Audit of Africare projects in Burkina Faso, project nos. 686-0934 and 686-0271

One project was to conduct reforestation activities and provide land management education in the southwestern provinces of Bougouriba and Poni and the other was to construct dams to improve the rural water supply in the northwest provinces. Audit covers the period 6/85-2/89. Africare used A.I.D. resources economically and efficiently during implementation of the reforestation project. Although the project was delayed by the late signing of the agreement, activities have proceeded with little difficulty. In the second project, Africare built only four dams - in Toma, Doure-Minima, Goumogho, and Boulpon - of a targeted 12. Moreover, Africare neglected to submit the designs for the Toma and Doure-Minima dams for host government approval as required by the project documents. A.I.D. monitoring was also insufficient, with only one site visit by Mission personnel since project inception. As a result, the Toma Dam collapsed and the Doure-Minima Dam had major design flaws. Each dam costs $132,000. The Mission and Africare have not decided whether it would be more cost-effective to repair the collapsed Toma Dam or to build a new one at a different site. The degree of modifications needed to bring the Doure-Minima Dam to acceptable standards is also not yet determined. Although the design for the Goumohgo Dam was reviewed and modified by the host government, it also has minor construction weaknesses. Costs charged to A.I.D. were reasonable with minor exceptions, including $800 for Africare"s Burkina Faso headquarters expenses. In addition, allocation of expenses among projects was inconsistent due to a lack of procedures. None of the A.I.D.-financed construction equipment used for the dams, nor were the buildings for the reforestation project marked as required.