Casamance regional development project in Senegal has experienced implementation constraints

Audit report covers the period 8/78-4/83 and is based on document review, interviews with host country and USAID/S officials, and site visits. Due to an overly ambitious project design and GOS financial constraints, little has been achieved. Development of project planning and implementation capabilities within SOMIVAC, the GOS project planning agency, and PIDAC, its implementing arm, was minimal. A TA team was not fielded for 27 months; a 10-person team is now on board, but their scope of work is too diffuse, some are not appropriately skilled, and they lack sufficient counterpart staff and work facilities. Participant trainees will return too late to benefit from being trained as counterparts. Agricultural production activities have floundered. Research has not yet provided farmers the planned short-term remedies due to delayed (1981/82 season) provision of TA inputs to the Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) and the latter"s failure, before an 8/83 formal agreement, to activate extension linkages with PIDAC and SOMIVAC which continued to extend traditional technical packages. PIDAC"s expanded (from 49) group of 71 extensionists have received little and ineffective training and lack logistic and material support, and their competence and reported accomplishments are questionable. PIDAC did not initiate its credit program to help farmers purchase needed implements until 3/83. The seed multiplication component has not yet proven effective, although field trials are achieving positive results. Social action programs are just beginning. The rural health program, redesigned in conformity with past evaluations, is currently awaiting GOS approval, but whether it should be implemented through the already overextended PIDAC is questionable. The adult literacy program is also faltering due to poor design and lack of logistical support and follow-up. Finally, poor PIDAC accounting practices and inadequate USAID/S monitoring (now improving) led to numerous discrepancies and disallowment of $172,454. Over $300,000 remains unaccounted for. Twelve recommendations are provided.