A project to create a modern civil-service system in Iraq is about to unfold—and U.S. taxpayers will shell out an additional $151 million in an attempt to accomplish that task.
The awarding of this contract (award #AID-267-C-11-00005) to Management Systems International, Inc., (MSI) a Washington, D.C.-based subsidiary of Coffey International Ltd., comes at a time when the United States government increasingly, and internally, is coming under fire for waste and corruption specific to Iraqi aid programs. Indeed, as the LA Times reported today, $6.6 billion in U.S. currency shipped to Iraq not only is missing, but is likely to have been stolen.
The National and Provincial Administrative Reform Project, also known as "Tarabot," will not involve shipping truckloads of cash to Iraq; instead, this civil-service endeavor will center upon the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) writing checks to MSI. The company, in turn, will seek to sway Iraqi national policymakers to craft new civil service laws, while also engaging provincial and local officials to transform their outdated systems into modern human-resources institutions.
According the solicitation (#RFP 267-10-012), USAID issued advance warning to potential vendors about the risks involved in performing these functions as well as the history of Iraqi reluctance to embrace such reforms:
The Contractor shall be responsible for its own security and will employ a security profile that is linguistically and culturally appropriate as well as cost-effective. Contractors must understand that Baghdad is currently insecure, even in the International Zone where some of the targeted institutions have branch offices. The Contractor should ensure that its staff fully understands the security risks prior to accepting employment. Information about security and life support services in Iraq is provided by the Overseas Security Advisory Council.
In the past, lack of GOI political commitment to carry through on reforms has jeopardized efforts to achieve targeted reforms. Therefore, the existence of active and informed Iraqi champions and efforts to achieve dedicated GoI involvement during the course of implementation is critical to success. This requires an understanding of the political interests at play within Iraq, and a clear articulation of the implementation plan to be designed in close cooperation with Iraqi stakeholders, USAID, and other donors. Other critical variables for success or failure include 1) the high level of coordination required by the Contractor with USG, donor, and Golf entities; and 2) changes in government leadership. Therefore, building a broad and active Iraqi constituency is key to applying and sustaining pressure on the government to initiate and follow through with meaningful reforms.
The project duration is about four years.
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