Evaluation of technical assistance to the Ministry of Public Works, Transport, Construction and Town Planning, Republic of the Ivory Coast

Evaluation covers the period 6/76-6/78 and is based on site visits, a review of project documents, and interviews with USAID/IC, GOIC, and project personnel. Within the guidance provided by GOIC, the six technical assistants (TA) -- one in the MTPTCU's major projects division, one in SETU (Societe d'Equipement des Terrains Urbains), and two each in the MTPTCU construction division and land title/purchasing division -- have generally fulfilled their duties in such areas as: coordinating subcontractors; inspecting equipment and supplies; designing schools, health centers, and play grounds; supervising construction; developing and implementing competitive bidding procedures; and assisting in data collection, processing, and management. However, the GOIC's failure to assign counterparts (CP) in a timely manner and the failure of the TA's to insist that they be assigned CP's have led to a shortfall in CP training. In addition, the conflicting policies of different GOIC agencies have hampered TA effectiveness, a situation which the Project Coordinator (PC) has been unable to ameliorate due to his many other non-project responsibilities. Further, the MTPTCU professional training project in which three TA's were to have been instructors has not yet been implemented. Project deficiencies, to the extent that they reflect a GOIC policy posture, were deemed beyond the scope of this evaluation. It is, however, recommended that: (1) the PC exert stronger leadership in order to achieve those project goals requiring significant innovations in GOIC and public sector policy and behavior; (2) the contracts of the TA town planner in the MTPTCU major projects division and the data processor at the land title/purchasing division be extended 1 year; and (3) TA's spend more time with departmental staffs in order to expand staff perception of overall departmental roles.