Audit of rural water supply project : Burkina Faso

Audit report covers the period 7/79-8/85 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with Government of Burkina Faso (GOBF), USAID/BF, and contractor personnel. Results have been mixed. Although the project"s major activity - the construction of 639 wells - significantly increased the area"s water supply, only a portion of project wells have sanitary drainage structures, and the number of both demonstration latrines built and village health committees established was less than planned. The health education program has not fully convinced villagers to adopt sanitary health practices, mainly because of its reliance on itinerant health workers (HW"s) who were inadequately trained and provided with insufficient educational materials and unsuitable sanitary construction designs. If the project is to increase potable water supplies, HW"s must inculcate in villagers the need to adopt sanitation techniques and to build latrines and drainage structures. It is recommended that USAID/BF address these problems in its end-of-project evaluation. USAID/BF"s internal controls over cash advances need improvement. (Corrective action has been taken.) The GOBF did not assume recurrent costs as required, nor has it budgeted funds to continue the project after A.I.D. funding ceases. Actions aimed at maintaining A.I.D."s project investment using P.L. 480 funds are recommended. The project design did not include as a project goal the improvement of management systems - an A.I.D. priority for institutional development. Even when this was recognized, A.I.D. was slow to correct the design deficiency and to require contractors to design and implement effective systems. In planning a future water supply project, USAID/BF should make sure the GOBF employs persons who received U.S. training under this project, continues operation of the project"s management information system, and operates a comprehensive maintenance program for project vehicles and equipment. The PID for the project should detail plans for the GOBF to identify potential trainees in good time and develop the TA program with USAID/BF; it should also request the A.I.D. contracting officer to include detailed contractor goals with objectifiable indicators.