Egypt : the basic village services project

480 Title III Basic Village Services project to strengthen the capacity of local governments in Egypt to implement development projects. Special evaluation covers the period l980-81 and is based on visits to a random sample of projects (26 of 268) and interviews with local, markaz (district), and governorate personnel. The project has made substantial progress, but the degree of progress has varied among the three governorates receiving the initial disbursement of project funds; 66% of the projects in Fayoum and Sharkia governorates have now been completed, but Sohag governorate has disbursed only 25% of received funding. Virtually all projects have used labor-intensive means to upgrade existing infrastructure,primarily roads and potable water systems; little has been done to extend infrastructure to new beneficiaries. Still, the projects have been appropriate to local needs and have had a wide impact. Local contributions of labor and land have been encouraging. Project implementation is in the early stages in the newly added governorates of Giza, Minufia, Qalyubiyah, Beheira, El Minya, and Qena. Progress in achieving decentralization has also varied, with Fayoum achieving the greatest degree, Minufiya decentralizing at the markaz level as a first step, and Qalyubiyah, Sohag, and Sharkia achieving less success. Degree of decentralization has been correlated with both faster project completion and lower project costs. Project constraints have included: shortages of critical materials in Sharkia and Sohag; low project visibility; difficulty in measuring project impacts due to the project"s fragmented nature and a lack of baseline data; and failure to develop a specific project training program. Recommendations are to: analyze future materials and equipment needs; strengthen monitoring, in view of the project"s expansion, and develop an ongoing evaluation system; assure language proficiency and cultural awareness among contract personnel; improve the training focus; develop a plan for maintenance of roads and water systems; stress local participation in project selection in addition to implementation; and improve communication and coordination between A.I.D. and the Eygptian implementing agency.