficially some standard criteria to assist the sectoral ministries with submitting their
capital budget proposals, but it does not say anything about the criteria used by the Ministries of
Planning or the Budget to guide the decisions made at the CPIP or at the budget conferences. The
(unpublished) 2018 project selection manual of the Ministry of Planning proposes a grid of criteria and
a scoring template to ensure objective selection and transparency, but the mission had no evidence
that this grid was used in practice. It emerged from meetings held by the mission that project
selection does not systematically pay attention to the benefits of the project and the realism of the
implementation plans. In practice, at the time of budgeting, the Ministry of Budget prioritizes ongoing
projects and those with a nonobjection opinion from the DGCMP. 62
63. The Ministry of Planning can draw up a list of appraised projects, but, in the absence
of a formal obligation to use this pipeline, many projects seem to be selected from outside the
list. The Ministry of Planning has a project database, stored in Access, which includes the information
mentioned in the project fiches. Although the mission did not have access to this database, the
Ministry of Planning indicated that it was possible to draw up a list of appraised projects from it.
Nevertheless, there is no formalized requirement to select projects from this pipeline of appraised
projects. 63 In practice, many projects seem to be selected from outside the list. Indeed, this finding
was articulated by several sectoral ministries, 64 as well as by the IGF.
64. The development of a more transparent process for the selection of projects prior to
their inclusion in the budget is a high priority for reform. The future decree on public investment
management should incorporate the basic principles guiding project selection, that is, selection based
on objective, transparent criteria, and only among projects that have been appraised and are ready to
be budgeted. The criteria should be published in the annual circular of the Ministry of Planning on the
preparation of the PIP, and in the annual budget circular of the Ministry of Budget. Annex 6 presents
an illustration of a list of relevant selection criteria, including specific criteria relating to climate
change. Finally, the effectiveness of the selection process would benefit from the gradual creation of
a bank of projects, supported by an integrated information system, which could follow the projects
throughout their life-cycle.
61 As provided in Article 2 of Ministerial Order°002/CAB/MIN/PL/2011 of February 7, 2011
establishing the PGAI.

62 The mission is of the view that these criteria are not appropriate, as, logically, the request for a
statement of nonobjection can only be made at the end of the budgeting process. This means,
therefore, that, in principle, only ongoing projects are covered by these criteria, and not new projects,
63 The Ministry of Planning indicated that the budgeting process was derived strictly from the
decisions made at the budget conferences and that its role stopped before that, thereby highlighting a
certain degree of compartmentalization of the committees and agencies, whereas, in essence, public
investment management should be a cycle jointly engaged in by several participants.
64 In this regard, the ministerial departments specifically mentioned the existence of projects attributed
to their appropriations, but which do not come from their portfolio.

D. DELIVERING PRODUCTIVE AND DURABLE PUBLIC ASSETS
11. Procurement (Institutional design: High: Effectiveness: Medium; Priority of reform: High)
65. This institution aims to assess the degree to which the national procurement
management system promotes and implements good practice. The procurement system is
assessed in relation to the implementation (i) of open, competitive, transparent procedures; (ii) of an
appropriate system for monitoring the contracts awarded; and (iii) of a fair and diligent mechanism for
the review of claims made by procurement bidders.
66. The law on procurement and its implementing regulations lay down principles of
competition and publication within a reasonable timeframe, but significant exemptions reduce
their significance in practice. 65 Article 17 of Law 10/010 of April 27, 2010 on procurement
establishes tendering as the basic procedure for awarding public contracts; direct awards are an
exception subject to strict conditions laid down in Articles 42 and 43. As for publication, Article 34 of
said law stipulates the publication of all tenders, subject to the penalty of being declared void, where
the amount is greater than or equal to the tendering thresholds; Articles 35 and 36 set the publication
deadlines, as supplemented by Article 88 of Decree 10/22 of June 2, 2010 on the procedures manual
of the law. The minimum deadline for bidding is 30 days, subject to a reduction to 15 days in duly
substantiated urgent cases, with special authorization by the DGCMP. Tenders are published on the
ARMP website. In practice, according to the assessment carried out by the World Bank in 2020, 66 just
under half of the processes (48 percent) are conducted in compliance with the law. Almost all public
service contract awards involving a high financial value found in the ACGT portfolio were directly
awarded, based on special authorizations given to avoid entering into competition. As for the
publication principle, albeit well established in the legal framework, it is only partially applied, as it is
not fully complete, and, in particular, because of the piecemeal communication by the contracting
authorities of the initiatives taken by them and the lack of publicity about the cases dealt with in the
office of the Minister in charge of the budget.
67. Monitoring of procurement remains patchy, relying on partially complete databases

and analysis that is still largely conducted manually. The data entry and management tools
currently employed by the ARMP and the DGCMP do not cover all of the contracts and do not enable
automated analytical monitoring reports to be produced. The analytical reports are said to be
produced manually, but the mission did not obtain any examples of these reports and was thus not
able to verify their periodicity and timely production. To remedy these weaknesses, the authorities
have developed an Integrated Procurement Management System (SIGMAP) with the support of the
PROFIT Congo project financed by the World Bank), but this has not yet been brought into operation,
even in the pilot ministries. Development of the e-Procurement process is planned, with the support of
the World Bank’s ENCORE project, in order to improve further the efficiency of the procurement
management system.
65 According to the laws and regulations, those involved in the management, awarding, and
monitoring of procurement contracts are the contracting authorities, the authorities granting approval,
the agency conducting ex ante controls (DGCMP), and the agency for regulation and ex post control
(ARMP).
66 Assessment of the Public Procurement System in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - MAPS II,
June 2020, p. 14

68. The legal framework provides for a swift and fair process of investigation of
procurement-related complaints, which is largely applied in practice. The laws and regulations 67
organize the handling of disputes and nonjudicial appeals about procurement that come under the
jurisdiction of the contracting authorities and the ARMP. Within the ARMP, these functions are the
responsibility of the Dispute Settlement Committee (CRD), which issues its decisions either in a
disputes commission or in a disciplinary board. 68 To ensure the fairness of its decisions, the CRD
jointly represents the government, the private sector, and civil society. Article 158 of the procurement
law orders the CRD to issue its decisions within 15 days or, in exceptional cases, within 30 days of a
complaint being filed. In practice, these deadlines are respected, to the satisfaction of the private
sector operators met by the World Bank during its assessment of the public procurement system
in 2020. 69
69. Procurement reforms are a high priority. It will be a matter of reducing the number of
special authorizations, which open the way to direct awards, encouraging competition for major
investment projects, in order to improve the price and quality of acquisition of nonfinancial assets, and
developing a unified, comprehensive database that enables analytical reports to be produced
automatically. Access by the DGCMP to the budget information system should ensure that
appropriations are available during the approval process and reserved until completion to meet the
expenditures. These reforms are included in the Priority Action Plan for public finance reforms
(Annex 1).
12. Availability of Funding (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of reform:
High)
70. The purpose of this institution is to verify whether the systems, procedures, and tools
are in place to ensure the availability of cash for timely payments for investment expenditure.
Payments to firms during the construction phase are often significant and the dates of payment may
be difficult to estimate accurately, as they will depend on the completion of intermediate tasks. These
aspects increase the risk that liquidity will not be available when the payment authorizations are made
based on invoices received from the contractor. Payments not made on time generate arrears,
accumulation of which leads to an increase in government debt. This institution aims to ensure that (i)
ministries and agencies are able to plan and commit expenditure for investment projects in advance,
based on reliable cash flow forecasts; (ii) the funds allocated to financing project expenditure are
disbursed on time; and (iii) external financing (from donors) for investment projects is fully integrated
in the main structure of the government bank accounts.
71. Inconsistencies between the cash flow forecasts, which are regularly updated, and
commitment plans produced on a quarterly basis, prevent ministries from planning their
67 Article 73 of the 2020 law on procurement and Articles 4 and 49 of Decree 10/21 of June 2, 2010
on the organization and operation of the ARMP.

68 Litigation on allocation and execution of contracts is the responsibility of the contracting authorities
and instructed in the second instance by the CRD, in the event of appeal. Further, the ARMP is
responsible for imposing administrative sanctions for regulatory noncompliance in procurement.
69According to the MAPS II report, the majority of private sector operators recognize that the process
works well, but that it must be more widely popularized, as it is not well known. 57 percent of the
decisions were decided in favor of the plaintiff, while 43 percent of the decisions went in favor of the
contracting authorities. In 2016, out of 13 claims, 13 decisions were issued and all were made
enforceable. The private sector estimates that the CRD performs its role well and states that it is
satisfied with the CRD's actions, but is disappointed that the contracting authorities do not always
comply with the enforceable decisions.

investment expenditure in advance. The cash flow planning committee 70 prepares cash flow
forecasts on an annual basis adjusted to a monthly rate and updated monthly, or even weekly, during
the course of the year. By contrast, the commitment plan does not provide at the start of the year a
full commitment outlook for the whole of the year. The commitment plan is prepared on a quarterly
basis and is aligned with the levels of appropriations voted in budget laws, which have suffered in the
past from a lack of credibility after submission to parliament (see Section 5). At the beginning of the
year, only the ceilings for the first quarter are known and quarterly updates are not made until the
start of each quarter. As a result, there is insufficient consistency with the cash flow forecasts. In
addition, the commitment plan only partially incorporates the provisional procurement plans; the
plans, as well as nonobjection notices are not issued sufficiently early to be taken into account in
planning.
72. Investment project expenditure files are subject to rationing according to the
availability of cash, and are not treated as a priority. The cash flow planning committee sets the
priorities for settlement of the expenditure files, but without taking into account the payment deadlines
established in the project contract letters. The document providing details on the priorities for
settlement does not include enough information on the expenditure files relating to investment
projects for them to be taken into account in the cash flow forecasts. The expenditures are thus
subject to rationing and may fall into arrears, or indeed be sent back at year-end for recommitment by
originating ministries. Accordingly, the cumulative position of domestic debt from budget outlays as at
end-2021 includes substantial amounts of arrears, totaling US$187 million for procurement of works
(0.3 percent of GDP).
73. The legal framework stipulates that funds for donors’ projects be placed into the
Treasury Single Account (TSA) at the Central Bank, but in practice these funds are held at
commercial banks. Articles 110 and 124 to 126 of the LOFIP, as well as Articles 156 and 157 of the
General Public Accounting Regulation (RGCP) provide for the deposit of all government liquid assets
in the TSA at the Central Bank. Accordingly, this rule applies all the more to funds for donor-financed
investment projects - in accordance with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness of 2005.
However, the effectiveness of this legal framework is flawed in two respects. First, the TSA is not fully
effective given the scattering of government resources and the formation of pockets of “idle money” in
the financial system. Second, under the terms of the agreements signed with the various donors,
there is an obligation for them to open accounts at the commercial banks. That damages the
Treasury’s ability to follow the movement of funds related to externally financed projects, and thus to
track budget execution and the financial operations of the Government on a frequent and
comprehensive basis.
74. The reforms relating to improvement of the availability of funds to cover investment
project expenditures are of medium priority. An effort should be made to adopt the methodological
guides for the preparation of cash flow plans and commitment plans to strengthen the consistency
between the two tools, as well as taking into account the provisional procurement plans. In addition, it
is important that the commitment plan be prepared before the start of the fiscal year on an annual
basis with a quarterly sequence and that the commitment ceilings be communicated in advance to the
sectoral ministries. In light of the parliament’s constant upward revision of revenues without
supporting new measures, it would also be advisable to strengthen fiscal regulation by having the
commitment plan at the beginning of the year based on the draft budget law appropriations, as
70 Ministerial Order 053/CAB/MIN/FINANCES/2011 of September 25, 2011 establishing the
organization and operation of the CPT.

presented by the Government. These reforms are included in the Priority Action Plan for public
finance reforms (Annex 1).
13. Portfolio Management and Oversight (Institutional design: Weak: Effectiveness: Weak: Priority
of reform: High)
75. This institution aims to assess how well management and oversight of the entire
public investment portfolio are conducted in satisfactory fashion. This assessment is carried out
using: (i) the system for monitoring the physical and financial implementation of major projects; (ii) the
mechanisms for transferring funds from one project to another during the process of implementation;
and (iii) the procedures for ex post review of projects that have reached the end of the implementation
stage.
76. The legal framework does not provide for any systematic, consolidated oversight of
the project portfolio and the reports that are produced do not provide any information on
delays and cost overruns. The Ordinance of March 27, 2020 establishing the powers of the Ministry
of Planning gives it an automatic role in the oversight of inter-ministerial projects, without specifying
that it should be systematic. This responsibility of the Ministry of Planning in terms of oversight of
investment plans or execution is specified as part of the implementation of the PNSD. The legal
framework governing the BCECO, 71 the CSPP, 72 and the Coordination of External Financing and
Project Oversight (CRESP) unit of the Office of the President 73 also set forth the powers in terms of
oversight of their respective externally financed project portfolios. In all, no framework specifically
stipulates the preparation of a consolidated information report on the state of progress of projects,
regardless of their source of funding. In practice, the reports produced do not provide systematic data
on delays and cost overruns of the project portfolio 74 given the fragmentation of the parties involved,
the weakness of the information systems, and the lack of resources to conduct implementation
oversight missions. Oversight of externally financed project implementation follows the procedures
set by donors, but there are still problems with the periodic collection and the centralization of
information by the PGAI, the technical entity tasked with monitoring and evaluation of these projects
(see Paragraphs 62 and 125). The Control and Oversight Directorate (DCS) of the Ministry of
Planning, the BCECO, the CFEF, the CSPP, the DGDP, and the Directorate for Preparation of the
Accounts Settlement Law of the Ministry of Finance produce reports at varying periodicities,
sometimes with delays, 75 basically focusing on the financial and sometimes the physical
implementation of projects. The information is not consolidated. The few reports consulted by the
mission show significant gaps between physical and financial implementation of projects, as well as
cases of financial over-execution, which are not sufficiently well explained or justified.
71 Article 3 of the Decree of August 8, 2001, establishing the organization and operation of the
aforementioned BCECO.
72 Article 5 of the Ministerial Order of December 5, 2011, establishing the organization and operation
of the CSPP.
Article 2 of the Ordinance of July 25, 2019, establishing the organization and operation of the
73
CRESP.
74 Specifically due to the lack of information that the DEPs are supposed to provide. Even so, the
DEPs are still dependent on the resources allocated to them and suffer from a lack of capacity and
poor sharing of information from the donors.
75 This finding relates particularly to the DCS.

77. The reallocation of funds across projects, which is possible under the legal
arrangements, is not carried out in practice. The LOFIP provides that appropriations may be
transferred from one project to another during the implementation stage, across the expenditure
chapters (titres) within any given program (Article 47), across programs of any given ministry /
institution (Article 48), and across programs of different ministries / institutions (Article 49). However,
the legal framework does not explicitly stipulate a systematic monitoring process or formalized
transparent procedures, which would enable such transfers to be assessed and justified. In practice,
funds are not reallocated from one public investment project to another during implementation. The
implementation of program-based budgeting is part of the reforms underway. As part of the
conversations held, the IGF stated that it could “occur that funds were transferred from one
investment project to another without any monitoring and hidden from sight more or less across the
board”.
78. The systematic ex post review of major projects is not formally required and, in
practice, the government’s reviews cover very few large-scale projects. The legal framework 76
gives automatic power to the IGF to conduct such ex post reviews without any formal requirement to
carry them out. There is no formal rule in the legal framework covering the obligation to produce a
completion report and to adjust project implementation policies and procedures accordingly. In
practice, ex post reviews by the government are neither systematically required, nor frequently
carried out, given the little resources available and the absence of technical expertise in the relevant
ministries. According to the IGF, the Ministry of Budget limits itself to conducting financial evaluations
based on budget execution reports without, however, adopting a comprehensive approach. The
mission was only able to analyze a single externally financed project completion report, submitted by
the CFEF, which was of notably high quality.
79. Strengthening the project portfolio management and oversight capacities to support
decision-making for subsequent budgets is a high priority of reform. The principles of periodic
monitoring of implementation of all major projects, of centralization of information, and of systematic
ex post review should be incorporated in the future decree on public investment management. In the
longer term, the practical procedures for these processes should be revised and streamlined with the
establishment of an integrated bank of projects, supported by a project monitoring information
system, whereby projects would be identified by a unique code lasting the whole of their life-cycle.
Annex 7 presents the major principles guiding the establishment of this integrated project bank. In the
short term, project fiches should include information on the physical and financial monitoring of
domestically-financed projects; they should be consolidated in the database of the Ministry of
Planning and pooled; additionally, a simplified structure of liaison form (“fiche-navette”) could be
formalized with donors to gather information on externally financed projects. In order to prepare the
future information system, a consultation framework between the Ministry of Planning and the C2I
should be set up and operational specifications should be drawn up and validated before developing
any software.
14. Management of Project Implementation (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak:

Priority of reform: Medium)
80. This dimension focuses on the management and control of public investment
programs during implementation. It is assessed by way of the following: (i) the existence of an
76 Article 121 of the Law of 2011, on government finance mentioned above, and Articles 138 to140 of
the General Public Accounting Regulation.

efficient project management system; (ii) the enactment and application of rules, procedures, and
guidelines on project adjustments; and (iii) the completion of ex post external audits.
81. Although the framework for project management arrangements is weak, neither
providing for the appointment of senior responsible officers nor for the preparation of
implementation plans, responsible officers are appointed in practice. There is no legal or
regulatory basis, including in the texts establishing the powers of the Directorates for Research and
Programming (DEPs) of the sectoral ministries or those of the procurement and project management
units, stipulating that the implementing ministries and entities should systematically appoint senior
responsible officers to manage major investment projects. 77 In practice, the ministries and entities
tasked with project implementation met during the mission stated that they do appoint project officers,
mostly reflecting good practice set up by donors. The preparation of implementation plans before the
start of projects is, however, not institutionalized. According to the IGF, the patchy definition of
outputs and activities of projects is a factor that helps to explain the difficulties in completing projects
on time and on budget. 78 The BCECO has a draft project management manual which prescribes the
preparation of project payment schedules.
82. There are no standard rules on adjustments to projects during their implementation,
and adjustments are consequently not documented. There is no manual setting standard
procedures and rules for the adjustment of costs, implementation deadlines, or outputs of projects,
according to the Ministry of Planning. This finding is reflected in practice; the mission was not able to
identify any specific practices to adjust projects and document the adjustments. According to the IGF,
these adjustments are frequent, however. The estimation of costs at the time of a project’s start-up is
considered often not to be based on sound analyses, and significant adjustments to projects take
place during implementation - these factors are thought to be among the key factors that explain the
observed budget overruns.
83. The Court of Accounts has the mandate to audit investment projects, but it does not
perform this task due to its limited financial independence. Under Organic Law 18/024 of
November 13, 2018, the Court of Accounts is given the mandate to audit any and all investment
projects carried out with government funds. 79 In practice, specifically due to the limited financial
independence of the Court of Accounts, these audits – meaning an in-depth investigation of a major
investment project - are not performed. However, some audits by the Court of Accounts do relate to
public investments. For example, it is currently in the process of auditing the procurement procedures
within several national and provincial entities. It also performs spot inspections on projects that are
77 The DEPs’ task is to coordinate and ensure the follow-up assessment of the government projects
and programs developed (Decree 15/043 of December 28, 2015) The procurement and project
management units have responsibilities primarily in connection with public contracts without clarifying
whether they are systematically responsible for the operational implementation of the projects
(Decree 10/32 of December 28, 2010).
78 According to the IGF the weakness in initial project planning, often without any stable element
covering total cost, deadline, or expected outputs, is an aspect that contributes to this finding.
79 The Court of Accounts is empowered to inspect major investment projects using various types of
audit: judicial review (of the accounts), budget inspection (of the general budget, annex, and special
accounts), and management audit (of finances to assess their performance). The specific reports of
management inspections are published, as well as an annual report, and the audit reports are sent to
the National Assembly (Article 84 of the LOFIP).

unfinished, and provides in its annual report 80 a list of projects without physical execution that
however have received payments. These findings have not been followed up by any in-depth audits.
84. The strengthening of the management of project implementation is a medium priority

reform In particular, the future decree on public investment management will have to lay down a
framework for project management arrangements and provide for the appointment of project officers,
the systematic preparation of project implementation plans, and the adjustment of projects during
implementation. A guide issued by the Ministry of Planning could establish a procedure for
adjustment of projects during implementation. Greater financial autonomy of the Court of Accounts
should be provided under the general reforms covered by the Priority Action Plan for public finance
reforms (Annex 1).
15. Monitoring of Public Assets (Institutional design: Medium; Effectiveness: Weak: Priority of
reform: Low)
85. This institution checks whether government assets are well monitored and their value
properly accounted for and reported in financial statements. This is assessed looking at (i) the
regular updating of asset registers based on an analysis of the stock, their value, and their state; (ii)
the recording of the value of these nonfinancial assets in government financial accounts; and (iii) the
recognition in the government’s income statement of depreciation of the fixed assets.
86. For lack of comprehensive registers, the government does not have detailed
information on its nonfinancial assets. The formats for government asset registers were
established in the General Public Accounting Regulations (RGCP) of 1952, but these structures have
not been updated since then, even to support the establishment of inventory accounting required by
the LOFIP. In summary these registers are no longer kept, let alone updated. A small number of
administrative entities 81 have registers of their assets, but their format does not enable to document
relevant information, such as the identification of the asset, its location and the organization
responsible for it, the date of acquisition, the historic cost, and the current value. Furthermore, these
registers are not regularly updated, due to the fact that no inventories are carried out. Finally, there is
no consolidation process that could provide government with inventory accounts.
87. Despite a very specific legal obligation to register nonfinancial assets in the financial
statements, neither the asset accounting, nor the inventory accounting are effectively carried
out. Articles 98 to 100 of the LOFIP, as well as Articles 118 and 119 of Decree 13/51 of
November 8, 2013 on the Government Chart of Accounts (PCE) require the production of the
financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows, and attached notes)
in accordance with international rules and standards. Ordinance Law 89/017 of February 18, 1989 on
the revaluation of fixed assets also applies to nonfinancial assets of the government based on
coefficients issued each year by the Minister of finance, based on a proposal of the Standing Council
of Accounting of the Congo (CPCC). However, general accounting as prescribed by the provisions
mentioned above is not effectively carried out.
88. The regulatory framework sets forth rules relating to accounting for depreciation of
nonfinancial assets, but these rules are not actually applied. Articles 33 and 38 to 44 of the
80 Public report on fiscal year 2019, section 1.3.1. Results of investigations into projects financed
using own funds and not implemented in 20?5-2016 [sic].
81 This refers to the case of the Ministry of Urban Planning and Housing, which updates the registers
of the real estate assets of the Government’s private estate and government institutions, which carry
out asset-based accounting.

decree on the PCE require depreciation to be recorded, broken down by type of asset, and booked to
the income statement in the form of a depreciation charge. However, depreciation is not calculated,
as the income statement has not yet been set up.
89. The reforms relating to monitoring nonfinancial assets of the government are not a
priority relative to the other public investment management reforms in the DRC. These are
large-scale reforms that will take time. They should start with the production of a full inventory, which
should be carried out using a gradual approach based on a clear asset valuation methodology. The
development of an information system is also necessary to enable inventory accounting to feed into
general accounting and ensure that the accounting of fixed assets and stocks is of good quality. It
would be advisable to establish the institutional framework of inventory accounting and to develop its
regulatory framework. These reforms are included in the Priority Action Plan for public finance
reforms (Annex 1).
IV. PIMA CLIMATE CHANGE ASSESSMENT MODULE (C-

PIMA)
A. CLIMATE CHANGE AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE DRC
90. The DRC is particularly vulnerable to climate change due to its specific geographical
characteristics. The annual average temperature has increased by 0.2 degree per decade over the
last thirty years and is expected to continue to increase by 1 to 2 degrees by 2050 with a potential
rise of 5 degrees by 2100. 82 Although the DRC has exceptional natural resources (river system,
arable land, biodiversity, tropical forest, and minerals), it is vulnerable to a very large variety of
climate risks, particularly due to its huge land mass (2.4 million km2) and the fact that it spans three
climate zones (equatorial, tropical, and high-altitude). The main risks attached to climate change are
torrential rain, coastal erosion, earthquakes, flooding, heatwaves, and also seasonal drought. The
scale of deforestation, combined with periods of heavy rain and with urbanization, also leads to
particularly frequent landslides, especially in the Kivu region. The ranking of the DRC (177th out
of 181 countries) in relation to the Notre Dame University index, 83 which measures both vulnerability
to climate change (degree of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptation ability) for six key sectors 84 and the
degree of preparation (economic, institutional, and social), illustrates the magnitude of the challenges
ahead. Natural disasters linked to climate change will become more and more frequent in the coming
years due to the rise in temperature and precipitation, which will have automatic consequences for
health, biodiversity, access to water, agriculture, and employment.
91. The quality and resilience of infrastructure in the DRC are crucial to mitigate the socio-
economic cost of climate change and the risk stemming from natural disasters. Floods and
drought are the natural disasters with the heaviest impact on the Congolese people and economy.
Indeed, agriculture is the most vulnerable sector, as it represents a very large part of GDP
(40 percent) and employs almost three out of every four people within the DRC’s labor force.
Transport infrastructure is also considered to be an essential asset to be adapted given its
82 WBG Climate Knowledge Portal (CCKP, 2021). DRC Projected Future Climate.
83 University of Notre Dame (2020). Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative.
84 These sectors are: food supply, water, health, ecosystem protection, housing and infrastructure.

vulnerability to flooding (roads, bridges, and ports 85). The energy sector will also be heavily impacted
by the rise in extreme weather events, due to the fact that national energy production is almost
exclusively from hydroelectricity (thanks to two dams) and is thus sensitive to disruptions to river
flow. 86 Finally, the water sector is of prime importance to the DRC, which has one of the largest fresh
water basins in Africa (62 percent of the Congo basin) and where, at the same time, access to
drinking water and sanitation is limited (50 million people lack drinking water out of a total Congolese
population of nearly 90 million). Investing in the infrastructure related to water quality and access
(water supply infrastructure, in particular) will thus be a major challenge for the next few decades in
the DRC; this challenge will be made more complicated to address by the impact of climate change.
Investment carried out in this sector will also have multiple impacts on other sectors, such as health,
food security, and agriculture.
92. The government has committed to ambitious low-carbon emission development

targets with, in particular, more resilient and greener infrastructure. Following the ratifications of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in1997, the Kyoto Protocol
in 2005, and the Paris Agreement in 2017, the DRC has committed to participating in limiting the
increase in global temperature with an emissions reduction target of 21 percent by 2030. Accordingly,
the DRC presented a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in 2017 relating to mitigation and
adaptation which was revised at end-2021. The NDC relies on the full set of information available, in
particular the Third National Communication on Climate Change (2015), the sectoral policies
available, such as the national framework strategy REDD+ (2012), 87 the PNSD 2019-2023, and the
National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change (NAP) 2022-2026. The NAP has nine priority objectives
in terms of adaptation: manage forest ecosystems and biodiversity; strengthen resilience of the
agriculture sector, manage climate risks in small-scale farming, reduce the risk of disasters; provide
management of water resources and environmental sanitation; strengthen the resilience of the health
sector; guarantee access by the populations to energy; protect energy production infrastructure; and
improve energy efficiency.
B. PIMA CLIMATE CHANGE MODULE ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
93. The PIMA climate change module (C-PIMA) assesses five key dimensions of public
investment management from the climate change perspective and constitutes an extension of
the existing PIMA framework. The C-PIMA institutions strongly resemble the corresponding
institutions of the PIMA, although some of the C-PIMA institutions combine several dimensions
appearing in separate PIMA institutions, and Institution 5 of the C-PIMA (risk management) has no
equivalent in the PIMA. Figure 4.A describes the main elements of the C-PIMA and illustrates the
relationship between the PIMA and C-PIMA frameworks. However, unlike the PIMA, the C-PIMA
framework only formally assesses institutional design, given the lack of historical hindsight on
effective practices, as this is such a new topic.
Figure 4.A. The C-PIMA assessment framework
85 Plan organisation de la réponse de la sécurité civile (ORSEC) en RDC (2012) - Civil security
response organization plan (ORSEC) in the DRC (2012)

86 Climate Risk Country Profile, DRC, World Bank (2021)
87 The REDD+ program will support projects in the forest areas located in the provinces, and plans
consultation forums bringing together the Government, local authorities, and civil society.

Source: IMF Staff
C1. Climate-aware Planning (Institutional design: Weak; Priority of reform: High)
94. The first C-PIMA institution assesses the extent to which public investment is planned
while taking into account climate change. Accordingly, the first dimension of this institution
assesses whether the national public investment plans and strategies are consistent with the
objectives of the authorities and the expected outcomes. The second dimension considers whether
the Government or the provinces require that the rules regarding land use and construction take
climate risk into account. Finally, the third dimension covers the existence of centralized guidance
promoting climate-aware public investment planning.
95. The national and sectoral strategies are not aligned with the climate targets and
objectives described in the NDC, except for the forestry sector strategy. The PNSD and
the 2021-2023 Government Program include pillars that focus on protection of the environment and
combating climate change, but they do not allow for easy cross-referencing with the targets and
objectives of the NDC. Although climate change awareness in the national planning documents is a
good practice in itself, climate targets and objectives are not reflected in a cross-cutting way in the
other areas of the PNSD and in the other sectoral documents. As for sectoral strategies, the great
majority of the documents reviewed (health, education, and mines, in particular) make no reference to
climate change. The Reduction of deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) strategy and its
investment plan (PIREDD) are an exception, with consistency between the detail of the actions (draft,
preliminary budget, and impact / effect indicators) and the DRC’s commitments on sustainable forest
management with the aim of participation in combating climate change. The NAP was also prepared
with UNDP support, covering the 2022-2026 period and focused on four sectors: forest, agriculture.,
coastal areas, and health. The forthcoming update of the PNSD will provide an opportunity to
incorporate climate issues more closely in national public investment planning.
96. The central and provincial regulations relating to spatial planning and construction do
not reflect the risks linked to climate change. Current national regulations on land management
and construction standards are obsolete. The most recent law specifically concerning spatial and
urban planning and construction dates from 1973 88 and therefore does not include any climate
change consideration. The DRC’s body of legislation on land management is, however, in the
process of renewal, thanks to the initiative of the Ministry of Land Management, with the completion
88 Law 73-021 of July 20, 1973 establishing the general regulations for assets, land and real estate
regulations, and regulations on guarantees, known as the “loi foncière” (land law).

of a draft national law on land management due to be submitted in the very near future to the
parliament; this represents an opportunity to incorporate climate change concerns. In addition, a land
management strategy and a land use strategy are currently being finalized and include references to
the risks associated with climate change, including with a dedicated strategic pillar. Finally, even
though the mission was not able to find any examples of provincial regulations on spatial planning
and construction taking climate risks into account, a notable good practice is the production in
April 2021 of a methodological guide for the completion of participatory zoning of village land and
regional entities as part of the PIREDD, which refers to environmental constraints.
97. So far, there is no centralized support for the preparation and costing of climate-aware
investment strategies. In effect, there is no dedicated unit to support the sectoral ministries, which
could provide technical support to take into account climate issues when they prepare and assess the
costs of public investment strategies. The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development
(MEDD) and the Congolese Environment Agency (ACE) concentrate the expertise on environmental
and climate issues within the government and are in charge of the preparation, oversight, and
assessment of the national plans for sustainable environmental management. 89 However, the MEDD
has no explicit mandate to provide technical support for the preparation and costing of sectoral
planning strategies taking climate issues into account. The involvement of local participants will also
be necessary at the sectoral ministries, in particular in relation to land management (soil and subsoil).
98. The reflection of climate change impacts in public investment planning is a high-
priority reform. To that end, it is important to align the PNSD and the sectoral strategies with the
NDC’s climate objectives, in order to provide a sectoral breakdown of climate-related objectives,
targets, and outcomes. Training for the sectoral ministries could be provided by the MEDD and the
ACE to promote the integration of climate issues in investment strategies. A national strategy for
combating climate change would be helpful in the medium term. Moreover, the adoption as soon as
possible of the new law on land management and the publication of its dedicated strategy are
necessary prerequisites for climate-sensitive planning.
C2. Coordination across Public Sector (Institutional design: Weak: Priority of reform: Medium)
99. This institution targets the coordination of climate-related public investment decision-
making across the entire public sector. The emphasis is placed on the need to adopt a
comprehensive approach to climate change. Alongside the government, both provinces / ETDs and
public corporations effectively play a significant role in carrying out public investment in response to
climate change. This is the reason why the three dimensions of this institution assess in turn whether
climate-related investment decisions are coordinated across (i) central government, (ii) general
government (including local authorities), and (iii) the public sector in its entirety, including public
corporations.
100. Sectoral thematic groups have promoted the coordination of public investment
decisions across central government in connection with climate issues. These sectoral
groups, 90 created to support the operationalization of the PNSD, consist of technical committees and
policy steering committees, chaired by the various sectoral ministries concerned. Their composition,
specified in an operational framework, 91 promotes a cross-cutting approach to sectoral topics,
involving ministries, technical and financial partners, civil society organizations, and the private
89 Order 20/017 of March 27, 2020 establishing the powers of the ministries.
90 Decree 13/011 of April 9, 2013 establishing the organization and operation of sectoral thematic
groups.
91 New operational framework of sectoral thematic groups (October 2020).

sector. One thematic group is specifically dedicated to climate matters, the environment, water and
sanitation, and biodiversity; its membership includes the MEDD (chair) and the Ministries of Water
resources, of Planning, of Agriculture and of Mines. These thematic groups enable coordinated
choices to be made, including in relation to public investment, at the central government level. These
committees do not yet, however, include extrabudgetary entities and PPPs.
101. Mechanisms coordinating project investment relating to climate change between the
central government and the provinces are emerging, but the information on these projects is
not consolidated. The 2011 environmental law (Article 48) gives the provinces and ETDs, in the
same way as the central government, the power to adopt climate change adaptation measures. The
legal framework does not explicitly provide, however, for the provinces’ investment spending on
combating climate change to be planned and implemented in coordination with central government. 92
The supporting structures for such consultation are nevertheless starting to emerge. For example, the
NAP emphasizes the significance of decentralization in the operationalization of adaptation strategies
and lays the foundations for coordination in this area. 93 In addition, the local development plan for
the 145 territories (PDL-145T) 94 and the REDD+ strategy provide for consultation and coordination
mechanisms between the central government and the provinces on climate change issues, which are
not yet operational. Further, the thematic groups mentioned above are also provided for at the
provincial level as a space for dialog between the center and the provinces. However, finally,
provincial investment plans are not published (see Institution 3) in general or for climate change-
related investments.
102. According to the current legal framework, public corporations are not encouraged or
required to make their climate-related investments compliant with national climate policies.
There is no mention of climate change in the legal framework on the oversight of public corporations
and their investment plans. There is also no formal incentive by the central government for public
corporations to take climate change into account in their investment projects, in the absence of a
portfolio strategy or guidelines on governance. It is worth noting that the 2011 environmental law
requires all private and public entities, and thus all public corporations, to carry out social and
environmental impact studies for their investment projects, to be subsequently validated by the ACE,
but the effects of climate change are not explicitly part of such studies (see Institution C3).
103. Strengthening the formal coordination of investment decisions relating to climate

change is a medium reform priority. The existence of sectoral thematic groups is a sound basis for
improving cross-cutting awareness of climate change in public investment decisions. An amendment
to the decree relating to these groups could help extend them to include public corporations. The
frameworks for consultation between the central government and the provinces provided under
the 2013 memorandum could be expanded to take the climate change dimension into account. The
mechanisms planned under the PDL-145T relating to the REDD+ and the provincial sectoral thematic
groups could be operationalized. Finally, the Government as shareholder could insist on the
92 Specifically, the 2013 memorandum establishing investment planning coordination mechanisms

between the central government and the provinces (see dimension 3a of the PIMA) remains silent on
climate change issues.
93 A guide for the inclusion of adaptation in provincial development plans was prepared in 2019. The
NAP also proposes the formation of provincial committees on climate change to monitor
implementation. These groups are not yet operational.
94 The PDL-145T specifically considers climate change adaptation and mitigation as dimensions
cross cutting its implementation and provides for coordination mechanisms between central
government and the provinces.

importance of public corporations taking climate change into account in their investment projects in a
future portfolio strategy.
C3. Project Appraisal and Selection (Institutional design: Weak: Priority of reform: Medium)
104. The C-PIMA methodology assesses whether the appraisal and selection of projects
include climate-related analyses and criteria. The first dimension checks the existence of a
climate-related analysis using a standard methodology. The second dimension assesses whether
climate-related challenges are taken into account in PPPs. The third dimension measures whether
climate-related factors are included in the project selection criteria.
105. The legal framework requires environmental impact studies to be carried out and
reviewed by the ACE, but without explicitly stipulating coverage of climate change. Article 19 of
the 2011 environmental law provides that any policy, plan, or program prepared by the central
government, provinces, ETDs, or public institutions, where their implementation is likely to have
significant effects on the environment, must be subject to a prior environmental assessment following
the procedure laid down in an implementing decree. 95 The bylaws of the ACE 96 stipulate that it is
responsible for assessing and approving all such assessments carried out by authorized research
agencies as well for monitoring their implementation. However, there is no reference at all to climate
change in this legal framework on environmental assessments. There is no standard methodology
established for these assessments or any instructions guiding the review of assessments carried out
by the ACE. Nevertheless, in December 2021, as part of its accreditation process with the Green
Climate Fund, the BCECO prepared a draft environmental and social procedures manual, including a
climate change vulnerability analysis procedure, which shall be validated at a forthcoming workshop.
In practice, major infrastructure projects are often submitted to a climate impact analysis. In all, the
ACE conducted over 300 reviews of environmental impact assessments in 2021, and publishes the
assessments on its website. 97
106. The legal framework covering PPPs does not address climate change challenges, but
the law on water does address the climate dimension in the granting of concessions. Beyond
the requirements of the private partners, the 2018 law on PPPs does not explicitly take into
consideration climate change in terms of risk allocation or contract management. Nevertheless,
Article 30 of the 2015 law on water specifically requires climate data to be taken into account in the
environmental and social impact studies relating to the granting of operating concessions in the public
domain of water. In practice, the mission was not able to analyze any contracts underlying PPP
projects so as to appraise whether climate change was explicitly taken into account in terms of risk
allocation or contract management.
107. The central government does not use any criteria relating to climate change to guide
the selection of projects that have been appraised. As described in the assessment under
Institution 10, there is no specific published criterion, either linked to climate or not, for the selection of
95 Decree of August 2, 2014, establishing the operating rules for environmental protection procedural
mechanisms.
96 Article 3 of the decree of November 18, 2014, establishing the bylaws of a public institution under
the name of ACE.

97 As an example of good practice, the mission was, in particular, able to analyze the final report,
submitted by the ACE, on the environmental and social impact study of August 2019 for the
construction project of feeder roads linking with the road-rail bridge over the Congo River, supported
by the infrastructure unit of the Ministry in charge of infrastructure, public works, and reconstruction.
This study includes a specific point on climate change forecasts and the associated problems.

projects that have been appraised for inclusion in the budget. The project appraisal schedule
presented in the project selection manual of the Ministry of Planning includes environmental criteria
that make it possible, albeit in very summary fashion, to assess whether the project is mindful of the
environment, whether the impact on the environment is correctly identified, and whether mitigation
actions are provided for and appropriate, but without making any explicit reference to climate change.
108. The inclusion of climate considerations in the project appraisal and selection process
is a medium priority reform. In the future decree on public investment management, as in practice,
preliminary appraisal of major infrastructure projects should systematically include a climate-related
analysis following a standard methodology supported by the MEDD. That would make it possible to
assess whether the potential impacts of projects on greenhouse gas emissions, and the exposure of
projects to damage caused by climate-related disasters have been identified and analyzed, before the
projects are included in the project bank and in the next PIP, or before they are selected for financing
in the budget. The legal framework for PPP projects should reflect climate-related risks appropriately.
Given that PPPs commit the government over the whole term of the contract, which is generally 20
to 30 years or more, climate change adaptation or mitigation risks are likely to arise at any time during
the term of the contract. Lastly, at the key moment of project selection, factors linked to the climate
should be explicitly included in the list of decision-making criteria used by the government.
C4. Budgeting and Portfolio Management (Institutional design: Weak: Priority of reform: Medium)
109. This institution relates to the ability of the budgeting and project portfolio management
frameworks to take climate change into account. The C-PIMA methodology checks the capacity
to guide climate-related efficacy and efficiency in budget choices made, in particular, by: (I) identifying
in the budget and budget documentation the specific expenditures and funding in favor of climate-
related investments; (ii) carrying out ex post external audits to measure the impact of projects in
terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation; and (iii) taking climate risks into account in asset
management policies.
110. To date, there is no identification of public investment spending relating to climate

change within the budget. Among the various nomenclatures, the budget uses a COFOG functional
classification, which, once it has been crossed with the classification by type, makes it possible to
assess investment spending relating to environmental protection, but not spending relating to climate
change. Another practice worth noting, more specifically in connection with the climate, is the
existence of indicators focused on climate change in the provisional annual performance project
(projet annuel de performance), in particular for the forestry, water, and the environmental sectors; at
this stage, they are not reported because of lack of available data and because the transition to
program-based budgeting is not complete. These practices are, however, not sufficient to identify
climate-related investment spending in a cross-cutting fashion and across the various sectors.
111. There is no explicit legal basis for carrying out ex post reviews or audits on the
outcomes of investment projects in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation. There
is no legal basis providing a framework for carrying out internal audits and reviews of major
investment projects (see Institution 13), let alone for the assessment of the contribution of projects to
climate objectives. With regard to external auditing, in its 2021-2025 strategic plan the Court of
Accounts aims to conduct one audit report on the environment each year, without any explicit link with
public investment. Moreover, ex post reviews of major projects financed by donors are supposedly
carried out, but they were not able to be consulted by the mission. Interesting initiatives aimed at

strengthening the monitoring of the climate performance of projects are underway, for example the
implementation of the Measuring, Reporting and Verification system 98 for the REDD+ strategy.
112. The asset management and maintenance policies do not take climate risks into
account. According to the road management agencies met by the mission, the standard road
maintenance methodologies (the only maintenance methodologies available, see Institution 9) do not
take climate aspects into consideration. The legal framework on asset management and monitoring
(see Institution 15) also fails to reflect the effects of climate risks on the valuation of assets or their
depreciation. The MEDD told the mission that it plans to work in the near future with the sectoral
ministries on specific studies to assess these impacts on the assets concerned.
113. Taking climate change issues into account in budgeting and in the management of the
project portfolio is a medium priority. The future decree on public investment management could
lay the legal foundations for monitoring and ex post assessment of the impacts of investment projects
on climate change, but that would necessitate setting measurable monitoring targets, starting from
the planning stage. The full transition of the DRC to program-based budgeting will be an opportunity
to establish appropriate monitoring indicators. In addition, the authorities should assess the impact of
climate change on the maintenance needs of projects, in order to allow for the allocation of the
necessary resources. Finally, setting up a tagging system for climate-related investment spending
requires the preparation of nomenclature and information systems, but could be envisaged in the
medium term (Box 4.A).
Box 4.A. Climate budget tagging

Tagging expenditures according to their impact on the climate when budgets are being prepared,
is a practice that is relatively new internationally. This practice, which has developed in the past
decade, provides an overall picture of budget spending and tax expenditure relating to climate; it
emphasizes the significance of climate change concerns in the allocation of resources, and enables their
development over time to be monitored. Tagging allows each component of the budget to be assessed
based on its climate-related (and/or environmental) impact by giving it a “label” according to whether it
is helpful or harmful to green objectives. Thanks to the intensive technical support of several
development partners, climate budget tagging has gained ground in developing and low-income
countries (for example, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines). It is also increasingly
recognized as a significant tool within the OECD countries and the European Union (for example in
France and Ireland), despite the methodological limits relating to the lack, at this stage, of a generally
accepted classification of expenditure.
Three significant issues must be addressed at the time of defining tagging methodologies within
the climate expenditure budget.
• First of all, it is necessary to define the relevant climate-related expenditures in terms of both
mitigation and adaptation. This definition may be based on the expected impact of expenditures
(objective-based definition) or based on their identification relying on national documents relating to
climate change (policy-based definition).
• Next, it is necessary to draw up a level of coverage for these expenditures within the public
sphere. Almost all the methodologies used to date cover both current and capital budgets of
98 This system is a set of procedures to enable the gathering of factual information (mainly data), and
the assessment and verification of the achievement of climate change objectives.

central governments. Some countries have expanded their identification to local government, to
transfers to public corporations, and sometimes even to fiscal spending.
• Finally, the issue of how to estimate the amounts of climate-related spending remains to be
decided. Three approaches are generally used. The first is limited to the identification of programs
that have climate change as their main objective. The second also estimates spending associated
with all climate-related activities. The third applies weightings to estimate the portion of spending of
the program or project that is related to climate.
Sources: “Climate change budget tagging: a review of international experience” World Bank
(February 2021) and “Climate-sensitive management of public finances – green PFM” IMF (August 2021)
C5. Risk Management (Institutional design: Medium; Priority of reform: Low)
114. This institution assesses how fiscal risks related to climate change affecting
infrastructure are identified and managed. Natural disasters are persistent sources of macro-fiscal
risk and therefore require significant attention. Fiscal risks arise just as much from climate change
adaptation as from climate change mitigation. The first dimension of this institution assesses whether
the authorities publish a national disaster risk management strategy incorporating the exposure of
public infrastructure to climate-related disasters. The second dimension considers whether the
government has set up financing mechanisms to deal with the costs of climate-related damage to
public infrastructure. Last, the third dimension focuses on the existence of fiscal risk analysis that
includes climate risks to public infrastructure.
115. In addition to the civil security response organization plan (ORSEC) produced in 2012,
there is a draft national natural disaster risk management strategy, but it has not yet been
endorsed by the Government. The implementation of the ORSEC plan is applicable to the climate
disaster response, as it aims to mobilize and coordinate the parties involved in civil security.
However, it does not satisfy this dimension of the C-PIMA assessment, as the plan does not identify
the specific risks to infrastructure from climate change (data on location of the risk, exposure of
assets, or emergency procurement procedures). This essential information is typically integrated in a
national natural disaster management strategy. A draft national risk management strategy over a
period of four years has reportedly been produced by the Ministry of Humanitarian Actions and Affairs
(MAAH) and apparently is in the process of being updated again for publication by end-2022. Finally,
the recent creation 99 of a National Solidarity Fund for Disaster and Humanitarian Management
attached to the MAAH, which is both a new institutional structure and a funding mechanism (see next
paragraph), is aimed at mobilizing and channeling all financial flows and equipment necessary to
cover humanitarian crises, to take efficient emergency care for victims of disaster and other
catastrophic events, and to provide coordination of humanitarian actions and interventions.
116. There are two mechanisms for ex ante funding - one budgetary and one
extrabudgetary – of infrastructure exposure to climate risks. The MAAH budget, within the
budget law, includes a specific budget allocation to disaster risks entitled “reserve for accidents and
disasters” and is executed each year according to the occurrence of unforeseen events, including
disasters related to climate change. This represented CGF 65 million in the 2021 LFI and CGF 90
million in the 2022 draft budget law. At the same time, the CSNGHC aims to enhance coverage for
the costs of damage related to natural disasters, principally due to a strategic resource mobilization
plan which is currently being finalized. The mission did not have access to this document, but it
should contain a survey of the planned resources for this public institution, which could be assembled
99 Decree 21-05 establishing the organization and operation of a public institution under the name of
the National Solidarity Fund for Disaster and Humanitarian Management in the DRC (CSNGHC).

from budget allocations, national and international donations, parafiscal charges, and contributions
from donors.
117. The fiscal risk statement does indeed mention climate change-related risks, but not the
specific impact on public infrastructure. The fiscal risk statement, published for the first time in
September 2021, categorizes the main risks for public finances (macroeconomic, public debt, public
sector other than central government, financial sector, and other risks). Although some of these risks
are quantified, those relating to natural disasters are presented only briefly and qualitatively, and the
impacts on infrastructure are not assessed. Elsewhere, the MAAH keeping a summary table of
natural disasters and their financial impacts over a long period is a good practice, but the table is not
published and was not forwarded to the mission.
118. Providing better coverage of climate-related risks that affect public infrastructure is a
low priority for reform, in relation to the other reforms proposed in this report. The foundations
for sound climate-related risk management have recently been laid - the creation of the CSNGHC - or
are about to be put in place - the draft disaster management strategy and the strategic resource
mobilization plan for the national fund. It is therefore important to operationalize these various
processes in the next few months and years. Supplementary efforts could also be made to analyze
and publish the climate change risks that affect infrastructure, in particular to feed into the fiscal risk
statement.
V. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
119. The following section presents the main issues relating to IT support, the legal and
regulatory framework, and staff capacity, which are relevant to all areas of public investment
management. They are addressed in the PIMA and C-PIMA institutions presented above, but it is
nevertheless sensible to also address them separately and from a cross-cutting point of view in order
to assess their strengths and weaknesses. They aim to appraise (i) consistency and
comprehensiveness of the legal and regulatory framework for the purposes of effective public
investment management; (ii) the existence of a comprehensive digital information system covering
projects, supporting decision-making and monitoring; and (iii) staff capacity.
A. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
120. The legal framework for public investment management (PIM) is fragmented
(Table 5.A). Key aspects of PIM are covered by the legal framework for government finance
management in the broad sense. The 2011 LOFIP, revised in 2018, covers investment spending by
the Government, the provinces, and the ETDs, issuing basic rules for its budgeting and execution.
The 2010 law on procurement organizes public procurement in all its aspects, in particular as it
relates to public works contracts. Moreover, some types of investment are better regulated than
others by the existing texts. The 2018 law on PPPs laid down the principles of identification, selection,
validation, and monitoring of PPP projects, but lacks certain implementing decrees to achieve full
application. Some investment project execution and oversight entities are subject to regulations
establishing their powers, such as the BCECO, ACGT, CSPP, and CFEF, but these regulations only
apply to the portfolios each entity manages.
121. In all, there is no high-level law or regulation that encompasses PIM over the whole
project investment cycle. In particular, the procedures for appraisal, selection, monitoring of
physical / financial implementation, and ex post assessment of projects are not covered by a clear
legal framework and are often guided by manuals compiled over many years, generally with the

support of donors, the application (and knowledge by staff) of which is often uncertain. Budget
circulars guide the budgeting of investments without, however, guaranteeing any stability in the
procedures from one fiscal year to the next. There are several cases of laws and regulations that
have established project management structures that have, nevertheless, remained inactive, such as
the 2019 order establishing the CISPIP. Lastly, there are cases of conflicts between standards, such
as, for example, between the law on PPPs and the law on procurement regarding the jurisdiction of
the ARMP, and also between these two laws and the decree on the powers of the UC-PPP regarding
the issuance of nonobjection notices.
Table 5.A. Legal texts underlying the PIM procedures in the DRC
Laws Regulations
• Law 11/011 of • Ordinance of July 25, 2019, establishing the organization and operation of the CRESP
July 13, 2011 on • Decree 13/050 of November 6, 2013 establishing the General Public Accounting Regulation.
public finance
• Decree 21/04 of October 2, 2021 establishing the organization and operation of the PPP Advice and
(LOFIP)
Coordination Unit
• Law 18/016 of
• Decree 08/017 of August 26, 2008 establishing the organization and operation of the ACGT
July 9, 2018 on
public-private • Decree of August 8, 2001 establishing the organization and operation of the BCECO.
partnerships • Decree 10/22 of June 2, 2010 establishing the procedures manual for the law on procurement
• Law 10/010 of • Decree 10/21 of June 2, 2010 establishing the organization and operation of the ARMP
April 27, 2010 on • Decree 10/32 of December 28, 2010 establishing the organization and operation of the procurement and project
procurement management units (CGPMP)
• Law 11/009 of • Decree 13/51 of November 8, 2013 establishing the Government Chart of Accounts (PCE)
July 9, 2011 • Decree of August 2, 2014 establishing the operating rules for environmental protection procedural mechanisms
establishing
fundamental
• Decree of November 18, 2014 establishing the bylaws of a public institution under the name of ACE.
principles for • Ministerial order of December 5, 2011 establishing the organization and operation of the Project and Program
protection of the Oversight Unit
environment • Ministerial order of July 19, 2019 establishing the Commission for identification and selection of public
investment projects (CISPIP)
• Interministerial order of May 20, 2013 establishing the organization and operation of the preinvestment fund
• Ministerial order of February 7, 2011 establishing the Investment and Aid Management Platform
• Memorandum of understanding of March 29, 2013 on the procedures for the application of investment
appropriations in the sectors falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces
Source: Mission
122. The legal framework for PIM does not explicitly take climate change into account.
The 2011 law on the protection of the environment represented a significant step in awareness of
environmental issues in project appraisal. The obligation to conduct an environmental impact study
for every investment project in the DRC is well known by all departments. This law does mention
climate change in a specific article (Article 48), but it is too general to be operable. An update of
the 2011 law or the adoption of a new law specifically focusing on climate change are under
consideration. Finally, the decree on PIM could set the principle of involvement of the MEDD and the
ACE in all stages of the investment cycle to ensure climate change is considered.
123. The adoption of a decree on PIM is a high priority. The adoption of such a decree
covering all stages of the project cycle, would make it possible to define the responsibilities of the
various parties involved in each of these stages, to structure the institutional framework, and to
provide guidance for the development of indispensable tools to optimize the management of
investment projects.
B. IT SUPPORT
124. The authorities have no effective institutional framework to guide, support, and
implement the computerization of PIM. The IT functions of the main ministries in charge of
managing public investments suffer from limited coordination and a lack of staff with the required

capacities. There is no IT master plan to provide a consistent, coordinated strategy for development
and operation of computer software supporting PIM, from planning through to accounting for assets.
Nevertheless, the inter-ministerial coordination unit is aiming to build its capacity under the auspices
of the Ministry in charge of Digitization, which has recently been set up. The current picture is as
follows:
• Within the Ministry of Planning, the DPB has an IT division that manages the public investment
database with a staff composed solely of IT specialists. Additionally, the Aid and Investment
Management Platform (PGAI) established by Ministerial order on February 7, 2011 is the
technical agency tasked with strengthening its information system, set up to ensure monitoring
and evaluation of all stages of management of external funding. In this regard, the PGAI serves
as a single window and is designated by the government as the official source of information on
aid flows in the DRC. In practice, the PGAI is having difficulties in gathering reliable information,
particularly with regard to bilateral partners.
• At the Ministry of the Budget, the Interministerial Information Technology Coordination
department (C2I) (staff of 69) coordinates the IT work of the Ministries of the Budget and Finance.
The Ministry’s IT function faces many challenges in terms of the financial resources allocated,
having sufficient, competent staff and of motivation, given, in particular, the lack of a dedicated IT
career path. There is no formal coordination mechanism between the IT function of the Ministry of
Planning and the C2I.
• In the absence of a dedicated IT stream and sufficient resources, the IT capacities of the Ministry
of Finance are equally weak. The ministry is in charge of chairing the integrated human resources
and public finance management system digitization steering committee (the “Committee”), which
still has to come into operation. The recent updating of the General Operation Plan (POG) for the
computerization of the system of management of public finance and general government,
managed by the Public Finance Reform Orientation Committee (COREF), does not cover the
area of public finance management, and the Ministry of Planning is not involved in the work.
125. There is no comprehensive, computerized information system for public investment

projects to support decision making and oversight. The Ministry of Planning has a project
database (in Access format), following the structure of the project fiches, held in Excel. The PGAI
administers its external resources management information system. The Infrastructure Directorate of
the Ministry of Planning has developed a mapping 100 of infrastructure projects in the DRC.
Specifically, the information on projects is presented by type of financing, by sector, by location, and
by implementation agency, but the data are not comprehensive and do not contain the amounts of
funding. The Ministry of Planning’s information systems have no interface with the “Expenditure
chain”, which consists of a number of separate applications (“Préparation du Budget” (PREPABUD -
budget preparation), “Gestion des Dépenses” (GESDEPENSE - expenditure management), and
COMPTA, in particular) that, in some cases, are not fully operational. Further, the “Système Intégré
de Gestion des Marchés Publics” (SIGMAP - integrated procurement management system) is in the
deployment phase, and the development of an e-procurement (E-GP) project is being prepared with
the support of the World Bank. Finally, the Ministry of Finance is preparing a data warehouse project.
126. There is no specific information system for monitoring climate change. The MEDD did
not mention any system or database in this area beyond the data relating to forests and to weather
published on its website. However, the need to gather data on climate change and to have IT
systems to manage such data is growing, both to feed into planning and improve the quality of
assessment and analysis and to monitor the climate performance of the various investment projects.
100 https://www.cartoinfrardc.org/gis/.

The NAP prepared at end-2021 stipulates that to assess vulnerability to climate change and impact of
adaptation measures, the DRC should rely on the collection of data from the various national
institutions, in particular the Agence nationale de météorologie et télédétection par satellite (national
meteorological and satellite weather monitoring agency), the Institut national d’études et recherches
agronomiques (national institute of agronomic research), the Ministries of Energy, Agriculture, Rural
and Urban Development, Land Management, Scientific Research, and the universities, as well as
from international and non-governmental organizations, and other agencies, from both the public and
private sector.
127. The development of an integrated bank of projects, which follows them throughout
their life-cycle, is a high priority for reform. Many processes of the PIM cycle must be supported
by an information system. These systems are often separate from the applications for budgeting,
public procurement, and accounting, finance and budget execution, hence necessitating a pooling
and sharing of information among all the parties involved. Depending on the maturity of the
information systems, this can take place through the establishment of standard data exchange
procedures, the implementation of software interface plans, or posting in a data warehouse, feeding
into a decision-making dashboard. The major principles of a project bank are set forth in Annex 7.
C. STAFF CAPACITY
128. Administrative fragmentation leads to dilution of public investment management

capacities. Public administration in the DRC is very fragmented and compartmentalized. Institutional
complexity, legal uncertainty, the multiplicity of parties involved, the unproductive use at times of
existing capacities, the lack of coordination, and the absence of comprehensive, consistent circulation
of information blur the roles and responsibilities, and significantly limit the effectiveness of public
investment management. The cumulation of ad hoc project portfolio management and oversight
committees and agencies of variable size, often created to circumvent ineffective procedures,
sometimes at the behest of donors, weakens the technical capacity for sound management of
projects. The information flows among these parties are often nonexistent, or, at best, fragmented
and redundant, leading to suboptimal use of human and information technology (IT) resources. The
pooling of skills and knowledge (and information) of these various committees and agencies could
make a leap forward possible in terms of analysis and monitoring capacities.
129. The majority of ministries and organizations involved in project management indicate
that they need to build capacity. Training or technical assistance needs have been pointed out at
all stages of PIM at both the central and the provincial level: planning, enhancing the appraisal,
selection, and preparation of projects; budgeting, producing a more reliable financial estimate of the
spending that the Government must take on; monitoring of project implementation, and ex post
evaluation of projects. For PPPs, capacity building will be crucial to enable the DRC to control the
fiscal risks associated with that modality of project financing.
130. The authorities also point out the need for capacity building in relation to considering
climate change throughout the entire investment cycle. As the inclusion of climate change issues
is an aspect that will gain momentum in coming years, awareness-raising and training of the parties
involved will be a significant, or even necessary first step. The central and provincial governments
must be made aware as quickly as possible of the impacts of climate change on public investment
and infrastructure. The sectoral ministries need technical support to incorporate climate issues in their
planning and projects, as well as to analyze and assess costs and risks associated with climate
change. Given their technical competence in environmental and climate-related issues, the MEDD
and the ACE are best placed to offer this support.

131. A training and technical assistance plan, with financial backing by technical and
financial partners, will support the authorities’ reform strategies. As set in the Priority Action
Plan for the implementation of the Strategic Public Finance Reform Plan (PSRFP) for 2022-2028
(Annex 1), a training plan will be developed, adopted, and implemented to support the authorities’
capacities. This plan should also strengthen PIM capacity. A training program for PIM could, as a
priority, enhance the skills and knowledge associated with the planning, monitoring and evaluation of
projects, as well as risk analysis, including those associated with PPPs and in connection with climate
change.

Annex 1. Actions from the draft 2022-24 Priority Action Plan in connection with public investment management
Note: The amendments proposed by the PIMA mission are indicated in red. The actions in yellow are priority actions under the Priority Action
Plan.
STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
SPECIFIC TARGET 2025 OUTCOME AREAS
EXPECTED OUTCOME(S) 2022 2023 2024 REQUIREMENTS PRIORITY WATCH/RI
2028 INDICATOR(S) RESPONSIBLE
ACTION SKS
Strategic pillar 1: Budget reform

Specific target 1.1: Strengthen the macro-fiscal function
Public
Expenditure and
CPCM and macro-fiscal unit Financial
operational Accountability 1. Signature of the Interministerial order for the restructuring of the CPCM,
(PEFA) PI-14 including a TOFE subcommittee (2022).
The MTFF including the and PI-15. 2. Signature of the Ministerial order establishing the macro-fiscal unit (2022)
provisional Government
Action 1.1.1: Strengthen the Flow-of-Funds Table 3. Adoption of the internal regulations for the functioning of the CPCM (2023). MINPLAN;
MTFF includes
institutional framework of the (TOFE) is consistent with X X MINBUD.MI Medium
full, provisional 4. Production of a procedures manual for the preparation of the macro-fiscal
macro-fiscal function the macroeconomic NFIN
TOFE framework. Revision of the presentation of the MTFF to (i) verify explicitly the
forecasts. consistent with compliance of the projections with the fiscal rules (Article 15 LOFIP), (ii)
the distinguish between capital expenditure on current projects and capital
Macro-fiscal analysis in macroeconomic expenditure on new projects (2023).
the budget documents is forecasts.
improved.
PIMA 1
Specific target 1.2 Develop the fiscal risk management function
1. Strengthen the macroeconomic risk analysis tools and methods
2. Complete the list of specific and institutional fiscal risks and classify them
according to impact and probability of occurrence.
MINBUD
Action 1.2.2: Gradually complete PEFA PI-10. 3. Quantify the specific and institutional risks and formulate mitigation (DGPPB);
the list of fiscal risks of all measures, after strengthening the tools and capacities for analysis, particularly
The credibility of the MINPLAN;
general government departments X X X X PIMA 3c relating to the viability of PPP projects, debt levels of the provinces, and High
budget is improved. ST-CPCM;
and quantify them in the DRB. climate-related risks (2024). CCDMT-RB
C-PIMA 5
4. Progressively expand and deepen the DRB, in particular to cover a review of (GTRB)
risks arising from major investment projects of the provinces and public
corporations, as well as guarantees granted to the PPPs, and scenarios
involving climate change risks (2024).
1. Adoption of a portfolio strategy document covering the objectives of public
shareholders and the investment and performance objectives of corporations,
Action 1.2.4: Improve the including the importance of taking climate change into account in their Ministry of
oversight of public corporations investment projects (2023). the
PEFA PI-10.
(EPs) and administrative public 2. Signature of a circular from the Prime Minister instructing the EPs and EPAs Portfolio/
The Government has an
entities (établissements publics to produce financial reports with a standard financial reporting model attached High
overview of the fiscal risks PIMA 3c, 5b.
administratifs - EPAs) and the X X X within six months of the year-end, and to share them with the Ministries of Council of High
associated with the EPs
transparency of the financial flows the
and EPAs. C-PIMA 2 Finance and the Budget (2023).
between the central government Portfolio;
and these organizations to aid the 3. Attach to the draft budget a consolidated report of the financial position of MINPLAN;
analysis of fiscal risks. the EPs and EPAs, their investments, and the financial flows between the MINBUD
Government and these organizations (2024).
4. Strengthen the computerization of the EPs (2022-24).
Specific target 1.3: Introduce budget management based on performance

STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
ACTION SKS
1. Publication of the presidential order to confer powers on the ministries

(2022).
The number of 2. Completion of the reclassification and streamlining of government
ministries that organizations and signature of the related decree (QIV 2022)
3. Enhance the information on the objectives in the priority action plans, in Council of
Action 1.3.4: Gradually increase have up-to-date
particular those relating to climate change. Strengthen the sectoral thematic Ministers;
the number of ministries that The targets and indicators strategies has
groups to ensure greater cross-cutting awareness of climate change in public MINPLAN;
have up-to-date strategies and of fiscal programs reflect X X X X increased. High
investment decisions (2023). MINBUD
adopt the finalized and updated government policies.
4. Finalize the fiscal program models, including for the special accounts, Sectoral
model of program budgets. PIMA 2b, c, 7c
supplementary budgets and operators, and their adoption by the Council of ministries
C-PIMA 2, 3 Ministers. The models should reinforce the links between planning and
budgeting, for example through the sharing of various performance indicators,
and should establish the indicators for monitoring investments in relation to
climate change (2023).
1. Identification of new fiscal management actors, within a framework
establishing their respective roles (2022).
Regulatory 2.Validate the following guides: (I) appointment of persons responsible for
programs and procedures for delegation of the payment authority function, COREF ;
framework for
Action 1.3.5: Implement the preparation of the program budget, framework for management dialogs (2023); MINBUD
The capacities for the transition to
technical and educational tools (ii) budgeting and application through AE/CP (commitment authorizations/ (DGPPB ;
budgeting by program are X X X program mode Medium
for the implementation of payment appropriations), in particular with the requirement to break down the DGDSP) ;
strengthened. adopted.
budgeting in program mode. status of consumption of the AEs by project (2023); (iii) procedures for Ministères
selection, steering, and governance specific to Government operators (2024); sectoriels.
PIMA 7c, 8
(iv) Audit of programs; practice of management supervision; (v) preparation of
the MTFF, the overall MTEF, and the ministerial MTEFs; (2024).
The Government budget

National
is executed as planned in 1. Forecast fiscal resources solely on the basis of technical considerations and Assembly
accordance with the PEFA PI-1, PI- ascertain that the execution of expenditures follows the provision of the LOFIP
Action 1.3.6: Improve the and Senate;
preparation of the 2, and PI-3 and the General Public Accounting Regulations (RGCP) (LF 2023).
credibility of the budget. X X X X Council of High
expenditures, and the 2. Execute almost all the expenditures on the basis of normal procedures (2022 Ministers;
gaps between forecasts PIMA 6, 7, 8, 14 and subsequent years). MINFIN;
and outcomes are
MINBUD;
reduced.
Specific target 1.4: Improve budget documentation to promote transparency and boost parliamentary debate

STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
ACTION SKS
1. Prepare the budget documentation as required by the LOFIP, including the

The information provided
Action 1.4.1: Produce all the documents listed under Article 78 (6), (7), and (8) and the last four listed under
by the annexes to the
annexes to the draft budget law Article 79 (5) (2023).
draft budget law (PLF) PEFA PI 5
as provided in the LOFIP and MINBUD
meets the requirements of X X X Medium
supplement the documentation to 2. Fill in the budget documentation in addition to the requirements of the LOFIP (DGPPB)
the LOFIP and contributes PIMA 6c, 8, 12
enhance transparency and (specifically, reports on fiscal expenditure, fiscal risk, the general position of
to greater understanding
nourish parliamentary debate. public corporations and institutions, the status of collateral and guarantees
of the fiscal issues.
granted by the Government, the annual cash flow plan adjusted to a monthly
rate, the assessment of the stock of debt, and the list of PPPs in progress) and
the Public Investment Program (PIP) (2024).
Strategic pillar 3: Public expenditure management

Specific target 3.2: Strengthen the predictability of public spending execution
PEFA PI-1, PI-2
and PI-3; PEFA
PI-21
1. Take up a text making preparation of the PEB and the PTR mandatory
Rate of execution (Q4 2022).
of the PEB
Level of RAPs in 2. Adopt the guide for the preparation of the PEBs and the PTR, which
relation to increases the consistency between the two tools (Q1 2023).
MINBUD/D
Action 3.2.1: Improve the Steering of budget expenditures
X X X CB/ High
methodology for preparing and execution is improved. (pending 3. Strengthen in-year budget regulation by having the commitment plan at the
DGTCP
updating commitment plans payments and beginning of the year based on the draft budget law appropriations, as
arrears) presented by the Government (2023).
PIMA 12a, 12b
4. Establish the top-down and bottom-up approach in the preparation/ updating
of the PEBs (Q2 2024).
Specific target 3.4: Enhance the transparency and effectiveness of public procurement
1. Revise the laws and regulations pertaining to public procurement on the
basis of the MAPS II recommendations (ARMP, General Directorate for
Procurement Supervision - DGCMP, and procurement and project
management units - CGPMP) and, in particular, further restrict the possibilities
Action 3.4.1: Revise the legal and
PEFA PI-24 (1 of granting special authorizations, which open the way to private mutual
regulatory framework for public The governance of the MINBUD/A
to 4) agreements (Q4 2023).
contracts using the MAPS II 2021 procurement system is X X X RMP/DGC High
PIMA 11a, 11b, 1 2. Require the mandatory preparation of provisional plans for procurement
assessment. strengthened. MP
2a, 12b contracts based on the draft budget law adopted in the Council of Ministers
(Q1 2023).
3. Improve the format of the plan for public procurement to be submitted to the
department tasked with the preparation of the commitment plan by
incorporating the budget data in it.

STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
ACTION SKS
4. Authorize the DGCMP to access the budget information system to ascertain

the availability of appropriations for the files on public contracts submitted to it
for supervision (Q2 2022).
5. Interface the procurement management system with the budget execution
system for embedded checks on the availability of appropriations (Q 4 2024)
Action 3.4.2: Make the DGCMP
the only entry point at the
Ministry of the Budget for 1. Draw up a form for transmission of requests for notices to the DGCMP for
requests for nonobjection notices The transparency of PEFA PI-24 (1 files entered at the office of the Ministry of the Budget (MINBUD) (Q1 2022). MINBUD/A
on public procurement files (PPM, public procurement is X X X to 4) RMP/DGC High
DAO, special authorizations, etc.) improved. PIMA 11 2. Gradually reduce the number of special authorizations granted by the MP
in accordance with the relevant DGCMP (2022).
provisions of the procurement
code.
Specific target 3.6: Strengthen public debt management
1. Establish a database of all the agreements with collateral and guarantee
PEFA PI-13 (1 to 3) clauses (Q2 2023).
The management of
Action 3.6.2: Keep and regularly public debt is Number of 2. Design markers for the collateral and guarantees likely to be called, so that
update the register of collateral strengthened. notices on the they can be covered in the budget (Q4 2023). MINFIN/DG
and guarantees granted by the X X viability and  High
DP
Government. Its viability and sustainability of 3. Conduct regular analyses of the viability of the debt, including alternative
sustainability are regularly debt agreements scenarios incorporating all debt instruments, natural resource operating
ensured. profiles, demographic projections, contingent liabilities, and climate change
PIMA 1a (2023).
Strategic pillar 4: Public accounting and cash management

Specific target 4.4: Prepare the implementation of inventory accounting
MIN
Action 4.4.1: Implement the The institutional FIN/DGTCP/
1. Establish a consultation framework between the DGCTP and the agency
institutional framework for framework is in
tasked with the management of the Government’s movable and immovable CPCC/MIN
inventory accounting, as defined X X place. Medium
assets in order to strengthen the institutional framework for inventory Transp/MIN
in the LOFIP. bookkeeping (2023).
PIMA 15 BUDGET/DI
G-CC
Inventory accounting
meets the requirements of
accrual and asset 1. Adopt the inventory nomenclature and a clear methodology for asset MIN
accounting. valuation (2024). FIN/DGTCP
Action 4.4.2: Develop the PEFA PI-12 /CPCC/MIN
regulatory framework for X 2. Adopt the procedures manual for managing inventory accounting (2024). Transp Medium
inventory accounting. PIMA 15 /MIN
3. Incorporate inventory accounting rules in the book of accounting standards. BUDGET
 /DIG-CC
4. Carry out gradually a full inventory of nonfinancial assets (2024).
Specific target 4.8: Strengthen the quality of cash flow forecasts and improve the practice of issuing government securities.

STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
ACTION SKS
PEFA PI-16 and

PI-21
Gap between 1. Prepare a procedures manual for drawing up the cash management plan
Cash management plan cash flow (2022).
Action 4.8.1: Strengthen the
forecasts are made X X X X forecasts and DGTCP High
quality of cash flow forecasts.
reliable. outcomes 2. Produce the cash management plan on the basis of actual inflows and
disbursements affecting the Treasury General Account (TGA) at the Central
PIMA 12a, 12b Bank of the Congo (BCC) and the cash shown in the accounting items (2022).
Specific target 4.9: Set up the Treasury Single Account (TSA)
1. Adopt a communication and awareness-raising strategy for the various

parties concerned on the benefits of consolidating resources in the TSA (2022).
PEFA PI-21 2. Limit the procedure of exemption from the principle of mandatory deposit at
the Treasury of all government liquid assets (2022).
The various parties
MINFIN,
involved comply with the 3. With the support of the BCC carry out a comprehensive survey of
Number of BCC,
reform. government accounts open in the financial system (2022-23).
Action 4.9.2: Progressively accounts that project
X X X X
expand the coverage of the TSA are included team,
The TSA is operational 4. After a stress test of the impact on the financial system of returning to the
under the TSA DGTCP,
and covers all Treasury the credit balances of public accounts residing in the financial system,
again. PTF
Government resources. determine an appropriate approach to a process of closing these accounts and
PIMA 12c gradually transferring the balances to the TSA (2023).
5. At the same time carry out discussions with the PTFs in order to proceed with
the transfer of donors’ accounts to the General Treasury Account (TSA) (2024).
Strategic pillar 5: Public finance auditing

Specific target 5.3: Strengthen external auditing
1. Appointment of the President of the Court of Accounts as of right (2022)
2. Judges take an oath before the President of the Republic, to ratify the
appointment after receiving the opinion of the National Assembly (AN) (2022).
3. Production of the functional organization chart of the Court of Accounts
Court of
An independent audit (2022)
Accounts
providing assurance of the 4. Signature of the Decree on the official regulations of the technical and
PEFA PI-30.4 National
Action 5.3.1: Strengthen the appropriateness and administrative staff (2023)
X X X X Assembly High
guarantees of the independence compliance of the
PIMA 14c 5. Signature of an instruction authorizing the automatic transfer of budget (AN)
of the Court of Accounts execution of public
allocations; appoint an accountant to the Court of Accounts who meets the MINBUD
spending is assured.
requirements of independence of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) (2014) MINFIN
6. Set up an automatic transfer mechanism for budget allocations. (2024)
7. Submit to the National Assembly a proposal to securely establish the
formulation of the budget of the Court of Accounts (2025).
Pillar 0: Accompanying measures

Specific target 0.2: Build capacity

STRATEGIC PILLAR
POINTS TO
ACTION SKS
Cross-cutting action 0.2.1: COREF,

The capacities of the 1. Adopt an updated public financial management training plan (2022).
Develop, adopt, and implement a MINFIN,
various parties involved in
training plan to accompany the Number of annual 2. Implement the training plan thereby strengthening, among other things, the MINBUD,
GFP (public financial X X X X High
implementation of the Strategic training courses capacities for public investment management and capacities for analysis of the Ministries,
management) are
Public Finance Reform Plan fiscal risks arising from PPPs (2022-28). Supervisory
strengthened.
(PSRFP) 2022-28. authorities

Annex 2. Detailed PIMA assessment scores
The following colors are used to present the scores:
Weak Medium Advanced

Score
1 2 3
Color
I. PLANNING II. ALLOCATION III. IMPLEMENTATION

Institutional Institutional Institutional
Effectiveness Effectiveness Effectiveness
design design design
1.a. 6.a 11.a
1.b 6.b 11.b
1.c 6.c 11.c
2.a. 7.a 12.a
2.b 7.b 12.b
2.c 7.c 12.c
3.a. 8.a 13.a
3.b 8.b 13.b
3.c 8.c 13.c
4.a. 9.a 14.a
4.b 9.b 14.b
4.c 9.c 14.c
5.a. 10.a 15.a
5.b 10.b 15.b
5.c 10.c 15.c
Annex 3. Detailed C-PIMA module assessment scores
The following colors are used to present the scores:
Weak Medium Advanced

Score
1 2 3
Color
C1. Climate-aware Planning

C1.a National and sectoral planning
C1.b Land use and building regulations
C1.c Centralized guidance on planning
C2. Coordination between Entities
C2.a Coordination across central government
C2.b Coordination with subnational governments
C2.c Oversight framework for public corporations

C3. Project Appraisal and Selection
C.3.a Climate analysis in project appraisal
C3.b PPP framework including climate risks
C3.c Climate consideration in project selection
C4. Budgeting and Portfolio Management
C4.a. Climate budget tagging
C4.b Ex post review of projects on climate outcomes
C4.c Asset management
C5. Risk Management
C5.a Disaster risk management strategy
C5.b Ex ante financing mechanisms
C5.c Fiscal risk analysis including climate risks

Annex 4. Setting up a single office for coordination and oversight of externally financed projects
Management of the externally financed project portfolio in the DRC is fragmented. Indeed, several
agencies within the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning, and other ministries cover various
project portfolios, the features of which, in terms of sectors and donors, often depend on the historic
circumstances of their inception. 101 The legal framework establishing the powers of some of these entities
is often obsolete, or even no longer valid, as in the case of committees or agencies that had a closing
date set in the laws and regulations. This poses several problems.
• This situation complicates the consolidation of information on the projects. As things stand, the
authorities are not able to oversee on a regular basis and in real time the financial and physical flows
relating to these projects. The reporting is either not comprehensive, or irregular or late.
• This fragmentation tends to disperse management skills and knowledge among the various units, in a
situation where the authorities are lacking human and financial resources.
• The discussions on the portfolio with the various donors are not optimal due to the lack of coordinated
management. It is therefore not easy to verify whether, overall, the actions of the various donors are
well aligned with the DRC’s strategic priorities and whether the various sectors are given balanced
coverage.
• The performance of this portfolio is thus mixed, as illustrated by the poor rates of uptake of resources.
Various reasons underlie the generally slow implementation of externally financed programs and
projects; these reasons include the complexity and variability of the procedures required by different
donors, and the use of funds for expenditure that is actually ineligible.
• To continue to exist even when their portfolio has reached its end-date, the committees and agencies
initially tasked with managing externally financed projects then also go on to implement projects
financed by the central government’s own funds. This is specifically the case with the BCECO and the
Infrastructure Unit, while their founding regulations tasked them solely with carrying out externally
financed projects. That raises issues relating to the application of internal control procedures.
To remedy this situation, it is important to work towards the establishment of a single office (the
“Office”) tasked with coordination and oversight of all externally financed projects. Such an entity
would allow to pool resources that are currently scattered among the various units. The Office should
have the following three core functions:
(i) A front office to organize the pitch for projects to be financed and ensure alignment with the
strategic development priorities, participate in funding negotiations with the authorities, and
gather information on banking flows.
(ii) A middle office that would support the sectoral ministries carrying the budget appropriations
in the preparation and implementation of projects. Tasks that could benefit from that support
could include the conduction of project feasibility studies, the selection of projects to be
entered in the PIP, the preparation of files for calls for bids, and the contract allocation
process. The sectoral ministries could also choose to delegate the role of principal contractor
to the Office, in return for fair compensation. In all cases an agreement should be entered
into in advance between the sectoral ministry and the Office, in order to ensure clear
allocation of responsibilities and strict compliance with the rules for budget management and
control (in particular, the absolute adherence to recording the projects in the respective
sectoral ministries’ budgets) and the rules relating to procurement. The management fees
received by the Office should be reported transparently in the budget law.
101Among these agencies, it is worth noting the Central Coordination Office (BCECO), the Fragile States
Finance Implementation Unit (CFEF), the Project and Program Oversight Unit (CSPP), the European
Development Fund payment authority support unit, and the Aid and Investment Management Platform
(PGAI).

(iii) A back office, which would keep a comprehensive, consolidated database of the currently
managed externally financed projects, draw up the various monitoring reports for each project
and donor, and supply financial information to the institutional users, in particular the
Ministries of Finance, Planning, and the Budget. As the sectoral ministries remain responsible
for the appropriations allocated to their projects, the accounting function would be covered by
the public accountants assigned to these expenditures under the auspices of the General
Directorate of the Treasury and Public Accounting.
The best option in the view of the mission with regard to the institutional form of the Office would
be an établissement public administratif (administrative public entity) under the financial and
technical oversight of the Ministry of Finance, and which would be the successor to the BCECO.
The benefits of such a structure include financial and administrative autonomy and attractiveness for high
quality experts. The Office would also benefit from the networks of local correspondents set up by the
BCECO and the CFEF. The Board of Directors of the Office should include representatives of the
Ministries of Planning and the Budget, as well as the sectoral ministries, in order to ensure good
coordination and exchange of information. The Office should comply with the law on public institutions
and be given a framework by a regulation setting forth, in particular, the functional relationships with the
other authorities - specifically the Ministry of Planning (for the planning of public investment) and the
professional experts located in the contracting authorities (for example the directorate of hospital, school,
and roads and bridges infrastructure). As with any public institution, the Office would have an accounting
section to take care of reporting on the operations relating to its activities.
The other options available pose problems in terms of financing and potential effectiveness. An
internal entity at a ministry would suffer from a lack of institutional and financial autonomy and would not
allow proper coordination with the authorities sponsoring the projects. An inter-ministerial committee
placed under the joint authority of several ministries, with a permanent technical secretariat to deal with
the work, could perform the tasks described above, but its implementation would be complex and its
attractiveness for high-quality experts would be limited.

Annex 5. Guiding principles for preparation of a decree on public investment management
The adoption of a decree on public investment management is a high priority. The adoption of such
a decree covering all stages of the project cycle, would make it possible to define the responsibilities of
the various parties involved in each of these stages, to structure the institutional framework, and to
provide guidance for the development of indispensable tools to build optimal investment project
management. This decree should specifically respond to the following basic elements:
• Applying to all the projects borne by the public sector regardless of their sources of finance –
central government, public services and institutions, provinces and ETDs, public corporations, as well
as PPPs (in accordance with the existing legal framework). The decree should stipulate the anchoring
of the development programs and projects within the budget and the relationships between the
development program and project management units and the budget program managers. It should
lay down an institutional structure that includes all the relevant parties and provides regulatory
responses to any potential areas of conflict among the parties. It must give indications on the rules of
behavior of the parties involved in the various stages of the cycle (planning, allocation, and
implementation).
• Setting the framework for planning and budgeting of the projects recorded in the budget by (i)
stipulating the rules for the management of the portfolio/bank of projects, in particular the criteria for
registration, completion, eligibility for the PIP, integration in the budget, and removal from the
portfolio; (ii) detailing the activities of the planning and budgeting process, as well as the role of the
parties involved as part of a unified budget process; (iii) specifying the format of the PIP; and (iv)
requiring the register of guarantees to be kept, in particular for PPP projects. The text could also
provide for the publication of comprehensive information on the whole of the public investment project
portfolio, regardless of the source of financing and the management entity.
• Laying down the main rules for appraisal and selection of projects by (i) stipulating the approach
for identification, appraisal, selection, and completion of projects, as well as the approach to eligibility
for the PIP and inclusion in the budget from the perspective of informing the various guides and
manuals on their content; (ii) organizing the budgeting and use of study funds to carry out feasibility
studies. General selection criteria, including those giving explicit priority to projects combating climate
change, could be set forth in the text.
• Specifying the rules for monitoring project implementation, particularly covering project
management units financed both internally and externally, the heads of major projects, and their
relationships with the technical and financial supervisors for information reporting.
• Providing a framework for the process of closing projects and ex post evaluation by requiring
that inventories, completion audits, and ex post evaluations be carried out.
• Establishing the principle of systematic inclusion of project maintenance at the time of project
design, budgeting, and implementation.

Annex 6. Illustration of the list of relevant selection criteria
The list of selection criteria presented below includes various good practices used in several
countries, including Benin, and adds specific criteria relating to climate change. Each evaluation
criterion and subcriterion may be subject to an order of priority, or potentially weightings, in order to
attribute overall grades to the various projects.
• Existence of the project document: (Yes/ No)
• Degree of preparation of the project:
• Have all the headings of the project fiche been filled in and are the associated documents
attached?
• Relevance of the project:
• Have social, economic, and environmental needs, including the aspect of climate and gender
equity, been clearly identified?
• Have the beneficiaries been qualitatively and quantitatively defined?
• Consistency of the project:
• Do the project objectives comply with the strategic guidelines in terms of development?
• Does the project comply with the strategic priorities for the sector?
• Is the internal logic of the project (activities - outcomes - specific targets - general objective)
coherent?
• Technical feasibility of the project:
• Have the preliminary conditions for starting project implementation (agreements, procedures,
organization, responsibilities, laws and regulations) been established?
• Is the technical choice optimal, in particular with regard to climate change?
• Economic and financial feasibility of the project:
• What is the assessment of internal return?
• Appraisal of the cost and financing plan:
• What is the cost estimate for carrying out the project?
• Is the project financing plan sustainable?
• Appraisal of risks, impacts and mitigation measures of the project:
• Have the risks of the project, including climate change risk, been assessed, and have plans for
mitigation of these risks been established?
• Have the climate change impacts been assessed?
• Project implementation strategy:
• Have the project implementation mechanisms (operating mode) been established and are they
appropriate?
• Has the project implementation plan been established and it is appropriate?
• Viability and sustainability of the project:
• Have the recurring costs of the project been correctly identified and appraised?
• Monitoring and evaluation of the project: (Scale and grade).
• What is the relevance of the indicators associated with the project?

Annex 7. Principles guiding the establishment of an integrated bank of projects
Most African countries do not yet have fully developed practices in the area of information
systems, structured around a bank of projects that enables projects to be monitored, identified by a
unique code, over their entire life-cycle from the initial idea for each project through to its completion.
In short, however, many important principles remain to be applied with regard to computerization
of the bank of projects, as follows:
• Making available in advance an effective institutional framework providing steering, coordination,
support, and implementation of the computerization process;
• Integrating the IT development of the bank of projects in a strategy formalized in an IT master plan;
• Allocating to each project in the bank a unique code following the project through its whole life-cycle
using a registration system implemented by the Ministry in charge of planning;
• Integrating in the bank of projects functionalities that enable monitoring over the whole life-cycle of
management, from project ideas to completions, according to the following sequence:
Prospective analysis
Planning
Appraisal and selection (including preliminary appraisal, based on prefeasibility and

feasibility studies, and selection as part of the PIP, then in financing)
Budgeting
Implementation, including public procurement and management of project

implementation
Physical and financial monitoring of implementation, adjustments, and consolidation

of portfolio information
Ex post assessment
• Adopting a comprehensive approach to the bank of projects, including projects financed by own
funds, external funds, and supported by PPPs, at both national and subnational level;
• Supporting the implementation of the computerized bank of projects with formalized tools, in terms of
steering (project fiches, appraisal and selection framework, PIP, dashboards), monitoring, and
transmission of information (standard forms) and reporting (standard reports);
• Identifying and facilitating, using keys (registration of projects, budget nomenclature, and registration
of contracts and PPPs), charts of accounts (general accounting and inventory accounting), data
interfaces, and management applications;
• Ensuring the sharing and pooling of information on the bank of projects among all parties involved;
• Promoting development, ownership, proper use, and autonomy among the users of the bank of
projects.
In terms of functionality, an information system supporting public investment management
should enable the following:
• Development of the project pipeline (identification, preparation, design, and presentation);
• Project appraisal and selection;

• An interface with the IT system for budgeting, with the establishment of a key between the coding of
projects and the budget nomenclature;
• An interface with the IT system for procurement, with the establishment of a key between the coding
of projects, the budget nomenclature, and the registration of contracts;
• An interface with the budget implementation system(s) and general accounting;
• Project management;
• Periodic monitoring of physical and financial implementation of projects and the centralization of
information, to steer and monitor the portfolio;
• An interface with the inventory accounting system for management of assets.

Democratic Republic of The Congo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Democratic Republic of The Congo

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Democratic Republic of The Congo

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

IMF Country Report No.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

Copies of this report are available to the public from

International Monetary Fund • Publication Services

International Monetary Fund

© 2023 International Monetary Fund

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 9

I. PUBLIC INVESTMENT TRENDS IN THE DRC ............................................................................... 16

II. EFFICIENCY AND IMPACT OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN THE DRC .......................................... 21

III. PUBLIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT .............................................................. 24

IV. PIMA CLIMATE CHANGE ASSESSMENT MODULE (C-PIMA)................................................... 55

V. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES ............................................................................................................. 64

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Source: Mission Source: Mission

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

the Central Bank in the TSA. TSA.

Medium The Government does not have any

Table 0.B. C-PIMA Summary table

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Medium The risks associated with the exposure of infrastructure to

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

STRATEGIC PILLAR IMPL

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

1. Establishment of a list of selection criteria

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

I. Public investment trends in the DRC

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

2. General government investment only represented a small proportion of total

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

80.0 DRC CAR 2.6

thousands of US$, 2017 PPP-adjusted

Source: IMF staff calculations

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

5. For these investment efforts to come to fruition, measures to improve budget

B. COMPOSITION OF PUBLIC SECTOR INVESTMENT

6. General government investment in the DRC is largely externally financed by external

Source: Data from the authorities and calculations by the mission.

7. Provinces and decentralized territorial entities (ETDs) contribute moderately to the

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

8. Investment by public corporations in the DRC is substantial. The Government portfolio

Figure 1.G. PPP capital stock (nominal, % of

Source: World Bank Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI)

as well as 25 to 50 percent in joint ventures with a blocking minority in 19 companies (2022-2024

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

II. Efficiency and impact of public investment in the DRC

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

DRC Low-income countries Subsaharan Africa

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Figure 2.B. Infrastructure quality as Figure 2.C. Insufficiencies in access to infrastructure

The survey results are available at

IMF | Technical Assistance Report – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Subsaharan Africa Other countries Frontier

III. Public investment management assessment