ABEBE WOLDEGIORGIS
While public projects are planned and accomplished by the government, the money allocated for these projects are derived from taxpayers and development partners. Experiences showed that due to corruption, mismanagement, inefficiency and delay, the failure of projects are common and this in turn left the nation poorer.
Sharew Erkyihun is a Project Evaluation Director in the Ministry of Finance. As to him, some projects are accomplished well based on the plan while others experience delays. But it should be known that while the Ministry of Finance allocates the money, the projects are followed up and inspected by other stakeholders in the executive body.
Formerly, there were guidelines which serve to carry out the projects. But there were no laws or proclamations with regard to the undertaking of the projects.
In 2008 EC, the Ministry promulgated laws helpful for conducting projects starting from the planning stage up to accomplishments. It tells in detail the proceedings from the beginning up to their final phases.
In implementing the laws, the executive body has several responsibilities. Members of the Council of Ministers play a crucial role in endorsing whether the projects are feasible or not in terms of cost and their economic value to society.
For example, the Ethiopian Road Authority has its own responsibilities that range from conducting studies, planning and executing. In the same way, with regard to irrigation projects, the Irrigation Development Commission has responsibilities in following up on the implementation and inspecting whether the projects have economic value to the community or not. Based on the study conducted by the respective authorities, the amount of the money needed to implement the projects will be allocated by the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry is reestablished by the proclamation number 648/2001 and the proclamation
Article 5 of the establishment proclamation of the Ministry indicated that it has the mandate to supervise whether the federal government budget is allocated properly or not. In addition, it has a mandate to supervise the projects feasibility studies and audit the public institutions budget. Asked to what extent these mandates are implemented on the ground, Sharew explained that, regarding the feasibility studies, they are conducted by the concerned bodies beginning from the development of concept notes. Such mandates are particularly given to institutions that belong to the executive body.
Various stakeholders evaluate the feasibility of the projects as well as the environment and social impact assessment. The mandate to oversee these processes is not solely given to the Ministry as several other stakeholders also participate and it requires a coordinated effort.
There are several gaps and limitations encountered in accomplishing projects. And it requires patience and time to address the technical as well as other gaps and problems.
As to Sahrew, in the past, 246 billion birr was allocated to implement 16 projects but according to the General Audit’s findings, the projects were implemented without passing through the proper feasibility study. Ultimately, they were halted by the government’s decision.
In the initial process, huge sums of finance were misallocated and valuable time was wasted. At the end of the day, as they couldn’t pass the feasibility requirements, the government was forced to abandon them.
Since 2010EC efforts are underway to manage the project budget in a proper manner. Efforts have been undertaken to evaluate whether the project utilizes the budget efficiently, supports the local development creates job opportunities for local communities, and environmental impact assessment was carried out.
The implementation of most government projects targets to ensure socio-economic progress, stimulate the economy and particularly support the private sector.
However, most projects are delayed due to various reasons. The delay has resulted in the loss of additional resources which could have been invested in other projects. This indicated that the projects did not meet the targeted objectives. Hence, to bring long-lasting solutions, the Ministry is aiming to establish a specific office that follows up project implementation. The body will also work to ensure accountability of the respective institutions for the failure to accomplish projects on time and with set budget.
As a developing country Ethiopia to attain economic developments needs to implement various projects which accelerate socio-economic progress.
The nation has abundant natural resources that can be utilized as input for development. But due to the absence of sufficient infrastructures such as roads, hydropower dams, industrial parks, water supply and transport facilities unable to exploit the resources. Exploiting the natural resources requires finance, technology and human power.
Though various shortcomings have been witnessed in projects performance, the government tried its level best to improve the situation. The construction of thousands of kilometers of asphalted roads, railways, bridges, hydropower and irrigation dams, university campus, hospitals and clinics are some of the instances. But there remains a lot in improving project implementation performance.
As the country always faces a shortage of resources, it is always wise to invest what is at hand efficiently. While the country lost billions of USD due to poor project implementation performance, it seems that it is time to change this reality once and for all.
The Ethiopian Herald February 17/2021
