Audit of ASEAN plant quarantine project, project number 398-0258.02

The development of PLANTI has been greatly assisted by the project, which has financed construction and has provided equipment, participant training, salaries, and TA. Day-to-day management has been relatively good, and the Government of Malaysia (GOM), as the lead counterpart nation, has provided strong support. However, the project has lacked policy direction and monitoring from the ASEAN Regional Development Office (RDO). This lack of policy direction is a substantive issue and was especially evident in the selection of participants to be trained. Even though Malaysia has fewer than 14% of all the plant quarantine officers in ASEAN, over 35% of the training provided by PLANTI was for the Malaysian plant quarantine officers, as compared to about 20% for the officers of each of the three lesser-developed ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. This disparity is particularly noteworthy because Malaysia is considered a developed country that does not warrant bilateral or capital development assistance programs. In addition, internal controls need improvement. Conditions that merit improved monitoring by the RDO include the failure to implement the special covenant specified in the grant agreement calling for an evaluation to be performed within 6 months after project start-up and again at one or two points thereafter. The eveluation program was not established as planned, and an evaluation was not made until 5 years after the grant agreement was signed. Inventory accountability lists and equipment utilization reports were never prepared. Some of the equipment arrived damaged, yet has not been repaired or reported as defective, while several pieces of laboratory equipment that arrived in 1982 still remain unused. Finally, A.I.D. paid approximately $375,000 in costs - for air travel and for PLANTI administrative salaries - specifically excluded by the grant agreement. To improve the effectiveness of the project, especially for Phase II, it is recommended that the ASEAN RDO improve the documentation and collection of management actions relative to site visits, equipment inventory and utilization reports, evaluations, and project disbursements. It is also recommended a refund be obtained from the GOM and participating ASEAN countries for project expenses inappropriately paid by A.I.D. (Author abstract, modified)