Rekenkamer kraakt financiering ontwikkelingsprojecten in zes Afrikaanse landen (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Rekenkamer i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 4 februari 2004, 1:55.

(1)

Some 2 % of EDF aid takes the form of multiannual microproject programmes which finance small-scale infrastructure projects. The Court examined the management and control by the Commission's central services and, in six ACP countries (Ghana, Madagascar, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe), by its Delegations. The Court also checked whether the aims of the programmes had been achieved.

The main observations concern the formulation of the programmes, their implementation and the concrete results achieved by them in the countries selected. The Court's opinion of the microproject programmes is positive, but it nevertheless noted that:

  • the Commission's central services have insufficient information about these programmes and did not provide the Delegations with appropriate guidelines. The legal status of the units that manage the programmes in the ACP countries is not always clear. Implementation of the programmes by means of "programme estimates" can be confused or slow. Although the rules on management and control are, on the whole, satisfactory, deficiencies remain and the information systems are often poorly designed or not used satisfactorily;

  • although the difficulties of precisely measuring impact are under-estimated, the fact that microprojects are useful to the communities concerned is widely attested and verifiable. The conditions that impact on the sustainability of projects appear to be satisfactory, but they may be affected by the weaknesses of local authorities.

Following its audit, the Court calls on the Commission to:

  • improve the organisation of its central services in order to exploit this form of cooperation more fully;

  • provide the Delegations with precise and consistent guidelines that are appropriate for microprojects, exercise greater control over the management system and provide it with a better legal framework, so that programme implementation can be monitored more easily;

  • ensure that implementation of the programmes allows the project cycle to be monitored and time limits respected in accordance with the priority expectations of the communities concerned;

  • adopt realistic methods of measuring results, examine in greater depth ways of securing the medium-term sustainability of microprojects in ACP countries, particularly with respect to the role of local authorities, and encourage appraisals that deal with more than one country.

In its replies, the Commission accepts the bulk of the Court's remarks and recommendations. It draws attention to the positive appraisal made of the microprojet programmes and explains how it intends to implement the Court's main recommendations.

European Court of Auditors, External Relations Service

12, rue Alcide De Gasperi, L-1615 Luxembourg

Tel: (352) 4398 45410 - Fax: (352) 4398 46430 - e-mail: euraud@eca.eu.int - website: http://eca.eu.int

(1) This information note contains a summary only. The Special Report as adopted by the Court of Auditors can be consulted on the Court's Internet site and will shortly be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, series C.

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