PART III
ORGANISATION and ADMINISTRATION
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Part III - Organisation and Administration
INCREASING INTERNAL EFFECTIVENESS HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT A Human Resources Strategy was approved as a guide to corporate human resources management practice over the next three years. It continues the emphasis of prior years on developing leadership and supervisory skills and enhancing job competencies generally as a launch pad for attaining higher levels of performance across the organisation. The initiatives undertaken in this regard during the year responded specifically to the demands of the Strategic Plan 2005-2009. Similar attention was given in the Strategy to upgrading the Bank’s human resources systems and business processes as an enabling context for better and more strategic management of its human resources. The key targets were the job analysis/evaluation, recruitment and performance management processes for which a more efficient, integrated business solution was implemented during the year.
The Bank also undertook a re-examination of its compensation framework in light of difficulties in attracting the requisite number and quality of professional staff for its operations. Considerable progress was made in consultation with the Board of Directors on restructuring this framework to respond to the new developments in the labour market. With respect to the ongoing Change Management Programme, the Bank took stock of progress to date through surveys of managers regarding achievements of targeted milestones and an opinion survey of staff in general on the change experience. Information from this activity will form a point of departure for elaborating the initiative in the HR Strategy concerning re-energising the transformation programme at the Bank. The following table represents the total CDB staff positions as at December 31, 2006.
TABLE III.1 CDB STAFF POSITIONS
Established MPS SS TOTAL Positions 114 99 213 Budgeted Staff in Place 89 96 185 OCR Consultants 8 1 9 Provided to CDB 1 1 2 Provided by CDB to M ember Countries 1 0 1 Total in Place 99 98 197
THE Bank’s Human Resources strategy places emphasis on developing leadership and enhancinig job competencies.
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CDB Annual Report 2006 31
TRANSFORMING OUR INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT SERVICES It is unquestionable that information and technology services are a critical component in an organisation’s ability to meet its business needs. Within recent years, the Information and Technology Management Services Department has made much progress in meeting the substantive requirements of the Bank and, in this regard, many initiatives were undertaken while others are currently in the pipeline. The Bank has now reached a stage in the life of its information systems where there is need for a critical review of their effectiveness in relation to meeting the current and future business requirements of the organisation. A major initiative began in August 2006 to develop an Information Systems Architecture Roadmap that will serve as the blueprint for the deployment of new or revamped information systems over the next three to five years. The primary objective is the identification and evaluation of integrated software applications that are determined to be a best fit for the Bank’s needs. Over the past several months, considerable work has gone into defining a new organisation structure for the Information and Technology Management Services Department and a new Strategic Plan for the period 2006 to 2009 has been developed. The plan serves as the blueprint for Information and Technology Services transformation, and sets the direction for CDB’s current and future use of information and technology over the period. The focus will be on achieving tangible returns on the Bank’s investments in information technology to improve confidence in the solutions and services that are delivered to internal stakeholders as well as external constituencies. A new Intranet with enhanced search and graphical user interface capabilities was implemented to facilitate the work of staff, and the CDB website is being redesigned to create an electronic resource that better serves the Bank’s external customers, in addition to reflecting the mission and values of the organisation.
ANNUAL MEETING Montego Bay, Jamaica, was the venue of the Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in 2006. During the Opening Ceremony of the May 17-18 meeting, the Main Address was given by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Portia Simpson Miller. It was her first speech to a major regional audience since being appointed Prime Minister. Mrs. Simpson Miller said that it was evident that “given the pressing need to continue to restructure and transform regional economies in the post “Trade Preference Era” the CDB , must play an even greater role. This role must consist of a menu which includes financial resources, technical assistance and policy advice, rooted in reducing and ultimately eliminating poverty in the Region.” In his Annual Statement to the Governors, the CDB President spoke on the theme Opportunities for Caribbean Economic Growth. He said that despite the economic obstacles faced by the Region, the pessimism regarding economic growth which one hears was unwarranted, adding that sustained economic growth was not unachievable. In addressing the gathering, Governors spoke on a range of issues. On Regional Cooperation and Integration, they endorsed the emphasis which the Bank has been placing on regional cooperation and integrationrelated activities. With regard to Disaster Mitigation/ Risk Insurance, they drew attention to the continuing vulnerability of the Region to natural hazards and the need for the Bank to provide assistance in institutional strengthening in the area of natural hazard risk management. In relation to Internal Efficiencies, they urged the Bank to address those issues which impact on its internal efficiency, in particular those in respect of its human resources management. Governors also encouraged the Bank to focus on those activities in which it has a demonstrable comparative advantage. On the question of Development Effectiveness, they stressed the importance of the Bank continuing to forge partnerships with the wider international development community as well as mainstreaming the principles of the Paris Declaration in its operations as important steps towards increasing its development impact and effectiveness. They also encouraged the Bank to expand its support for private sector lending and pointed to its possible role in seeking to further develop the Caribbean financial sector, especially in relation to capital markets. In addition, Governors representing the BMCs, called for a scaling-up of the Bank’s operations given the
Part III - Organisation and Administration
GOVERNANCE BOARD OF GOVERNORS RE-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT In the first quarter of the year, Governors agreed to elect Dr Compton Bourne as President for another five-year term, which took effect from May 1, 2006. The re-election was effected by special voting procedures.
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Board of Directors.
Standing: Ms. Wang Lin, Mr. Hartley Coalbrooke, Ms. Nalini Ablack, Mr. Alberto de Brigard, Mrs. June Simpson-Clarke, Amb. Havelock Brewster, Mr. Locksley Smith, Mrs. Janet Harris, Mr. Anthony Bartholomew, Ms. Sandra Pepera, Mr. Uwe Wolff. Seated: Ms. Kathryn Dunlop, Mr. Crispin Frederick, Dr. Carla Barnett, Dr. Compton Bourne, Mrs. Heidi González, Mr. George Rodgers, Mrs. Vanessa Rubio Márquez.
need for economic transformation of their economies. Governors also endorsed the need for the Bank to engage in more analytical and policy advice work and to provide technical assistance in economic planning and fiscal work. During the Annual Meeting, Governors participated in a special discussion on expanding the membership base of CDB. They subsequently agreed to a recommendation to amend the Bank’s Charter to permit institutions to become members of the Bank. Governors also attended a seminar on monetary cooperation in the Caribbean which was held in conjunction with the CARICOM Secretariat. The Governor for Venezuela was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors to serve up to the end of the next Annual Meeting. That meeting will be hosted by the Government of Venezuela. Resolutions passed by the Board of Governors in 2006 are found at Appendix III. BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Board met on five occasions during the year,and approved a number of loan,technical assistance and loan guarantee operations. Among these were the Bank’s first two Policy-Based Loans and its first Policy-Based Guarantee, which were developed
in response to the need to provide a broader range of approaches to address the structural and related issues being experienced by some of CDB’s BMCs. Early in the year, the Board concluded discussions on the Bank’s Strategic Plan for the period 2005-2009, and gave approval to the plan. They also considered a Human Resources Management Strategy that seeks to align the Bank’s human capital development strategy with its broader corporate strategy. Approval was also given to several policy and operational matters. Among these were amendments to the Bank’s OCR Operational Policies and Guidelines to allow for changes to its policies in relation to Capital Adequacy, Income Targeting, Borrowing Limit and Commitment Authority. These changes are intended to ensure that the Bank’s capital needs are better correlated to its risk exposure among its BMCs, that the interest rate setting used in determination of its net income is tied to meeting the required total capital-to-exposure ratio, and to add greater stringency to its borrowing policies. Additionally, the Board approved revisions to the Bank’s Guidelines for Procurement to harmonise its requirements with those of other MDBs, in keeping with the recommendations of a committee of MDBs set up for this purpose. This development should
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CDB Annual Report 2006 33
simplify requirements for the Bank’s borrowers as well as reduce transaction costs to them. They also approved a recommendation to seek the approval of the Bank’s Board of Governors to allow for institutional membership as a new category within the Bank’s membership structure. In addition, the Board received a report on Expansion of CDB’s Membership from the Chairman of the Board of Directors’ Committee on Membership Expansion. Directors also considered proposals aimed at broadening the range of markets used by the Bank to mobilise resources, particularly in circumstances where it can achieve more competitive pricing. BUDGET COMMITTEE The Board met on three occasions during the year as a Budget Committee of the whole to consider the Bank’s Work Programme and Administrative and Capital Budgets for 2007. AUDIT AND POST-EVALUATION COMMITTEE The primary role of the Audit and Post-Evaluation Committee (APEC) is to assist the Board of Directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibility for the financial reporting process, the system of internal control and the internal audit, external audit and the evaluation and oversight functions. Membership of this advisory committee comprises four Directors who are appointed by the Board for a two-year term. In 2006, two meetings of APEC were held during which members reviewed the 2005 audited Financial Statements and the 2006 Audit Plan which were presented by the external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), as well as reports prepared by the Internal Audit Unit and the Evaluation and Oversight Division (EOV) of the Bank. The Committee also presented reports to the Board on the audited Financial Statements and on reports submitted by EOV. Serving on APEC provides members with an in-depth understanding of many aspects of the Bank’s operations, including significant financial and related business issues, project implementation experiences, as well as the application of lessons learnt from independent evaluations of projects and programmes. EVALUATION AND OVERSIGHT The Evaluation and Oversight (EOV) Division of CDB is charged with the responsibility of contributing to the development effectiveness of the Bank’s operations by providing independent assurance and consulting services. This is achieved through independent evaluations, performance-based audits and quality assurance.
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During the period under review, two evaluations were conducted in the area of Human Resources Development (HRD). The primary objective of the evaluations was to assess the development effectiveness of CDB’s response to the HRD needs of the BMCs from the perspective of CDB’s mission of poverty reduction. The Student Loan Scheme (SLS) is one of the widely recognised SDF-supported programmes in the BMCs, filling a very critical need in the HRD sector. The findings of the evaluation indicate that the SLS has been effective in improving the access to tertiary education for more than 5,000 individuals in the Region over the period 2000 – 2004. Although it is not clear that the poorest segments of the population are benefiting from the loans, the Scheme has helped a group of students who would not otherwise have been able to finance their studies, to improve their standard of living. CDB’s support for education complements other investments to reduce poverty in the Region, particularly by helping to increase the skills of a cadre of individuals serving in a variety of fields, thereby enhancing their capabilities and reducing vulnerability. The overall outcome of the project Further Education in Turks and Caicos Islands was highly satisfactory. The major objective of the project, namely the enhancement of the capability to provide improved, post-secondary education and training to a wider cross-section of the TCI population, has been achieved with benefits exceeding appraisal estimates, with more students enrolling in the College than was projected and the cost savings per student being higher than estimated. In support of enhancing the efficiency of Bank operations, an independent Assessment of the Reorganisation of the Projects Department was undertaken with the aim of reviewing progress towards the overall objective of significantly improving client responsiveness, productivity and internal efficiency, after three years of implementation. Management accepted the findings and conclusions of the report, and has taken the decision to move from a business process structure to one with a sector focus. The performance of CDB’s public and private sector portfolio under implementation was reviewed for the year ending December 31, 2005, and the findings indicate that the loan portfolio maintained a highly satisfactory rating.
Part III - Organisation and Administration