| Part I. | THE REVISION OF THE “ODA CHARTER” AND JAPAN’S NEW APPROACH |
The Government of Japan considers evaluation important for the effective and efficient implementation of ODA. The importance of ODA evaluation has been pointed out in domestic discussions on ODA reform and in international conferences on development assistance and the Government of Japan has worked to enhance evaluation. The revised ODA Charter aims to further enhance evaluation based on these efforts.
The original ODA Charter primarily refers to the strengthening of third-party evaluations and joint evaluations but the revised ODA Charter states that “third-party evaluations conducted by experts will be enhanced while the government undertakes policy evaluations” and so makes a clear statement about the implementation of policy evaluations by the Government of Japan itself. With a view to objectively verifying the outcome of ODA, the Government of Japan has been delegating evaluation to third parties with expert knowledge and implementing evaluation jointly with recipient countries, other donor countries and civil society such as NGOs, and intends to continue to strongly promote these methods of evaluation. And policy evaluations by the government itself will continue to be implemented.
The revised ODA Charter also discusses the timing and targets of evaluation which were not mentioned in the original ODA Charter. It stipulates that “the government will carry out consecutive evaluations at all stages, i.e. ex ante, mid-term, and ex post, and evaluations at each level, i.e. policy, program, and project,” and presents a policy of more comprehensive implementation of ODA evaluation. Formerly, ODA evaluations usually took the form of evaluations of individual projects, but in recent years, taking into account the growth of strategic ODA targeting sectors or entire countries in addition to individual project-type assistance, the target of evaluation has been expanded to programs and policies.
Furthermore, the revised ODA Charter states that the evaluation results “will be reflected in subsequent ODA policy-making and efficient and effective implementation” implying that it further strengthens and expands feedback functions. Evaluation is meaningful and valuable only if the evaluation results are utilized in ODA planning and implementation. Based on this awareness, Japan is basically giving feedback concerning the evaluation results to not only the Japanese people, but also to the recipient countries. Moreover, in order to ensure accountability concerning the status of ODA implementation and to promote understanding of ODA by the people of Japan, the evaluation results are actively disclosed by the government and implementing agencies through their websites, etc. and the government is considering publishing information about the government’s measures in response to the results of third-party evaluation.
In fiscal year 2003, an evaluation of the Medium-Term Policy on ODA, country assistance evaluations on Japan’s ODA policies in India, Indonesia, and other countries, a priority issue evaluation of the Okinawa Infectious Diseases Initiative, a sector evaluation of the environmental sector cooperation in Senegal, and individual project evaluations, etc. were implemented as policy evaluations or third-party evaluations depending on the case.
Also, as part of efforts to strengthen collaboration with recipient countries,
with the aim of improving the evaluation capabilities of recipient countries,
the Third Tokyo Workshop on ODA Evaluation was held in November 2003—following
the first and second workshops in 2001 and 2002—with the participation
of government officials related to development assistance from Asian countries
and representatives of international organizations.
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| The Third Tokyo Workshop on ODA Evaluation |
Development without consideration on impact on environment or
society may produce positive effects in the short-term but in the medium and
long-term, it will impede the socio-economic development of the country and
it is contrary to the concept of sustainable development which Japan has traditionally
promoted. So the revised ODA Charter states that “the government will adopt
procedures to ensure that full consideration is given to the environmental and
social impact” when implementing ODA. (Details
about the guidelines for environmental and social considerations.) The revised
ODA Charter states that for the effective and efficient ODA implementation,
it is important “to conduct appropriate and efficient procurement with
regard to quality and price” when procuring equipment, consultancy services,
etc. and that “the procedures will be simplified and accelerated.”
Concerning this point, in response to the recommendations of the Advisory Board
for the Reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JICA’s Revising Committee
on the Environmental and Social Considerations Guideline, etc., MOFA is currently
working on formulation of assessment guidelines for all grant aid, due to be
completed by April 2004.
Assistance essentially has the goal of improving the socioeconomic
development and the improvement of welfare of the recipient countries. It must
be avoided that the funds provided through assistance be used for fraudulent
purposes or in a way that leads to corruption in the recipient country rather
than for the intended purposes. In order to make sure of this, the revised ODA
Charter clearly states that the government will “ensure the transparency
of the activity-selection and implementation process” and that the government
will “implement appropriate measures ... to prevent fraud, corruption,
and improper diversion of aid.” And to this end, the government will make
efforts to ensure the appropriate flow of ODA funds by “enhancing auditing,
including through the introduction of external audits.”
Efforts in the project selection stage include the drawing up and publication of a list of ODA loan candidate projects (the “long list”) and the holding of the Committee for Grant Aid. ODA loan candidate project lists had already been drawn up and published for five countries (Viet Nam, Tunisia, Morocco, China and India), when in October 2003 a list for Indonesia was also drawn up and published. Each list cites candidate projects over a period of several years. Inclusion on the list does not automatically mean an ODA loan will be provided; in principle, after the compilation of the list, formal loan requests are made each fiscal year for projects that are on the list, and loans will be extended to selected projects. From a medium to long-term perspective, the compilation and publication of such lists is expected to enable the identification and formulation of more effective and efficient yen loan projects and to promote collaboration with other donor countries and international organizations.
Measures have been taken to ensure transparency during the procurement stage of grant aid, loan aid, and technical cooperation, in accordance with JICA and JBIC procurement guidelines. Bidding, in principle, is conducted by developing countries, JICA and JBIC verify the results, and both the names and amounts of the winning tenders are announced. In case improprieties are discovered, a setup has been established whereby firms that commit improprieties are disqualified from bidding for or receiving contracts for ODA projects for certain periods.
With a view to “enhancing auditing” as advocated in the revised ODA
Charter, MOFA is working on “expansion and improvement of audits,”
for example, through the introduction of external audits, “spot audits,”
and “establishment of a system to adopt improvement measures” taking
into account the MOFA reforms.
Japan is currently providing ODA to over 140 countries and regions
and the more stakeholders became diversified, the more Japanese people have
begun to participate in international cooperation in developing countries. Consequently,
the danger of Japanese ODA personnel getting caught up in crimes, terrorism,
accidents, etc. in developing countries is also increasing. Safeguarding the
lives and personal safety of ODA personnel is a prerequisite for the implementation
of ODA and the revised ODA Charter states that “the government will fully
obtain security related information and will take appropriate measures”
and so places importance on ensuring the safety of ODA personnel. For this reason,
Japan has always carefully evaluated the local security situation and level
of danger in the recipient country and has then taken every possible measure
to ensure thorough security precautions for ODA personnel.
Specifically, the government studies the domestic security situation in the
recipient country through Japan’s overseas diplomatic missions and local
offices, etc., exchanges and shares information among ODA personnel, etc., and
JICA and JBIC take measures such as training and seminars for personnel before
they leave Japan, ensuring communication means in emergency situations, the
deployment of safety officers, and the installation of security equipment in
the living quarters of ODA personnel, etc.
Concerning security measures for Japan’s overseas diplomatic missions,
in fiscal year 2003, additional ten bullet-proof cars, bulletproof jackets and
physical measures such as installing concrete blocks, etc. for certain overseas
diplomatic missions were approved. In the fiscal year 2004 budget, a total of
¥7.9 billion was approved, more than double the ¥3.8 billion in fiscal
year 2003, and the budget included funds for significantly increased numbers
of hired security guards, the introduction of specialized bodyguards in Iraq
and Afghanistan, safety training for officers abroad, and other safety measures.
And concerning the structure and number of personnel at MOFA, a new post of
Deputy Assistant Vice Minister responsible for crisis management was established
and an additional 19 security officers and consular and visa officers were approved
and this contributed greatly to the strengthening of security system of Japan’s
overseas diplomatic missions.
The government intends to continue to pay constant and close attention to the
domestic security situation in the recipient country and considers it necessary
to implement ODA in tandem with thoroughgoing security measures.
The status of implementation of the ODA Charter will be described in the white paper each year. Since the ODA Charter has only just been revised and Part I contains a comprehensive explanation of the ODA Charter including concrete examples, this White Paper is not in the form of a “report on the status of implementation of the Official Development Assistance Charter,” but rather it reports the recent status of implementation throughout the explanation in Part I.