GS5047 VPA29 African Improved Cookstoves and Clean Water Programme: Nyagatare Safe Water Project IX

Audit Analysis

The Nyagatare Safe Water Project IX is a Gold Standard energy-efficiency project in Rwanda with VVB-confirmed additionality and an established methodology, but the verification report reveals significant MRV weaknesses including unverified borehole GPS locations, a 9% increase in downtime, 12 boreholes removed during the period, and multiple corrective actions still outstanding. The 0% leakage deduction is justified as negligible but contradicts an earlier 'quantified' treatment, and the project-specific baseline lacks a documented reassessment date. Overall, the project shows moderate integrity with notable data-reliability concerns that temper confidence in the claimed emission reductions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠Average borehole downtime increased from 1.2% in MP3 to 9.0% in MP4 due to supply-chain disruptions, yet no corresponding ER adjustment is documented
• ⚠12 boreholes were removed from the project database during the 2023 monitoring period, raising over-crediting risk if ERs were calculated before removal
• ⚠Borehole GPS locations could not be verified from provided data; physical verification or updated satellite imagery is still pending as a corrective action
• ⚠Potential double counting of users in overlapping borehole radii was addressed only by capping at 300 users, a methodological shortcut rather than a rigorous spatial analysis
• ⚠Multiple corrective actions remain open (GPS recollection, physical borehole verification, survey methodology fixes), indicating the MRV system was not fully robust at verification time

Credit Vintages