Small rural water systems project in the Yemen Arab Republic : a midterm evaluation

Midterm evaluation covers the period 1985-9/86 and is based on document review, site visits, and interviews with Government of Yemen (YARG) and USAID/Y staff. The project's construction component has been an unqualified success. The contractor, New TransCentury Foundation (NTF), has overcome the combined constraints of logistics and terrain to produce 172 water supply systems that are well engineered and constructed to high-quality standards, and in the process has turned itself into a highly efficient turnkey construction unit. In addition, about 180 persons in 90 villages have been trained to operate and maintain the systems. The systems have been widely accepted by villagers, who have been willing to pay for much of the capital and ancillary costs. Also, the systems seem to be fostering a greater use of water (although water use and storage practices have not measurably changed) and have allowed women to use the time previously spent on water-fetching for agricultural work. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in meeting the primary objective of Phase II - to provide institutional development services to the Rural Water Systems Department (RWSD), the YARG implementing agency. here stems from RWSD's conception of itself as strictly a development agency and the ambiguous institutional objectives stated in the Memorandum of Understanding between USAID/Y and RWSD, not to mention the fact that RWSD did not become an autonomous agency as planned. It is therefore recommended that NTF concentrate on providing TA to RWSD and encourage RWSD to employ private firms to do the water system construction currently performed by NTF. RWSD would perform the same functions it now performs (e.g., survey and design functions, tendering contracts for construction to private sector firms), only more efficiently. Specific recommendations are that: (1) USAID/Y authorize no increase in the number of construction sites; (2) RWSD employees be phased back; and (3) NTF formulate detailed plans for providing TA to RWSD in planning, management, and supervising construction of water systems by private firms (in part through a functional Office of Planning and Management) and continue training village and RWSD technicians. Also, USAID/Y must become more active in project monitoring, beginning with working with RWSD and NTF to develop a new Memorandum of Understanding. If significant progress towards implementing these recommendations is not made in 6-8 months after the Memorandum is formulated, the project should be terminated.