The Sunday Mail
TWELVE senior African Development Bank officials are expected in Zimbabwe today to assess the impact of the institution’s projects here.
The visit will focus on natural resources management and governance, financial management, and private sector development.
Some of the ongoing AfDB interests in Zimbabwe include the emergency power infrastructure rehabilitation II, the governance and institutional strengthening, youth and tourism enhancement and capacity building for public finance and economic management projects.
Ten board members and two senior advisors representing 42 countries will be in the country from today to February 28, 2015 before leaving for Mozambique for a similar exercise.
“These annual field visits aim to examine the effectiveness of bank policies and strategies, across a number of key sectors”, said Mr Mahomed Rafique, the bank’s executive director representing Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the board of directors.
“They involve consultation with the bank’s key shareholders and stakeholders, as well as project visits. They are designed to identify gaps in the bank group’s operations, and to offer solutions.”
The AfDB delegation is expected to pay a courtesy call on President Mugabe and hold other consultations with top Government officials.
There will be discussions with the private sector and civil society, including meetings with senior officials of regional economic bodies to discuss integration; in addition to sessions with international financial institutions and donors within the context of the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action and 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
“These visits are a critical part of our annual agenda,” said Mr Rafique. “Executive directors are mandated by the board to evaluate the quality of the bank group’s support to its regional member countries. It is an opportunity to look again at the social, economic and political challenges we confront, and to see how the bank’s work complements that of other donors.
“They also look closely at the challenges of achieving regional integration and inclusive growth, of combating climate change, of enhancing the role of the private sector, and of promoting small and medium enterprises.”
Since 2011, AfDB has invested about US$195 million in support of the country’s economic governance initiatives, infrastructure rehabilitation and private sector development programmes.
The delegation includes board members representing Angola, Argentina, Austria, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Gambia, Ghana, India, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sweden, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
