DRC PSR Project – Contract AID-660-TO-16-00003 – Quarterly Report #1

The project was awarded to a consortium led by ECODIT LLC on May 11, 2016, under the Clean Energy IDIQ. The project's primary goal is to support the implementation of the new national Law on Electricity, signed by President Kabila in June 2014. The project has a three-year period of performance, from May 16, 2016, to May 15, 2019. ECODIT provided the first Quarterly Report covering the period from May 16 to September 30, 2016, highlighting achievements during the project inception period and the initiation of project activities. The report covers administrative and technical activities, implementation challenges, program indicators, and plans for the next quarter. Administrative activities included mobilization efforts, where the project team met with USAID and key Government DRC counterparts to introduce the project, identify key staff, and discuss objectives for the first year. The team also met with other donors to discuss coordination and leverage funding sources. The project director arrived in Kinshasa on August 28, 2016, to assume overall management responsibility, and local staff were hired to support project activities. Technical activities focused on progress towards project results, with a focus on four components: strategy, policy, and decrees; regulatory authority; rural electrification agency; and generation, transmission, and distribution concessions. The project team conducted a mission to the DRC from July 10 to 29, 2016, to introduce the project, identify key staff, and discuss objectives for the first year. Implementation challenges were identified, including the need to coordinate and cooperate with various stakeholders, address gender issues, and manage the project's financial and level of effort. Program indicators for the quarter included progress towards project results, and plans for the next quarter included continued implementation of project activities, coordination with stakeholders, and monitoring and evaluation of project progress. The project office was set up within the UCM-MEHR building in Kinshasa, and discussions were ongoing to identify an appropriate mechanism for the reimbursement of UCM for the use of this office space. Three short-term experts were brought on board to support project activities, including Mr. Henri Boyé, Mrs. Merita Kostari, and Mr. Pascal Habay.