Working area 1: Legal framework

Dossier: Water Charter

Outputs: Diagnosis of the legal framework and Annex 5 of the Water Charter

• Validation of national reports at the level of each country in a workshop. At the same time, identify the motivations, interests and fears of the actors;
• Production of a Report "Regional Diagnosis of the Legal and Institutional Framework of the NBA Member States" which summarizes the national diagnoses and provides initial guidelines for the elaboration of the Annex;
• Elaboration of a preliminary draft General Convention on the Status and Legal Regime of Common Works and Works of Common Interest;
• Validation in Regional Workshop of the preliminary draft General Convention on the Status and Legal Regime of Common Works and Works of Common Interest, once accepted by the NBA; and
• Adoption by the Council of Ministers (CM) of the draft General Convention on the Status and Legal Regime of Common Works and Works of Common Interest.

Working area 2: Planning and monitoring and evaluation

Dossier: Technical programming and monitoring and evaluation

Outputs: Organizational support to National Focal Structures (NFSs); Computerize and organize the monitoring and evaluation system; Annual Work Plan (AWP) of the NFSs/ Operational M&E System, Update of the 2020 - 2024 OP

• Transformation of the NBA monitoring and evaluation system into a computerized version (MS Project);
• Parameter setting of the monitoring and evaluation system;
• Training of Executive Secretariat (ES) managers in the use of the monitoring and evaluation system;
• Develop a model for NFS AWPs ("generic AWP");
• Advice to four NFSs (Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin) on the preparation of work plans and the identification of necessary resources (for regular functions as well as for temporary functions, as in the case of projects);
• Training of managers of four NFSs in the use of the monitoring and evaluation system;
• Support for reflections (e.g. in the form of a political dialogue between the Executive Secretariat and national policy makers), in order to discuss possible organisational reforms of NFSs in four countries;
• Exchange and learn from other basin organizations (e.g. Senegal River Basin Development Organization - OMVS);
• If necessary: Match the MOUs with the identified NSF functions, taking into account the results of the institutional audit;
• Development of a template for a progress report on the implementation of the OP in each country, to be used by the Executive Secretariat; and
• Support and advice to the Executive Secretariat managers in the process of preparing country-specific progress reports.

Dossier: Financial Programming (Budget Programme by Objective)

Products: BPO 2020-2022, BPO 2021-2023, Adaptation of the accounting system

• Structuring the unified programming framework (preliminary stage);
• Updating of objectives by medium-term programme (investment and operating needs) taking into account the results of the evaluation of the first three-year phase of implementation of the Operational Plan;
• Programming of medium-term budgetary resources;
• Description and formalization of the analysis, arbitration and finalization of the BPO;
• Intensive training of NBA Executive Secretariat staff (training of trainers) in the preparation of the BPO;
• Advice on the reorganization of the accounting system;
• Support for the improvement of the ES/ABN budget nomenclature and its harmonization with the names of the various NBA partners, as well as the logic of management through the programme approach;
• Elaboration of recommendations for the consistency of the configuration of the accounting software of the Executive Secretariat "Tom 2 pro" with the detailed programmatic framework of the BPO;
• Introduction of management cost accounting allowing more detailed analyses for decision-making; and
• Support for updating the description of the AFD's (Administrative and Financial Directorate) tasks and levels of responsibility.