The European Union's Operations Unit  (1994-2001)

1- Presentation

 

In early 1995, the Delegation of the European Commission decided to resume the shelved Micro-projects Programme under the 7th EDF. Its implementation was entrusted to an executing agency directly attached to the National Authorizing Officer and the Delegation of the European Commission. It had a very light structure compared to the one in charge of implementing previous Programmes. The latter was a Directorate-General with a highly divisional structure, reporting directly to the Presidency of the Republic.

 

The Cellule d'Opération was set up to implement Micro-Projects Programmes financed by the EDF. Its role was to carry-out small-scale operations at the level of the population and grassroots communities to meet their priority social and economic development needs. The main objective is that the project is solely owned by its beneficiaries.

 

The main objectives of the actions included:

• Generate development dynamics that are driven and managed by the local population.

• Improve living conditions for the population by increasing and diversifying production capacity.

 

The main aim of this strategy was to implement small, highly-targeted actions with short-term results that would solve the problems inherent in the daily lives of beneficiaries.

 

It was initially named Cellule d'Opération du FED, and later became Cellule d'Opération de l'Union Européenne. Its offices were in Immeuble FJKM - Ambohijatovo- Avaratra Rue Ratsimamakitany Antananarivo.

 

 

2- Structure

 

The Cellule d'Opération was attached to the EDF National Authorizing Officer and the European Commission Delegation in Madagascar. It was jointly managed by an expatriate Technical Assistant and a National Director.

 

The management of the various Programmes was entrusted to Programme Coordinators, assisted by Project Managers.

 

Accounting managers were responsible for accounting for the funds allocated to the various Programmes.

 

It had a small team of technicians and draftsmen, as well as support staff, including drivers, who enabled the team to make long and frequent trips on roads in poor condition.

 

The structure also included support staff made up of accountants, secretaries, drivers and janitors.

 

The Cellule d'Opération was based in Antananarivo and had no decentralized offices.

 

3- Activities

 

Other programmes were added to the Micro-projects programme shortly after the start of operations:

• A decentralized cooperation programme.

• A second Micro-Projects in the Social Housing sector

• A Programme to open up production areas.

• A third Micro-Projects Programme.

• Two support Programmes for the Ministry of Health

 

The results of the First Experimental Micro-Projects Programme under Lomé IV, 7th EDF were more than satisfactory. The success rate was over 95% with operating costs of less than 5% of the total budget of 1.9 million euros.

 

For the first Decentralized Cooperation Programme, the role of the Cellule was to facilitate the implementation of the actions defined by the National Authorizing Officer and the European Commission Delegation by reducing the number of additional instructions and facilitating the launch of the programme.

 

The experience already acquired with Micro-projects programme made it much easier to implement two other Programmes, Social Habitat and Rural Trails. In fact, these two programmes arose from the needs identified during the implementation of the 1st Micro-Projects Programme.

 

A third Micro-Projects Programme was the result of an influx of requests for projects that still met the eligibility criteria but could not be realized because the resources of the previous Programmes had been exhausted.

 

The success of the Micro-Projects strategy led the Ministry of Health to request the services of the Cellule d'Opération to rehabilitate its healthcare facilities in a number of localities such as CSBs, pharmaceutical warehouses, hospitals. The Maison du Tourisme did the same for the provision of infrastructures to support local tourism operators.

 

Finally, the evolution of the staff deserves to be highlighted: it has grown from 3 people at the start of operations to 19 people, including 2 expatriates and 17 nationals.

 

The actions of the Cellule d'Opération were perfectly in line with the accompanying measures to mitigate the effects of the structural adjustment policy imposed by the donors and implemented since 1983.

 

The Cellule d'Opération operated throughout the country in support of the above-mentioned objectives. There were no preferential or privileged zones.

 

4- Operations management

 

The Cellule d'Opération intervened throughout the country to help the beneficiaries prepare and implement their projects. It provided all the support these communities needed to:

• Identify their real needs and determine the most appropriate solution to their problems

• Help design and prepare projects

• Strengthen their organizational capacity to ensure maximum efficiency in implementation and ownership of results.

 

The Cellule d'Opération:

• Ensured screening, selected, and evaluated projects submitted by beneficiary communities according to the program's eligibility criteria.

• Evaluated the viability of the projects and the organizational capacity of the beneficiaries

• ensured that the project needs are consistent with government sector policies

• Organized training for beneficiary representatives, as needed

• Supervised and assisted beneficiary communities in the preparation and implementation of projects; the Cellule d'Opération could also provided technical recommendations for a project, and its technical staff could be used free of charge as needed e.g. Improvement of plans and architecture

• Monitored and supervised the implementation

• Did post-project viability reviews

 

Interventions mainly concerned small-scale development projects in rural and urban areas.

 

Sectors of activity included but were not limited to:

• Social infrastructure: health, education (rehabilitation, extension, construction of schools and health centers), housing (social reintegration of the homeless)

• Agriculture: irrigated perimeters, small hydro-agricultural systems)

• Water supply: wells, water transport

• Other sectors (economic infrastructure) 

 

The unit also cooperated with other organizations operating in the field, e.g. Relance du Sud du FED (Fort Dauphin-Tsihombe), the Association française des volontaires du progrès AFVP (Antananarivo, Vohipeno). It also worked with other organizations to implement their Programmes, as was the case with the Ministry of Health and the Maison du Tourisme.

 

 

5- Project management

 

Before approving funding, the unit will ensure that the beneficiaries have established a management structure that ensures transparency at all levels and for each member of the direct beneficiary association. A bank account should be opened for the exclusive use of the project.

 

The Cellule d'Opération submits a short list of projects selected for funding for approval by the National Authorizing Officer and the European Union Delegation.

 

For each project approved for funding:

• An agreement is signed between the Cellule d'Opération and the beneficiaries. This document specifies, among other things, the amount allocated by the EDF program, the participation to which the beneficiaries have committed themselves, the conditions for the management of the allocated funds and of the worksite, the approved specifications and plans, and any other relevant details.

• The funds are released in progressive installments paid directly into a bank account opened for the exclusive use of the project and under the full responsibility of the project beneficiaries.

• A check corresponding to an advance will be issued to the beneficiaries, who will deposit it in the account opened for the exclusive use of the project.

• The granting of the next installment is subject to: the actual progress of the work observed on site, the validation of the quality of the work carried out and the verification of the quantities of materials used, the verification of the proof of expenses.

• At the end of the work, a technical acceptance ceremony is held jointly by the unit, the EDF National Authorizing Officer and the European Commission Delegation.

 

6- Financial resources management

 

These are the budgets of the current Programmes.

 

The Cellule has imprest accounts called "Caisse d'Avances" opened with the Ministry of the EDF National Authorizing Officer (Ministry of Finance) to finance its activities and operations for each Programme it manages.

 

Each imprest account has its own bank account, opened in the name of the corresponding Programme, into which the initial endowment and various replenishments are transferred.

 An Imprest Account operates as follows:

• An initial allocation is transferred to the bank account for the exclusive use of the Programme on the basis of a payment order from the National Authorizing Officer approved for financing by the Head of Delegation of the European Commission.

• The respective Programme budgets are paid in instalments to the respective Programme imprest accounts. The use of budget tranches shall be justified to the EDF National Authorizing Officer and the E.C. Delegation at the time of replenishment.

• Replenishment of the imprest account is carried out by transfers from the Central Bank on payment orders from the National Authorizing Officer approved by the E.C. Delegation.

• The imprest account is managed by an Administrator and an Accountant, both appointed by Ministerial Order.