Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: ICR00006246 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT IDA-D3630 ON A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 14.2 MILLION (US$20.0 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY FOR THE EAC STATISTICS DEVELOPMENT AND HARMONIZATION REGIONAL PROJECT December 12, 2023 Poverty And Equity Global Practice Eastern And Southern Africa Region CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective November 30, 2023) Currency Unit = SDR SDR 1 = US$1.33 US$1 = SDR 0.75 FISCAL YEAR July 1 - June 30 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AfDB African Development Bank CPF Country Partnership Framework CPI Consumer Price Index CSS Community Statistical System EASB East Africa Statistic Bureau EAC East African Community EARS PforR East Africa Regional Statistics Program for Results FM Financial management ICR Implementation Completion and Results Report IFR Unaudited interim financial report IPF Investment Project Financing ISR Implementation Status and Results Report IT Information technology M&E Monitoring and Evaluation NDP National Development Plan NSO National Statistical Offices NSS National Statistical System PDO Project Development Objective PIU Project Implementation Unit RRSF Regional Reference Strategic Framework RSDP Regional Statistical Development Plan SADC Southern Africa Development Community SSC Sectoral Statistics COmmittee SCFEA Sectoral Council for Finance and Economic Affairs SHaSA Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa TTL Task team leader TWG Technical Working Groups WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union Regional Vice President: Victoria Kwakwa Country Director: Boutheina Guermazi Regional Director: Hassan Zaman Practice Manager: Pierella Paci Task Team Leader(s): Robertus A Swinkels ICR Main Contributor: Dhiraj Sharma, Anahit Poghosyan TABLE OF CONTENTS DATA SHEET .......................................................................................................................... 1 I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ....................................................... 4 A. CONTEXT AT APPRAISAL .........................................................................................................4 B. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................9 II. OUTCOME .................................................................................................................... 10 A. RELEVANCE OF PDOs ............................................................................................................ 10 B. ACHIEVEMENT OF PDOs (EFFICACY) ...................................................................................... 11 C. EFFICIENCY ........................................................................................................................... 15 D. JUSTIFICATION OF OVERALL OUTCOME RATING .................................................................... 16 E. OTHER OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS ......................................................................................... 16 III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME ................................ 17 A. KEY FACTORS DURING PREPARATION ................................................................................... 17 B. KEY FACTORS DURING IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................. 17 IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME .. 19 A. QUALITY OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E) ............................................................ 19 B. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND FIDUCIARY COMPLIANCE ..................................................... 19 C. BANK PERFORMANCE ........................................................................................................... 20 D. RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME ....................................................................................... 21 V. LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................. 21 ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS ........................................................... 23 ANNEX 2. BANK LENDING AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT/SUPERVISION ......................... 28 ANNEX 3. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT ........................................................................... 30 ANNEX 4. RECIPIENT AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS .............................. 31 ANNEX 5. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOLLOW-ON PROGRAM ...................................................... 33 ANNEX 6. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS .................................................................................. 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) DATA SHEET BASIC INFORMATION Product Information Project ID Project Name EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional P164243 Project Country Financing Instrument Eastern and Southern Africa Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Revised EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Organizations Borrower Implementing Agency East African Community East African Community Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The development objective of this project is to support the production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC, in support of the regional integration in the region, through capacity building of the National Statistical Offices of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States and the EAC Secretariat. Page 1 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) FINANCING Original Amount (US$) Revised Amount (US$) Actual Disbursed (US$) World Bank Financing 20,000,000 10,650,988 10,039,151 IDA-D3630 Total 20,000,000 10,650,988 10,039,151 Non-World Bank Financing 0 0 0 Total 0 0 0 Total Project Cost 20,000,000 10,650,988 10,039,151 KEY DATES Approval Effectiveness MTR Review Original Closing Actual Closing 27-Jul-2018 20-Dec-2018 31-Dec-2023 30-Dec-2022 RESTRUCTURING AND/OR ADDITIONAL FINANCING Date(s) Amount Disbursed (US$M) Key Revisions 12-Dec-2022 10.19 Change in Loan Closing Date(s) KEY RATINGS Outcome Bank Performance M&E Quality Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Substantial RATINGS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN ISRs Actual No. Date ISR Archived DO Rating IP Rating Disbursements (US$M) 01 06-Dec-2018 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0 02 27-Jun-2019 Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory .50 03 28-Dec-2019 Satisfactory Moderately Unsatisfactory .50 04 28-Jun-2020 Satisfactory Moderately Unsatisfactory 1.25 Page 2 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) 05 15-Mar-2021 Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 2.46 06 07-Dec-2021 Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 5.17 07 08-Nov-2022 Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory 10.19 SECTORS AND THEMES Sectors Major Sector/Sector (%) Public Administration 100 Central Government (Central Agencies) 100 Themes Major Theme/ Theme (Level 2)/ Theme (Level 3) (%) Public Sector Management 100 Data Development and Capacity Building 100 Data production, accessibility and use 47 Institutional strengthening and capacity 100 building ADM STAFF Role At Approval At ICR Regional Vice President: Makhtar Diop Victoria Kwakwa Country Director: Paul Noumba Um Boutheina Guermazi Director: Carolina Sanchez Hassan Zaman Practice Manager: Pablo Fajnzylber Pierella Paci Task Team Leader(s): Abdoullahi Beidou Robertus A Swinkels ICR Contributing Author: Dhiraj Sharma Page 3 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES A. CONTEXT AT APPRAISAL Overall context 1. At the time of project appraisal in 2018, the East African Community (EAC) was almost two decades old, comprising six Partner States: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. It was implementing the fifth five-year development strategy, covering the period 2016/17 – 2020/21.1 The objective of the strategy was to build a firm foundation for transforming the EAC into a stable, competitive, and sustainable lower-middle-income region by 2021. To realize the goal, the EAC intended to implement programs and projects to accelerate regional integration of the Partner States. 2. In 2016, the EAC had also developed the Community’s Vision 20502 that sought to improve the productivity and social wellbeing of people in the Partner States through optimal utilization of its resources. It envisioned an East Africa region with higher incomes, cohesive societies, competitive economies, and strong regional integration. 3. A better functioning National Statistical System (NSS) in the partner countries was recognized as crucial to monitor progress toward the regional development strategy as well as Vision 2050. For example, comparable data on movement of goods, services, and capital were needed for the proper functioning of the Customs Union and Common Market. Likewise, for the Monetary Union, comparable data on macroeconomic statistics would be necessary. Progress toward socioeconomic development would require comparable and accurate socioeconomic indicators on poverty, health, education, employment, and so on. To meet these requirements, as well as for other policy, planning, decision-making, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting purposes, building statistical capacity in Partner States and regional harmonization of statistics was a high priority for the EAC Secretariat. Sector and institutional context 4. Within the EAC, the responsibility to identify strategic priority areas for statistics and prepare a comprehensive program lies with the Sectoral Statistics Committee (SCS). The Sectoral Statistics Committee is one of several committees under the Sectoral Council on Finance and Economic Affairs, which itself is one of 16 Councils under the EAC Secretariat. Sectoral Committees conceptualize programs and monitor their implementation in their respective areas. 5. The first Regional Statistical Development Plan (RSDP) was formulated for the 2012/13 – 2016/17 period with three primary objectives: (i) harmonization of statistical methodologies and tools; (ii) development of an EAC statistical database with the harmonized data; and (iii) statistical capacity-building to address the shortage of experts in the region. 6. There were several important developments under RSDP I. A Regional Statistics Policy was designed and adopted by the Council of Ministers (the policy organ of the Community) in November 2014. The policy provided guidance for national and regional programs for capacity building and institutional development. It also defined the governance structures, surveillance, and funding mechanisms of the Community Statistical System. It served as a reference point for the roles and responsibilities of different parties in the Community 1http://repository.eac.int/handle/11671/1952#:~:text=The%20overall%20goal%20of%20the,middle%20income%20region%20by%20 2021. 2 http://repository.eac.int/handle/11671/567. Page 4 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Statistical System and other international stakeholders involved in statistical activities. Furthermore, it set out the minimum standards benchmarked to international best practices to be followed during the production, compilation, and dissemination of statistics by the Partner States. 7. The RSDP I also laid the foundations for the transformation of what was the Statistics Department under the Directorate of Planning of the EAC into the East Africa Statistic Bureau (EASB), an autonomous arm of the EAC. The establishment of the Regional Statistics Bureau, along with the creation of the Regional Monetary Institute, was endorsed by the EAC heads of state in November 2013. The bureau would be responsible for setting regional standards and guidelines, supporting the development, production, and dissemination of harmonized statistics in Partner States, and monitoring compliance. The EAC Statistics Policy and Statistics Bill gave the mandate to the EASB to coordinate the harmonization and development of statistics in the Community. The draft bill was adopted by the Council of Ministers in 2017, and it had been submitted to the East African Legislative Assembly for enactment at the time of appraisal. 8. Technical Working Groups (TWGs) established by the EAC Secretariat coordinated the harmonization and development of statistics in several areas. These include national accounts, consumer price index (CPI), external trade statistics, government finance statistics, energy and environment statistics, and population and housing census. 9. Despite these developments, however, several challenges to the production and dissemination of harmonized, high-quality data in the community remained. The Statistics Department had only one senior statistician position. Due to limited capacity, the EAC Secretariat could not follow up as much as needed with the Partner States on all the agreed activities and time-bound action plans developed by the TWGs. There was also a variation in the implementation capacity of the Partner States. Differences remained across partner countries on the data sources and methodologies used to compile aggregates such as consumer price index, national accounts, poverty estimates, and trade statistics, which limited the availability and comparability of statistics. There was a shortage on statisticians with expertise and skills in specialized areas such as national accounts, agricultural statistics, household surveys, trade statistics, financial statistics, and price statistics. This shortage was especially acute in government ministries, departments, and agencies. The demand for and use of statistics in planning and policymaking was low, which in turn limited the investment in statistical development. National Development Plans (NDPs) of most countries did not recognize statistics as an enabling, cross-cutting sector. Hence adequate provision of resources for statistics was not made. Although all Partner States had a Statistics Act regulating the collection, management, and dissemination of official statistics, no member state explicitly required the establishment of Statistics Unit in ministries, departments, and agencies, which complicated the coordination across the NSS. Therefore, there was a need to review the Statistics Acts of the Partner States to address this issue, as well as to bring them in line with the provisions of the East African Statistics Act. 10. It was in this context that the RSDP II was designed, covering the period 2017/18 – 2021/22. Its objectives were to: (a) broaden and deepen the production of harmonized statistics; (b) promote easy access to and use of community statistics; and (c) build statistical capacity in the priority areas of national accounts, agricultural statistics, poverty statistics, household surveys, trade statistics, financial statistics, and price statistics. Rationale for World Bank support and contribution to higher level objectives 11. The World Bank’s support to the EAC to implement RSDP II was aligned with global, regional, and country-level priorities. The production of harmonized statistics, their alignment to the international standards, and building the statistical capacity of member states would help monitor progress toward the World Bank’s twin goals. The project was consistent with the Regional Reference Strategic Framework (RRSF) Page 5 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) and the Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA). The RRSF sought to improve development outcomes and governance by strengthening the National Statistical Systems in Africa, with a particular focus on subregional organizations such as the EAC. The SHaSA aimed to harmonize standards and methods of statistical production, strengthen coordination and cooperation among institutions, build institutional capacity in the African Statistical System, and promote the use of data in decision making. The project also contributed to the World Bank Regional Integration Assistance Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly on the development of harmonized information systems/statistics and national identity systems to improve the provision of services. 12. Moreover, the project reflected country-specific priorities. The Performance Learning Review of Rwanda’s Country Partnership Strategy 2014-20183 stressed the importance of integration into the EAC. The FY2016-2021 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Uganda4 supported strengthening the evidence-base for efficient resource allocation and country systems for transparency and accountability through statistical development. Kenya’s CPF for FY2014 – 20185 recognized the need for regional integration and statistical capacity building for evidence-based policy making. Tanzania’s CPF for FY2018-20226 emphasized enhanced accountability and effectiveness of service delivery through a stronger national statistical system. 3 World Bank. 2017. Rwanda - Performance and learning review of the country partnership strategy for the period of FY14 - FY18. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. https://documentsinternal.worldbank.org/search/27295812. Report No. 106731-RW. 4 World Bank. 2016. Uganda - Country partnership framework for the period FY16-21. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. https://documentsinternal.worldbank.org/search/26159889 Report No. 101173-UG. Board discussion date: April 21, 2016. 5 World Bank. 2014. Kenya - Country partnership strategy for the period FY2014-2018. Washington DC ; World Bank Group. https://documentsinternal.worldbank.org/search/19516773. Report No. 87024-KE. Board discussion date: June 5, 2014. 6 World Bank Group. 2018. Country Partnership Framework for the United Republic of Tanzania for the Period FY18- FY22. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29600, Report No. 121790-TZ. Board discussion date: March 15, 2018. Page 6 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Theory of Change (Results Chain) 13. A Theory of Change was not explicitly stated in the PAD. The diagram below is reconstructed from the PAD using the PDO, Results Framework, and description of activities. Figure 1: Theory of change Project Development Objectives (PDO) 14. The Project Development Objective (PDO) was “to support the production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC, in support of the regional integration in the region, through capacity building of the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of the East African Community (EAC) Partner States and the EAC Secretariat.” Page 7 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Key Expected Outcomes and Outcome Indicators 15. The PDO-level indicator and the Intermediate-Level Results Indicators are as follows. PDO indicator: Increased percentage of implementation by the Partner States of the regional guidelines in compiling national accounts, CPI, external sector statistics, and poverty statistics production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC. Intermediate results indicators (by component): Component 1: Human Resources and Institutional Developments o Number of statistics experts at the EAC Secretariat hired by the project to work at the Statistics Department or the East African Statistics Bureau o Number of Partner States professional statisticians trained on regional guidelines o Number of females trained (out of the total experts trained) Component 2: Improved data quality, comparability, dissemination, and use o Number of guidelines prepared to improve the comparability of national accounts, CPI, poverty, and external sector statistics in the Partner States o Percentage of use by the Partner States of compatible software for CPI and external trade statistics compilation o Data center at the EAC Secretariat or the EASB established o Number of the Partner States conducting user satisfaction surveys on economic statistics Components 16. The project comprised three components at appraisal as follows. 17. Component 1: Human Resources and Institutional Developments (US$10.7 million at appraisal, US$3.8 million at completion). This component aimed (a) to strengthen the capacity of the EAC Statistics Department and its institutional development into the EAC Regional Bureau of Statistics to adequately fulfil its mandate; (b) to deepen statistical reforms in the Partner States; and (c) to help address the shortage, in the region, of specialized skills in priority statistics areas. 18. Component 2: Improved Data Quality, Comparability, Dissemination, and Use (US$7.3 million at appraisal, US$4.6 million at completion). This component aimed to support the process to improve tools and methodologies used by the Partner States and produce agreed harmonized approaches, in line with best practices and international standards to become the guidelines and regulations to be followed by the Partner States in compiling their official statistics. Four areas were selected for support: National Accounts, CPI, external sector, and poverty statistics. The areas were selected based on the needs to monitor the reach toward the Monetary Union and assess the development impact of integration. 19. Component 3: Project Management (US$2.0 million at appraisal, US$1.6 million at completion). This component supported the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in the Secretariat of the EAC. The PIU would be responsible for program management, including procurement, financial management (FM), and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), coordination between NSOs, organizing training events, monitoring progress, quality control, and preparing in-house analysis. Page 8 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) B. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES DURING IMPLEMENTATION 20. The project experienced two significant issues described under the “Other Changes” section below. Revised PDOs and Outcome Targets 21. The PDO remained the same during the project period. However, in addition to the four (4) priority statistical areas of National Accounts, External Sector Statistics, CPI, and Poverty Statistics that the PDO focused on, other statistical areas were funded and implemented under the project. Thus, they are evaluated alongside the four original ones. The other statistical domains are Government Finance Statistics, Agriculture, Food and Nutrition, Monetary and Financial Statistics, and Financial Soundness Indicators. The project also covered cross-cutting areas such as communications and advocacy of statistics as well as database management. Revised PDO Indicators 22. The PDO indicators were not revised. Revised Components 23. There was no revision in the project components. Other Changes 24. The project was scheduled to close on December 29, 2023. However, based on the Recipient’s request, the closing date was advanced by a year to December 29, 2022, and the undisbursed funds were cancelled after the new closing date. The selected activities of this project were continued under the Investment Project Financing (IPF) component to be implemented by the EAC Statistics Department under the broader East Africa Regional Statistics Program for Results (EARS PforR) (P176371) which was approved by the Board in May 2022 and became effective in August 2022. Rationale for Changes and Their Implication on the Original Theory of Change 25. The early closure of the project was agreed during the preparation of the EARS PforR, reflecting the desire to scale up statistical capacity building at the regional level in a coherent long-term program that combines regional harmonization with country-level implementation.7 The EARS PforR builds on the preparatory work undertaken under the project. It aims to strengthen the regional harmonization, dissemination and use of core economic and social statistics for Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The EARS PforR supports the EAC Secretariat to strengthen the capacity of the NSOs of the EAC Partner States to produce harmonized and quality statistics in support of the regional integration and development agenda. One of the key lessons from the implementation of the project that helped design the EARS PforR is the need for the regional harmonization effort to be undertaken hand in hand with actual implementation in the countries and be directly responsive to demand and needs of NSOs on the ground. During the preparation of the EARS PforR, EAC and the World Bank agreed to the need to scale up the ambition of the project, and they agreed that the best option would be to pursue this ambitious agenda under the EARS PfoR, to close the project after approval and effectiveness of the EARS PforR (that is, 12 months earlier), and to support the project activities that would not have been completed by the earlier closing date under the EARS PforR. The EARS PforR now 7Please see Annex 6 for a summary of the follow-up regional PforR. Page 9 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) provides a coherent platform to support EAC’s regional agenda, while creating synergies between regional harmonization with data production in the countries. 26. Several activities from this project continue under the EARS PforR. The implementation of the four regional guidelines has advanced, with an agreement among the Partners States on the harmonization of some dimensions (for example, CPI and External Sector Statistics). There is also progress in the development of four new guidelines. Partners States are provided with technical support to adopt the guidelines through country-specific missions, regional workshops, meeting of the thematic working groups, and participation in regional and global events. Data dissemination and use continues to be promoted through activities like creation of the EAC data dissemination dashboard and development of statistics curricula at the primary level. The PIU established under this project is also continuing to function under the EARS PforR. The correspondence between the components of the two projects are summarized in Annex 6. 27. The early closing of the project did not affect the original Theory of Change. However, given the shortened implementation time, the originally intended outputs and outcomes were achieved only partially. II. OUTCOME A. RELEVANCE OF PDOs Assessment of Relevance of PDOs and Rating 28. The PDO and project activities focused on improving the production and quality of regionally comparable statistics in the EAC. This was driven by a need to monitor regional economic integration, especially the Common Market Protocol and the Monetary Union, through credible statistics. As such, the PDO remained highly relevant during the project period and at the time of its closing since it was contributing to the regional integration of Partner States in the EAC. 29. The objectives were relevant at the time the project was closed as well. Continental and regional strategies such as SHaSA 2017-2026 (SHaSA2) and RSDP II emphasized the importance of harmonized statistics because absence of harmonized data limited the ability of governments and business to make strategic decisions. In addition, the World Bank’s Systematic Country Diagnostics and CPFs also identified weaknesses in statistics as a barrier to economic integration and effective monitoring of national and international development commitments. 30. Relatedly, the intermediate level objectives of human resources development and improved data quality, comparability, dissemination, and use were relevant during project implementation and continue to be relevant. The Bill for the establishment of the EASB was passed by the East African Legislative Assembly in 2018, paving the way for the transformation of the EAC Secretariat’s Statistics Department into EASB. But there remained the need to enhance the capacity of EASB by providing adequate human resources and upgrading of information technology (IT) and statistical infrastructure. Much work also remained to be done to develop and adopt common methods, concepts, definitions, and classifications for compiling, analyzing, and disseminating the statistics necessary for the economic integration of the EAC Union. 30. Indeed, the relevance of the PDO is demonstrated by its similarity to the PDO of the EAC-implemented component of the follow-up PforR: “to strengthen the capacity of the NSOs of the EAC Partner States to produce harmonized and quality statistics in support of the regional integration and development agenda.” 31. Thus, the relevance of the PDO is rated as High. Page 10 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) B. ACHIEVEMENT OF PDOs (EFFICACY) Assessment of Achievement of Each Objective/Outcome 32. There was one main intended outcome of the project: “Increased production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC.” The outcome would be achieved through technical assistance and capacity building of the NSOs in the EAC Partner States and a strengthening of the EAC Statistics Department, which will be assessed as a secondary outcome in this Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR). Outcome 1: Increased production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC. 33. Due to the progress in project activities, the project had made a considerable progress toward the achievement of the PDO-level indicator by its closing in December 2022. Progress was measured by tracking the number of Partner States adopting and using regional guidelines to produce harmonized statistics. With six partner countries and four thematic areas – national accounts, CPI, external sector statistics, and poverty statistics – the total implementation score was 24. Thus, each country’s adoption of one harmonized guideline advanced the score by 1/24 or about 4.17 percentage points. 34. Moreover, the criteria for compliance with the regional guidelines were tightened during implementation. It was agreed that Partner States would be considered compliant only if they were implementing at least 60 percent of the guideline. This higher threshold was instituted to ensure a minimum level of comparability across Partner States. 35. Table 1 shows the level of compliance of each country in the four areas as of September 2022. The regional guidelines for the compilation of CPI were being implemented by all Partner States, of which four were implementing the guidelines with a compliance score of 60 percent or above. The countries that had not reached the minimum compliance threshold of 60 percent were Burundi and South Sudan, two countries with the weakest statistical capacity. On External Sector Statistics, the draft Balance of Payment and International Investment Position guidelines were being implemented by all countries, but none was above the minimum threshold of 60 percent. The regional guidelines on poverty had been developed by the TWG, and the framework for monitoring compliance with the guidelines was also prepared. As of September 2022, five out of six Partner States were compliant with more than 60 percent of the EAC guidelines. Only one country – South Sudan - had not met the 60 percent threshold. 36. With the stringent criterion of at least 60 percent compliance, the project achieved a compliance score of 37.5 percent against the year 4 target of 50 percent. Table 1: Compliance to the EAC guidelines (September 2022) Compliance (# of External Sector guidelines Country HCPI Poverty National Accounts (NA) Statistics implemented above 60 percent threshold) Burundi 54 81.0 51 1 Kenya 71 78.5 56 Guidelines awaiting approval 2 Rwanda 73 73.5 57 by the Sectoral Committee. 2 South Sudan 46 57.5 30 0 Uganda 70 78.2 58 Assessment framework under 2 United Republic of development. 65 70.5 55 2 Tanzania (URT) Total 9 Implementation score (September 2022) (9/24)*100 = 37.5% Page 11 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) 37. In March 2023, three months after the closure of this project, a compliance assessment was conducted to establish the baseline for the follow-up PforR operations. This assessment included a provisional assessment of the National Accounts dimensions as well. It was preliminary because the National Accounts guidelines were yet to be completed, and the guidelines and the assessment framework were yet to be approved by the Sectoral Committee. 38. According to this evaluation, four countries – Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania – had a National Accounts compliance score of more than 60 percent. Thus, the implementation score was 13 (out of 24), or 54 percent (Table 2). We cannot be certain that this would be the outcome had the National Accounts dimension been evaluated in September 2022. Compliance could have improved between September 2022 and March 2023. Nevertheless, the March 2023 assessment provides evidence for progress toward the achievement of the PDO. Table 2: Compliance to the regional guidelines (March 2023) Compliance (# of External Sector National Accounts guidelines Country HCPI Poverty Statistics (NA) implemented above 60 percent threshold) Burundi 54 81.0 51 42 1 Kenya 71 78.5 56 68 3 Rwanda 73 73.5 57 62 3 South Sudan 46 57.5 30 25 0 Uganda 70 78.2 58 67 3 United Republic of 65 70.5 55 62 3 Tanzania (URT) Total 13 Implementation score (March 2023) (13/24)*100 = 54.2% 39. Looking beyond the target outputs and outcomes, the project also contributed to laying the foundation for the follow-up regional Statistics PforR. As mentioned earlier, Partner States often did not have the resources to implement surveys or conduct data analysis to produce statistics compliant with the regional guidelines. Considering this, the follow-up operation was designed to allow Partner States to borrow for data production, use, dissemination, and institutional strengthening. The success of this project in developing the guidelines and building country capacity to implement the guidelines at the national level served as a “proof of concept” and paved the way for the follow-up operation. Outcome 2: Capacity Building 40. The project supported capacity building for the NSOs and the EAC Secretariat. A baseline assessment was done to measure the compliance of each country to each statistical dimension. The trainings were designed on the basis of the assessment to strengthen the weak areas. Such targeted trainings and workshops created a pool of compilers in the Statistics Offices of each Partner States well-versed in the regional guidelines. Eventually, training on regional guidelines was delivered to a total of 348 staff of which 93 were female statisticians (Table 3). This exceeded the project target of training 48 and 96 statisticians (including 32 female statisticians) by the end of the fourth and fifth year respectively. The numbers “348” and “93” should be interpreted with caution because it does not reflect the unique number of staff who completed the training. The same individual may have attended more than one training, in which case they are counted more than once. The project also supported the upgrading of formal degrees of several statisticians from Partner Page 12 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) States. This built the human capital of the statistics office of the Partner States in the medium term to strengthen the national statistical system. 41. The project supported the development of the CPI software compatible with the regional EAC guidelines. Three Partner States were using it to complete their national CPI and the other countries were piloting its use. The project also furnished the statistics training centers in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda with office and IT equipment. These investments strengthened the ability of these centers to offer statistical capacity-building trainings to the NSOs. 42. Boosting human resources and institutional strengthening of the EAC was one of the components of the project. There was a lack of adequate human resources at the EAC Statistics Department. The project supported the hiring of experienced and specialized experts in priority areas to support harmonization as well as to provide technical support to staff of the NSOs of the Partner States. In addition to the four priority project areas, experts were also hired to service other areas including government finance, monetary and financial statistics, agriculture statistics, communication, and database management. Yet, given its modest size, this recruitment likely did not cause a severe strain on human resources in Partner States. Support for institutional strengthening provided by the project will help the EAC Statistics Department’s transition into EASB, an autonomous institution responsible for statistical production and development in the Community. The PIU also benefited from training and capacity building on the World Bank financial management and procurement procedures. 43. The project also intended to make infrastructure upgrades. This included not just office furniture and IT equipment but also the infrastructure needed for a modern data center. With support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), an Open Data Platform was developed and adopted for the sharing of statistics, and data from various statistical sectors were uploaded. While this fulfilled the role of a data center, a physical data center at the EAC could not be established due to implementation delays and early closure of the project. The establishment of data center is a part of the follow-up PforR operation. 44. Three out of six Partner States used to conduct user satisfaction surveys regularly before the project. The EAC, in collaboration with the experts from NSOs, developed a model User Satisfaction Survey questionnaire which was pre-tested in two Partner States. The final document was cleared by the Sectoral Council for Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) for use in Partner States. Nevertheless, the harmonized user satisfaction questionnaire was not used by Partner States by the project’s closing. User Satisfaction Surveys would help NSOs produce and disseminate statistical products and services to potential users. 45. The project procured IT equipment and furniture for three regional statistical training centers in the region: East African Statistics Training Center (EASTC) in Dar-es-Salaam, School of Statistics and Planning (SSP) at Makerere University in Uganda, and African Centre of Excellence in Data Science hosted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (under the University of Rwanda). These are well-recognized institutions that teach and train statisticians in the region. 46. Not least, the project activities bolstered the institutional capacity of the NSOs of the Partner States by enhancing their capacity to produce harmonized and quality statistics. 47. Nevertheless, some intermediate targets had not been achieved when the project closed a year ahead of its original date. The TWG on National Accounts developed and validated the draft guidelines and assessment framework to monitor country compliance. The guideline was undergoing external peer review before it could be finalized and submitted to the Sectoral Statistics Committee for adoption. As such, the guideline and complication criteria were not available to Partner States. The project envisioned the establishment of a fully equipped data center at the EAC Statistics Department. This goal was not met because Page 13 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) of the delay in the establishment of the EASB and insufficient project period. In lieu of the data center, an open data portal was established with technical assistance from AfDB which allows the dissemination of country-level indicators.8 Finally, not all countries had conducted surveys to evaluate user satisfaction of economic statistics. The delay was a result of overall project delay since the Partner States were preoccupied with developing and adapting to the regional guidelines. Table 3: Achievement of the PDO indicator and intermediate results indicators Indicator Baseline Result Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 (December 2022) PDO Indicator Increased percentage of implementation by the Partner States of the regional guidelines in compiling 0 0 0 25 50 66 37.5* national accounts, CPI, external sector statistics, and poverty statistics (%) Intermediate Results Indicator Number of statistics experts at the EAC Secretariat hired by the project to work at the Statistics 0 7 9 9 9 9 9 Department or the East African Statistics Bureau (Number) Number of Partner States professional statisticians 0 0 0 48 48 96 348** trained on regional guidelines (Number) Number of female statisticians trained in regional 0 0 0 16 32 32 93** guidelines (Number) Number of guidelines prepared to improve the comparability of national accounts, CPI, poverty, and 0 0 2 4 4 4 4+ external sector statistics in the Partner States (Number) Percentage of use by the Partner States of compatible software for CPI and external trade 0 0 20 40 60 75 50 statistics compilation (%) Data center at the EAC Secretariat or the EASB N N N Y Y Y Y++ established (Yes/No) Number of Partner States conducting user 3 3 5 6 6 6 3 satisfaction surveys on economic statistics (Number) Note: *: The score was 54.2 percent in March 2023. **: Not necessarily unique number of staff. Please see the main body of the document for further details. +: The draft guidelines for National Accounts was developed by the Thematic Working Group but it had not been approved by the Sectoral Committee at the time of project closing. ++: A fully equipped modern data center could not be established. Instead, a data portal to disseminate country economic indicators was developed with the technical assistance of AfDB (https://eac.opendataforafrica.org/ ). Justification of Overall Efficacy Rating 48. Since the project was closed a year early, the efficacy assessment is made against the year 4 target specified in the results framework (Table 3). The actual achievement fell short of the year 4 target due to the factors described above. However, an assessment done immediately after the early closing of the project suggests there was more progress in the achievement of the PDO. Given the trend, it is also plausible that the 8 https://eac.opendataforafrica.org/ Page 14 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) compliance score would reach 67 percent in another year of project implementation, that is, countries meeting the 60 percent compliance threshold would increase by 3, reaching a total of 16 (16/24*100 = 67 percent). Significant progress was also made in developing the regional harmonization guidelines, supporting the countries comply with the guidelines, and impact other forms of capacity building activities. On this basis, the outcome efficacy is rated Substantial. C. EFFICIENCY Assessment of Efficiency and Rating 49. The statistical capacity building project is not amenable to a traditional cost-effectiveness analysis. The Net Present Value or Economic Rate of Return was not calculated at the time of project appraisal. We instead make a qualitative judgment of how efficiently the project resources were translated into results. 50. The project hired 14 staff in the EAC Statistics Department.9 The experts were sourced competitively from the international labor market, so the project team was staffed with well-qualified professionals receiving a competitive market remuneration rate. There was a low personnel turnover rate, and most of the experts were retained under the new project with the transfer of the contracts to the new regional EARS PforR (P176371). The advice and training provided by skilled experts of the region to their peers at the NSOs also improved the efficiency of the NSOs in producing quality and timely statistics. 51. The project also made progress in developing the guidelines in areas other than the four specified in the results framework. Experts on government finance statistics, monetary and finance statistics, and agriculture statistics were hired, who provided training in their respective areas and developed draft guidelines. Although these areas were outside the scope of the project results frameworks, they bolstered the national capacity for producing regionally harmonized statistics in those dimensions. The development of the guidelines and capacity-building activities have continued in the follow-up PforR. 52. The operation made progress in producing harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC at a reasonable cost. By project closure one year in advance of the original closing date, 57 percent of the PDO target was achieved (a score of 37.5 out of the end target of 66) at the cost of US$10.19 million, or approximately 51 percent of the total budget. The disbursement rate would have been higher had the goods for the EASB and the modern data center been procured. Having the Bureau would also have improved project efficacy and efficiency by enabling the Bureau to issue mandatory guidelines. However, the delay in the establishment of the EASB did not affect project implementation in the short term. The PIU at the EAC Secretariat continued to develop regional guidelines and enhance Partner States’ capacity to implement the guidelines, leading to partial achievement of the operation’s objectives. Virtual meetings and workshops during COVID-19 also contributed to the efficiency gains. 53. There were other inefficiencies owing to the internal EAC processes. The first disbursement was delayed due to delays in setting up the project in the Client Connection platform and an outstanding balance of a previous World Bank project. It took more than a year to complete the recruitment of the PIU and technical staff which delayed project implementation even before the outbreak of COVID-19. 54. Considering these strengths and shortcomings of the project in turning inputs into results, the efficiency is rated Modest. 9 The team comprised one project coordinator, four PIU team members, and nine technical experts, one each for the following statistical areas: National Accounts; Consumer Price Index; External Sector Statistics; Government Finance Statistics; Monetary and Finance Statistics; Poverty Statistics; Agriculture, Food and Nutrition; Communication and Advocacy; and Database Management. Page 15 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) D. JUSTIFICATION OF OVERALL OUTCOME RATING 55. Given that the PDO relevance was High, project efficacy was Substantial, and project efficiency was Modest, the overall outcome of the project is rated Moderately Satisfactory. E. OTHER OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS Gender 56. Closing gender gaps or addressing gender inequalities was not part of the PDO-level objectives of the project. Direct positive or unintended negative gender impacts were neither expected nor they materialized due to the project activities. 57. The project contributed to closing gender gaps in statistical capacity. To enhance the capacity of female statisticians in the NSOs, the project targeted a quarter of all the statisticians trained in regional guidelines to be females (32 out of 96). In the final count, 93 female staff participated in the training out of a total of 348, so the target was exceeded in absolute terms and as a share of the total number trained (26.7 percent). 58. In a broader sense, the harmonized statistical guidelines developed under the project and adopted by Partner States will help formulate gender-sensitive policies through regionally comparable data of international standards. Institutional Strengthening 59. Beyond the capacity building and institutional support within the operation’s remit, the operation also had a positive impact on the longer-term capacity and institutions of the EAC Secretariat and the Partner States. The operation’s support to the EAC’s RSDP II broadened and deepened the production of high-quality and harmonized community statistics, promoted easy access to and use of statistics in the Community, and built statistical capacity in the priority areas. A regional approach to produce and disseminate better data contributed toward deeper integration of the Partner States through increased availability of comparable key economic statistics. Harmonized data is also expected to have benefitted the private sector through a better understanding of regional markets and their opportunities. Mobilizing Private Sector Financing 60. The project did not have guarantees and mobilizing private sector financing was not among its objectives. The project contributed to the public good of strengthened data production in areas crucial for private sector decision-making: GDP, inflation, balance of payments, international investment, and poverty. Regional harmonization of statistics also contributes to the deepening of integration of Partner States into the Common Market and Monetary Union which will facilitate the movement of labor, goods and services, and capital, stimulating private sector investments. Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity 61. The project was not designed to directly reduce poverty or boost shared prosperity. However, availability of relevant, timely, and quality data is a prerequisite to sound policymaking. Production of regional guidelines and strengthening the capacity of the NSOs to produce regionally comparable statistics improves the evidence base for economic policies targeted toward poverty reduction and equitable growth. Moreover, Page 16 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) regional harmonization of statistics serves a larger purpose of regional integration, which has the potential to boost income through trade and economic growth. Other Unintended Outcomes and Impacts 62. There were no known unintended outcomes or impacts. III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME A. KEY FACTORS DURING PREPARATION 63. Alignment with the EAC objectives and national priorities: The project was designed to meet the needs of the EAC and Partner States at the time of appraisal. Harmonized data in key statistical dimensions were necessary for regional integration. Accurate, timely, reliable, and comparable statistics were also needed to monitor progress toward the EAC’s 5th Development Strategy 2016/17 – 2020/21 and its Vision 2050. This alignment ensured that there was an ownership of the project by the implementing agency. Consultations with the EAC and NSOs of Partner States also helped identify the priorities. The latter were fully involved in the adoption of common methods or tools, and NSO professionals were trained on any agreed method or tool before its implementation. 64. Realistic objectives and well-designed Results Framework: The PDO indicator was neither too ambitious to make it unachievable nor too lax to make it irrelevant. The associated intermediate results indicators were also well-selected to support the achievement of the PDO. Nevertheless, there PDO statement could have been concise, with a focus only on the key objective without referring to the means to achieving the objective. 65. Identification of risks and mitigation measures: The risks identified during appraisal were appropriate. Indeed, some of they were borne out during project implementation. The project required close coordination across six Partner States at different levels of statistical capacity. This would have been challenging under normal circumstances. It became that much more difficult after the outbreak of COVID-19 when travel was restricted. 66. Plan for implementation support: Suitable provision was made for implementation support by the World Bank. At least two implementation support missions would be conducted per year, complemented by remote support at other times. The missions would focus on technical discussions, procurement, and financial management, as well as overall project management. An Implementation Support Plan that specified the periodicity of different actions was also developed. B. KEY FACTORS DURING IMPLEMENTATION Factors subject to the recipient’s control: 67. Close coordination with NSOs: The close collaboration between the EAC and the NSOs through technical working groups whose membership was drawn from the NSOs and other National Statistics System (NSS) stakeholders was instrumental in developing the guidelines. 68. Establishment of the EASB: The EAC Secretariat through the Statistics Department was expected to be a temporary implementing agency before the EASB became fully operational to take over the project. Page 17 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) However, by the close of the project, the Bureau had not been established. While this did not stop the development of regional guidelines and trainings, the EASB’s establishment would have made the implementation of guidelines by the Partner States obligatory because of its auditing and enforcement authority. It slowed progress since without the authority to issue obligatory directives, it had to wait for the Sectoral Statistics Committee’s assent to the guidelines and assessment framework. At the time of project preparation, the establishment of the EASB was thought to be imminent given the macroeconomic convergence that the Partner States would have to demonstrate by 2021 to join the Monetary Union. 69. Cumbersome procurement procedures: The delay in project implementation in the first two years was largely due to the delay in hiring the PIU staff and technical experts. The initiation of procurement activities was delayed due to delayed preparation of Terms of References, technical specification, and bidding documents, and so on. The EAC procedure required the evaluation committee to evaluate the CV of the applicants, followed by a review and decision by the Procurement Committee. The Procurement Committee meeting did not take place regularly, and it took time for the meeting minutes to be released. The annual procurement plan had to be approved by the Statistician General. This task team raised this issue with the PIU multiple times, even downgrading the Procurement rating in Implementation Status and Results Reports (ISR) (for example, from Satisfactory to Moderately Satisfactory in March 2021). But because the EAC procurement procedures were mandatory, there was no tangible improvement. Factors subject to World Bank control: 70. Strengthened human resources: Following a review of the EAC’s fiduciary system during preparation, the project made provision for specialists in the PIU to strengthen the fiduciary function. The staffing of the EAC Statistics Department by well-qualified, full-time personnel put it in a strong position to implement the project activities. The regional guidelines were prepared under the technical supervision by some of the leading statistical experts in the region. Financial Management and Procurement staff ensured the project complied with the World Bank’s fiduciary requirements. These gains have benefitted the follow-up project under the regional PforR as most of the personnel have been retained by the Department. Factors outside the recipient’s control: 71. Staff turnover: Staff turnover at the NSOs continues to be a challenge. Continuous skills development and on-the-job training opportunities to keep abreast with the latest international and regional statistical standards offered by the project helped improve staff retention. 72. Disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, just when the project management and technical staff had reported for duty in Arusha, further delayed project implementation. While some activities were conducted virtually for most of 2020 and 2021, they were not always effective given poor internet connectivity and the divided attention of attendees. 73. Large capacity differences across Partner States: The heterogeneity of statistical capacity across Partner States added some challenges. Additional technical support was provided to countries with weaker capacity like Burundi and South Sudan to help them comply with the guidelines. Page 18 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME A. QUALITY OF MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E) M&E Design 74. The project had a clear line of sight from activities and outputs to outcomes. The intermediate results indicators derived from the results chain were well-designed to support the achievement of the PDO-level indicator. The outcome and intermediate targets were neither overly ambitious nor easily achievable. Having clear baseline data and realistic intermediate and final targets facilitated project monitoring. M&E Implementation 75. The project was not expected to hire an M&E specialist for the M&E-related tasks. Instead, the technical experts were responsible for collecting the M&E data. The data were collected on time and reported to the World Bank periodically. The values of the PDO and intermediate results indicators were updated regularly in the ISRs. However, there were some inconsistencies in the data. For example, the number of statisticians trained on regional guidelines was reported to be 20 from December 2019 to March 2021, but only 13 in October 2021, while the final count, in September 2022, was 348. This suggests the information was not collected or reported accurately until the final ISR. Further, these figures are seriously flawed as they do not represent the number of unique trainees. The assessment framework for compliance with statistical guidelines was also not shared with the World Bank for some time, which affected the Bank’s quality of monitoring. M&E Utilization 76. The M&E data were reported to the World Bank during implementation support missions, which provided an evolving picture of the progress on PDO-level and intermediate results indicators. The compiled M&E data was used to improve the measurement of some indicators and to inform subsequent workplans with a focus on areas that were lagging. A mid-term review would have provided another opportunity to use the M&E data to improve project implementation, but a mid-term review (MTR) was not done as described in the "Bank Performance" section below. Justification of Overall Rating of Quality of M&E 77. The quality of M&E is rated Modest. Although the M&E design was strong, there were weaknesses in its implementation and utilization. The reported data was often inaccurate which gave a distorted picture of progress. Even the data that was available was not used to the fullest to inform decisions related to the project. B. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND FIDUCIARY COMPLIANCE 78. Environmental: The project fell in Environmental Assessment Category C, which meant a detailed assessment was not required. The project did not trigger any social or environmental safeguards policies. 79. Social (including social safeguards): The project activities had no direct social impacts because there were no civil works of any nature, loss of livelihoods, and/or direct link with the peoples of the relevant East African countries. Consequently, the project did not trigger any social safeguards policies and instruments. Page 19 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) 80. Procurement: Procurement performance was rated Satisfactory during project implementation, except for one ISR with a Moderately Satisfactory rating. The project faced delays in recruiting management and technical staff. The staff were eventually hired, but other than basic office equipment for the EAC, procurement of goods could not be completed on time. No major compliance issues on procurement arose during implementation. 81. Financial Management: Adequate internal controls were also in place, and quarterly unaudited interim financial reports (IFRs) were submitted to the Bank on time, although there were some delays in the submission of annual audit report (for example, for FY20). The IFRs and audit reports observed no issues during project implementation. The FM performance was rated Satisfactory throughout the project period. This was thanks to the EAC’s extensive experience in implementing World Bank-financed projects and its well- developed FM policies and procedures. C. BANK PERFORMANCE Quality at Entry 82. Extensive discussions were held during project appraisal with the EAC as well as Partner States. The project design was informed by lessons learned from similar previous projects, and it was designed to address the objectives of the clients, specifically improve data quality and comparability within the EAC. The project was also aligned to the existing international and regional interventions such as the Regional Reference Strategic Framework (RRSF) for Statistical Capacity Building in Africa, SHaSA, EAC Vision 2050 and its subsequent Regional Development Strategy. The cost of achieving the PDO estimated during project preparation was reasonable, although there were efficiency gains due to the continuation of the EAC Statistics Office and limited travel and in-person meetings during COVID-19. 83. FM and procurement assessments were carried out, and action plans to mitigate the risks, and implementation support plans were developed based on the assessments. However, despite identifying delay in the EAC budget approval as a potential risk, no mitigating measures were proposed because it was assumed that the annual work plans and budget would be approved on time. This risk materialized during implementation with a delay in the approval of the EAC budget for FY 2020/21, which affected the operations. Quality of Supervision 84. With periodic implementation support missions and virtual meetings, World Bank provided adequate support to the PIU. Seven implementation support missions were conducted between June 2019 and September 2022. World Bank has a well-resourced team with a task team leader (TTL) and co-TTLs, as well as fiduciary staff. They provided close supervision and implementation support in the form of: o Timely approval of project activities and procurement documents. o Review of quarterly progress reports to identify key issues for improvement. o Implementation missions to review progress, and ensure timely resolution of challenges encountered. o Identification of peer reviewers from within the Bank and related institutions for key project documents such as guidelines. o Smooth transition from one TTL to another. From preparation to closing, the project had only two TTLs, which helped minimize the gap in institutional memory. o Switch to virtual meetings when travel became restricted after the COVID-19 pandemic. Page 20 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) 85. The World Bank team also proactively provided advice and organized trainings to strengthen implementation capacity, particularly on procurement and financial management. 86. Nevertheless, there was some room to strengthen the World Bank's supervision. A mid-term review of the project was planned but it did not happen due to the interruption by COVID-19, preparation of the follow-up regional PforR, and early closure of the project. A mid-term review would have allowed a candid assessment of the challenges and, if deemed necessary, project restructuring. A restructuring to update the Results Framework (revising the end targets for indicators) could have taken place when the decision was taken to shorten the implementation period of the project. The progress toward achievement of PDO was rated Satisfactory in all the ISRs but the last one even when implementation progress was delayed. The Bank team could have communicated the delay in progress toward the PDO sooner to expedite project implementation. Justification of Overall Rating of Bank Performance 87. Considering the quality at entry and quality of supervision, overall Bank performance is rated Moderately Satisfactory. D. RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME 88. The risks identified during appraisal remain relevant which may put the project achievements in jeopardy. The PIU staff and technical experts for the EAC Statistics Department were hired through the project. It was expected that the project-supported staff would be absorbed by the EASB once the Bureau was established. But despite the EALA passing the Bill for the establishment for the EASB, it is awaiting assent by the EAC Heads of States. The EAC Statistics Department is currently receiving support from the follow-up EARS PforR (P176371). Without the establishment of the Bureau, adequate and regular financing may not be available for statistical development activities in the EAC beyond the WB support. While this does not preclude regional harmonization and coordination, the legal status of a Bureau does help put the office, and the gains it has made, on a stronger footing. 89. To produce data in compliance with regional guidelines through regular surveys or alternative means, Partner States need human and financial resources. Lack of adequate resources will threaten the reversal of achieved outcomes. 90. The heterogeneity in statistical capacity and human resources of Partner States also poses some risk. While some countries have stronger statistical systems, with the capacity to produce statistics according to regional standards, the capacity in other countries is weaker. Without sustained support beyond the project period, there is a risk of a larger gap opening between the countries. V. LESSONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 91. Given its regional orientation, there are some important lessons to be gleaned from this project. The lessons have informed the design of the follow-up regional PforR as well. 92. For operations with regional statistical offices, it is important that the offices have sufficient legal authority to issue binding directives. Due to its legal status, the statistical guidelines and assessment frameworks developed by the EAC Statistics Department were not binding on the Partner States. They had to Page 21 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) be approved by the Sectoral Committee for Statistics and the countries had to voluntarily commit to harmonizing national statistics to the approved guidelines. Building consensus around harmonization and assessment criteria can take time given the uneven statistical capacity of Partner States, institutional inertia, and natural resistance to change, which may delay progress toward the achievement of the development objective. This issue is relevant in the follow-up PforR as well where the EAC is playing a coordinating role. 93. Results-based financing can help ensure the sustainability of the Bank’s investments. Conditioning a portion of the financing on the achievement of a result, for example, in this case, the establishment of the Bureau, would ensure a continuity of the project’s achievements. The EAC Statistics Department is staffed with competent statistical experts from the region thanks to the project support. The Department has produced regional guidelines in multiple areas, and it has provided technical support to the Partner States to adopt and implement them. However, there is a risk that this built capacity is not sustained after the end of World Bank support due to funding uncertainties. The establishment of the Bureau would put the office on a stronger financial footing and help cement the gains made so far. 94. Project support needs to cover participating countries as well as the regional entity . While the project supported the EAC, it did not directly provide resources to Partner States. This meant countries did not always have the resources to carry out the trainings, surveys, or other activities necessary to comply with the regional guidelines. Therefore, it is important to have complementary funding, either grant or loan, at the country level. This issue was identified as a potential risk during appraisal as well, and it was assumed that the necessary funding would come from the national governments or other partners. This lesson has informed the design of the follow-up EARS PforR in the region, the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West and Central Africa - Series of Project 1 (P178497, approved on May 11, 2023) and Series of Project 2 (P180085, approved on September 28, 2023) in West Africa, and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Regional Statistics Project (P175731, approved on June 8, 2023) in Southern Africa. In all settings, funding is allocated to regional statistical bodies and NSOs so that both advisory work and implementation can progress in parallel. 95. Appropriate legal covenants could be used to reduce the inefficiency in recipients’ internal processes. Cumbersome procurement process in the EAC was among the reasons the project was delayed in the first year, even before the outbreak of COVID-19. After no objection from World Bank, procurement activities above a threshold of US$50,000 needed approval from the Procurement Committee or the Secretary General. But the Procurement Committee met infrequently, which led to significant delays. Appropriate conditions for project effectiveness, such as EAC’s adoption of a mandate that the Procurement Committee meet at least once a month, could have helped speed up the internal procurement process by increasing the frequency of the Procurement Committee meetings. . Page 22 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS A. RESULTS INDICATORS A.1 PDO Indicators Objective/Outcome: Increased production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Increased percentage of Percentage 0.00 66.00 37.50 implementation by the Partner States of the regional 31-Jul-2018 06-Jul-2018 30-Sep-2022 guidelines in compiling national accounts, CPI, external sector statistics, and poverty statistics Comments (achievements against targets): Partially achieved. The compliance score at project closing was 37.50% against the target of 66%. The PDO was not achieved due to the delays in project implementation and early closing of the project. A.2 Intermediate Results Indicators Component: Human Resources and Institutional Developments Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Page 23 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Target Completion Number of statistics experts Number 0.00 9.00 9.00 at the EAC Secretariat hired by the project to work at the 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2022 Statistics Department or the East African Statistics Bureau Comments (achievements against targets): Fully achieved. Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Number of Partner States Number 0.00 96.00 348.00 professional statisticians trained on regional 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2022 guidelines Number of women trained Number 0.00 32.00 93.00 in regional guidelines 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2022 Comments (achievements against targets): Fully Achieved. Component: Improved data quality, comparability, dissemination and use Page 24 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Number of guidelines Number 0.00 4.00 4.00 prepared to improve the comparability of national 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2022 accounts, CPI, poverty, and external sector statistics in the Partner States Comments (achievements against targets): Fully Achieved. Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Percentage of use by the Percentage 0.00 75.00 50.00 Partner States of compatible software for CPI and external 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2022 trade statistics compilation Comments (achievements against targets): Partially achieved. The outcome was not fully achieved because of the delays in project implementation and early closing of the project. Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Page 25 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Data center at the EAC Yes/No No No Yes Secretariat or the EASB established 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2022 Comments (achievements against targets): Partially achieved. An open data portal was established in the EAC Secretariat with the technical assistance of the AfDB. The full-fledged data center could not be established because of insufficient project period and delay in the establishment of EASB. Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Unit of Measure Baseline Original Target Target Completion Number of the Partner States Number 3.00 6.00 3.00 conducting user satisfaction surveys on economic 31-Jul-2018 06-Jun-2018 30-Jun-2022 statistics Comments (achievements against targets): Not achieved. The outcome could not be achieved because of lack of funding for user satisfaction survey in Partner countries. Page 26 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) B. KEY OUTPUTS BY COMPONENT Objective/Outcome 1: Production of harmonized and quality statistics in the EAC 1. Increased percentage of implementation by the Partner States of the regional guidelines in compiling national Outcome Indicators accounts, CPI, external sector statistics, and poverty statistics 1. Number of guidelines prepared to improve the comparability of national accounts, CPI, poverty, and external Intermediate Results sector statistics in the Partner States Indicators 2. Number of the Partner States conducting user satisfaction surveys on economic statistics 1. Regional guidelines on four priority statistical areas developed 2. A data portal for merchandise trade statistics developed in collaboration with the African Development Bank Key Outputs by Component (AfDB) (linked to the achievement of 3. Partner States supported to use Eurotrace DBMS for processing and sharing of national trade data the Objective/Outcome 1) 4. A harmonized user satisfaction survey questionnaire developed and adopted by SCFEA for use in Partner Countries. Objective/Outcome 2: Capacity Building 1. Number of statistics experts at the EAC Secretariat hired by the project to work at the Statistics Department or the East African Statistics Bureau Intermediate Results 2. Number of Partner States professional statisticians trained on regional guidelines Indicators 3. Number of women trained in regional guidelines 4. Percentage of use by the Partner States of compatible software for CPI and external trade statistics compilation 5. Data center at the EAC Secretariat or the EASB established 1. Nine statistics experts recruited at the EAC Key Outputs by Component 2. Training on regional guidelines provided to the NSO staff, including women (linked to the achievement of 3. CPI software under development the Objective/Outcome 2) Page 27 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 2. BANK LENDING AND IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT/SUPERVISION A. TASK TEAM MEMBERS Name Role Preparation Abdoullahi Beidou Task Team Leader Winter M. Chinamale Procurement Specialist Michael Eriu Okuny Financial Management Specialist Knut Opsal Social Specialist Nathalie S. Munzberg Safeguards Advisor/ESSA Eric Roland Metreau Team Member Emelyne Calimoutou Counsel Elizabeth Ann Talbert Team Member Tsehaynesh H Michael Seltan Team Member R. Wendy Karamba Team Member Reginald Lekule Team Member Jessica Diane Adler Team Member Habtamu Neda Fuje Team Member Mary C.K. Bitekerezo Social Specialist Ben Kiregyera Team Member Christiaan Johannes Nieuwoudt Team Member Christine Mocheche Makori Team Member Jane A. N. Kibbassa Environmental Specialist Senait Kassa Yifru Team Member Abdelaziz Lagnaoui Safeguards Advisor/ESSA Nobuo Yoshida Team Member Supervision/ICR Robertus A Swinkels Task Team Leader Raymond Joseph Mbishi, Gisbert Joseph Kinyero Procurement Specialists Vida Ndilanha Nkya, Paul Welton Financial Management Specialists Eric Roland Metreau Team Member Emelyne Calimoutou Counsel Nduati Maina Kariuki Team Member Tsehaynesh H Michael Seltan Team Member Wangwe Magige Mwita Procurement Team Precious Zikhali Team Member Aziz Atamanov Team Member Reginald Lekule Team Member Alexandra Jarotschkin Team Member Page 28 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Obert Pimhidzai Team Member Grace Anselmo Mayala Procurement Team Michael Eriu Okuny Team Member Tom Bundervoet Team Member Christiaan Johannes Nieuwoudt Team Member Jane A. N. Kibbassa Environmental Specialist Juan Carlos Parra Osorio Team Member Nobuo Yoshida Team Member Priscilla Simbisayi Zengeni Team Member Anahit Poghosyan Team Member Mary C.K. Bitekerezo Social Specialist Nathalie S. Munzberg Safeguards Advisor/ESSA William G. Battaile Team Member B. STAFF TIME AND COST Staff Time and Cost Stage of Project Cycle No. of staff weeks US$ (including travel and consultant costs) Preparation FY18 19.992 209,363.05 FY19 .225 1,412.64 FY20 0 - 631.40 Total 20.22 210,144.29 Supervision/ICR FY19 25.050 182,966.78 FY20 33.538 204,359.34 FY21 20.423 121,831.52 FY22 26.737 195,773.34 FY23 27.933 255,122.47 FY24 .125 639.90 Total 133.81 960,693.35 Page 29 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 3. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT Amount at Approval Actual at Project Percentage of Components (US$M) Closing (US$M) Approval (%) Component 1: Human Resources and 10.70 3.8 35% Institutional Developments Component 2: Improved data quality, 7.30 4.6 64% comparability, dissemination and use Component 3: Project Management 2.00 1.6 80% Total 20.00 10.04 50% Page 30 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 4. RECIPIENT AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS 1. The EAC Secretariat received a project fund from the World Bank to implement the Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (StatDHRP) amounting US$20 Million. The project intended to improve the production of harmonized statistics in EAC. The initial Project life was for a period of 5 years from 2018 to 2023. The commencement of the project was however delayed for at least one year due to slow process of recruitment of project staff. At the time the project team had just settled to commence implementation of the project, the global pandemic - COVID-19, arise in thus exacerbating the implementation process. Despite the above challenges, the project implementation has been a great success and led to it being restructured in 2022 into the EAC- East Africa Regional Project for Results (EARSPforR), with a wider scope. 2. Key project achievements for the period 2018-2022. 1) The project development objectives remained highly relevant during the project period and at the time of its closure. In fact, the activities of improving the production and quality of regionally comparable statistics in the EAC is in line with the Regional Reference Strategic Framework (RRSF) and the Strategy for harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA). The project has also assisted the EAC Secretariat to achieve its statistical objective as documented in EAC’s Second Regional Strategy for Development of Statistics (RSDP II) and thus assisting EAC Partner States (PS) to achieve their commitments made for development of National statistics. Part of the main deliverables under the project were the development of statistics guidelines to guide production of quality and harmonized statistics in the EAC region. For all the project statistics domains, guidelines for production of statistics have been developed in collaboration with the statistics experts from PS and their implementation has started in the various statistical domains. In order to assess the status of compliance to various recommendations of the guidelines, for each domain, a compliance framework was also developed in collaboration with the National Sectors experts. The collaborative approaches above ensured ownership of the guidelines and the compliance framework by the PS. This is an assurance of full understanding of the guidelines by the compilers for production and dissemination of quality statistics by the PS. In addition to the guidelines, a user satisfaction survey was also developed to gauge the extent of satisfaction of the data produced by NSOs so as to guide future improvements in the data production chain. 2) Following the completion of most of the guidelines, the project enabled the experts to conduct several capacity buildings through trainings and technical assistance at the national and regional level. The overall objective was to train a large pool of compilers in each PS to sustain and safeguard the production of quality statistics. The capacity building and TA missions targeted specific areas that were observed to be weak based on the baseline assessment on compliance to the guidelines. It is expected that these interventions will yield positive results in future with overall improvement of statistics compiled in the region. 3) Another important area where the project funds were utilized was on the support to the training centers in the region. Office and IT equipment were supplied to statistics training centers in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Some delays in supplying the goods were experienced. Page 31 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) 4) The project has also supported the development of the EAC regional compatible CPI software. The software development was successfully completed and currently undergoing piloting by PS. once the pilot is completed, PS will finally adopt it for use. 5) The guidance and close working relationship between the World Bank project support team and the PIU was cordial during the project implementation. Despite the changes of the project TTL mid the project period, the project has always received outstanding support from the World Bank pool of experts which ensured the smoothly continuity of the activities. The quick turnaround in approval of many concept notes submitted for approval made the project implementation progress without any unnecessary delay. 6) Gender: One of the project targets was to ensure that 1/3 of the statistical capacity trainings conducted by the project target female statisticians. The project was able to achieve this target. Lessons Learnt 3. The implementation of the STATDHRP project led to the following lessons 1) Technical At Partner States level, there is need for additional staff to compile and coordinate statistics compilation. During the country visits, it was noted some Partner States have only one staff covering one statistics domain in addition to other assignment. Indeed, some areas are completely unstaffed. This situation, if left undressed, will impact on the implementation of the statistics guidelines and overall production of quality statistics. 2) Financial Under the project, experienced financial management and procurement team were hired. Throughout the project period, the team has successfully managed the financial resources as indicated by unqualified audit reports on StatDHRP. This was a result of the close collaboration between the technical team implementing the technical activities and finance team facilitating the payments in respect of the regulations. In addition, support from the World Bank on procurement has been obtained to ensure that the procurement process followed the required protocols. 3) Institutional collaboration In addition to collaboration with NSOs collaboration with African Development Bank helped the development of Open Data Platform in use at EAC for dissemination of data. Some partner States requested also to pilot it. Page 32 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 5. DESCRIPTION OF THE FOLLOW-ON PROGRAM As mentioned above, selected activities of this project were continued under the IPF component implemented by the EAC Statistics Department under the broader East Africa Regional Statistics Program for Results (EARS PforR) (P176371) which became effective in August 2022. Table 5A describes activities under the closed project and the activities under the ongoing PforR program. Table 5A: Correspondence between the components of the two projects Closed Project (P164243) EAC IPF component in the follow-up PforR (P176371) Component 1: Human Resources and Institutional Developments 1.1: Capacity Building of the EAC Statistics Subcomponent 3: Upgraded IT and statistical Department and its Institutional Development infrastructure (Partially completed) • EAC Regional Bureau of Statistics equipped with • Hire experienced and specialized experts in priority infrastructure areas. • Developed regional software solution for • Equip the Statistics Department/Regional Bureau with Consumer Price Index collection and analysis office furniture and IT equipment as well as a modern • Developed regional software solution for data center National Accounts System Subcomponent • Provide technical assistance to the Partner States to update their National Statistics Acts. • Produce a Common Statistical Production Architecture (CSPA). 1.2: Human Resources Development in Partner States Human capacity development (Partially completed) • EAC Regional Bureau of Statistics staffed with • Specialized trainings on regional statistics experts guidelines or agreed statistical methodology to • Regional experts have built statistical produce highly trained professionals capable of capacity in NSOs through on-the-job training designing effective statistical systems for the and technical assistance countries and the region • Regionally organized training for NSO staff • Harnessing innovative technologies and students in statistics • Use of regional experts in statistics from advanced Partner States to deliver on-the-job training and technical assistance in other low- capacity Partner States • In-country training in Burundi and South Sudan Component 2: Improved Data Quality, Comparability, Dissemination, and Use 2.1: Improved Data Quality and Comparability Subcomponent 1: Improved harmonization & (Partially completed) quality • Production of guidelines and regulation • Implementation of regional statistics • Adoption of compatible software to compile guidelines in countries relevant statistics • Concept and capacity building for integration of modern technologies and big data Page 33 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) • Adapt international classifications to the • Inclusion of population, demographic, circumstances of the region and production of education, health and gender statistics in common classifications Improved Data Quality and Comparability framework • Implementation of EAC RSDP coordinated with annual M&E reports 2.2: Improved Data Dissemination and Use (Partially Subcomponent 2: Improve dissemination and use completed) • Concept for data dissemination and • Statistical advocacy statistical advocacy • Improve data analysis and interpretation • Regional dashboard for key economic and • Periodic data user satisfaction surveys social statistics online • Data dissemination and communication • Developed learning resources for online statistical learning and advocacy • Develop regional guidelines for statistics curricula in primary schools • 4 annual user satisfaction surveys at the regional level Component 3: Project Management (Completed) Subcomponent 4: Enhanced institutional capacity and development • Integrate a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in the EAC Secretariat. • Functional Project Implementation Unit (PIU)at the regional level • EAC Regional Bureau of Statistics functional • Technical review for EAC consistency of Statistical Acts in EAC countries • All DLIs in PforR verified Summary of the East Africa Regional Statistics PforR Regional integration is key to achieving economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa. Harmonized socioeconomic data at the regional level is necessary for the government and private sector to make strategic decisions. Thus, regional integration requires a regional approach to the production, standardization, dissemination, and use of statistics. A regional perspective on statistics is also aligned with the continental and regional priorities such as the SHaSA2 and the EAC’s Second Regional Statistical Development Plan (RSDPII). The East Africa Regional Statistics PforR (EARS – PforR) was designed to support the participating countries in East Africa, namely, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, in producing regionally harmonized statistics and promoting their dissemination and use. The Program in each country would be based on the respective national strategies for statistical development.10 The countries would be supported by the African Union Institute of Statistics (STATAFRIC) and the Statistics Department of the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat in improving the harmonization, quality, and dissemination of statistics. A schematic representation of the institutions and components of the regional PforR is shown in Figure 1. 10 These are Tanzania’s Statistical Master Plan 2022/23- 2026/27 (TSMP2), Kenya’s National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (KSDS) 2019/20 – 2022/23, and Rwanda’s National Strategy for the Development of Statistics 2019/20 – 2023/24 (NSDS3). Page 34 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Figure 1: Schematic representation of the institutions and components in the regional PforR Source: Program Appraisal Document, Eastern Africa Regional Statistics Program for Results, 2021 The Program Development Objective of the PforR is “to strengthen the regional harmonization, dissemination, and use of core economic and social statistics for Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania.” The following figure summarizes the theory of change, leading from activities to outputs and outcomes. STATAFRIC and the EAC would develop the harmonization guidelines, provide technical support to the countries to produce data compatible with the guidelines, promote the use of technology for data exchange and dissemination. The countries, in turn, would produce regionally harmonized statistics and make them publicly available to maximize their use. The Program would support the countries to do so by strengthening the institutional capacity and upgrading the IT and statistical infrastructure. Page 35 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) Specifically, the EAC component in the follow-up operation is structured into four subcomponents as follows: 1) Improving harmonization and quality (US$9.1 million) - Coordinate the development of regional compilation guidelines across multiple statistical dimensions and provide technical training on the implementation of the reference standards and methods. 2) Improve dissemination and use (US$3.6 million) - Support the development of IT systems for data exchange. 3) Upgrade IT and statistical infrastructure (US$3.3 million) - Support acquisition and training of compatible software for price statistics and National Accounts; support the integration of new technologies and big data in the production of official statistics. 4) Enhance institutional development (US$13.0 million) – (i) Maintenance of recruited experienced and specialized technical experts providing technical support and training to staff of the NSOs across multiple statistical dimensions; provision of technical assistance to the Partner States to update their National Statistics Acts, facilitate alignment of the Partner States National Strategies for Development of Statistics (NSDSs) to the Regional Strategy for Development of Statistics (RSDP); supporting the contracting of independent verification agencies to verify all DLIs in PforR. Page 36 of 37 The World Bank EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project (P164243) ANNEX 6. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS • World Bank. East African Community - Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project Appraisal Document. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/694841532921429637/pdf/EAC- PAD-07102018.pdf • World Bank. Financing Agreement for Grant D363-AFR. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/606971541706830833/pdf/ITKWB532331- 201810081450.pdf • World Bank. Tanzania - Country partnership framework for the period FY18-FY22. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/669801521338458808/pdf/Tanzania-CPF-FY18-22- SECPO-February-14-02212018.pdf • African Union. Strategy for the Harmonization of Statistics in Africa (SHaSA). 2010. https://au.int/sites/default/files/pages/32831-file-shasa_i_english_version_2010.pdf • World Bank. Implementation Status and Results Reports 1-7. • World Bank. Disclosable Restructuring Paper - EAC Statistics Development and Harmonization Regional Project - P164243. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099150012132212924/pdf/P16424306bf30e0690a08 a0fdfe3379b27d.pdf • World Bank. Eastern Africa Regional Statistics Program-for-Results Project Appraisal Document. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/966141652556689210/pdf/Kenya-Rwanda-Tanzania- East-African-Community-and-Africa-Union-Eastern-Africa-Regional-Statistics-Program-for-Results- Project.pdf Page 37 of 37