1. This Title shall govern the direct labour and indirect decentralised operations provided for in Article 24 of Annex IV to the ACP-EC Agreement. It shall apply mutatis mutandis to financial cooperation with the OCTs.

2. In the case of direct labour operations, projects and programmes shall be implemented directly through public departments of the ACP State or States concerned.

The Community shall contribute to the costs of the departments involved by providing the equipment and/or materials that they lack and/or the resources to acquire any additional staff required, such as experts from within the ACP States concerned or other ACP States. The Community’s participation shall cover only costs incurred by supplementary measures and temporary expenditure relating to execution that are strictly confined to the requirements of the project in question.

The financial management of a project implemented by direct labour in accordance with the first and second subparagraphs shall be carried out by imprest accounts administered by an imprest administrator and an accounting officer, appointed by the National Authorising Officer with the prior approval of the Commission’s responsible authorising officer.

3. In the case of indirect decentralised operations, the contracting authority within the meaning of Article 73(1)(a) shall entrust tasks relating to the implementation of projects or programmes to bodies governed by public law of the ACP State or States concerned or bodies governed by private law that are legally distinct from the ACP State or States concerned. In such cases, the body concerned shall assume responsibility for the management and implementation of the programme or project in place of the National Authorising Officer. Tasks so delegated may include the power to conclude contracts and manage contracts and the supervision of works on behalf of or for the account of the ACP State or States concerned.

4. Direct labour operations and indirect decentralised operations shall be implemented on the basis of a programme of measures to be carried out and an estimate of their cost, hereinafter referred to as the “programme estimate”. The programme estimate is a document laying down the human and material resources required, the budget and the detailed technical and administrative implementing arrangements for execution of a project over a specified period by direct labour and, possibly, by means of public procurement and the award of specific grants. Each programme estimate shall be prepared by the imprest administrator and the accounting officer referred to in paragraph 2, in the case of direct labour operations, or by the body referred to in paragraph 3, in the case of indirect decentralised operations, and shall then be approved by the National Authorising Officer and the Commission’s responsible authorising officer before the activities it provides for commence.

5. In the context of the implementation of the programme estimates referred to in paragraph 4, the procurement and grant award procedures shall comply with those laid down in Titles IV and VI respectively.

6. The financing agreements referred to in Article 51(3) must make provision for the implementation of direct labour operations or indirect decentralised operations.’;

Article 81 shall be amended as follows:

The introductory part shall be replaced by the following:

‘In the case of indirect decentralised operations the contracting authority referred to in Article 73(1)(a) shall conclude a delegation agreement when entrusting implementation tasks to a body governed by public laws of the ACP State or States concerned or by private law with a public service mission and a service contract when entrusting those tasks to bodies governed by private law. The Commission shall ensure that the delegation agreement or service contract sets out:’;

Point (b) shall be replaced by the following:

a clear definition and precise delimitation of the powers delegated to the body concerned and the powers retained by the National Authorising Officer;’;

Point (d) shall be replaced by the following:

the possibility of ex post review and financial penalties where the granting of funds or award of contracts by the body concerned does not correspond to the procedures laid down at point (c);’.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 309/2007 of 19 March 2007 amending the Financial Regulation of 27 March 2003 applicable to the 9th European Development Fund