The Pan-Africa Program

The Pan-Africa Program (PAP) supports a network of African and multilateral organizations that address continental development issues and build multi-regional cooperation in Africa. With a 2003-04 budget of $27 million, PAP funds approximately 30 projects.

This audit of the Pan-Africa Program of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was undertaken between September 2002 and June 2003. This is a first program audit in a bilateral branch for an institutional program. A total of 113 people in CIDA, international organizations and African partner institutions and representatives of donor organizations were interviewed for the audit. A sample of projects was reviewed and file documentation was assessed. The audit was conducted according to standards set by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).

The overall objective of the audit was to assess the state of readiness of the program to operate in support of CIDA's Strengthening Aid Effectiveness principles and to implement the regional development framework.

The audit examined and analyzed the following areas:

• CIDA field representatives;
• Performance measurement;
• Risk management;
• Selection and approval of initiatives and partners;
• Financial management;
• Human resources management;
• Coordination with other donor organizations, and
• Representation to institutions.

CIDA's field representatives were found to be essential to the success of the Pan-Africa Program because of their ability to provide valuable services such as intelligence gathering and liaising with funded organizations. However, PAP has experienced difficulties in getting the needed level of support because of demands on field representatives' time for country-related duties. Field representatives indicated that they would like more detailed information on PAP's requirements. This could help them allocate time and resources appropriately.

The examination of PAP's Performance Measurement Framework (PMF), which was under development, showed that elements were missing or needed to be reinforced. In some instances, CIDA had provided funded institutions with assistance in preparing performance measurement systems. This was seen as being beneficial and worth extending to other organizations. Risk management of initiatives is a shared responsibility with other donors and partner organizations. Although risks have been identified, the audit found an absence of risk management monitoring activities by all concerned.

Looking at one of PAP's major activities, the selection of partner organizations, the audit found that the program was able to adequately select partners for funding. Improvement was required in terms of documenting selection procedures on how to assess proposals against established criteria. Some tools, such as institutional assessments used to measure the potential effectiveness of partners, were in their infancy. That having been said, it should be noted that financial management procedures needed to achieve the primary goals, such as forecasting cash flow and related monitoring, were undertaken in a systematic way.

The examination of the program's human resource component showed a team that was well balanced, with a good set of professional skills and experience. Concerns about training and succession planning were expressed. The audit also found that the type of expertise to support the program, whether for institutional assessments, governance, peace and security or other needed to be clearly identified and addressed accordingly.

As far as the integrity of program information is concerned, the audit was not able to assess the accuracy, completeness or reliability of information used by PAP. The audit was able to assess PAP's budgetary information, which was found to be well documented. Indeed, the budget information and the funding provided by PAP were found to be generally in accordance with the required Treasury Board Secretariat and CIDA directives.

In working with other organizations, PAP was found to play a positive role both in terms of coordination and making Canada's views known.

Looking at the Pan-Africa Program's systems and processes, we conclude that the program has many of the analytical and managerial tools needed to ensure the implementation of a regional development framework and the principles underlying strengthening aid effectiveness.

The audit of the Pan-Africa Program clearly showed that while there is room for improvement, especially in the area of systems and procedures, the program was found to be making a positive contribution to strengthening aid effectiveness through pan-African institutions.

Recommendations were made in terms of field support, the performance measurement, the documentation of information related to initiatives, and human resources and access to CIDA specialists.

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