VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRB #0985 1431112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231112Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3803
INFO RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 8885
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 1715

UNCLAS RABAT 000985 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/PI AND NEA/MAG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT EAID KMPI MO
SUBJECT: MEPI RESPONSIBILITIES REVISITED 
 
REF: A. 05 RABAT 2154 
 
     ¶B. STATE 192576 
 
 ¶1.  In ref A, post requested clarification of project 
officer responsibilities related to MEPI grants and 
information on available/appropriate training in order to 
carry out these duties effectively.  Recently, post's 
project officers have received delegation of authority 
notices from MEPI's Regional Office in Tunis.  In addition 
to delineating authorities, these letters contain 
responsibilities that our officers are not trained to 
perform and for which post has not received resources 
(while these delegations of authority are thus far for 
small grants, in one case, the grant is for USD 250,000). 
(Note: The delegation of authority notices also contain 
"authorities" that post interprets as not being obligations 
of the project officers.  Embassy would appreciate 
confirmation of this interpretation.)  Prior to receiving 
the delegation of authority notices, post complied 
completely with responsibilities as described in ref B. 
 
¶2.  Post strongly urges that resources be made available 
to adequately train Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) as 
project officers.  Project officers (or GORs) require 
appropriate grants training to conduct the kind of 
monitoring and review activities outlined in the letter. 
Unfortunately, due to budget constraints we are unable to 
fund such training out of post resources.  Post employees 
are not sufficiently trained to undertake the fiduciary 
oversight responsibilities requested.  Up to this point, 
Embassy Rabat has created a locally-engaged position 
(funded out of our program budget) to provide 
administrative support and coordination, and deviated half 
of a mid-level reporting officer FTE to coordinate MEPI 
activities in Morocco. 
 
¶3.  Post requests that the MEPI program clarify the 
language of the delegation of authority notices to limit 
project officers' responsibilities to match their 
qualifications consistent with ref B responsibilities, or 
provide appropriate resources and training to enable 
officers to accept expanded responsibilities in new 
delegations of authority received from Tunis.  Post 
welcomes the opportunity to engage in more detailed 
discussion. 
****************************************** 
Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat 
****************************************** 
 
Riley