The Investment Coordinating Committee

Its full name is the Investment Coordinating Committee, but it is more often known as the NEDA-ICC (or simply, ICC). It is one of the six committees of the National Economic and Development Board (NEDA). The other five are the Development Budget Coordination Committee, the Infrastructure Committee, the Social Development Committee, the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters, and the Regional Development Committee. The ICC is often highlighted because all major projects, especially those financed by Official Development Assistance (ODA), are evaluated and approved by the ICC.

ODA is development aid provided by developed countries to developing ones. Last week, we stressed that ODA must be official, for economic development and welfare, and concessional. And since there will always be more proposed projects than available money, it is the task of the ICC to “screen” the projects. NEDA dictates that the ICC evaluates the fiscal, monetary and balance of payments implications of major national projects, and recommends to the president the timetable of their implementation on a regular basis, advises the president on matters related to the domestic and foreign borrowings program, and submits a status of the fiscal, monetary and balance of payments implications of major national projects.

To perform its function, it is necessary to “keep track” of foreign debt balances and balance of payments (BOP). BOP is the record of all economic transactions between the residents of the country and the rest of the world in a particular period of time, and loan and grant drawdowns as well as debt payments are part of these. This is why the ICC is very meticulous in getting the right monetary figures and making sure, our economic spending ensures the growth and progress of the country. Not only is it strict in approving projects, it makes sure that approved projects are implemented correctly and efficiently.

This is the reason many people see the ICC as a challenge. It has very specific guidelines and procedures in project evaluation and procedures which were meticulously designed to ensure the country gets the best economic gain of our meager resources. But the way it evaluates projects is not actually difficult – it’s exactly using the same mechanisms used by other countries, and the same methodologies employed by the lenders, or aid donors, themselves in deciding what projects to fund or not. This is also true of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects, inasmuch as most PPP’s require foreign currency and are required to get ICC approval by law.

It is no wonder why some enthusiastic leaders and bureaucrats want to evade the NEDA-ICC process which they see as an obstacle, and want to do away with it as much as possible. That’s sad because the NEDA-ICC is a very good mechanism to ensure the country maximizes its available resources, especially those coming from ODA and the private sector, as well as optimizes the economic benefits accruing from the projects it supports. The ICC process should be embraced, instead of being evaded. (To be continued)