Operational Guidelines Liberia Cash for Work ... - World Banksiteresources.worldbank.org/...CFW_Operational_Guidelines_final.pdf · The CfWTEP is part of a USD 10-million financing,

1 Operational Guidelines – Cash for Work Employment Program (CfWEP)

Operational Guidelines

Liberia Cash for Work Temporary

Employment Project (CfWTEP)

Implemented by the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment

(LACE)

September 4, 2008

These Operational Guidelines and the attached TORs are an integral part of the Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment Operation Manual dated May 2, 2005 and amended on April 20, 2007.


Contents

I. Introduction to the Operational Guidelines .................................................................................. 5

Who are the main users of these guidelines? .............................................................................. 5

What’s in the guidelines? ............................................................................................................ 5

II. Background on the CfWTEP.......................................................................................................... 6

The Emergency Food Crisis Response Program ......................................................................... 6

What’s the objective of the CfWTEP? ........................................................................................ 6

What are the main features of the CfWTEP? .............................................................................. 6

III. Implementation Responsibilities of LACE and of its Implementing Partners .......................... 7

IV. Geographical targeting and phasing .............................................................................................. 7

V. Selecting Implementing Partners ................................................................................................... 8

VI. Deciding the wage level ................................................................................................................... 9

VII. Communications campaign ............................................................................................................ 9

VIII. Staffing and supervision ................................................................................................................ 10

IX. Involving communities .................................................................................................................. 10

X. Selecting and designing projects .................................................................................................. 11

What kind of activities? ............................................................................................................ 11

How to design activities that will allow vulnerable and special groups to participate? ............ 12

How will LACE evaluate the quality of the proposal done by the Implementing Partners? .... 12

XI. Selecting participants .................................................................................................................... 12

What are the basic criteria to select participants? ..................................................................... 12

How to verify these criteria? ..................................................................................................... 13

What other principles should guide the selection of participants? ............................................ 13

How to communicate working conditions to the participants? ................................................. 14

XII. Procurement and use of equipment and materials ..................................................................... 14

XIII. Attendance and payment logistics ................................................................................................ 15

Who is responsible for tracking attendance of the workers? .................................................... 15

How to divbide work and set rate of payment? …………………………………………… 15

At what frequency should payments be done? .......................................................................... 15

Which organization is responsible for the payments? ............................................................... 15


How are the payments done? .................................................................................................... 16

XIV. Reporting and Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................. 16

How should Implementing Partners report to LACE? .............................................................. 16

In which areas should LACE concentrate its monitoring? ........................................................ 16

XV. Annexes .............................................................................................................................................. 18

Annex 1: Food security map – CFSNS 2006 ............................................................................ 19

Annex 2: Tor for LACE and Implementing Partners ................................................................ 20

Annex 3: Key points to communicate with communities ......................................................... 23

Annex 4: Job description for Community Facilitator ............................................................... 25

Annex 5: Contract for workers .................................................................................................. 26

Annex 6: Daily attendance sheet ............................................................................................... 28

Annex 7: Workers’ payroll form ............................................................................................... 29

Annex 8: Table of indicative task rates ..................................................................................... 30

Annex 9: Biweekly Project Summary ....................................................................................... 32


Acronyms

AIDP Agriculture and Infrastructure Development Project

CEP Community Empowerment Program

CfWTEP Cash-for-Work Temporary Employment Project

GOL Government of Liberia

LACE Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment

LFCRP Liberia Food Crisis response Program

UNDP United Nations Development Program

UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia

WB World Bank

WFP World Food Program


I. Introduction to the Operational Guidelines

Who are the main users of these guidelines?

The primary users of these guidelines are:

The Liberia Agency for Community Empowerment (LACE) who has been entrusted to

implement the Cash-for-Work Employment Temporary Project (CfWTEP) by the Government of

Liberia (GOL) and the World Bank;

The Implementing Partners who are subcontracted by LACE to implement projects under the

CfWTEP.

In addition, these guidelines may be useful to other institutions and agencies (ministries, local

governments, other development partners, etc) who may need to familiarize themselves and understand

the operational modalities of the CfWTEP.

These guidelines may be revised from time to time, as needed, and changes must be approved by the

Board of LACE and must receive the “non objection” of the World Bank.

What’s in the guidelines?

The Guidelines provide detailed procedures on how the project should be implemented by LACE and its

Implementing Partners.

They provide a background overview of the CfWTEP followed by:

Geographical Targeting – Examines the criteria to be used for the selection of counties that will

benefit from the project, and for the selection of areas or districts within counties.

Implementing Partners – Provides the rules under which LACE will select and provide

contracts to its implementing partners for the project. This section is particularly relevant for

LACE.

Wage Level – Explains how the daily wage rate for the project beneficiaries has been set, and

how it may be revised.

Communications campaign – Provides guidelines on what messages to communicate to

beneficiaries and how these messages might be communicated to target communities; this section

is of particular interest to LACE and its Implementing Partners.

Supervision and staffing – Describes how the work should typically be organized in the field

and the staff that Implementing Partners will need to recruit in order to complete this work.

Involving communities – Suggests means for Implementing Partners to involve communities in

different aspects of the project.

Project selection – Provides criteria and guidance on how the projects should be identified by the

Implementing Partners and communities.


Participant Selection – Describes how the Implementing Partners should select the workers to

benefit from the project, in a manner consistent with CfWEP’s goal to benefit vulnerable

households in the community.

Procurement and Use of Equipment and Materials – Details how equipment and material

should be procured by the Implementing Partners, and disposed of or donated at the end of the

project.

Payment Logistics – Clarifies how and when payments should be made to workers.

Reporting Monitoring and Evaluation – Describes how Implementing Partners should report to

LACE and the areas that LACE will monitor.

Annexes – Provide a number of forms and tools to facilitate project implementation are provided

in annex either for the use of LACE or for the Implementing Partners. Electronic copies in Excel

or Word format are available at LACE.

II. Background on the CfWTEP

The Emergency Food Crisis Response Program

The CfWTEP is part of a USD 10-million financing, which has been approved by the Board of the Bank

and signed by GOL and the WB in a grant agreement dated June 21, 2008. It represents the contribution

and support of the WB to the Liberia’s Food Crisis response Program (LFCRP).

In addition to the CfWTEP (which has a total cost of USD 3 million), this Emergency Food Crisis

response Program includes two other components.

An Agricultural Productivity Intervention (USD 3 million) - its objective is to raise production

through increasing yields and reduced post-harvest losses. It will be implemented under the umbrella of

an existing World Bank-financed project, the Agriculture and Infrastructure Development Project (AIDP).

Food Support for Vulnerable Women and Children (USD 4 million) - to be implemented by the

World Food Program (WFP).

For more details, see the Emergency Project paper – EPP – that describes the program.

What’s the objective of the CfWTEP?

The objective of the CfWTEP is to provide income support to vulnerable households in rural and urban

areas.

What are the main features of the CfWTEP?


Budget and Costs - The total budget available for the CfWTEP is USD 3 million of which 25% will be

allocated for project management costs for LACE and its implementing partners and 75% of which will

be used for direct project costs (i.e. labor and materials/equipment). Out of the direct project costs,

around 10% will purchase materials and equipment. This allocation is designed to maximize the funds

that go into the hands of the workers benefiting from the project and to create the maximum number of

labor days.

Number of People Employed - The project was expected, at the time of approval by the World Bank

Board, to create 800,000 person/days of labor. However, this estimate was based on a daily wage of USD

2,5 – as this rate was revised during the preparation of these guidelines, it is now expected that the

number of people employed by the project will be somewhat reduced to 680,000 person/days of labor.

Duration - The project’s duration is expected to be 2 years, approximately from October 2008 to October

2010.

Type of projects –Projects to be implemented by the CfWTEP will be simple in nature since the amount

of materials and equipment to be used is very limited. They have to response to needs of the local

community where the project is implemented, and this will be achieved through community consultations.

Implementation arrangements - The CfWTEP is implemented by LACE, which will subcontract

Implementing Partners to run the projects. The respective roles of LACE and of its Implementing Partners

are described in the following section.

III. Implementation Responsibilities of LACE and of

its Implementing Partners LACE is the government agency which has the overall responsibility for project implementation and the

overall fiduciary responsibility. LACE will contract implementing partners in the various counties where

the project will be implemented. Implementing Partners will have the daily responsibility for project

operations in the field and will report to LACE

Detailed Terms of Reference for LACE and its Implementing partners are attached in

Annex 2.

IV. Geographical targeting and phasing

This section is of more particular use to LACE, as LACE is responsible for drawing implementation plans

targeting the counties where the CfWTEP will intervene.

Several criteria will guide the geographical targeting and phasing of the CfWTEP, setting out the

counties in which CfWTEP will be implemented and establishing its sequence of expansion from one

county to the next. The following criteria will be used:

Vulnerability– The objective of CfWTEP, as a part of the larger Emergency Food Crisis Response

Program, is to mitigate the consequence of the food price crisis and support vulnerable households; thus,

the first criterion to be used is food vulnerability. The counties targeted by the CfWTEP will therefore be


the ones that have the highest food vulnerability, according to the Comprehensive Food Security and

Nutrition Survey (CFSNS) of 2006.

A Food Security map extracted from the CFSNS 2006 is included in Annex 1 and shows

which counties are more vulnerable than others.

LACE’s Capacity – As the project is an emergency project and should start rapidly, it would be

expeditious to begin operations where LACE already has significant experience and has established

offices. This will allow LACE to kick-start and monitor the project where it has maximum capacity, and

expand progressively to the other targeted counties over the duration of the project.

Availability of Banking Facilities – Access to banking facilities is very limited in Liberia. Commercial

banks are active only in a few counties including Montserrado, Margibi, Bong, Grand Bassa and Nimba.

Within these counties, banks are limited to the urban areas and to industrial compounds. In order to

facilitate the payment of workers, the project will start in areas where banking facilities exist, particularly

during the first year. As LACE and its implementing partners acquire more experience in the

implementation of the CfWTEP, it will move to counties where commercial banks are not present. Other

projects have partnered with the commercial banking system in the past to facilitate payments in areas

where formal banks are not established. A similar arrangement is also possible in the case of CfWTEP.

Markets Functioning – Cash-for-work projects may have the secondary effect of raising the food prices

in areas where local markets are not functioning properly. The project will therefore start in areas where

markets exist and function, and enter other areas during the second year (e.g. the southeast) while

carefully monitoring of the impact of the project on local market prices needs to take place (see section on

“Monitoring and Evaluation”).

Board of Director Recommendation- Given the complexity of the criteria, the Board will play a key

role in decision-making with regards to the distribution of CfWTEP projects and the sequencing of these

projects.

V. Selecting Implementing Partners

The role of LACE and its implementing partners is described in the section III. A single source selection

process is recommended in the case of CfWTEP and is consistent with paragraphs 3.10 and 3.16 of the

guidelines for the selection of consultants by World Bank borrowers (May 2004). This approach is

justified because: (a) under current project design, contracts with Implementing Partners will be for

amounts less than USD 2,500 (paragraph 3.10); (b) payments to workers, which makes up the bulk of

project funds, will be made by commercial banks; (c) procurement of tools and equipment will be made

directly by LACE; (d) NGOs will provide services to select, organize and monitor workers; (e) LACE has

knowledge of established NGOs with good local knowledge and strong capacity (paragraph 3.16); and (f)

NGOs will be required to respond quickly due to the emergency nature of the project (paragraph 3.10).


VI. Deciding the wage level

The daily wage rate for unskilled workers has been fixed at USD 3. This rate is considered low enough to

attract the most economically disadvantaged individuals and households. Wages should not be too high,

in order not to entice people away from their regular livelihood activities.

Even with a rate as low as USD 3 per day, and given the fact that work will be performed mostly by task

(see section XIII on paying by task) and with a certain flexibility in terms of working hours, it may attract

individuals who already have an income. It has been reported, for instance, by other agencies

implementing CfW projects in Liberia that some teachers may be tempted to enroll – tight controls should

ensure that this is not the case.

The project will also employ a limited number of skilled workers: either as supervisors (responsible for a

group of workers) or as workers performing skilled labor in some limited cases. These skilled workers

will be paid at a rate of USD 5 per day.

VII. Communications campaign

In order to avoid suspicion on the part of some community and government stakeholders, it is essential to

inform officials and community members from the outset of the purpose of the CfWTEP and of its

general methodology.

The following key issues should be considered:

Employment is for a limited number of days - The community should be made fully aware that the

CfWTEP is being provided during a limited timeframe for a specific and limited purpose. There should

be no expectations from the community members that the project will run indefinitely, nor should the

project be regarded as a long-term source of employment.

Importance of community participation - LACE and its implementing partners should underscore the

importance of broad community participation (not only community leaders and government officials) in

the processes of selecting development projects and programmatic activities, and the fact that the projects

should be selected by the communities themselves and not imposed on them.

Make beneficiaries aware of the more common forms of fraud – When workers receive their payment

they should be informed of common forms of fraud, including bribes, dishonest traders and money

changers, in order to avoid unjust extortion of money in form of “taxes” and “fee services;” community

members should be made aware that there are no "taxes" or other "fee services" on the daily salary they

receive.

A check list of important issues which should be addressed in the communications

campaign with communities and individuals is provided in Annex 3. It can be used both by

LACE and its implementing partners.


VIII. Staffing and supervision

The Implementing Partners of LACE will need to provide experienced staff to fulfill their responsibilities.

This staff will consist of community facilitators and other necessary staff. The role of the community

facilitator will be to coordinate the subproject in the area on behalf of the Implementing Partner. He/she

will be responsible for all community mobilization processes and selection of participants, and will

supervise the Logistic(s) Officer during the implementation of the subproject. The Implementing Partner

will be responsible for the supervision of progress of the project in the field.

Groups of workers will be supervised by Group Leaders. The Group Leader is not staff of the

Implementing Partner but a community member recruited as a skilled worker. His/her task is to organize

the daily work of his team, monitor presence of the workers and maintain the attendance sheets, set the

tasks to be accomplished by the worker and the number of hours involved, and verify that the task has

been done.

A more detailed job description for the Community Facilitator is provided in Annex 4.

IX. Involving communities It is essential for the success of the project that communities are involved in the implementation right

from the beginning. The Implementing Partners will spend time facilitating discussions with various

groups within the community, using participatory tools that LACE has already development for the

Community Empowerment Project (CEP).

The involvement of the community should be particularly strong in the following aspects:

Defining selection criteria for beneficiaries, and in particular criteria to ensure that vulnerable

families are given priority;

Disseminating information on the objectives of the project;

Carrying out the actual selection beneficiaries, and ensuring that the criteria are respected.;

Selecting appropriate Cash-for-Work activities;

Maintaining order on payment days;

Providing feedback on activities;

Liaising with local leaders to obtain government permissions and support.

To facilitate project implementation, especially in the selection of participants, supervision, and

monitoring, the Implementing Partners will work with existing community structures. Following the

initial assessment and identification of target communities, community facilitators will invite local leaders

to an introductory meeting to explain the CfWTEP, solicit feedback, and build relationships.


X. Selecting and designing projects

What kind of activities?

Activities to be implemented under the CfWTEP (also referred to as “projects” in this manual) will be

selected by the communities themselves with the support of Implementing Partners. They should not be

imposed by the Implementing Partners, by LACE or by the local governments.

Given some of the criteria already established for the selection of these projects, in particular the fact that

they should be implemented with at least 75% of the costs given to labor, they will most probably be

limited to very simple type of works.

The criteria to guide the selection of projects are the following:

At least 75% of the cost of the project should go into labor, including 10% for basic tools and

materials;

The project should provide a public good or service; this also implies that all works should be

done on public, state or community owned land but not on private land;

The project should benefit the wider local community, and not a few individuals or families;

The project should not affect negatively the environment or have negative social consequences, as

described in the Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) already in use in the

CEP.

The project should be able to be completed in the time period allotted.

The following is a list of possible activities (but communities and implementing partners may propose

other activities as long as they meet the criteria described above).

In rural areas:

Bush brushing, either along roads or to clear non-private agricultural land (or for any other

purpose that would serve a community or public need);

Rock breaking for the roads;

Cleaning and replacement of culverts;

Drain clearance along roads;

Construction of small wood bridges along roads that would be rehabilitated under the project but

would remain otherwise impassable at some points.

In urban areas:

Street sweeping/cleaning;

Drainage clearance;

Painting of public buildings and street walls (particularly needed after the rainy season);

Painting of cross walks;

Rehabilitation of recreational spaces;

Small rehabilitation of schools, health posts and other community buildings.

The activities proposed should be well coordinated with other projects. For example, it is recommended

that the roads targeted by the CfWTEP be feeder roads and not the main roads that are already the target

of the UNMIL project.


How to design activities that will allow vulnerable and special

groups to participate?

It is important to include a range of activities in which different kinds of people can take part. This means

people that are more vulnerable, women, or groups that are less powerful within the local community.

It is also very important that community members are not diverted from other productive opportunities or

appropriate coping mechanisms, regardless of how vulnerable they are. It is therefore useful to consider

the following factors when designing the activities:

Time commitment required: in terms of daily scheduling and overall length of the project.

Particular attention should be paid to the timing of agricultural activities;

Work organization: people should be allowed to combine their participation in the project with

their other activities, for example farming, to the extent possible. For example, workers may be

paid to do a certain task, and then allowed to do it at the time of the day which is more convenient

to them. It will be the role of the group leader, with the support of the logistics officer, to organize

the work to allow maximum flexibility (within reason);

Location: paying attention to travel time to location in particular;

Type of work: light/heavy, cultural acceptability, especially with regard to any gender, ethnic or

other division of labor;

Trade offs: Impact on existing workload and access to other productive opportunities;

Adapting work to allow vulnerable people to participate: for example giving tasks such as

supervision, counting or clerking, or preparing food, to people who cannot manage heavy labor.

How will LACE evaluate the quality of the proposal done by the

Implementing Partners?

LACE will review the proposals submitted by the Implementing Partners and check the following basic

points:

Community needs: The project must be demand-driven and reflective of real community needs.

Intensive unskilled labor: The project should employ a large number of unskilled laborers, in

order to allow the widest dispersal of cash to families.

Appropriateness for target groups: Care should be taken to see whether the physical labor

excludes community members from participation due, for example, to physical constraints or for

other reasons.

Technical viability: Community-selected projects should not require a range of technical

expertise that is not available locally or within the implementing partner.

Long-term benefit to large segments of community: The project should provide a long-term

benefit and lasting contribution to the community as a whole.

XI. Selecting participants

What are the basic criteria to select participants?

The CfWTEP has a number of basic criteria to guide the selection of participants (also referred to as

“beneficiaries,” or simply “workers,” in this manual).


These criteria are:

To be over 18 years old1;

The person should be to perform able the work with no risk for his/her health or that of others;

Participants should not hold a public office or be on the payroll of a public entity.

How to verify these criteria?

These criteria may not always be easy to verify. The community facilitator should involve the community

to assist in the verification.

Regarding the age of participants - In case of doubts on the age of person, the Community Facilitator

should seek confirmation of the person’s age from family members, or neighbors. In case of serious

doubts, the community facilitator should refuse the participation of the person (and maybe discuss with

the family the participation of another family member).

Regarding health issues - The community facilitators should ensure that pregnant women are not

selected, and that women are informed that they will not be allowed to carry babies on their backs while

working.

Regarding incompatibility with employment in the public sector - The community facilitator should

ensure that this is well known by the people who come forward to be selected, and ask the community

committee to review the list of selected participants with him/her. This may concern teachers for example.

What other principles should guide the selection of participants?

In addition to the above criteria that each recruited individual must meet, the Implementing Partner will

discuss and guide the selection of the participants with the community along a number of targeting

principles. These principles are:

Ensuring that the maximum number of vulnerable households are included - This implies having

discussions with the community on the criteria that defines vulnerability in that particular community, and

if the community is relatively small identifying the vulnerable households. Once there is an agreement on

what it means to be vulnerable within the community, the community facilitator should ensure that these

criteria are known by all community members and that information to that effect is widely disseminated,

so vulnerable households have the opportunity to come forward when selection actually takes place. The

recruitment of workers from female-headed households and households where no-one is employed should

also be encouraged.

Paying attention to the more remote or isolated settlements – People living in the main townships or

close to the centre of a community or the main road usually have a better chance to participate in

discussions, to get timely information, to be able to come to meetings, and to be present first when the

informational session actually takes place. The community facilitator should ensure that all the

settlements, including the more remote ones, have access to timely information and have a chance to

participate and be selected. This may include spending time visiting the more isolated villages, allowing

1 As per the minimum working age set by the Liberian Ministry of Labor. A person under 18 years might be able to

participate if they are able to show evidence of having received the special permission of the Ministry of Labor.


enough days between a meeting announcement and the actual meeting, and doing the selection process in

a few locations (not only in the most central one or in the main township). Workers should be recruited

from reasonable distance to the sites, since no transport will be provided.

Ensuring participation of people who cannot take part in heavy labor – Disabled people, for

example, should have a chance to work doing less heavy tasks. This may require that tasks are designed

or organized especially for them.

How to communicate working conditions to the participants?

The general communications campaign and the community meetings that will be held before the actual

selection will provide all the key information regarding the project and also the working conditions under

which people are expected to work, including rights and obligations.

Participants will be asked to sign or thumb print a simple one page contract when they are recruited. The

community facilitator should read the contract aloud to the participant, and make sure he/she understands

it.

A sample contract is attached in Annex 5.

XII. Procurement and use of equipment and

materials

Once activities are selected, necessary tools and materials should be procured. The procurement will be

done by LACE.

Whenever possible, LACE will try to purchase equipment locally, in order to benefit the local market.

Purchased equipment will be distributed by the logistics officers to the Group leaders and will remain

under the supervision of the group leaders until the end of the activity.

At the end of the activity, the remaining tools and equipment may be transferred to the community

committees, or to local governments, or be retained by LACE for future use in other projects.

In general, small individual protective equipment should be left to the participant at the end of the

activity. Bigger pieces of equipment, or equipment that cannot be easily distributed among participants

(such as wheel barrels) or pieces of equipment that are expensive and may incur substantial savings for

other projects will be distributed either through a lottery system, or left to community leaders to be re-

used in other community activities. LACE will decide this issue on the basis of the recommendations

provided by its Implementing Partners.


XIII. Attendance and payment logistics

Who is responsible for tracking attendance of the workers?

The Implementing Partner (and more specifically the logistics officer) has the overall responsibility for

keeping daily records of workers’ attendance. At the work site, it is the group leader who should keep the

attendance sheet and record the number of days worked by each worker.

A sample daily attendance sheet is provided in Annex 6. This is the sheet that the Group

leader should fill every day and submit every week to the logistics officer of the

Implementing Partner.

The Implementing Partners will prepare the payroll sheets every two weeks, based on the daily attendance

sheets submitted by the group leaders. These payroll sheets should be submitted to the finance section

LACE which will approve the payrolls and authorize the payments.

A sample payroll sheet is provided in Annex 7.

How to divide work and set the rate of payment?

The easiest method of ensuring work is equally carried out is to divide a job into equal units or tasks. The

rate can then be paid based on an estimate of how long it will take to complete the tasks and by applying

an agreed rate. The Implementing Partners will be responsible for determining the rates per task based on

internationally accepted rates.

An indicative table of internationally accepted rates for common tasks is provided in

Annex 8.

At what frequency should payments be done?

Payments should be done every two weeks. It is important that participants are aware of this, and know on

which date they will get paid.

Which organization is responsible for the payments?

LACE will have an agreement with a commercial bank to handle the payment of the workers. LACE and

the commercial bank will discuss the modalities of payment. Participant workers may be directed to a

designated teller of a nearby bank to receive their payments. Where there are no banks, the Community


Facilitator, LACE and the commercial bank will design a strategy for the workers to receive their

payments at their place of work. The bank payments will be made by bank staff.

How are the payments done?

The payments are made to the worker in the presence of the group leader, who verifies the identity of the

person receiving the payment and guarantees that it is actually the person who did the work, and under

monitoring of the implementing partner. All workers of a group will receive their individual payments at

the same time. Payments are done in USD and the bank officer should explain to the worker what the

banknotes are (if the worker is unfamiliar with cash and USD notes) and provide information on the

exchange rate of the day between USD and Liberian Dollars.2

Beneficiaries receive the exact amount due and sign the payroll sheet on receipt or put a thumbprint next

to their name in recognition of received payment. All payments sheets must be countersigned.

Payrolls for payments are to be collected by Community Facilitators and returned to LACE, who will

retain them with bank statements and other financial documents for financial tracking and audits.

XIV. Reporting and Monitoring and Evaluation

How should Implementing Partners report to LACE?

Implementing Partners should report to LACE on a biweekly basis. They should complete the biweekly

summary sheets and submit them together with the attendance sheets to LACE, so LACE can verify and

prepare the payroll sheets.

A sample biweekly summary sheet is provided in Annex 9.

In which areas should LACE concentrate its monitoring?

M&E done by LACE should focus on the following areas:

Selection of workers - Is the process of beneficiary selection effective and does it succeed in reaching the

most vulnerable segments of the population?

Gender and youth - Are at least 30% of the workers women? Are the activities designed in a manner that

encourages the employment of women? Are youth benefiting from the project?

Production and outputs – Are outputs produced on time? What about quality of outputs?

2 Note that in Liberia, the US Dollar and the Liberian Dollar are both equally accepted currencies and are freely

exchangeable. If concerns arise over the use of US Dollars in payment, Liberian Dollars may be used.


Awareness and communications - Is sufficient information given to communities and other

stakeholders? Does this information cover all the key point described in section VII on communications?

Attendance and ghost workers - Are all the individuals reported as present in the timesheets actually

working?

Payments: Are payments made on time? Do participants receive the correct amount of money? Is cash

distribution satisfactory?

Markets: Is there any impact of the project on local market prices? (This aspect should be monitored by

the Ministry of Agriculture).


XV. Annexes


Annex 1: Food security map – CFSNS 2006


Annex 2: Tor for LACE and Implementing Partners TOR for LACE

1. LACE will hold consultations with Government and the World Bank on the project legal status

and launching.

2. LACE will follow up on the grant agreement with Ministry of Finance.

3. LACE will work with international consultants on designing the TORs for the key staffs that will

be recruited to supervise the cash-for-work project; LACE will work on the tentative workplan

for 2008-2010 for CFW.

4. LACE will open separate account in which the funds for cash-for-work project shall be received

from the World Bank. Prepare Annual Workplan and Budget, and a procurement plan

5. LACE will monitor and evaluate the CfW project activities throughout the country.

6. LACE will prepare project reports in accordance with the MAAFP and the OM. Each project

report shall cover a period of one calendar year and shall be submitted to the World Bank.

7. LACE will provide monthly FMRs to the World Bank on the CfW project, and quarterly financial

and performance report to the Board of Directors of LACE.

8. LACE will oversee and ensure the recruitment of Local NGOs, community facilitators for the

purpose of implementing the CfW project in the communities.

9. LACE will ensure that at least 680,000 man-days of temporary jobs are created during the life of

the project (i.e. 340,000 man-days per year).

10. LACE will ensure that the CfW begins in Monrovia, Montserrado County, where there are

banking and financial institutions, but later roll-out to other counties in keeping with the CFSNS

2007 results.

11. LACE will seek the approval of its Board of Directors on targeted communities based on set

criteria.

12. LACE shall ensure that local NGOs recruit at least 30% women workforce for the project

activities, except where said quota for women can not be found.

13. LACE shall ensure prudent financial management of the funds in accordance with its OM and the

MAAFP.

14. LACE shall recruit appropriate staff and purchase required vehicles equipment and logistics for

the purpose of implementing and monitoring the project. Key staff to be recruited will be cash-

for-work Project Manager, a Monitor and three Drivers. The cash-for-work Project Manager will

report to the Executive Director, but coordinate closely with the CEP Project Manager, Deputy

Executive Director for administration, Procurement /and Finance Departments of LACE. A

Project Accountant and Procurement Officer will be recruited under the Economic Governance

and Institutional Reforms Project of the World Bank to provide support to the CfW project.


15. The actual implementation of the CfW activities will be done by the LNGOs that will be

recruited. (See TOR for LNGOs)

TOR for the LNGOs:

1. LACE will recruit, on a competitive basis, LNGOs for the purposes of supervising the community

projects in the counties.

2. Local NGOs will not be given cash to manage.

3. Local NGOs will do the following:

Hold discussions with the local government authorities, city mayors, clan and town chiefs,

the commissioners or superintendents if necessary; on plans to implement the project.

Create publicity on the project, increasing awareness;

Recruit beneficiary workers for the period of two months (40 working days) per project.

Supervise and direct tasks to the workers;

Local NGOs will ensure that a daily log is kept for workers;

Produce a payroll for every two weeks (workers will not get pay for the days not work for).

Payment shall be made every two weeks;

An amount of US$ 3 will be paid to workers (by the commercial bank) for each day of work

or upon completion of a daily task (one task per day). Workers are not allowed to complete

two tasks per day;

Local NGOs will be informed of the geographical location for the projects. (the county, city,

town or village), after consultation with local authority.

Local NGOs will receive fee for their services, that is US$2,350.00 per project (meaning

recruitment and supervision of 500 persons for two months);

Local NGOs will select workers on a first-come-first-serve basis, except that they must

ensure that the 30% female quota is maintained and the most vulnerable are recruited.

o Each local NGO will select a supervisor from among the beneficiary workers for each

cash-for-work project group, and he/she shall receive USD5.00 per day (proposal) for

his/her supervisory role.

o The LNGO and LACE will procure the material/tools for the community work. The

LNGO will be responsible for the security of the working tools. The supervisor shall

manage the tools, i.e., collect and store the tools at the end of each working day.

o The Local NGO will sensitize the target community, recruit workers, monitor workers

and verified attendance records.


o Payments of beneficiaries shall be made through the banking system, where banks exist.

Places where there are no banks, appropriate measures shall be taken by the bank staff,

the LNGOS and LACE to ensure that workers are paid.

o LNGOs will recruit only youths above the age 18.3

Ghost workers will not be tolerated, the LNGO shall be held responsible for payroll padding; will

lose contract; project suspended in that area.

Project equipment entrusted with the LNGOs to collect each day; to move on to other projects

when project A is closed. Dispose-up at the end of the second year.

Project equipment/tools used by community workers shall be part of the payment to community

workers. The tools will be given to the workers at the end of the project to be used in other

project activities that they may be engaged with. It is envisaged that every participating worker

will have a tool to take home. However, for bigger tools such as wheel barrels, some distribution

mechanism shall be established, e.g. price for the highest worker, random raffle, given to local

authorities, given to smaller team to distribute etc.

Local NGOs will draft a work plan, consultation with local authorities, community people; they

should prepare monitoring report. People should know how payment should be made.

Attendance and payment sheets/record should be kept by LACE, LNGO and supervisors.

Payments may be made by ID cards (invest in ID Card).

All beneficiaries must sign for their money in person or use their finger print to receive money.

LNGO, must have experience in community related activities, including community works,

community sensitization and mobilization; experience in Cash-for-Works will be an advantage.

3 Unless individual has received the special permission of the Ministry of Labor.


Annex 3: Key points to communicate with

communities

The following is a list of topics that should be discussed with communities. There may be more topics but

this is the minimum that LACE and its Implementing Partners should ensure are properly discussed with

communities.

Clarifying the purpose of the project

Money is a one off donation in exchange for work;

This is a one off project by GOL to help the most vulnerable;

Communities should not expect to be paid for community work in future;

The project that they are to work on is a benefit to the whole community - it belongs to the

community and they must maintain it.

Discussing with the community about the use of cash Value of cash: at the most basic level it may be necessary to sensitize communities on what

money actually is, including the color and design of the notes and coins and what can be bought

for different amounts;

Inexperienced communities are vulnerable to dishonest members of community;

Information on local taxes: the chief/local government should be asked to make clear if there are

any local taxes that people are supposed to pay. Chief/elders to state in public that the money

earned belongs to that household no money should be given to anyone outside the household

unless in exchange for goods;

Discussions on investing cash or saving money (eg. methods of keeping money safe): starting a

small business, school fees, medical care, buying animals, discussions with elderly and disabled

on what they are going to do, how to avoid relatives taking and wasting the money.

General conditions of employment

Employment is for a limited number of days only; one individual cannot work more than the

specified number of days;

Workers need to be at least 18 years old.4. In case of doubt, this will be checked and the

individual will be excluded if there is a reasonable doubt;

Pregnant women are not allowed to work under the project;

Only one individual per household is allowed to work.

No insurance is provided; this includes cases of accidents, death, illness, etc.

No child care is provided; and children are not allowed on the work sites.

Payments are made every 2 weeks; payments are made in cash in USD.5

Tools and equipment provided need to be returned; otherwise deduction may be done from the

workers’ payments.

4 Unless an individual has received special permission from the Ministry of Labor

5 If necessary, payments can be made in the equivalent value in Liberian dollars. Note that in Liberia USD are used

almost interchangeably with Liberian Dollars.


No transport is provided.

No other benefit than the wage is provided.

Awareness about fraud Do not pay anybody to get into the project.

Do not accept to pay bribes to anybody.

Beware of money changers when changing US Dollars to Liberian Dollars when you get paid –

make sure you know the exchange rate and count your cash.


Annex 4: Job description for Community Facilitator

Develop plans for the implementation of the approved project in the area. This should include

plans for material and cash needs over the course of the project, and work schedules for the

various phases of the project.

Develop and maintain good relationships and lines of communication with relevant local

authorities and communities, explaining the nature the CfWTEP and liaising with them

throughout the project.

Guarantee community involvement at all phases of the project (identification, design,

implementation, and monitoring) to ensure the development of community ownership for the

projects.

Select and establish the list of participants in collaboration with the community.

Assist in the preparation of reliable monthly cash flow projections to ensure efficient cash flow

for payments.

Ensure LACE approval on all payments before payments are made.

Implement projects as planned according to developed schedules and timelines.

Report any variations or problems with implementation of projects (in regards to costs, schedules,

technical matters) to LACE. Where necessary, regularly update project implementation plans

with associated time lines and report these changes to LACE.

Complete biweekly activity reports, and ensure that all CfW.

Cooperate and coordinate with all LACE staff to ensure good coordination.

Identify, train and supervise Group Leaders.

Ensure secure storage, tracking and reporting on all CfW equipment and supplies and the project

sites.

Provide support to Group Leaders in organizing the work and in reporting workers attendance.

Assist commercial bank officer in preparing and managing payments for project participants.

Monitors the payments done by commercial bank officers.


Annex 5: Contract for workers

Name of worker: …………………………………………

Male or female: …………………………………………

Date of birth: ………….……………………………..

Implementing Partner: ..……………………………………….

Name of project: …………………………………………

Unskilled or skilled worker: …………………………………………

Number of days to be worked: …………………………………………

Days to be worked within the period: dd/mm/yy to dd/mm/yy

Daily rate:

General conditions of employment (to be read aloud to the worker):

Employment is for a limited number of days.

Workers need to be over 18 years old.6

Pregnant women are not allowed to work under the project.

No insurance is provided.

No child care is provided – and children are not allowed on the work sites.

Payments are made every 2 weeks – payments are made in cash in USD.7

All tools and equipment provided need to be returned.

No transport is provided.

No other benefit than the daily wage is provided.

Payment US$3 per day wage paid for unskilled workers; US$5 per day for skilled workers.

Date and signature of contractor:

I certify I have read aloud to the worker the conditions of the contract

…………………………………………………..

Signature of worker:

I have understood the conditions of employment and I accept them

……………………………………...

6 Unless that worker has received special permission from the Ministry of Labor

7 7 If necessary, payments can be made in the equivalent value in Liberian dollars. Note that in Liberia USD are

used almost interchangeably with Liberian Dollars



Annex 6: Daily attendance sheet

Name

Male or

Female

Skilled or

Unskilled 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 total days worked

M S P P 2

F U


Annex 7: Workers’ payroll form

Name of County:

Name of activity:

Location: Name of paying agent:

Date: Serial No.

First name

Family name

Skilled or unskilled

Nbr of days

worked

Daily Rate

Total amount

paid

Worker's signature

1 Skilled 5.00

2 Unskilled 3.00

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15


Annex 8: Table of indicative task rates

Table 1: Average Task Output Values

Operation Activity Minimum Task

Site Clearance Bush clearing - Dense

- Light to medium

Stripping and grubbing

Tree and stump removal

Boulder removal

Determine on site

150m² - 750m²/day

100m² - 200m²/day

Experience

200 day /km

Earth Works Slotting

Excavation to level

cut < 0,25m

> 0,25

Borrow to fill

Haulage (wheelbarrow)

0 - 20 m

40 - 60 m

80 - 100m

Spreading

4m³/day

5m³/day

4m³/day

4m³/day

13,5m³/day

8,0m³/day

5,5m³/day

12m³/day

Drainage Ditching

Sloping

Camber formation

Mitre drains

Catchwater drains

Scour checks

Culvert installation

3,75m3/day

3,75m3/day

100m²/day

3,75m3/day

3,75m3/day

25/day

max 20 days/line


Gravelling Excavation

Load

Spreading

3m³/day

6m³ (loose) day

12m³/day

Source: McCutcheon (1983) and Simpson (1980).

Table 2: Detailed Task Rates For Excavation

Soil Type Tools Task rates m3/man-day

Throwing distance (m)

0-4 4-6 6-8

Loose, not sticky soil

Firm soil

Very hard soil, hard soil

mixed with stones

Shovel, jembe

Shovel, fork jembe

Pickaxe, fork jembe,

shovel

5.0-6.0

3.5-4.5

2.0-3.0

4.5-5.5

3.0-4.0

1.8-2.5

3.5-4.5

2.5-3.5

1.7-2.5

Source: de Veen (1980)


Annex 9: Biweekly Project Summary

Project name and Name of Implementing Partner

Project Name:______________________________________________________________________

Total salary paid for these two weeks:________________________________________________

Village:________________________________________________________________________

District:________________________________________________________________________

County:_____________________________________________________________________

Pay Period Start:_____________________________________________________________

Pay Period End:_________________________________________________________________

Number of:

Total # Unskilled workers:__________________________________

Total # skilled workers

Total #Male workers:__________________________________

Total # Female workers:_______________________________

Male Person-days:_______________________________

Female Person-days:_____________________________

Project status:

o On Going o On Hold o Complete

Project activities:

Specific activity:___________________________________________________________________________







List any Problems Encountered During these two weeks:___________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________

Timesheets Verified and Submitted by [Name of Logistics officer]:

Date:___________________________________________________

Documents

Operational Guidelines Liberia Cash for Work ... - World Banksiteresources.worldbank.org/...CFW_Operational_Guidelines_final.pdf · The CfWTEP is part of a USD 10-million financing,