Nepad Calls for Partnership With AfDB to Drive Implementation of Regional Programmes

27 May 2014
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) seeks to fast-track implementation of continental programmes intended to drive Africa's transformation.

The NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (NPCA), the Secretariat of NEPAD, in partnership with Kenya's Ministry of Devolution and Planning, held a two-day consultative meeting for all NEPAD Focal Points in Africa. The Forum, held May 26-27, 2014 in Nairobi, brought together Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC) as well as Civil Society Organisations.

Speaking at the official opening of the Forum, the Kenya Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Devolution and Planning, Anne Waiguru, called for coordination of efforts at all levels in implementing major continental programmes so that these programmes have ownership and buy-in at the national level.

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD, commended the Kenya NEPAD Office as an example as a model which can be used by other regions of Africa. The Kenya NEPAD Office, apart from being a national office for Kenya, is also the regional focal point for NEPAD National Offices in East Africa. He called for support from funding agencies such as the AfDB who are already supporting major continental initiatives such as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP), among others, to help strengthen the NEPAD National Offices given the extensive presence of the AfDB across Africa through the Country Offices.

In his statement, the AfDB Regional Director for East Africa, Gabriel Negatu, observed there has been positive cooperation and coordination between AfDB and continental institutions such as the AUC, NPCA and at a regional level through the RECs. He observed that the AfDB has been a partner of Africa for the past 50 years and will continue to be a dependable and trusted partner for Africa going forward. Negatu informed the Forum that the AfDB's Ten Year Strategy and the AfDB new Regional Integration Strategy (RIS) both focus on how best to mainstream and translate higher level initiatives into national implementation on the ground. He called for new results-driven implementation partnerships as Africa looks forward over the next 50 years.

The Forum urged NEPAD to initiate discussions with the AfDB with a view to identifying opportunities for possible AfDB support of the NEPAD within the framework of the AfDB's new RIS, (2014-2023). This is critical to strengthening capacity at national level to fast-track the implementation of continental and regional programmes.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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