Niger Basin development planning

Final PES covers the period 8/77-11/84 and summarizes an attached final evaluation (XD-AAS-064-A). Due to NRC management problems, the difficulty of marshalling support from member states and of coordinating donor efforts, and the discrepancy between the project"s ambitious goals and limited time-frame, no implementation progress was made for 4 years. A particular difficulty was NRC"s noncompliance with a condition precedent requiring it to sign agreements with other donors as evidence of start-up. In 1980, however, the member states reaffirmed their support for the NRC, broadened its mandate to focus on planning and investment rather than regulation, and renamed it the Niger Basin Authority (NBA). A.I.D. pledged continuing, albeit reduced, support to the resuscitated project; its principal contribution has been TA through the Army Corps of Engineers. In 1982 AID/W approved a follow-on project (6250944), even though the Corps had barely begun its work (which has been commendable technically, but the Corps did not fulfill its training and institutional development responsibilities) and despite the absence of a mid-term and final evaluation for the present project. At this same time, the NBA was undergoing a renewed management crisis. In fine, the NBA has made little progress in developing an indicative River Basin development plan. It has, however, had some major accomplishments, such as preparing a 1981-82 action plan and a 1983-87 development plan which addresses its own problems. In addition, the AID-supported data storage and retrieval system is in place and functioning; a classification and analysis of the river"s geomorphology has been completed; and appointment of a new Executive Secretary seems to have alleviated the NBA"s management crisis. Nonetheless, it is concluded that as currently constituted and under current support levels the NBA lacks the resources to carry out its mandate effectively. A redesign of the follow-on project is recommended (see abstract of XD-AAS-064-A).