Administration and management

ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL PROGRAMME IN WEST AFRICA Expert Advisory Committee Seventeenth session Ouagadougou. 10-14 June 1996 Briefing session, 8 June 1996 OCP/EACl7/Briefing paper no. 3 ORIGINAL : ENGLISH a) ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT 1. Introduction The Administration Unit is undertaking the following activities, in addition to its routine duties it is providing support to APOC in the areas of office services, budget and accounting, staff recruitment and support to meetings; b) it is occupied with the closure of the zone-office in Bamako by providing back-up logistics for the transfer to Odienn6 and supervision for the projects required to prepare the premises at Odienne to become the zone headquarters and the base for the fleet of vehicles; the Unit is presently putting the finishing touches to the 1997 OCP budget in English and French, and managing the 1996 budget. The Finance Unit The budget situation at 30m April 1996 is as follows c) 2. a) Total budget for 1996 Expenditure to 3O I 04 I 96 Commitments to 30/04/96 This represents monies paid out. This includes salaries to Dec. insecticides and vehicles for 1996. $ 24,278,000 $ 5,630,796 $ 10,988,453 b) c) and, Balance for operations to 31.112196 $ 7,658,751 The accounting work is up to date as at 1 May The Unit has taken APOC on board, and has been in contact with WHO Headquarters concerning the release of APOC funds to facilitate its operations. It is also in contact with the Programme on Prevention of Blindness and Deafness concerning APOC funding of half of a post. The accounts needed so far, have been set up. Support to national teams is priority. The Finance Unit has brought three members of the Sierra Leone National Team to Ouagadougou for training on using computers for managing the imprest account. A follow up visit was made to ensure the installation of the software in their office. Technical support is also being given to the National Team of Guinea, by sending a staff member for two weeks each month to assist with their imprests. The preparation of the 1997 budget in English and French is nearly completed. Revisions and corrections are being made on the first draft. d) 3. a) -2- The Transport Management Unit (including Communications) This unit is deeply involved in the closure of the zone-office in Bamako, especially with the movement of over 50 vehicles to a new home base. OCP's spare parts stores and central Sarage in Bamako are being transferred to Odienne by container. Proper inventories have to be taken before departure and when setting out the stocks and special tools in Odienne. Projects being done at Odienne include extending the existing garage, adding a room to the office to house the new spare parts stores, electrical rewiring of the offices, installing a standby generator; increasing the parking area for field vehicles and doing some landscaping to prevent flooding. The Transport Management Officer (TMO) is guiding, monitoring and giving technical inputs into all these projects. Fleet Manaqement is an ongoing activity which is now required to keep in step with the progressive phasing out of the Programme, and the policy of transfer of responsibility to countries. Towards this end a prograrnme has started, to write off those vehicles which are already over ten years old, and not replacing them all, as the fleet is trimmed. The programme projects reducing the fleet from 300 vehicles now to 200 vehicles in 2002. The intention is to meet the targets set for each of the intervening years. Supplies s1fl fldministrative Services Unit Launching of APOC - This unit was responsible for preparing the six offices for APOC and highlighting the identity of the prograrnme and its building. Logistic support was supplied for the first Technical Consultative Committee in May and a brainstorming session in April. Bamako zone-office closure and preparing Odienne - The project is being supported by the unit in respect of contract paper work for the projects being done and purchases of materials for the work. A storekeeper was sent from Ouagadougou to assist with the inventories of office furniture and equipment. A fax machine has been bought for Odienne. The unit is arranging for the OCP vehicles based in Bamako to be "re-exported" to COte d'Ivoire and to obtain C6te d'Ivoire license plates. SuDport to Ivermectin Distribution - The unit maintains an air conditioned store-room as a depot from which the appropriate quantities of ivermectin are sent to countries for each round of treatment. The unit also maintains storerooms for office supplies bought in bulk. Office services - The office cleaning and security have been contracted out/outsourced, and this unit supervises the contractors. Personnel Unit Rationalisation of OCP larviciding activities - The Personnel unit is immersed in the matters arising from closing of the Bamako office in June 1996 and the Parakou, Tamale and Kintampo offices in December 1996. Staff have to be given notice, helped with their pension forms, reassigned when possible and given answers to their many questions. The organisation's contractual obligations are discharged under the guidance of this unit. Short term recruitment on Special Services Aqreements - A revised Special Services Agreement has been prepared for short term recruitments, to match the better local salaries in each country and include health insurance coverage for families as well as contributing to local superaruuation schemes. With the programme expected to run for only six more years, there was a policy decision to go this route in our local recruitment. APOC - The unit is supporting APOC in transferring staff from OCP, in preparing post descriptions and obtaining post numbers for its six posts. c) b) b) 4. a) b) c) d) 5. a) c)