Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Agency for International Development's (AID) administration of the Development Fund for Africa (DFA) to determine whether: (1) DFA provided a stable source of development assistance funding; (2) AID implemented DFA according to congressional policy guidance; (3) administrative changes improved the delivery of development assistance; and (4) evaluation planning would measure the fund's impact on African development.
GAO found that: (1) DFA provided a stable source of development assistance funding for sub-Saharan Africa; (2) total U.S. economic assistance in Africa was lower in fiscal year (FY) 1990 than in FY 1987 due to decreases in other types of economic assistance, such as economic support funds and food aid; (3) consistent with congressional guidance, AID concentrated DFA resources in African countries that demonstrated a willingness to undertake economic policy reforms; (4) an exemption from Buy-American procurement source rules did not lead to major improvements in project management, since AID did not permit missions to take full advantage of it; (5) the absence of functional accounts improved needs-based planning and encouraged AID deobligation of funds in marginal projects; and (6) AID did not adequately describe appropriate evaluation approaches and techniques for missions to use in analyzing relevant baseline and monitoring data, or methods for evaluating the sustainability of DFA programs and projects.
