12 January 2011- The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) on Wednesday, 12 January 2011 in Tunis signed a grant agreement of USD 12 million to finance ACBF capacity activities in Africa.
Signing the grant agreement on behalf the Bank, AfDB's Chief Economist and Vice-President Mthuli Ncube revealed that at a time ACBF which was created in 1991 by the World Bank, UNDP and the African Development Bank was celebrating its 20th anniversary, it had actively supported close to 250 projects and programs in 44 African countries. The Bank's Chief Economist expressed his satisfaction that the Foundation had contributed to development process of the continent by building indigenous capacity for development policy formulation as well as by enhancing the interface between the public sector, the private sector and civil society. This according to him has helped to reverse the brain drain from the continent while ensuring the retention as well as intensive utilization of existing capacity.
Mr Ncube however underscored the point that the continent still lacked capacity to leverage and transform its immense natural resources from being a curse to a blessing. He regretted that Africa's lack of capacity in most countries is constraining the building competitive economies. The AfDB Chief Economist further called for an African consensus along the lines of the Washington consensus or the G20 consensus, under which Africa itself plays a major role in the decisions that affect its future. He explained that this is imperative at a time several African countries are celebrating 50 years of independence while the underlying reasons for creating ACBF still remained valid.
"Today, there is need for a public sector that is knowledgeable, efficient and committed; a private sector that is innovative, competitive while being conscious of the impact on the environment; a civil society that is constructively responsive; and a socio-political environment which promotes good governance and inclusive growth. In order terms, there is a need for a Strong, Sustained and Shared growth," he concluded.
In her intervention, the Executive Secretary of ACBF, Frannie Léautier who signed the grant agreement for her Foundation thanked the Bank for consistently supporting the operations of her organization since its inception. She noted that in addition to contributions amounting to some USD 24 million, the new grant of USD 12 million was particularly consistent with capacity building strategies of the two institutions. She also praised the guiding role of the African Development Institute in coordinating not only the capacity building input from various departments of the Bank but also for being at the helm of Bank Group warm collaborative partnership with ACBF.
The signature of the grant agreement is a worthy recognition of the tremendous work done by Frannie Léautier and her team in restoring the credibility of the ACBF and restoring its internal capacity to provide support to countries in a way that complement their actions. Under her able leadership, the Foundation has regained its momentum and African countries are increasing their financial contributions and pledges to the Foundation.
Contacts
Lotfi Madani
