writing a project

back to bujumbura, in good conditions.
they (the ngo) want me to write a new project on decentralisation and community planification. actually, it is a project financed by eu, and they have already put in detail what the winning ngo should do. but i wonder: does it make any sense that the one who writes the project is me (or even some eu official)? do we have enough comptetence? should not the project work better if conceived by someone who really knows local dynamics and weeknesses? and if there is not any local ngo or association that proposes to you to carry on a project in the field you want to finance, well, then do not waste your money. but in the eu, once the budget for cooperation to each country is approved, they can not stop the funds. on the contrary, the mechanism is that the faster the official in charge of the cooperation in that country uses the funds he has, the more points he gets to shift to a better place in the eu burocracy.
my ngo is now finishing a similar project, by eu as well, and it is quite a failure. the new project has the aim to help the municipalities or karusi province (where nyabikere lies) to write a community development plan. it is a good idea, but what happens if (as it is just happened) the municipalities do not have the intention to use the money which it is given to them to that purpose, but they use it to create clientelism and corruption? nothing, all goes on because it has to, but can you call that cooperazione allo sviluppo?