Development Alternatives, Inc.

In Partnership with the

U.S Agency for International Development
Office of Transition Initiatives
Iraq Transition Initiative

Date:2 February 2007

To: Konrad Huber
Michele Amatangelo
From: Steve Connolly

Subj: Trip Report

Purpose of Trip:

-First visit to OTIS Project area since assuming technical backstop role;
-familiarization with different project offices and field staff;
-facilitate and contribute to coordination between the field and home office team in order
to improve, streamline and solidify financial and management workplans in addition to
addressing and correcting outstanding issues;
-develop technical plans for the remaining phase of the project
-address staffing issues
-troubleshoot as necessary

Itinerary and meetings:

7 Jan Dept Balt

8 Jan Arr Khartoum
9 Jan meet DAI KHA staff; meet OTI Country Rep Ami Henson; participate in 4 Corners
call
10 Jan travel from Khartoum to Kadugli by WFP flight accompanied by Manal/PDO,
Abubakr/Engineer, Mohammed/GM, joined by Adil/Interpreter in Kadugli;
meet Min of Rural Development for signature of PTG providing excavator;
meeting with contractor selected for implementation of two PTGs based in Kauda:
primary school rehab and expansion and rehab of Kauda Teachers Training Center
(KTTC)
11 Jan continue discussion with Min of Rural Development regarding additional grant
possibilities; meet WES/UNICEF program staff to determine possibility of WES
becoming involved in installation of OTIS-funded boreholes and/or pumps; meet with
chairman of an association of pastoralists/nomads seeking assistance with drilling
boreholes to avoid a repeat of conflict that occurred during the last dry season when they
attempted to water their herds and were driven off by the nearby residents resulting in
156 people killed
12 Jan travel from Kadugli to Kauda by project vehicle
En route stopped in village of Hamra and Um Serdeiba (sp?) to meet grantees;
Preliminary site visits to Kauda primary school and KTTC.
13 Jan met with Kauda Director of Education for signature of PTGs mentioned above;
Visited the ARD office for signature of PTG for provision of 114 bicycles for 57 land
commissions; accompanied contractor to KTCC and primary school sites to introduce
him to grantee agents; visited NRRDO to discuss proposed installation of an FM radio
transmitter
14 Jan Kauda to Khartoum by WFP flight
15 Jan Khartoum to Nyala by WFP flight accompanied by Sr PDO Jackie Duclos;
met DAI staff including PDO Sao Silva from the al Fasher office; met OTIs Jeannie
Briggs; discussed the deteriorating security situation; possible readjustments to the Darfur
grant program; visited IDP camp outside Nyala (Otash sp?) to watch grantee presentation
with VAW focus
17 Jan Nyala to Khartoum
18 Jan Khartoum to Juba accompanied by COP Brigid OConnor;
Met program staff at DAI compound; met DG of Juba water authority and visited
pumping station provided by the program; 19 Jan participate in program review session
with Juba grants staff; visited anaerobic ponds outside Juba (work had resumed); visited
hospital to inspect work performed under grant
20 Jan Juba to Nairobi
21-22 Jan discussed program issues including management structure with COP and
recently arrived Sr Finance and Administration Specialist Nadine Kadri
23/ Jan met OTI/NBO staff Angela Yoder, Hodan Hassan, and Mary Kettman to discuss
issues related to operation of the Juba office
24 Jan Nairobi to Balt

Summary:

In the course of just over two weeks in the Project area I was able to visit all offices but
one (Al Fasher) and to meet all but a small handful of staff. The challenges facing the
different OTIS offices are related and while on occasion similar, can also be quite
different.

The northern office in Khartoum is concerned with achieving its own targets as well as
assisting where possible in the attainment of targets by the other offices, most directly
Darfur.
The Darfur program likewise has challenges posed by ambitious targets. There is a desire
on the part of OTI to see more creativity brought to the program and less focus on
population centers. The security situation has a direct impact on productivity and is
deteriorating. Increased car-jackings, increased number of check points and harassment
at those check points, increasing street crime such as burglary and assault with expatriates
increasingly the target of such crime, an increase in Arab inter-tribal conflict, and a
significant increase in overtly hostile government actions directed against expatriates
(witness the recent arrest of 20 NGO international staff) all limit greatly the ability of
project staff to circulate in the program area and generally inhibit performance.
Nevertheless, Nyala and Al Fasher staff agree that there are good possibilities of
expanding the current portfolio. These are discussed below in the Recommendations
section.

In the south, the Juba office has similarly ambitious targets in a tight time frame. Due
largely to the enforced absence of the RPM, there is an additional layer of management
issues not faced by other offices. The imminent departure of the Financial Manager, the
Information Officer and an experienced Grant Manager constitute additional management
challenges. In spite of these challenges the implementation of grants proceeds and targets
are being met. While only 17 grants were closed on the arrival of the Juba RPM, 129
have now been closed. More grant closures are scheduled in the coming month.

Staff dedicated to the 3 Areas are, for the most part, quite recently arrived on the project
and must rapidly acquire familiarization with the process in addition to achieving targets.
A 3As coordinator to complement the OTI 3As Coordinator, Ken Spears, is to be named.
Communications with staff in the 3As is, currently, problematic.

Actions taken:

Ali Hamid has been nominated as information officer to replace Christy Ramstack. Ali
served as Procurement Specialist on the ITI program in the Baghdad office from mid-
2004 to the end of the program in July, 2006. He is very meticulous and detail oriented in
addition to being adept at data base management. He comes strongly recommended by
RPM Muhammed Nizar, Sr Finance and Administration Officer Nadine Kadri and Sr
PDO Jackie Duclos. He should arrive in Khartoum by 24 Feb.

Fredrick Ssali has been nominated and approved to replace Herawati Aziz in the Juba
finance role. Fredrick was a GM for 2 years on the ITI program in Basra. He has
previous financial management experience and relevant educational credentials. He is
due to arrive in Juba 11 Feb.

Following discussion with OTI/NBO and DC staff, DAI Project management and Home
Office personnel it was decided to change the management structure of the Juba office.
RPM David Williams will leave at the end of his contract, 16 February. Samson
Chesseret, formerly the senior engineer in the Juba office, has been confirmed in the role
of RPM. Samson is well known to OTI/NBO and DAI staff and has the confidence of all.
With this and other recent changes to project staffing we are confident that DAI is well
positioned to achieve program goals as we enter the final phase of the OTIS project.

Recommendations

The worsening security situation in Darfur necessitates a review of current strategy,

particularly in view of OTIs stated hope to add more creativity to the portfolio and to
move programming beyond the population centers. One valid response to this situation
would be a reduction in the targets. If activities such as small workshops are to remain a
large part of the portfolio there is little choice but to reduce the targets. Also, travel
constraints resulting from the security situation increase the difficulty of achieving a
monthly burn rate of $150K on such activity. Another possible response is to alter the
nature of the current portfolio, and possibly increase both the size of the portfolio and the
burn rate, by focusing more on larger activities.

More focus on strengthening local NGOs is called for. In the event the security situation
causes international organizations to further restrict their program activities, the local
NGOs will be the only entities to continue the work. Even if international organizations
remain active in Darfur, expanded capacity of local NGOs will mean more effective
implementation of programs and will likely result in an increase in the number and
variety of such programs.

As mentioned above, larger, infrastructure related activities should be considered. While

possibly problematic in view of the sanctions, infrastructure such as schools, markets and
theaters can easily be justified under the current set of focus areas, VAW, DPA and
DDDC. For example:
-Providing educational facilities to girls will reduce the time that they spend on such
dangerous activities as gathering wood.
- Market improvement will similarly reduce the necessity of wandering about to acquire
supplies by providing adequate facilities where a variety of goods can be had.
-The local theater in Nyala would be an excellent venue for educational programs related
to the DPA and the DDDC.
In addition to falling easily within current focus areas, such grants would meet very
evident needs and would contribute greatly to achieving targets. Such work, if it involved
a community- rather than a government-owned property would be permissible under
the current sanctions regime.

Attached to this report is a summary of recommendations made by Vic Tanner in his

earlier reports. These merit another look.

Other Recommendations
Items that would come under Ops, but directly impact grants:

Addressing communications issues in the 3As will require the purchase of appropriate
equipment.
The Project might consider putting a Sudanese attorney on retainer to advise on dealing
with Sudanese law and to assist in identifying grant possibilities.

Funding permitting, it is worth looking at the possibility of bringing back Ali Sada to
identify new areas of grant activity.

att