Foreign Service Officer: ORAL ASSESSMENT STUDY GUIDE

The Embassy of the United States of America
Asima, Kuman
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Members of the Working Group
Economic Section Office Manager – Rebecca Mayer
Transportation Improvement Project (K11)
Economic Counselor Boswell West asked me to notify you that he has had to deliver an urgent
message to the Minister of Trade and Industry and will be unable to attend your meeting today.
He gave me this outline of the major points of an important infrastructure proposal and urges the
Working Group to fund the project fully.
Mr. West’s project involves support for upgrading the road from Malik, the agricultural center of
the fertile Wadi Ibrahim valley, to Asima in the north and to the rapidly growing port Ras Safira
to the south. The road is the only connection between Kuman’s farmers and its consumers and
export markets. Currently, the road is in a deplorable state, making the trip long and dangerous
even in good weather. It is often impassable in the rainy season.
An all-weather road would bring more and cheaper food to the populous Northern Province,
reducing the country's need for expensive food imports and increasing its export potential in the
Gulf region. Furthermore, Ras Safira is rapidly becoming the major Kumani port for non-oil
exports destined for Western markets. The project could also help Kuman diversify the economy
and overcome chronic trade deficits.
If work starts in the next month, the road could be finished by year’s end, just in time for the
winter harvest. Improving the road would require only $290,000. Transportation Minister
Abdallah Nakeel will provide $95,000 of this to pay for local construction materials and labor.
The Minister has asked the Embassy for $195,000 for: (1) a survey to produce mapping and
technical requirements for the road, executed by a Kumani survey team overseen by a U.S.
surveyor ($30,000); (2) improvement of the road surface, involving leveling and covering the
roadbed with gravel from local quarries ($103,000); and (3) construction of a concrete bridge
over a deep ravine where no bridge exists ($62,000). The only way trucks can now get around
the ravine involves a lengthy detour over dangerous mountain roads that are impassable in bad
weather. The road would require some regular maintenance, but the Government could do this at
minimal cost.
In addition to boosting agricultural production, income and exports, the road would stimulate
other sectors as well. Flocks of sheep and goats in the area could be substantially increased if
their mutton and wool could be transported to major markets. Textile, clothing, and rug-making
industries could also thrive. The growth of commercial agriculture could provide opportunities