VZCZCXRO2130
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0927/01 1630356
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120356Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7581
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000927 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/SPG, PRM, AND ALSO PASS USAID/W 
USAID FOR DCHA SUDAN TEAM, AFR/SP 
NAIROBI FOR USAID/DCHA/OFDA, USAID/REDSO, AND FAS 
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH 
NAIROBI FOR SFO 
NSC FOR PMARCHAM, MMAGAN, AND TSHORTLEY 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
USUN FOR TMALY 
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREF PGOV PHUM SOCI UN SU
SUBJECT:  SUDAN - NUBA MOUNTAINS USAID MONITORING TRIP 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00000927  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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(U) From April 15 to 19, USAID staff visited Southern Kordofan State 
to monitor USAID-funded water programs in the eastern part of the 
Nuba Mountains and Dilling locality.  The USAID team reported that 
lack of water is a serious problem in several areas of Southern 
Kordofan, and additional resources are required to meet existing 
needs.  In addition, the team found that some USAID cash-for-work 
programs need to adjust payment levels in the near term in response 
to the local labor market, and review the most appropriate and 
cost-effective modalities for future water programs.  End summary. 
 
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WATER FOR RETURNEES 
------------------- 
 
¶1. (U) Talodi locality in the eastern hills of the Nuba Mountains, 
Southern Kordofan State, has received a large number of returnees in 
comparison with other areas.  From September 2006 to March 2007, 
approximately 2,594 returnees arrived in Talodi, according to Save 
the Children/US (SC/US).  Access to safe drinking water for 
returning populations and constructive engagement with local 
government authorities relating to water management are significant 
factors for stability in the Three Areas. 
 
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USAID/OFDA WATER PROGRAMS 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Access to water is a critical issue in the Nuba Mountains. 
The soil is very hard to dig and there are areas in southern Abu 
Jubaiyah locality that do not have ground water.  Consequently, more 
than 30 villages in southern Abu Jubaiyah engage in a seasonal 
migration in which inhabitants abandon their homes and migrate to 
other areas in search of water.  In response to water needs, SC/US 
has rehabilitated 16 hand pumps in Rashad, Talodi, and Abu Jubaiyah 
localities with funding from USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster 
Assistance (USAID/OFDA). 
 
¶3. (U) In a survey conducted from October to November 2006, CARE 
found that only eight out of 28 existing hafirs, or reservoirs, in 
Abu Jubaiyah and Dilling localities were functioning.  CARE also 
identified 10 locations in Dilling and eight locations in Abu 
Jubaiyah with potential for water programs.  CARE received funding 
from USAID/OFDA to implement eight water harvesting structures in 
the two localities.  At least four of these structures have been 
completed thus far.  In addition, the International Fund for 
Agricultural Development (IFAD) is funding 40 hafir rehabilitation 
projects throughout Southern Kordofan State. 
 
----------------------------- 
CHALLENGES WITH CASH-FOR-WORK 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) CARE is using a cash-for-work modality for construction and 
rehabilitation of the water harvesting structures in Dilling and Abu 
Jubaiyah localities.  As displaced populations increasingly return 
to the Three Areas and Southern Sudan, cash-for-work programs help 
returnees to integrate and settle into communities.  However, 
communities consider the current wage from CARE, at 300 Sudanese 
Dinar or approximately USD 1.50 per cubic meter, very low in 
comparison with the local market.  As a result, physically fit 
workers have selected more competitive market opportunities in most 
of the villages visited, leading to some project delays. 
 
¶5. (U) Additional constraints affecting cash-for-work programs in 
the Nuba Mountains include the hard to dig soil and a narrow 
timeframe to complete the projects.  The harvest season utilizes 
most available labor through January, and the digging must be 
completed before the start of the long rainy season from June to 
November.  In order to complete the current projects, CARE is 
planning on using machinery to complete work on one to two sites, 
and is considering increasing the cash-for-work payment for other 
sites, which may result in the completion of fewer projects.  For 
future water harvesting structures in Nuba Mountains, the USAID/OFDA 
monitoring team recommends using machinery for digging and 
cash-for-work for other project-related activities. 
 
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KHARTOUM 00000927  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
COMMUNITY WATER RESOURCE MANGEMENT 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) CARE constructs or rehabilitates hafirs with a 15,000 cubic 
meter capacity or less, which are fully managed by communities.  To 
boost local water resource management capacity, CARE has formed and 
trained committees on water resource management, environmental 
rehabilitation, and general hygiene issues.  The water committees 
sell water and use the revenues for maintenance of the water 
facility. 
 
----------------------------------- 
GOVERNMENT WATER RESOURCE MANGEMENT 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The Rural Water Corporation (RWC), which falls under the 
State Ministry of Rural Development, is responsible for managing any 
hafir that has the capacity of 30,000 cubic meters or more.  Some 
communities have criticized RWC for not investing enough in the 
maintenance of water structures.  To address this problem, USAID's 
Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) has worked closely with 
the RWC to build capacity to manage water points more effectively in 
the future.  In Dilling locality, USAID/OTI provided the RWC office 
with an excavator, and a dump truck is scheduled to arrive in the 
coming weeks.  RWC plans to use the excavator to facilitate 
completion of one to two CARE hafir projects in advance of the rainy 
season. 
 
¶8. (U) In April, the local government, the community, and the State 
Ministry of Rural Development drafted an agreement to ensure that 
water resources would be properly managed and maintained.  Following 
the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), aid agencies 
increasingly need to coordinate and work with nascent local 
governmental authorities.  USAID encourages partners to consult with 
the State Ministry of Rural Development on water resource 
maintenance and management in the future. 
 
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CONCLUSIONS 
----------- 
 
¶9. (U) Modalities for water programs, including food-for-work, 
cash-for-work, machinery, or a combination thereof, should be 
critically reviewed to determine the most appropriate and 
cost-effective approach for future programs.  Payment for 
cash-for-work should not be so high that it causes distortion in the 
local labor market or too low where it would be non-competitive.  In 
the coming months, progress in increasing access to safe drinking 
water for returning populations, and constructive engagement with 
local government authorities, will increase stability in the Three 
Areas.  USAID's implementing partners are working through the 
challenges with their water programs and cash-for-work initiatives. 
Lessons from their experiences may be relevant for other areas in 
Sudan. 
 
FERNANDEZ