91999E1760

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1760/99

by Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(1 October 1999)

Subject: Poles of Rural Development project in Cameroon implemented by DG VIII

Can the Commission state its position on the following points in relation to the Poles of Rural Development project:

1. What stage (planning, implementation) has the project now reached?

2. Have project assessments been conducted, and if so by whom (internally by Commission departments, or independently)?

3. What consequences has the Commission acknowledged from such assessments? Has project planning been amended accordingly? If not, why has the outcome of the assessments not been acted on?

4. Does the Commission see it as a potential source of conflict that where a development project is assessed and restructured, the delegation is both the party inviting tenders and a party itself directly involved?

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(16 November 1999)

The Poles of Rural Development project began in 1991 in the Bafut region and in the Sa'a, Ntui and Sangmélima regions at the end of 1992 (financing agreement under the Third Lomé Convention, 6th European Development Fund (EFD), amounting to a total of 10,3 million).

This general approach stresses the importance of teaching people to manage the development of their own community with a view to improving their living conditions and the environment.

During 1997 and 1998 a temporary programme was set up in the Sa'a, Ntui et Sangmélima poles, to link the current project to a second four-year phase. It stressed in particular the project's viability and the management of agricultural projects and socio-economic infrastructures.

The Commission and the national authorising officer agreed to an evaluation at the half-way stage in 1995, and a further evaluation at the end of the temporary programme (1997/1998) in November 1998. They contracted the work out to international consultancy firms on the basis of a restricted consultation.

The evaluations have shown that the project has had a positive effect on the communities involved, since participation has helped them take charge of their own micro-projects. Nevertheless, further efforts need to be made to achieve a satisfactory level of participation and to prepare the people better to take control of their communities.

On the basis of the results of the independent consultancies' evaluations, particular emphasis has been placed on viability and the management of agricultural projects and socio-economic infrastructures. The project activities were planned and monitored under two sub-programmes, ongoing actions and new actions.

No potential source of conflict exists, due to the fact that in the case of independent evaluations where the project is then altered, while the delegation awards the contract on behalf of the national authority, the latter is still the contracting authority.

The results of the evaluation are examined by the Commission delegation and the government, and when the recommendations are pertinent, the changes can be introduced by financial procedures.