The African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group will support a capacity building and poverty reduction programme in Sudan with a grant of 9.62 million Units of Account (UA*), equivalent to US$ 14.5 million, approved by the Fund's Board of Directors on Wednesday in Tunis.
The objective of the Institutional Capacity Building for Poverty Reduction and Good Governance project is to strengthen the capacity of key national institutions in North and South Sudan to implement macro-economic reforms and good governance practices for poverty eradication.
The project has three components: * Providing support in the preparation of the national Poverty Eradication Strategy Paper (PESP); * Strengthening the human and institutional capacity of the Government of Southern Sudan * Project Management.
The project will involve four categories of expenditure - works, goods, services and operating costs - and three main types of capacity building interventions: technical assistance for developing and strengthening government institutions and systems in the areas of macro-economic reforms and governance; human capital development through training and logistic support and rehabilitation/construction of key facilities and offices of government institutions.
The Project covers the entire country with the main thrust in Southern Sudan and the national poverty eradication strategy process.
Specifically, in the South, the project aims at strengthening the capacity of the southern Sudan government's institutions at the central and state levels. In general, it will focus on skills transfer and development in order to make the institutions concerned functional and operational and improve service delivery. The choice of objectives and beneficiaries takes into account what other development partners are already doing or are planning to do in Sudan.
The total cost of the project is estimated at UA 10.69 million. The ADF grant will cover 90% of the costs The counterpart funding of UA 1.07 million (10% of project cost) will be provided by the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan.
The Bank Group started its lending operations in Sudan in 1971. To date, its cumulative commitments in the country stand at UA 281.9 million.
