The African Development Bank (AfDB) Board of Directors on 17 December 2013 in Tunis approved supplementary African Development Fund (ADF) loan and grant financing totaling US$ 58.2 million for The Governance and Economic Competitiveness Support Programme (GECSP) in Tanzania.

The GECSP supplemental financing operation aims at supporting Tanzania in its efforts to deepen and consolidate the gains of the country's ongoing reform program. The AfDB is supporting the program using the General Budget Support instrument. By specifically targeting private sector development through energy sector reforms, the operation will help to lay the foundation for an energy sector focused budget support operation planned for 2014.

In his briefing to the Board, AfDB Vice President in charge of Agriculture, Water, Human Development and Governance, Aly Abou-Sabaa, emphasized the convening role of the Bank in facilitating policy dialogue in Tanzania. He enumerated a series of concrete actions being undertaken by the country geared towards enhancing the viability of the sector. These include measures to achieve a cost-reflective tariff level in the energy sector as well as steps to eliminate subsidies to the Tanzanian energy supply company TANESCO.

Lobe Ndoumbe, Director of the AfDB's Governance, Economic and Financial Management Department, reiterated Tanzania's strong commitment to implementing energy sector reforms, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the sector in the medium to long term.

"The Bank will intensively coordinate with other development partners to get their buy-in for the energy sector reform strategy and road map. It will also align the disbursement triggers with those of other development partners. These triggers are designed to incentivize the government to make appropriate choices aimed at addressing the challenges of the energy sector," Lobe Ndoumbe underscored.