Evaluation of the Tuberculosis Control Assistance Program (TB CAP)

PMU monitoring of partner financial expenditures (declared and accrued) is not easy. One criticalchallenge is delay in implementing TB CAP projects and thus delay in seeking reimbursement. Althoughpartners must develop annual workplans for core projects, the percentage that are fully implemented inthe first year is decreasing: 47.6% in APA1 (10 of 21), 45% in APA2 (9 of 20) and 41% in APA3 (12 of29).A second challenge is the timeliness of partner reporting on actual expenditures. Clearly, there was aninitially steep learning curve between partners and the PMU on what and how to report, but partner thereporting has greatly improved. Nonetheless, some partners reportedly take months to inform the PMU ofexpenses they incur, making it hard for the PMU to accurately forecast the amount of finances it requiresin its stockpile.There is some evidence that partners are reporting expenditures (declared and accrued) to the PMU morequickly. For example, 78% of the total budget for APA2 core projects completed in that year was reportedin that year, and in APA3 the comparable figure was 82%, thanks to new measures to increasecommunication and frequent requests for better reporting of expenditures.A third very important challenge is confusion about the definition of accrual. According to the PMU,commitments can only be considered as accrued expenses when the products or services have beendelivered. This eliminates a substantial amount relating to work that has been agreed to and which willalmost certainly have to be paid. For example, a legal contract for the delivery of future services has equalvalue, for the purpose of unofficially estimating future financial requirements, as an invoice for servicesalready delivered, yet such figures are not included in reports from partners or in financial forecasting bythe PMU.These types of problems do not appear to be the result of unwillingness to participate in the reportingprocess. Partners consider the TB CAP reporting requirements to be manageable. One common concern,however, is that there is insufficient funding to support the management and reporting requirements. ThePMU funds 50% of a project officer within each partner organization, and the percentage does not changeeven when the number and size of projects increases. After justification was requested from partners foran increase in the funding for project officers, the PMU analyzed the time spent on TB CAP work andconcluded that on average ―the project officers are spending 50% of their time on TB CAP tasks. Thedivision is evenly split between supporting workplan development and implementation, andadministrative tasks, such as reporting and contracts.‖ It was acknowledged that ―three project officers arespending more than the 50%, two of which well over the limit (about 73.5%),‖ mainly to develop countryworkplans and/or provide implementation support.RecommendationsTB CAP should continue to have its finances independently audited each year and should encouragethe auditors to identify recommendations and potential risks and monitor progress on previousrecommendations.All partners should be encouraged to have their cost shares audited.The PMU should establish a system for more quickly and accurately forecasting expenditures andfuture financial requirements.The PMU should more closely monitor project planning to ensure that results planned are realisticand achievable. It should clarify the date when a project should start reporting; currently, it is notclear in annual reports when a project began, and therefore it is not possible to evaluate whether it ison schedule.The PMU should institute policies to enforce quicker reporting of expenditures, such as by notreleasing new funds until outstanding expected expenditures have been reported.EVALUATION OF THE TUBERCULOSIS CONTROL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TB CAP) 11