REVIEW OF THE AID PROGRAM IN ZAIRE (AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT)

Evaluation, which covers the period 1977 to 6/30/79 and is included in an audit review of A.I.D."s entire Zaire program (PD-AAG-123-A1, PD-AAG-124-A1, PD-AAG-125-A1, PD-AAG-126-A1, PD-AAH-233-A1), is based on Mission files and records and onsite visits. PASA team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has operated at half strength for over a year, due to USDA"s inability to replace the original team, which left after its first tour. If this situation continues, participant trainees scheduled to return will have to remain in the U.S. for thesis work, thus eliminating an important project element, the development of agricultural information on Zaire through participants" theses. In response to this situation, the Mission has begun requesting technical assistance to conduct marketing and pricing studies under another AID-supported agricultural sector project. To combat a widepsread practice of inserting fictitious names on the civil service schedule, the GOZ has abolished wage and salary supplements for those whose names do not appear on the list. Since employees must work two to three years before their names do appear, it is quite possible that the DOA"s ability to retain the services of returned participants will be seriously affected. Because of the real difficulty of the problem, an original draft recommendation was modified. It is now recommended that the Mission continue negotiations with the GOZ on this matter to ensure that participants receive timely payments for their work, and that the GOZ provides a research stipend from counterpart funds for returned participants in order to ensure their continuation with the project. Sufficient funding may not be available for participant training due to the sharp rise in training costs, inflation, and the need for longer training periods. In response to this situation, the Mission amended the 1979 Pro-Ag, increasing substantially the line item allocation for training expenditures.