SIKA-West Weekly Bullet Points No. 135: Nov 11-17, 2014

The Badghis GWG will be handed over to DOWA on November 20th. Mentoring will continue to be provided to the DOWAs as they independently lead future GWGs utilizing existing personnel capacity and resources. Since handover, the Ghor and Herat DOWAs have successfully prepared their own revised scopes of work and action plans for future GWG programming. Project Completion Ceremonies were held for four recently completed projects within the districts that have improved the rural road network access for up to 14,000 people to the District Centers. The projects included Road Rehabilitation and Culverts Construction. The ceremonies were led by the Qadis & Muqur District Government personnel and Badghis DRRD. The Lash Wa Juwayn District Government Office developed and publicized a District Government Organogram Chart within the DGO, which informed district residents whom they should contact and refer their issues to. This model will be followed in other DGOs. The SIKA-West DCOP attended a Pan-SIKA Transition Meeting with IDLG and MRRD to discuss next steps on finalizing a unified transition package for all SIKA programs. Grants and Subcontracts Programming have been implemented in the target districts. To date, 423 grant-funded projects valued at USD$9,512,518 have been identified and approved by MRRD and IDLG. CDCs and DDA's are implementing 150 projects valued at USD$4,621,369. A total of 235 projects valued at USD$4,232,316 have been completed. Thirteen projects valued at USD$583,918 are pending with the Vetting Unit for action. Cross-Cutting Capacity Building has been supported by the Governance Department. The Qala-e-Naw District Public Works Department prepared and presented their annual activity report to the Komite Sobate Woleswali on November 12th. This report informed district residents of past, current, and planned programming by the DOPW. The Pusht-e Rod DGO (Farah Province) developed SMS messaging targeting illegal poppy cultivation and corruption within the district. DGO contact details were shared with residents who required more information. The Badghis DRRD and Provincial Government organized and launched a two-day Service Providers Fair in Badghis Province (November 17th -18th). More than 60 Government Departments and Non-Governmental Organizations participated in the Fair, displaying their goods and services. The Fair provided a platform for provincial and district residents to directly communicate with members of their local government, observe and apply for services, and exchange contact details.