Supplemental irrigation project (608-0197) : PACR

The project was implemented by five Government of Morocco (GOM) Ministries (Agriculture, Public Works, Interior, Economic Affairs, and Finance). The project proved to be unworkable, with the only tangible outputs being the participation of three Moroccans in a drainage workshop in Cairo, and four partial feasibility studies of possible dam sites; at the PACD, only $360,000 of the $9 million obligated had been expended. The project was consistently delayed by misunderstandings among the five implementing agencies, which, overseen by two separate committees, were unable to agree on their responsibilities. In addition, use of the Fixed Amount Reimbursement (FAR) System was not appropriate to the GOM's budgetary structure: the GOM had no resources to devote to the project before reimbursement, so the FAR would have required each Ministry to replace its usual activities with project activities, and reimbursements would have been made to the National Treasury, not to each Ministry's budget. This was the crucial element which discouraged the GOM from implementing the project. Finally, the project became even more unmanageable when project responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Interior, which increased the number of members of the already ineffectual management committee. The following lessons were learned. (1) It was not a good idea to involve several technical ministries in the project, or to include the Ministries of Agriculture and of Public Works, two entities which historically have disputed control over water resources. When the involvement of several ministries in a project is unavoidable, one ministry should be charged with implementation and the others included on an informal or an information-need basis. (2) Financing methods should consider the context of the host country, including its budget procedures. (3) Implementation delays might have been avoided if a long-term implementation contract had been established with a U.S. institution.