[{"bbox": [72, 146, 721, 180], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 4. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS"}, {"bbox": [116, 209, 393, 240], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.1 Financing Agreement"}, {"bbox": [83, 279, 1147, 333], "category": "Text", "text": "In order to implement this action, it is envisaged to conclude a financing agreement with the Government of the Republic of Namibia."}, {"bbox": [116, 351, 521, 383], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.2 Indicative Implementation Period"}, {"bbox": [83, 422, 1147, 502], "category": "Text", "text": "The indicative operational implementation period of this action, during which the activities described in section 3 will be carried out and the corresponding contracts and agreements implemented, is 60 months from the date of that a financing agreement is concluded."}, {"bbox": [83, 502, 1147, 555], "category": "Text", "text": "Extensions of the implementation period may be agreed by the Commission's responsible authorising officer by amending this Financing Decision and the relevant contracts and agreements."}, {"bbox": [116, 598, 713, 630], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.3 Implementation of the Budget Support Component"}, {"bbox": [144, 654, 778, 684], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 4.3.1 Rationale for the Amounts Allocated to Budget Support"}, {"bbox": [83, 692, 1147, 743], "category": "Text", "text": "The amount allocated for the budget support component is EUR 13 000 000 and for complementary support is EUR 3 000 000."}, {"bbox": [83, 745, 1147, 1064], "category": "Text", "text": "This amount is based on the need to assist the Government of Namibia (GRN) with its reforms through a balanced range of supports: 1) to the budget, including a sizeable fixed tranche equivalent to 38% of the budget support component, and 2) through Technical Assistance, with a particular attention to the reinforcement of the institutional capacities and to Budget Efficiency and Spending Outcome in this respect. More specifically, the budget support will include policy dialogue with the GRN regarding key sector implementation. The variable tranches have been designed to be challenging but achievable. COVID-19 has put additional pressure on the fiscal space and the current GRN capacity to increase its investment in ECD and PPE, particularly in infrastructure renovation and development. Only the PPE classes that have been integrated in the public primary schools are benefitting from the Namibia School Feeding Programme, a serious gap especially for younger children attending ECD centres. Through this budget support, the EU will be providing needed additional financial resources and complementary technical expertise to these sub-sectors where the shortage of resources clearly prevents the establishment of an equitable and accessible, as well as good quality and efficient, ECD and PPE services and facilities."}, {"bbox": [83, 1089, 1147, 1542], "category": "Text", "text": "EUR 3 million (19% of the total) will be allocated to complementary support. This amount is based on a careful assessment of the needs for capacity reinforcement particularly at the level of the MGEPESW. The implementation of a comprehensive IECD programme requires adequate investment in financial resources and in M&E in order to systematically track and measure effectiveness and performance outputs. This notion is reinforced with the appointment of a Technical Assistance (TA) that will complement the Project Management expertise in government as global best practice to reduce risk on project implementation. M&E will help to determine which modalities of intervention are most effective and would be worth reinforcing. Spending outcome, budget efficiency, risk reduction and project implementation efficiency will be the focus of the TA to be supplied under direct management. Pooling of resources, sourcing of expertise and coordination of stakeholders towards common goals and priority targets will be key, at a time when public development budget is non-existent. The capacity of CSOs to reach out to the most vulnerable groups of the population is recognised. They will be mobilized outside the current budget support. Yet, the TA attached to the ministries will contribute to their capacitation. In addition, special effort will be made towards the coordination and mobilization of foundations, charity organizations and the private sector. There are opportunities to extend the reach of ECD to children with disabilities, and to make use of digital innovations to extend the management of ECD. Other EU programmes will complement this actions, such as the Resilience to COVID-19 Digitalisation (RESICODI) component of the AU-EU Digital for Development (D4D), the EU-AU Data flagship programme, to ensure digital inclusion in particular of women, rural communities and marginalized groups."}, {"bbox": [83, 1567, 1147, 1648], "category": "Text", "text": "UNICEF will continue contributing to improve quality and effectiveness of ECD and PPE system management, including continued support to data collection and analysis, and their efforts towards advocacy and awareness of the importance of ECD at all levels will be supported. There will also be opportunities to bring other actors on board to"}, {"bbox": [572, 1658, 657, 1685], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page | 27"}]