This week working from home on a bit of everything. First concern was the aftermath of last week's burglary. Not only frustrating because some thieves went through our things and took some jewellery and petty cash, but also because of the hassle afterwards. Had to make a list of stolen items, file a report with the police, brief my insurance agent and arrange a carpenter to have the doors fixed. A lot of time wasted which could have been used for more sensible things.
Business was busy as usual the past months. I finished the draft PPP guidelines for Georgia which has become a set of phase specific guidance on the different steps of the PPP development process from identification through ex-post evaluation, aligned with the PPP Law in Georgia and its implementing regulations.
I also finished a high-level review of a private initiate for a possible geothermal PPP in Indonesia as requested by RVO. Geothermal energy is very relevant for Indonesia being part of the Ring of Fire providing an opportunity to green its energy supply. However, it is also very risky and requires quite substantial upfront investments and thus experienced and financially strong developers and it is questionable whether such qualifications are adequately in place.
I furthermore reviewed the inception report for the operationalisation of the Pakistan Development Fund which we kicked off 2 weeks ago. The inception report presents our initial findings and thoughts and outlines a work plan to further develop the concept over the coming 8 months. We have proposed to present our initial strategic options within 2 months to representatives of the private sector as well as the concerned ministers. Without support from the highest level of government such an initiative is not likely to be successful.
Also prepared and submitted a proposal to the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Watermanagement to deliver the CP3P Execution course in April. That would be the final step for the candidates for obtaining their CP3P qualification, making the Netherlands one of the first developed countries with a substantial number of certified PPP professionals within the government. Based on the first 2 courses which were very successful with everyone passing the exams and scores well above the mark, it can be expected that completion of the program is likely to be achievable.
And Corona is also starting to impact my line of work. Upon a conference call with the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic it became apparent that the country is severely hit by the virus. Being a neighbouring country of China and with import duties being an important revenue stream for the government, the collapse of trade has reduced the government’s income substantially. Making the country more dependant of financial support from international finance institutions like ADB. So the Ministry of Finance requested ADB to accelerate the financial support program and we had to discuss how this would impact the necessary reform conditions as earlier agreed. Discussions to be continued next week in Bishkek.
And even more directly I was also informed that my mission to Dubai, which was scheduled for end of March and aimed to assess some government entities with regard to their performance in PPP, was postponed till further notice. Who knows what can happen next? I sincerely hope that we are able to control this virus and that the world is not coming to a standstill.
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