Audit of USAID/Peru"s PL 480 Title II program results

480 Title II program for FY 1998. The annual Results Review and Resources Request (R4) submitted by USAID/Peru in 3/99 included an annex describing Title II program accomplishments and strategic directions as well as a matrix of Title II performance indicators and results for FY 1998. The results for these performance indicators were drawn from the annual results reports from five cooperating sponsors: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA); CARE; Caritas; Proyectos en Informatica, Salud, Medicina, y Agricultura (PRISMA); and TechnoServe. Data accuracy problems make it impossible to determine whether the Title II program is achieving its planned objectives. Analysis of 15 data results reported by the Mission across four performance indicators revealed 9 to be in varying degrees inaccurate, as follows: (1) children graduating from feeding programs (one inaccuracy); (2) hectares incorporated under improved production technologies (three inaccuracies); (3) value of microcredit loan portfolio (three inaccuracies); (4) delinquency rates (two inaccuracies). These inaccuracies were due, in part, to a lack of clear procedures and methodology for assessing the quality of data sources. Supporting documentation at the Mission for all the 15 indicators was limited to the annual results reports from the cooperating sponsors, which included figures in performance tables. However, the Mission"s Title II coordinators were not familiar with the calculation methodologies employed by the cooperating sponsors. Further, the Mission"s Title II management and staff have not generally assessed data sources and methodologies and hence data quality. As a result, the Mission did not reveal, as requested by CDIE, data quality limitations in its R4 for Title II performance indicators. Finally, the R4 Title II annex did not show targets against which to compare actual results. In other areas, the Mission"s status report of losses and claims for the cooperating sponsors is well organized and meets requirements. Nevertheless, the Mission has a large 4- year backlog in adjudicating claims and losses, comprising 239 individual claims with an overall value of $412,581. USAID/Peru agreed with the report and plans to implement each of its six recommendations.