USAID Food for Peace Monitoring Report on North Katanga

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000123


AIDAC

AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP TMCRAE LPETERSON NAIROBI FOR ECA/FFP RDRAPCKO
NCOX

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID EFIN ETRD AMGT EFIN CF
SUBJECT: USAID Food for Peace Monitoring Report on North Katanga
(January 28-February 5, 2009)

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SUMMARY
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1. Monitoring the WFP (World Food Program) emergency work and the
FHI (Food for the Hungry, Int.) progress with their MYAP (Multi-Year
Assistance Program) in the ex-conflict districts of Moba and Kalemie
was the object of a Food for Peace visit.


2. North Katanga is calm but potentially volatile: i) Mai-Mai rebel
groups still exist in the region and follow carefully the current
prosecution of Ghedeon, their leader; ii) demobilized military have
returned to their villages but have not surrendered all their
weapons; iii) FARDC are not fully paid and are often the cause of
incidents; iv) UXO explosives have not yet been removed in many
areas. The MONUC Battalions from Benin (BENBAT) are camped in
strategic locations throughout the area.


3. 11,064 assisted refugees have returned to Moba, Kalemie, and
Pweto in 2007/8 from Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. At this rate,
the balance of returnees may be resettled by early 2011 according to
the UNHCR Chief of the Sub-Delegation in Moba. Fube area in Moba has
received a group of 4700 refugees to date who have selected that
location for resettlement and are doing well. FHI will target their
agricultural assistance in the MYAP to enhance the food production
of that large group.


4. WFP received 58 percent of its 3442 MT from USAID/FFP in 2008 for
distribution to 84,745 beneficiaries who are malnourished children,
returnees, school children, expecting and nursing women and
AIDS-afflicted persons under retroviral treatment. Problems exist
regarding the management of twelve open bed rail cars, thirty-eight
closed wagons, and two locomotives rehabilitated for Kalemie's SNCC
(Congo National Railroad 2Company) to assure humanitarian access to
rail transport.


5. FHI is struggling to make the transition from emergency to
development (SYAP to MYAP) in Moba and Kalemie districts but is
making good progress. End Summary

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REFUGEES IN NORTH KATANGA
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6. In 2008, 11,064 refugees returned to Moba, Pweto and Kalemie from
Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique comprising 3063, 330 and 100
families respectively from Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique


7. Two large refugee camps exist in Zambia: one in Kala and another
in Mwange. Mwange is the larger of the camps both of which total
over 20,000 refugees. Advance visit trips are organized regularly
from those camps to DRC for the refugees to assess what kind of
living conditions are available in the areas to which they are meant
to return.


8. 20 percent of the 11,064 returning refugees in 2008 were women
from the ages of 18-59; 19 percent were men from the ages of 5-17;
19 percent were men from the ages of 5-17; 17 percent were men from
the ages of 18-59. One percent was men over 60 and one percent was
women over 60.


9. UNHCR targets reintegration of 10-15 thousand sponsored refugees
from May of 2009 in the No. Katanga area from the Zambian camps.
There is a constant trickle of spontaneous returnees whose numbers
are more difficult to track. The UNHCR chief of the Sub Delegation
in Moba predicts that the refugees from Zambia could all be
repatriated by early 2011.


10. The Fube area lies about 148 km from Moba. Refugees in Zambia
who came from areas near Fube organized themselves to start a new
village of 4700 people around Fube. They feel stronger as a group
together in Fube. The soils of Fube have already proven very
fertile. They want to apply the vocational and agricultural skills
they learned in Zambia to the newly opened area. The traditional
chiefs in Moba cooperated to make the land available in the area the
refugees requested.


11. FHI, WFP and UNHCR will be in close contact to cooperate with
this new refugee city. ACTED has created a sub-office there. The
FHI will track the cities to which the returnees in 2009 and 2010
will arrive and strive to facilitate the availability of their
agricultural and health services, as needed, to the newly-returned.
Fube area can be prioritized. WFP also has the mandate to help with
the food security of the refugees in general.


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WFP IN TANGANYIKA TERRITORY
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12. From 2005-2008 WFP distributed 9,256 MT of commodities to No.
Katanga. 58 (5,369 MT) percent of the 9,256 MT was from USAID/FFP,
Title II, consisting of cornmeal, CSB (corn-soya blend) vegetable
oil and lentils. At Kamakola the FFP visitors observed food and NFI
being distributed to returnees by FAO, UNICEF and WFP. It was
carried out in a systemic and orderly way.


13. In 2008, WFP distributed 3442 MT of food to 84,745 beneficiaries
consisting of malnourished children, returnees, school children,
expecting and nursing women, AIDS-afflicted persons and victims of
flooding. A WFP school-feeding project was observed at Mulange
School some 25 km from Kalemie. CARITAS carried it out. Children
brought their plates and utensils from home. The food was served
properly. School mothers prepared it. They were paid by a ration
of food.


14. The emergency food assistance of WFP focused on: a) school
children through school feeding; b) vulnerable groups, particularly
severe and moderately malnourished children and nursing and
expecting women; c) Natural disaster victims of flooding.


15. WFP signed an agreement with the SNCC (Congo National Railway
Company) to rehabilitate 2 locomotives, 38 closed wagons and 12
open-bed rail cars. FFP observed one locomotive under periodic
maintenance in Kalemie and some rehabilitated cars being loaded at
the WFP port warehouse. The half-million dollar SNCC rehabilitation
project had been done through WFP's role as chairman of the National
Logistics Cluster in Kinshasa, and the rehabilitated cars and
locomotive were destined for the transport of humanitarian goods.
Now the problem has arisen of how to assure humanitarian access.
WFP has transported only 2628 MT of material for NGOs to date. A
full-time ex-SNCC agent has been contracted by WFP to oversee the
programming of the humanitarian trains.


16. WFP's work in Kalemie in general has focused on the territories
of Kalemie, Kabalo, Kongolo, and Nyunzu with their partner NGOs:
Danish Church Aid, Caritas, ECC (Ecumenical Council of Churches)
Johanniter, GAFEM (Group d'Appui aux Familles des Enfants Mal
Nouris) and SOCODEIFE (Solidarites de Cooperation pour le
Development International des Femmes et Enfants),and CDJP
(Comission Diocesain de Justice et Paix).

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FHI PROJECT ISUES
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17. Twenty five km from Moba on the Kayabala axis, FHI carried out
a Seed Fair Program under the MYAP funding. The problem was that it
was done exactly as they had done under the earlier emergency SYAP
(Single Year Assistance Program) programs and not adapted for the
MYAP sustainable aspects: a) no improved seed varieties had been
integrated into the seed fair; b) no village seed multiplication
groups had been organized to assure that they would produce improved
species locally and associate these improved varieties to the seed
fair; c) no clear list with signed agreements had been done to
document how many seeds the beneficiaries had to repay (50%) from
their next harvest and to whom.


18. Wells had been constructed at Timote on the Tabac axis and at
Mukuku and Lukwangulo in Kalemie. Village community development
groups had not been formed. Villagers had not carried out the small
cooperation they were asked to do, i.e. construction of access by
stairs, etc. to the well because the women were slipping on a steep
decent. Villagers had not been asked whether they wanted an animal
watering trough, or a clothes washing platform constructed near the
well. They had not been asked if they wanted the well water
cemented off, or a wooden door opening left to conserve access to
the water when the hand-pump breaks. Maintenance instructions and
issues had not been discussed with the community.


19. FHI constructed a 27 km FFW (Food for Work) road on the
Kayabola axis in Moba which serves as a garden-to-market linkage.
The five bridges constructed were of excellent quality.
Complimentary funding from the State Department, (Bureau of
Population, Refugees and Migration) enabled the construction of the
bridges as well as the culverts to assure the completion of the
road. But the first rain and the passage of large trucks reaped
havoc with the road, creating large potholes and mud-filled portions
before the programmed road maintenance crews finished the planting
season and went out to do their work. The MYAP needs to organize
this maintenance. Drainage canals along the road need to be deeper
and wider. Trees need to be planted to reduce erosion on the side
of the roads. Proper signboards need to be placed at FFW worksites
which give the entitlements of the beneficiaries in food in exact
quantities. This will protect the worker's rights.


20. Monetization. FHI is the lead agency in a consortium of three
NGO-MYAP recipients to take charge of the monetization. The first
year it was agreed that 8000 MT of hard red winter wheat purchased
in Kansas City would be sold to Seaboard/Midema on the high seas and
delivered to the port of Matadi in Bas-Congo, DRC. The price
negotiated for the wheat from Seaboard was a fair price based on the
value of that quality of wheat on the Chicago Commodity Index on the
day of purchase. The Seaboard allowed US$245/MT for transport on
the first 8000 MT. The wheat was delivered intact and Seaboard paid
the three installments on time. The last payment was due after the
wheat was delivered in Matadi. The problem of shortfall of funds
arose when the total price received was less than what had been
stated in the MYAP proposals. Less money would be available from
the monetization for the project activities. This problem was
immediately signaled to the FFP headquarters in Washington. The
problem arose from the fall of price of wheat between the project
proposal dateline and time of the actual transaction. The NGOs were
not in a position to prognosticate future wheat prices and the
direction of the wheat market in turbulent economic times.

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FHI COMMODITY ISSUES
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21. Customs Blockage of USAID/FHI commodities:
FHI received an "emergency release permission" from the Ministry of
Finance to remove its perishable commodities from the customs (OFIDA)
immediately on arrival, but the permission carried a clause leading
the customs to believe that they could levy a 5% service charge.
Customs in Kalemie at the Port of Entry froze 120 MT of FHI
commodities from a larger shipment until the 5% tax, amounting to
$52,000 on that entire shipment, was paid. Appeals made to OFIDA
(customs agent) and MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in writing
asking for the waiver of that charge had not been accepted. Further
letters to the Ministry of Finance and the Governor of Katanga have
been processed.


22. The OFIDA customs director in Kalemie received on 29.01.2009 the
FHI Regional Programs Manager and the USAID/FFP officials from
Kinshasa. A verbal agreement was reached: a) FHI would petition the
Ministry of Finance in Kinshasa to remove the 5% service charge from
their permission to lift emergency goods from customs; b) the
Kalemie customs (OFIDA) will immediately release the 120 MT of food
in Moba and Kalemie for distribution; c) FFP will be prepared to
testify that FHI never gave any money to pay the "alleged" service
charges.


23. On 01/02/2009 the OFIDA customs in Moba retired their lock from
the FHI storerooms and the food was released.


24. Quality Control of FHI Cornmeal: 3600 bags (90MT) of cornmeal
was shipped 13.10.2007 on MS DIEGO. The shipment arrived at the
Port of Dar-Es-Salaam on 12.12.2007 on the MS HIMALAYA under Bill of
Lading MS CUNY 132466. It was on-forwarded via Kigoma, Tanzania on
29.09.2008 to Kalemie where it arrived 30.09.2008. The shelf-life of
the cornmeal was recommended as "best before March 2009" but the
bags do not carry an expiry date.


25. The Commodity Control Agency (OCC) of the DRC took samples of
the cornmeal which FHI forwarded to a Bukavu laboratory. The results
yield a diagnosis of "unfit for human consumption . . . noxious odor
. . . contamination." OCC Kalemie, in consultation with FHI,
forwarded second samples to their laboratory in Lubumbashi for a
second opinion. If the laboratory result from Lubumbashi does not
signal contamination, distribution will take place because of the
March recommended usage date. A routine sifting for insects and
screening for smell will take place before the distribution.


26. Vegetable Oil: FHI has discovered the people's preference for
plastic containers for the vegetable oil. Extensive rusting of the
metal (tin) containers has been noted.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
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27. FHI and WFP should cooperate closely with UNHCR to render
whatever agricultural, health and food security services are needed
by the returnees in Moba (including Fube),and Kalemie in the new
settlement villages where the DRC citizens chose to live after their
return.


28. Spontaneous returnees will be sought out by WFP and FHI in order
to stabilize and consolidate their successful settlement. Newly
displaced IDPs will be likewise an object of priority attention for
WFP and FHI.


29. FHI will include special training in the transition to
development which will be incorporated into the MYAP methodology so
that sustainable development can be the focus of the MYAP.


30. Commodity management issues will be solved as soon as possible
by the institutions receiving Title II, PL 480 foods.


31. FHI will consider the advantages of bringing FFP commodities
into the Port of Dar-Es-Salaam and across the country in close
cooperation with WFP.

Garvelink