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Evaluating Country Programmes
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The aid programme’s main achievements were the increase in production of
state enterprises and provision of better public institution services through the
supply of technologically advanced commodities and training of large numbers of
staff. However, commodity supplies and technical training did little to improve government
institutional functioning, mainly because the public sector’s structural
problems could not be addressed effectively at the level of individual projects.
Results were best in cases where public agencies oriented their activities
towards clients’ demand and had sufficient financial autonomy to raise additional
revenue, enabling them to offer better employment conditions, to finance other
operations, and to cover main tenancy and reinvestment costs. The main causes for
lack of success in the Netherlands’ project aid were its deficiencies in project preparation
and inefficiency within public institutions.
Initially, the sustainability of project aid achievements was low but improved
as a result of the recent acceleration of Egypt’s economic reform policy and
renewed economic growth. The principal factors that enhanced sustainability were
a favourable government policy and, for public institutions, their orientation
towards client demand and their growing degree of financial autonomy.
The Netherlands’ development aid had little influence on Egyptian policies.
This is because of the relatively small share of Dutch aid in the total volume provided.
Also, its dispersal over several sectors and its focus on a large number of projects
which had little relation to one another made it less obvious for the Netherlands to
participate intensively in policy discussions. Experiences in two main sectors are
illustrative in this respect. The policy framework for the development of Egypt’s
water management and drainage sector was established under USAID and World
Bank covenants. These two donors contributed almost two-thirds of external
support to the sector. Likewise, fundamental sector reforms in drinking water and
sanitation were the outcome of a policy dialogue between Egypt and USAID, USAID
being by far the main donor of the sector. The various activities supported by the
Netherlands in both sectors were in line with these Egyptian policies, without the
Netherlands being able, or wanting, to influence them. However, experiences
gained in projects supported by the Netherlands resulted in insights that facilitated
the implementation of policies in the two sectors.
Key workshop themes
The CPE Egypt provides some relevant experiences with regard to the key
workshop themes. These are briefly dealt with below under the following headings:
Methodology, Partnership in Evaluation, and Effects on the Dutch Aid Programme.
OECD 1999