VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHDS #2660/01 3141406
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY-ADXD7AB51-MSI2071-413)
P 101406Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6781
UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002660
SENSITIVE
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED SBU TO ALL THREE PARAS MARKING)
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR AF and AF/EPS -TDAVISON
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON AFIN ET
SUBJECT: RISK BASED ASSESSMENT ON AMBASSADOR'S SPECIAL SELF-HELP
PROGRAM 2009- ETHIOPIA
SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Embassy Addis Ababa received an allocation of USD 90,000 for
the Ambassador's Special Self-Help Program (SSH) for the fiscal year
2009. Eight projects were selected for funding according to the SSH
selection criteria and Mission objectives. We estimate that a total
of 14,163 people will benefit through these projects. The following
is a short description of the projects selected and an assessment of
program-level associated risks based on the Negroponte's Risk-Based
Assessment Directive of February 2008. All of the prospective
grantees will get US Government support in the form of cash. Out of
the eight potential grantees, four of them (Community Vision
Ethiopia, Mahi Difu Child Care and Development Organization
(MDCCDO), Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI)and Integrated
Development Association of Sebeya) are local Ethiopian NGOs; three
of them (Alemu Woldehanna Primary School, Guri Luchicha Primary
School and Nano Jidu Elementary School) are community-level local
government schools; and one of them (Bedele Rural Water Resource
Supply and Sanitation Office) is a local government office entrusted
with the supply of pure drinking water to ten surrounding
communities. Out of the eight prospective grantees, six of them are
new, and two of them, namely, Mahi Difu and Nano Jidu, were former
USG grantees under the Special Self-Help program with excellent
track records.
2. (SBU) FY09 prospective grantees:
Holder:Community Vision Ethiopia (CVE)
Project Title:Women-Led Dairy Value Chain Development in
Kucha
Location:Kucha woreda, Southern Nations, Nationalities
andPeoplesRegional State, Ethiopia
Project Duration: One year
Estimated Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 300 women
b) Type: Poor rural women
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 10,757.09
b) Community Contribution: USD 560.00 in the form of labor
and material
c) Total:USD 11,317.09
Holder: Alemu Woldehanna Primary School
Title: Alemu Woldehanna Primary School Library Construction
Project
Location: Hosanna, SNNPR
Project Duration: One year
Estimated Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 3,598
b) Type: Students and the community
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 10,044.82
b) Community Contribution: USD 24,127.00
c) Total:USD 34,171.82
Holder: Bedele Rural Water Resource Supply and Sanitation Office
Title: Doranteba et al Spring Water Development Location:Bedele
Woreda, Illubabor Zone, Oromia Region
Duration:1 year
Estimated Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 4,000
b) Type: Farmers residing in 10 rural communities
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 10,769.03
b) Community Contribution: USD 2,909.00 (in labor)
c) Total:USD 13,678.03
Holder: Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI)
Title:GTLI Rural Trading Center Pilot Program
Location:Wassemu, Minogelti, Hamer Woreda, SNNPR
Duration: One year
Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 4,000
b) Type: Pastoralist population of Minogelti
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 11,062.46
b) Community Contribution: USD 10,656.00 (in the form of
labor, land and local construction materials for the
construction of store, market shade , pit latrine and shop)
PROGRAM 2009- ETHIOPIA
c) Total: USD 21,718.46
Holder: Guri Luchicha Primary School
Title: Guri Luchicha Primary School Construction
Location: Luchicha Kebele, Kersa Woreda, Arssi Zone, Oromia Region
Duration: 1 year
Beneficiaries:
a) Number:563 (287 boys and 276 girls)
b) Type:School-aged children in a mostly-Muslim highland
community
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 12,338.20
b) Community Contribution: USD 5,068.75
c) Total: USD 17,406.95
Holder: Mahi Difu Child Care and Development Organization (MDCCDO)
Title:Training-Based IGA Project for Destitute Women
Location:Gewane woreda, Hanakis Kebele
Duration: One year
Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 100
b) Type: Destitute women
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 10,117.91
b) Community Contribution: USD 22,446.23 (in the form of labour and
start up raw material mainly cotton)
c) Total: USD 32,564.14
Holder:Nano Jidu Elementary School
Title:Construction of Additional Classrooms
Location:Tikur Enchini Woreda, West Shoa Zone, Oromia Region
Duration: 1 year
Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 840 (452 boys and 388 girls)
b) Type:School children in grades 5-8
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 12,671.46
b) Community Contribution: USD 11,443.50 (in local materials and
labor)
c) Total: USD 24,114.96
Holder:Integrated Development Association of Sebeya
Title:Construction of six additional classrooms in Kudu Enqui
Primary School
Location:Sebeya Kebele, Gulomekeda woreda, Tigray region
Duration: One year
Beneficiaries:
a) Number: 762 (out of which 340 are females)
b) Type: School-aged children
Project Cost:
a) USG Contribution Requested: USD 12,239.02
b) Community Contribution: USD 2,089.90 in cash and free labor.
c) Total: USD 14,328.92
3. (SBU) Assessments of Risks:
All eight prospective grantees for FY09 are local NGOs, local
government/municipalities, and primary schools. None of the grantees
has a sub-grantee. All of the above potential grantees were checked
against the OFAC, SDN, and Suspension and Debarment lists and no
results were obtained. None of them are related to
narco-trafficking. Out of the eight grantees, three of them are
primary schools with school or library construction/expansion
projects to benefit an additional 5,763 school-aged children, four
of the grantees are local NGOs with income-generating projects to
benefit 4,400 poor and marginalized rural men/women who have little
to no income, and one grantee is a local government office with a
water supply and sanitation project that will provide more than
4,000 rural people with clean drinking water. The areas where the
eight projects will be implemented are not designated or suspected
by Ethiopian federal, regional, or local governments to be areas
where terrorists operate. With the exception of the school projects,
which are accountable to government education bureaus of their
respective local governments, all local NGO grantees are
legally-registered entities either under the Ethiopian Federal
Ministry of Justice, or re-registered under the recently established
Charities and Societies Federal Agency or equivalent legal entities
in the regional states. Moreover, each potential grantee's project
site falls within the jurisdiction of the local government where the
grantee intends to implement its project, and it is mandatory for
each grantee to work closely with the respective local government
sector office (water, health, agriculture, microenterprise, etc.)
where it operates. This cooperation includes submitting a support
letter for the US-funded project from the applicable local
government office to the American Embassy in Addis Ababa. This has
the added advantage of knowing who the grantee is and being able to
identify potential risks at an early stage.
The amount of a grant for each of the grantees ranges from USD
10,044 to USD 12,671. To ensure there is no possibility of money
being diverted or misused to benefit terrorists, small grantees'
project locations, type of beneficiaries, project progress and
project financials are tightly-monitored by the US Embassy Addis
Ababa Ambassador's Special Self-Help Program. In addition, the Small
Projects Office ensures that each grantee complies with
host-country's legal requirements and administrative checks.
Payments to grantees usually incorporate two methods, namely, on an
advance and/or reimbursement basis. Reimbursement against receipts
is the preferred approach. However, resource-limited Ethiopian NGOs
rarely have the funds to operate on a reimbursement basis. In rare
cases (and only under special circumstances), a grantee will receive
full payment upfront if the written request is convincing.
Here are the procedures we follow in providing fiscal oversight of
our grantees:(1)Immediately after signing their agreements, the
grantee is required to submit a work-plan detailing the activities
that will be implemented using the first advance, which usually
amounts to 50% of the award, along with implementation time frame
(2) (sbu) The transference of money to grantees is through the domestic
banking system (3)The grantee is expected to submit receipts for the
first advance along with an interim implementation report as per the
timeframe indicated in its work-plan. At this point, the grantee is
also required to submit an official request for the release of the
second advance together with a new work-plan to be implemented using
the second advance (4)Before releasing the second advance, the Small
Projects Office staff conducts a site visit to verify the grantees'
reported progress.
MEECE