Spring has come. Our Magnolia tree is in bloom. Life goes on. With all the uncertainty this pandemic is bringing us. Can we have our holiday in Italy this summer? Will my youngest have his farewell camp from school? When can I resume my business travels? Will we have sufficient liquidity for the coming period? Questions that have no answers at the moment. So, let’s get back to work. Focus on what you can control and do not worry (too much) about what you can’t control.
Easier said than done. I had scheduled this week for developing an approach to managing the fiscal risks arising from PPP in Kyrgyzstan. For this purpose, I first had to review the PPP agreements that were already concluded so I could identify the fiscal consequences of these arrangements. In total, three PPP arrangements have been awarded in the past years. A reconstruction of a public cinema, the establishments of 4 dialysis centres and the deployment of an E-ticketing system for public transport in Bishkek. Contracts that obviously are lengthy documents, drafted by different teams, different outlines, different approaches and in Russian….
So it took me some time to translate it -thanks Google Translate - and review them thoroughly. The temptation was to highlight all the critical issues, though I had to focus on those provisions that implied a fiscal exposure be it a direct liability or a contingent liability. Highly relevant as these arrangement will be impacted to more or lesser extent by the crisis. be it direct through government interventions i.e. closure of social facilities or indirect through reduced social and economic activities. I had to avoid being distracted by the daily news items on Corona hoping for some game changer, or the kids roaming around the house after their school work. Challenging and I must admit that I was not as efficient as I would normally be with all these distractions. So unfortunately I haven’t been able to conclude yet and have to continue with this after the weekend. Which will impact my schedule for next week.
In addition, the discussions with K-Infra and its partner Foster Infrastructure from Australia, continued on the development of online trainings. Discussing schedules, technology, style etc. During the week, APMG, responsible for the CP3P Certification Program, also presented its solutions to facilitate online trainings so we also had to consider the applicability and implications of this option. Frankly speaking, with all these different options it becomes difficult to see the wood for the trees. Then again, we need to have this up and running in the second week of April as I will be delivering a training to Dutch government officials and this will most likely have to be done online. No time for binge-watching.
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