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The Water and Sanitation Projects subject of the Technical Audit are

• Peri-Urban Sanitation and Hygiene Project in Mzuzu being implemented by Plan Malawi: the total cost of the project is €1.7million of which the EU grant amounts to €1.2million. The project started its activities on 1st  March 2013 and is for 48 months.
• Improving Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Promotion in Peri Urban Areas of Mzuzu City and Karonga Town in Malawi being implemented by UN Habitat. This project started in December 2014 and its total duration is 24 months. The project’s objective is to provide access to safe water in peri-urban areas; increase access to basic and improved sanitation in peri-urban areas; build community and institutional capacity; to increase access to sustainable water supply and sanitation for approximately 50,000 people.
• Integrated WASH intervention in low income areas (LIA) in Mzuzu and Karonga implemented by the Netherlands Red Cross; focused on improving hygiene, access to water and sanitation for vulnerable populations living in 9 low income areas (LIA) in Mzuzu and Karonga with a focus on women, (school going) children, people living with HIV/AIDS, and people with physical disabilities.
• Extending Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene and Solid Waste Management Services to Low Income Areas, implemented by Blantyre Water Board. The total cost of the project is €1,223,807.13, of which the EU grant amount is €917,855.35. The project aims to increase access to potable water supply in 21 low income areas, increase affordable and sustainable sanitation services, improve knowledge and attitude on hygiene practices and improve solid waste management systems in Blantyre city. Among the project's key activities are the construction of water kiosks, toilets blocks and refuse banks, policy and bye-laws enforcement, sanitation and hygiene promotion, and establishment of solid waste management system.

The Global objective is to provide assurance to the EU Delegation to Malawi that project activities have been carried out in accordance with the related respective grant contracts and that any gaps in compliance have been identified and a remedial plan to address them has been designed. 

The Technical Audit specific objective is to provide assurance to the Contracting Authority that physical works executed under the three programmes meet the set contractual conditions, quality and standards in line with best practices in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene sector.

Services provided by your staff within the assignment:

• Ensure the conformity and quality of the contractual documents (works and supervision contracts) signed between the Grant Beneficiaries and their respective Contractors carrying out the physical works
• Review the Contractors invoice statements as submitted to the Grant Beneficiaries for payment in order to ascertain the adequacy and proper fixing of unit prices and ascertain the conformity between works carried out and those invoiced. In addition, assess the value for money aspect of the works and estimate the works remaining to be executed and financial forecast for the project up to completion.
• Review technical monitoring operations actually performed by the Grant Beneficiaries and their assigned supervision teams/consultants if any and assess the consistency between the technical qualities stipulated in the respective contract, those   stated in the various reports and those actually noted on site.
• Make site visits, in order to determine: the progress of the works compared to the work programme highlighting any delays and their possible causes; the quality of the works in conformity with the technical specifications and or appropriate standards. 
• Suggest, at all stages of the Technical Auditor's work, possible corrective measures for anomalies detected that could affect the quality of the works and avoid their repetition, and provide recommendations for corrective measures addressing the gaps and delays of the project.

For project in Blantyre, pay particular attention to the cost and quality of water kiosks and make a general  assessment of their functionality. Location of the construction sites were also verified.

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