AID-financed project vehicles in Egypt

Report on an audit conducted 9/82-1/83 is based on a review of USAID/E files, interviews with Government of Egypt (GOE) officials and with contractors, and inspection of vehicles and of vehicle documentation. In the seven projects, A.I.D. provided 399 vehicles worth over $3 million. Monitoring of the use and maintenance of these vehicles is so lax as to be totally ineffective. Five of 51 pickups procured for the Urban Electric Distribution project are unaccounted for. In five projects (Alexandria Sewerage System Expansion, Strengthening Rural Health Delivery, Urban Electric Distribution Equipment, Cairo Water Supply, and Rice Research and Training), 93 vehicles have been diverted for the personal use of GOE officials, U.S. and expatriate consultants, and, in one case, a British national posted to a bilateral British project. Due variously to ineffective project planning, nondistribution to project sites, or shortages of personnel, spare parts, or facilities, 112 vehicles are either totally idle or grossly unused; 23 damaged vehicles have remained unrepaired for as long as 8 months; and an indeterminate number of vehicles were not used at all. In addition, 37 vehicles are not controlled by the required documentation, and 150 vehicles have non-GOE license plates, which precludes spot checking of official cars for non-GOE usage. Finally, following the terms of its project agreements with USAID/E, Catholic Relief Services used A.I.D. funds to procure 30 vehicles from non-U.S. sources. It is recommended that USAID/E: (1) identify all problems regarding the use and disposition of AID-financed project passenger vehicles, including pick-ups; (2) initiate actions with the GOE and implement monitoring systems of its own to redress these problems; (3) require all projects to submit a vehicle use plan for review prior to authorizing vehicle procurement; (4) suspend procurement of additional vehicles for the Cairo Water Supply and the Strengthening Rural Health Delivery projects until the two projects can demonstrate they can use the additional vehicles effectively and efficiently; and (5) consult with the GOE and AID/W to determine if A.I.D. should continue to finance vehicle procurement.