On day two, January 26, 2012, the participants at the ALSF-PALU capacity building seminar attended three major presentations. The aim was to familiarize North African lawyers with the African Development Bank's organs and activities and also enable them to have a better understanding of its legal requirements in financing infrastructure projects.
Private sector operations division manager, Souley Amadou, briefed the participants on the Bank's objectives, structures and activities. He focused on individual North African countries' membership subscriptions as well as projects financed by the Bank in the region since its inception. He also touched the Bank's various financial products as well as its response to the Arab Spring and the financial crisis.
In response to a question on "the necessity of the government's non-objection for each project financed by the Bank in its territory", Mr. Amadou explained that this requirement should not be perceived as a hindrance but as a measure to protect the borrower and ensure successful implementation of the project. On the perception that the Bank was slow and bureaucratic, he said: "In most cases, delays were due to borrowers not being able to comply with the provisions of the loan agreements or properly understand Bank's policy requirements." As for good governance issues, he emphasized the Bank's continued commitment to assisting regional member countries (RMCs) strengthen good governance, including through provision of technical assistance for good governance reforms in public operations.
Principal legal counsel in the Private sector operations division, Annemarie Mecca, for her part, made a presentation on "Key aspects of financing infrastructure projects from the AfDB perspective." She focused on borrowers' eligibility, procurement procedures, environmental and social issues, amongst others. She underscored the importance of Bank's privileges and immunities, noting that these were necessary for effective operations in RMCs. With regards to the Bank's immunity from legal process in its lending operations, Ms. Mecca assured participants that: "The Bank usually provides for arbitration in its financing agreements as a dispute resolution avenue and agrees to honor the final award of the arbitral tribunal."
On the concern that the Bank's environmental and social policy requirements were too onerous for many RMCs to comply, Ms. Mecca highlighted the fact that, due to heightened risks involved in infrastructure projects, the Bank assists RMCs to comply with the policies, for example through provision of technical assistance for the preparation of environmental management plans. She urged lawyers to familiarize themselves with the relevant Bank's policies and regulations, which were already publicly available on the Bank's website, so as to be more effective as counsel to parties involved in Bank-financed transactions.
Talking on of stabilization clauses in investment contracts, Aboubacar Fall, member of the ALSF management board, gave a historical background of the stabilization clause and explained its key principles as well as country risks. According to him, African governments should, wherever possible, make wise choices in the implementation of their right to unilaterally change the terms of the contract for oil investment.
