VR risks losing 6th EU-sponsored micro-project programme

Ho, Aug. 28, GNA - Dr Kweku Osafo, Programme Manager of the Micro-Projects Management Unit of the European Union (EU)in Ghana, on Thursday said the Volta Region risks being dropped in the sixth Phase of the programme, if it did not improve all round performance in project implementation.

He was speaking at a Workshop on 5th Micro-Projects Programme-Phase-Three, for the six southern districts in the Volta Region.

About 45 billion cedis would be spent on this phase, which begins in October, this year.

While noting that the second phase recorded a tremendous improvement than before, Dr Osafo slammed some northern districts, especially, Kete-Krachi, for a "markedly poor performance".

Dr Osafo said a mid-term review evaluation report on the second phase, listed lack of signboards to project sites, non-provision of records of payments to artisans, utilisation of vehicles for non-project jobs, irregular District Implementation Committee meetings, bad documentation and poor supervision as some of the drawbacks.

He wondered why signboards budgeted and paid for were not made and erected and alleged that the implementing districts persistently failed to provide records of payments to artisans because of "shady deals". Dr Osafo said it was wrong for a Certificate of Work to be signed before a job is completed.

District Chief Executives (DCEs), Presiding Members, (PMs), District Co-ordinating Directors, (DCDs), District Finance Officers (DFOs), District Project Co-ordinators and officials of the Community Development Department attended the workshop.

The EU-Micro-Projects are designed to tackle poverty at the grassroots through the provision of school blocks, sanitary facilities and water systems for the deprived areas.

The Volta Region has 140 school structures, 14 markets, 42 sanitary facilities and 15 boreholes.

The beneficiary communities contributed 25 percent of the projects through communal labour and the provision of sand while the EU provided the remaining 75 per cent cost.

Mrs Adjoa Asotia-Boakye, Staff Engineer of the MPMU said henceforth, drawings of projects would be detailed enough to ensure that they were done to the required standard.

She listed cracks in floors and walls non-treatment of wood, non-adherence to specifications as some defects detected by evaluators. Mrs Asotia-Boakye said 98 percent of urinals built under the project nationwide were without 'soakaways' and some KVIPs have poor ventilation.

She said the MPMU was proposing that a six month lapse be allowed between the completion of the projects and the issue of 'certificates of completion' to ensure that implementers do the right thing. Mrs Asotia-Boakye said sometimes artisans on the jobs were ill trained, accounting for some of the difficulties in supervision. Mr Jonathan Alabi, Development Analyst of the MPMU said the refusal of beneficiary districts to answer queries and fill data forms made management of the projects difficult. 28 Aug. 03