The joint WADA/WDEF online meeting on the 9th July 2024. WADA outlined two options
- Option 1 – is that a contractor is employed for the complete build, including the project management.
- Option 2 – is that the community project manage the project and buy the materials and hire in specific contractors for different parts of the construction.
On 29th July, the Ethiopian government reversed its long-standing policy of fixing the exchange rate which resulted in a fall of 30% in the value of the birr against international currencies. This fuelled inflation but also increased the value of funds exchanged from Sterling.

The next joint WADA/WDEF meeting was held on the 30th August. On the 29th, WADA submitted a detailed Schedule of Work for the period October to December 2024 with a total budgeted cost of 578360.96 birr. This document was viewed by the meeting as a positive step forward and the trustees agreed to consider it in detail.
The trustees accepted the costings but sought more information about items which were not costed (Fencing and Storage). The secretary requested clarification of these items on 10th September and received a response from Hirpa on 26th September. Together these items came to a total of 978,490.96 birr.
Item | Request | Date of request |
WADA’s three months plan for the fourth quarter of 2024 | 578,360.96 birr | 29/08/2024 |
temporary store | 236,340.00 birr | 26/9/24 |
construction of fence | 163,790.00 birr | 26/9/24 |
978,490.96 birr |
On the 11th October Brian informed WADA board “Thank you for sending the details of costs of the temporary store and fence. If my understanding is correct, this brings the total for the proposed works to 978,490.96 birr. We are preparing a transfer of this amount, but we would be grateful if you could send an email with Subject “WADA funding Request 1” specifying this amount and a summary of the work and time period it covers, for our records. We appreciate that we already have the information but we would appreciate being able to bring up an electronic paper trail of funding requests as the project moves forward. We commit to authorising our bank to transfer funds immediately on receipt of the request.”
Hirpa initially questioned (14/10/24) the figure and then, when I sent the table above he replied with an amended version.
Item Request Date of request Transfer agreed WADA’s three months plan for the fourth quarter of 2024 578,360.96 Birr 29/08/2024 before devaluation 1,137,693.88 Birr 14/10/2024 After devaluation temporary store 236,340.00 Birr 1/10/24 After devaluation construction of fence 163,790.00 Birr 1/10/24 after devaluation 1,537,853.88 Birr
The original request from WADA was made almost one month after devaluation and we were clear at the first joint meeting that this was the case. Since that meeting, the birr has fallen by a further 9% and now appears to be relatively stable. Inflation appears to have fallen by 10% and is set to fall by a further 10% in the first quarter of 2025.

WADA are seeking to justify a 100% increase in the core cost of the project over 3 months based on the devaluation of the birr which occurred prior to the original bid. If they wish to make changes to the request for funds, they would need to present a re-costed schedule of work.
WDEF made clear in the August meeting that we had so far raised around a quarter of the funds required to complete the project and we opted for Option 2 (above) maximising the use of local skills and materials. We need WADA’s help in keeping costs down and maximising local contributions. The doubling of the estimated costs with an inadequate justification does not help build confidence and trust. As trustees of WDEF we have a responsibility to ensure we achieve good value for money and we rely on WADA to provide that and assist us in monitoring the situation in Ethiopia.
The trustees agreed to provide 978,491 birr to fund 3 months work and have prepared an instruction to our bank to transfer those funds. On 11th October, the WDEF secretary emailed WADA saying “We are preparing a transfer of this amount, but we would be grateful if you could send an email with Subject “WADA funding Request 1” specifying this amount and a summary of the work and time period it covers, for our records. We appreciate that we already have the information but we need to be able to bring up an electronic paper trail of funding requests as the project moves forward. We commit to authorising our bank to transfer funds immediately on receipt of the request.“
I would recommend that WDEF trustees do not change our offer on the basis of WADA’s response and ask that WADA consider whether it is realistic to embark on the schedule of work with the allocated funds. WDEF have already contributed around 600,000 birr to WADA and we have suggested that this could be regarded as a contingency. We are aware that there are many uncertainties in delivering projects in Ethiopia and we will be sympathetic where unforeseen difficulties are encountered, but we would expect to receive a full account of them, the options available and the efforts that have been made locally to resolve them before we agree additional funds.