Official evaluations commissioned by the EDF concerning the implementation of Micro-Projects Programmes under Lomé IV/7th EDF have demonstrated a success rate of over 95%. This success can be attributed to innovations introduced in 1994, based on:
Involvement of beneficiaries at all stages of the project, from preparation through to full management of implementation and financing.
The organization of beneficiaries to ensure transparency at all levels, both in the decision-making process and in financial management.
The EDF Programme encourages beneficiaries to obtain the advice of ministerial officials to ensure compliance with current sectoral policy (Integration with Sectoral Policy).
We have therefore defined eligibility criteria based on the following rules:
The project is solely the initiative of the direct beneficiaries, and not of projects developed by third parties and presented on behalf of the beneficiaries.
• The project meets a real need expressed only by its direct beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries negotiate directly with the Programme without intermediaries
Beneficiaries take part in all decisions
Beneficiaries agree to contribute to the project by making a cash contribution equivalent to 25% of the total cost of the project. This contribution may be in the form of materials, labor or other contributions applicable to the project.
Beneficiaries agree to set up a project management committee to ensure transparency at all levels, especially in financial management.
Beneficiaries open a double-signature bank account for the exclusive use of the project. Project funding is paid directly into this bank account. The management committee is responsible for keeping the accounts, which are always accessible to the whole community. This committee reports to the EDF Programme on the use of funding (financial reports supported by receipts for expenditure).
The beneficiaries themselves hire the third parties (service providers and similar) who will be involved in the project, should this prove necessary. They manage the contract and pay the service providers from the funding paid into the project account.
Beneficiaries propose technical solutions for the project.
For its part, the EDF Programme provides the technical assistance required to ensure compliance with best practice in terms of both accounting and technical documentation. For example, the EDF Programme has provided training in bookkeeping. The EDF Programme has also provided architectural assistance to complete the technical files of certain beneficiaries, to enhance the quality of works and the efficiency of resources.
Beneficiaries must demonstrate in their application that a post-investment organization has been set up and is functioning, to ensure that the project is sustainable. For example, in the case of a school construction project, the EDF Programme evaluates the effectiveness of attendance and the source of operating resources. In the case of a communal track, we evaluate the implementation of the cantonnage system, municipal regulations governing the rain barrier, among all.
Comments