Eng. Saeed Abdo Ahmed: The additional funding is the fruit of success we have achieved by implementing plans for the parent project of the YECRP.
Our success under current circumstances is an astonishing experience for people at home and abroad. We applaud the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for their role in supporting the Public Works Project (PWP) to contribute to the alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen
The public works project management unit (pmu) marked the start of additional funding for the yemen emergency response project ( yecrp),which is funded by the world bank and administered by the united nations development programme (undp) by organizing a launching ceremony on the 13-14 of last may. The ceremony was attended by all project staff and cadre in the headquarters and the governorates offices.
During the two-day meetings,a number of working papers were presented by the directors of the main areas offices,the investment planner, and by the tenders,water,environment,information systems and gender departments. Sub-area managers and their assistants in the governorates also engaged in discussions and presented their opinions and comments on project implementation.
At the launch ceremony,eng. Saeed abdo ahmed,director of the public works project lauded the great success achieved by the staff and cadre of the pwp on achieving the objectives set out for the original funding of the yecrp,especially under the exceptional circumstance in yemen. The $15 million project is funded by the world bank and administered by the undp.
Eng. Saeed abdo ahmed said that the record success by the pwp has encouraged the world bank to provide additional funding of $70 million for the yecrp,to be channeled through the undp. He said that the success is due to the efforts,dedication and efficiency of the staff and cadres of the project in implementing the yecrp objectives for the original funding.
The pwp director added that the objective for the additional funding of the yecrp is to provide resources to expand the impact of the original project. Such expansion,he said,will provide coverage to more regions and communities,enhance response to requests,and increase interventions responding to the high rates of malnutrition in yemen.
He stressed the need to adhere to the objectives and the terms and conditions of the additional funding,as well as the project’s timeline. Such adherence,he said,will lead to the achievement of the desired outcomes on the field and in the community,especially for women,idps, the marginalized and the poorest segment of society.
Expanded targeting
For her part,the investment planner in the pwp,eng. Ibtihal fouad abdul-rasoul presented a brief summary of yecrp,its original and additional funding and the perceived outcomes.
She confirmed that the additional funding will be used to provide resources to expand the impact of the original project,by extending coverage to more regions and communities. The project will enhance its response rate to requests,and focus on nutrition related interventions,in response to the high rates of malnutrition in the republic. She said,this will improve food and nutritional intake and provide immediate assistance to communities affected by the current crisis. Communities affected by displacement will be assisted through the implementation of activities associated with livelihoods,food production,agriculture,and clean water. All will contribute to the improvement of food and nutritional intakes,provisions of urgent assistance to areas affected by the current crises,especially those affected by displacement from areas of conflict. Special emphasis will be on areas where provided services have been impacted,as well as focusing on providing employment opportunities for idps and the poor in the community.
Approach
Eng. Ibtihal fouad confirmed that the targeting methodology has been modified based on the latest updates of the un data and recent improvements on data availability at the governorate and district levels. Recently,the scope of metrics making-up the distress index has been expanded to include returnees and idps in the displacement index. A special approach has been adopted for targeting nutrition related interventions. More specifically,the use of malnutrition data from the un-led nutrition cluster- onthose who are food insecure.
She pointed out that in accordance with the updated indicators,the total allocations have been redistributed ( original funding + additional funding),$68.4 Million based on updated indicators at governorate levels in the 22 governorates. Subsequently,the allocation for each governorate is redistributed to the districts on the basis of the updated indicators and the modified targeting approach. It was suggested that districts that received less than $40,000 should be excluded. As for the final allocation of the additional funding for each district,the previous amount committed would be deducted from the original funding.
Social and economic impact
Meanwhile,eng. Nasra da’aer,a national expert,presented the social and economic impact assessments of the projects. Most notably,follow-up procedures conducted by area directors and their assistants to monitor consultants and oblige them to note down quantities implemented during the reporting period only (not accumulative),fill-out pwp’s information systems (is) reporting forms,and follow-up on post implementation economic impact-by writing reports on the economic impact seen after project implementation,or during implementation. Economic impact assessments should be conducted to assess the changes that have taken place after project implementation and their direct impact,i.E. Time savings,movement,security and safety and improvements in livelihoods.
She confirmed that social impact assessment is done by monitoring the impacts of projects on the community,as well as assessments resulting from the coexistence of the resident population and the idps,filling of necessary data forms in their entirety,not leaving any item blank (cost of the project,site and location – village,sub-district etc...) To be verified against baseline survey forms. Furthermore,beneficiaries should be made aware of their right to actively participate in making the project a success. Beneficiaries’ satisfaction should be ensured by addressing their complaints and by having open communication channels with them. An average timeframe should also be set for resolving the problems at hand- performance indicators show that it should be several days. Attention and focus should be given to gender-based complaints to identify their hardships,priorities and problems.
Outcomes
The national expert,nasra da’aer,pointed out to the achieved outcomes. She said that job opportunities have been created under impossible conditions. Opportunities have been made available for local contractors - helping them maintain their businesses. Direct interactions were made with local communities to address challenges facing implementation of sub-projects. She added that the provision of local resources has created a type of mutual cooperation and has reduced disappointments in the communities. The speed with which services have been provided by the pwp has lead to the maintenance of credibility for the project and gained the trust of communities and beneficiaries alike.
Presentation of achievements and lessons learned
For his part,the deputy director of the pwp,director of the first area,eng. Abdul-salam qassim,said the current crises left hundreds of thousands of workers without any real source of income,thereby increasing unemployment and poverty levels to record high. This created an urgent need for an emergency project such as the yemen emergency crises response project (yecrp).
The project aims at providing urgent basic needs for families by facilitating financial income and necessary services to enable families to recover from the impact of the crises and help idps who were displaced from combat zones in their local areas.
Engineer qassim confirmed in his report that yecrp,which is one of the projects sponsored by the international community through undp,falls within the crises recovery program in yemen.
He pointed out that the pwp management unit processed 215 projects under the original funding.
Employment
According to the deputy director of the pwp,195 thousand workers have been hired on daily wages,40% are either idps or returnees. 53.5% Of total disbursements have gone to returnees and idps as compared to total disbursements in general. This is due to efforts made to provide work opportunities for idps over the longest possible period of time. In addition,work opportunities have been indirectly created,resulting in wages paid,by the implementation of infrastructure projects (construction material suppliers,quarry workers,sand and gravel suppliers),cement block factory workers and restaurant employees. All of these represent the 40% of indirect beneficiary workers.
Beneficiaries
The director of the first area of the pwp,abdul-salam qassim explained that the number of beneficiaries of the projects have exceeded 700 thousand people. Women and idps constitute 51% of the total number of beneficiaries. The figures exceed the goal of 310,000 by 2.25 Times. This can be attributed to the increase in the number of projects –33% more than planned - larger sizes of schools,especially in urban areas,road pavements which serve a large number of people,and water projects complementing existing networks.
Outcomes
According to engineer qassim any project implemented under current circumstances is helpful,no matter how small,since they create job opportunities for poor communities,including contractors,engineers and supervisors. Job creation enables people to improve their livelihoods,he said. He also said the implementation of service projects enable contractors to sustain their businesses in the sector and maintain their work and profession,as well gain experience in working with local communities,thus reducing the challenges of project implementation. Likewise,the staff of the pwp,especially engineers,have acquired experience in addressing emergency and crises situations; while providing basic services to the local communities. This has left a feeling of independence,uplifted the spirit of cooperation and reduced levels of dissatisfaction and tensions in the communities. He added that the speed of implementation have enhanced the reputation of the pwp,which has won the trust of the beneficiaries and the local communities as a credible provider.
Technical studies
During a two-day period,a number of technical papers were presented by the assistant manager of the bidding department,engineer naif al-humaidi. The papers focused on procedures to ready projects for bidding announcements,and the identification of the needs of local communities. Another technical paper was presented by the head of the follow-up department,engineer shukri al-asbahi. The paper dealt with control and evaluation,solutions that have been put in place,and how to avoid mistakes in the future. Other studies presented to the meetings by the managers of the second and third areas,engineers abdul-moneim mutaher and hassan al-hubaishi respectively discussed the archiving of documents,project identification and selection procedures and ways to prevent deviations under any conditions. The gender unit coordinator,eng. Shafiqah al-rajami presented a paper on how to involve women in the project identification and selection process and how to employ women as workers during project implementation. A paper was also presented by the information systems manager,engineer munther al-humaidi focusing on the updating of the information system to make it more flexible in order to keep up with new demands. He also spoke about activation of the grievance system and how to make data entry easy and intuitive.
Discussion
The sessions of the launch ceremony for the additional funding of yecrp included discussions and a q&a session between sub-area managers and their assistants. The project director,engineer saeed abdo ahmed also explained a number of points during the q&a session,specifically about the objectives of the additional funding. He said he is confident that the staff and cadre of the pwp have the capacity to build on the success achieved in the parent project of the yecrp. He also pointed out that there is a common responsibility shared by all, which is a distinctive trait that has enabled everyone to overcome the challenges and constraints of this stage in time.