Media contacts: Yanina Budkin (5411) 4316-9700 Ybudkin@worldbank.org Alejandra Viveros (202) 473-4306 Aviveros@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, July 6, 2005 - The World Bank’s Board of Directors yesterday approved a $25 million loan for Argentina to support the institutional strengthening of the National Social Security Administration.
“This project supports the Government of Argentina’s objective of strengthening governance by improving the service delivery of the social security administration through greater efficiency, transparency and accountability,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Country Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The Institutional Strengthening of the National Social Security Administration Technical Assistance Loan seeks to enhance service delivery by the National Social Security Administration (Administración Nacional de Seguridad Social - ANSES). This will be done through institutional reengineering, enhance fraud and error detection, change management, greater internal and external oversight, institutional strengthening of the Social Security Secretariat and civil society participation on the basis of innovative corporate management practices that add concrete value to ANSES’ beneficiaries.
In particular, the project will support the following objectives: (i) Consolidate and expand selected organizational reforms of ANSES through business process reengineering, integration and automation of core processes, functions, and products, and ICT investments for continuous dynamic change with a view to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service-delivery; (ii) Support the institutional strengthening of the Social Security Secretariat to enhance its policymaking and oversight functions, strengthen the accountability of ANSES and other social security institutions, and promote outreach to other stakeholders; (iii) Enhance access to information and exchange of information, help fraud and error detection in benefit determination and liquidation, and promote effective channels for citizen engagement and oversight, with a view to improve internal and external transparency and citizen participation; and (iv) Promote change management, innovation, and dissemination of good management practices to enhance project performance and sustainability.
“This loan will consolidate the reforms started under the first phase supported by a previous Bank loan, such as access to services and fraud and error detection, and will go beyond these issues to help create a more dynamic, efficient and transparent institution on the basis of innovative public sector management instruments” said Kathrin A. Plangemann, World Bank Task Manager for the project.
The first ANSES loan helped the institution to undertake significant institutional reforms that increased its management capacity. Under this loan, ANSES has made progress in institution-building through the development of an integrating vision and mission, and the establishment of basic processes and systems supporting vertical and horizontal integrations. In addition, it set up an infrastructure to expand access to services, and started addressing some of its most pressing problems, such as fraud and error detection.
The $25 million single-currency, fixed spread loan has a repayment period of 15 years, including six years of grace.
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