United Nations Capital Development Fund

1999 Project Evaluation Results
Prepared by the UNCDF Evaluation Unit

Cape Verde

I. Basic Project Data

Project Number:	CVI/91/CO3
Type of Evaluation:	Mid-term
Project Title:	Water supply to the communes of Santiago, Santo Antao and Fogo
Government Executing Agency:	National Institute for Water Resources Management (INGRH)
Sector:	Water resources planning and water management
Date Project Approved:	October 1995
Date Project Began:	October 1998
Date Project Evaluated:	April 1999
UNCDF Budget:	US$ 2,940,200
UNDP Budget:	546,820
Government Budget:	424,000
Total Budget:	3,911,020
UNCDF Expenditures at Evaluation:	1,652,140

II. Background

Situated approximately 500 km from the coasts of Senegal, the archipelago of Cape Verde consists of a dozen densely populated volcanic islands (an average of 99 inhabitants per square kilometer). Praia, the country’s capital is located on Santiago Island, the largest of these.

It is on the island of Santiago that, in agreement with the Government, the activities of the current project are concentrated. The island is home to half of the total population of the country (which was estimated at approximately 341,000 in 1990). The Government has experienced great difficulty in providing the rural populations with potable water. Water supply points are rare and often distant from homes. One third of the population lives more than a kilometer away from a water supply point and 25% more than two kilometers away. Many localities have no water supply points and depend for on tankers that suffer frequent breakdowns. The regularity of the water supplied by these tankers varies from commune to commune; from twice per week (48% of communes), three times per week (18% of communes), to irregularly in 15% of communes and not all in the remaining 19%. The municipality of Santa Cruz is the most seriously affected by the lack of water, with half of its population depending on the tankers for their supplies. When the tankers fail to deliver water on time, the populations have no alternative but to travel long distances on foot to obtain water from wells or rivers. The population of the archipelago also suffers from a lack of information and education about simple hygienic practices and the use of latrines or other methods of sanitation is still limited. In 1995 and 1996, cholera epidemics struck the country and the Santiago island was particularly hard hit.

In its third National Development Plan, the Government set an objective to increase to 25 liters per day and per person the average supply of potable water by the year 2005, thereby guaranteeing a coverage of 90% of the needs of the rural populations for potable water. It is within this framework that the present project is being undertaken to support the Government in its efforts to provide a sustainable supply of drinking water in rural areas.

III. The Project

Development objectives

The project is pursuing the following two development objectives:

To contribute in a significant way to a sustainable improvement in the living and sanitary conditions of the population through the supply of potable water in sufficient quantities and the improvement of hygiene and health standards, including the reduction of water-borne diseases;
To make communities more accountable and consolidate the national capacity for planning and implementation of programs for the supply of water and maintenance of completed water works.

Immediate objectives

The project is pursuing the following four immediate objectives:

Supply of a volume of potable water (a minimum of 25 liters per person per day) that meets the daily requirements of the inhabitants of the rural communes of Praia and the secondary centers of Santo Antao and Fogo, mainly for domestic use:
Improving the hygiene standards of the users of water supply points;
Strengthening of local capacities to construct and execute water supply works, as well as of the capacity of communities to maintain and service water supply systems;
Strengthening of the Government’s capacity in the areas of planning, management, supervision and follow-up of water supply programs.

Expected results:

As part of the first immediate objective, the physical outcomes expected are the construction and installation of 10 small reservoirs; 3 health complexes; 42kms of piping; 11 submersible pumps; one solar pump; 5 power generators; and 2,000 meters of low-tension electric cables. Nearly 10,000 persons are expected to benefit from these infrastructural works, which are spread over 6 communes and 23 localities.1
As part of the second immediate objective: (a) launching of health information campaigns on hygiene; (b) basic studies and assessment of the impact of the various campaigns.
As part of the third immediate objective: training of government personnel in the areas of project planning and management; design and supervision of water supply projects; servicing and maintenance of water works; and inspection of existing systems.
As part of the fourth immediate objective: (a) On-the -job training in the construction of water works; (b) Preparation, negotiation and signing of contracts by way of invitations to tender.

IV. Findings of the evaluation mission

Evaluation of the outcome

Infrastructure

The project began very slowly and it took nearly 24 months to finalize the selection of a consulting firm (Burgeap), complete the technical studies, prepare the invitation to tender and select the contractor and hire the consulting engineer. As a result, execution of the contracts signed with the contracting company (Construções Silva Lda.) and the engineering firm (the Synergia/Etika consortium) only began in the month of October 1998. Execution of the contract later suffered a significant delay owing to poor organization on the part of the contracting firm, the dilapidated condition of its equipment and the lack of experience and shortage of workers. Other contributing factors were, however, outside of the company’s direct control, such as the presence of rocky soil that was difficult to excavate. But one of the main reasons for the delay in the construction work at all the sites initially selected was the great difficulty encountered by the authorities in negotiating with the private owners of water catchment areas or reservoirs a connection to the water supply networks along the planned routes. Nearly all the negotiations with private owners were fruitless, including at Pico Leão and Boca Larga, where the issue of access to a water source has still not been resolved and where the project is expected to abandon the works.

At the time of the evaluation, 4 construction sites had been begun in the municipalities of Santa Cruz and Santa Catarina. In these two localities, work was not expected to be completed before December 1999, 3 months later than the date stipulated in the contract. However, the quality of the infrastructure completed has been deemed satisfactory and the work seems to have met the contract’s specifications.

Capacity-building at the community level

The socio-economic, management, awareness-promotion and health education group of the project unit took the important initiative of conducting socio-economic surveys of beneficiary communities and of the role of women, particularly women water sellers. The results of these surveys have helped to determine which indicators should be selected for evaluating the socio-economic reality of the communities and to involve the population in the choice of infrastructure. They have also served to educate the population about the need to share the cost of maintaining the infrastructure, which in turn has led to the establishment of “water committees”. The water sellers and members of these committees were later trained to manage the public fountains. These management, awareness-building and hygiene and health education programmes, moreover, were implemented using mass education techniques (dialogue and discussion with target groups, followed by practical demonstrations).

Capacity-building among elected officials

The technical training of municipal officials, mechanics and pump and network servicing committees - which is the responsibility of the Sinergia/Etika consortium - is still in the planning stages. The pedagogical material was prepared and a training programme elaborated. These documents, however, remain academic and lack details.

Performance of the project unit

The performance of the project unit, which is composed of a civil and hydraulic engineer, a hydraulic engineer from the United Nations Volunteers, an agronomist, a sociologist, a training officer (on assignment from the non-governmental organization MORABI) and an assistant, has been considered very satisfactory.

Immediate objectives

Impact on the living conditions of the population

Since the infrastructural work is not yet completed, it is still too early to attempt to evaluate the project’s impact on the living conditions of the populations concerned. Even though the project is concerned only with those localities with highly deficient water supply systems, it may nevertheless be assumed that it will significantly improve access by the population to a neighbourhood water supply point and just as significantly reduce the time spent by women and children in fetching water. Since certain localities (notably the communes of Saltos Abaixo and Montanha) extend over a wide geographical area, however, it is unclear whether the project could effectively provide coverage for the entire population.

Capacity-building within the communities

The good quality of the service provided by the socio-economic, management, awareness-promotion and health education group of the project unit has helped to promote greater participation by the population in the choice of infrastructural works and in their maintenance, which should guarantee the sustainability of the infrastructure and of the project outcome. The innovative and well designed education programmes have aroused great interest among the populations, who now express a desire to improve their hygiene and health habits and practices.

Evaluation of the project design

Generally speaking, the technology used in the construction of infrastructure is simple and appropriate. However, the pumping stations are not equipped with back-up pumps and generators and supplies will therefore be interrupted when breakdowns occur. The project document proposed a broader range of technical options (rehabilitation of wells operated with manual pumps, building of cisterns to collect rain-water) which were later abandoned, mainly on account of the difficulty posed by the requirement of quite a large area of agricultural land. The evaluation mission also expressed reservations about the size of the water reservoirs. Their size had in fact been determined by the estimate of the need for potable water based on population growth projections to the year 2010. They were therefore designed with a capacity to store 25 litres per person per day, plus an additional reserve of one half-day’s consumption, even though the project unit estimated current requirements from metered standpipes at only 15 litres per person per day.

The project has no plans to equip the schools and health centers (health complexes, connections to drinking water supply networks, etc.) that are in the vicinity of the health and water infrastructures which it is financing, as the populations in the project area wished. Moreover, instead of depending on ad hoc structures for management and social mobilization activities, the project should have sought greater involvement from existing public and para-public entities (including municipalities) in the design and implementation of these activities, which would have facilitated greater understanding of the objectives pursued and ensured greater sustainability of the project’s outcomes in this field.

Lastly, many of the problems associated with the use by the project of private land have been greatly underestimated during the design phase of the project.

V. Recommendations

During its second or extended phase, the project should provide connections to the water supply networks of the schools and health centers in the beneficiary localities, construct latrines and wash basins in the schools and launch a programme to promote greater sanitation awareness among teachers. Cooperation with UNICEF in this area could be envisaged. Certain improvements to existing infrastructures are also recommended (construction of a new standpipe at Montanha; extension of certain secondary networks to permit the connection at a later date of homes to the network; construction of a water tower reservoir at Porto Madeira). In addition, construction of the systems at Pico Leão and Boca Larga should be postponed to a second phase.
A tradesman with training as a plumber should be identified to repair the standpipes and his fee paid by each management committee. Alternatively, a maintenance contract could be signed with a plumber residing in the area.
Water management committees should be converted into users’ associations with legal status.
The project should acquire a stock of common plumbing fixtures and ensure their replacement without charge during the first year of operation. After the first year, communities would themselves purchase the replacement fixtures from a national supplier to be identified.
The Synergia/Etika group should prepare detailed modules for technical training, which should be as practical as possible and conducted in the field. The socio-economic, management and awareness-promotion group of the project unit and the National Institute for Water Resources Management should be involved in this exercise.
The project unit of the non-governmental organization, MORABI, should continue to provide training to communities in participatory water management.
The bacteriological, physical and chemical qualities of the water should be monitored. This will require the purchase of portable analysis kits and chlorine for the communities and communes as well as for the National Institute for Water Resources Management.
Upon completion of the project, the project unit should be converted into a monitoring unit to ensure the integration of the infrastructures into the National Institute for Water Resources Management and evaluate their impact on the living conditions of the populations.

VI. Lessons Learned

Whenever the construction of infrastructure requires the use of private agricultural land in a region where subsistence agriculture is practiced, land-related and social problems as well as problems arising from the loss of agricultural production is an inevitable result from the required expropriation of farmers. More effective precautions need to be taken.
Water supply and sanitation projects should always take into account the water and sanitation needs of the schools and health centres situated in their areas of coverage.

VII. Evaluation Team

The evaluation was carried out by:

Mr. Djegal, Hydraulic and Rural Engineer, Head of Mission
Mr. Emmanuel Correira Pinto, Civil and Hydraulic Engineer