The African Development Bank's (AfDB) Resident Representative, Septime Martin, and the Minister of Finance of Angola, Armando Manuel, signed a loan agreement on June 24, 2015 for the amount of US $123.77 million related to the Institutional and Sustainability Support to the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Service Delivery Project.

In his speech, Septime Martin underscored the good partnership between the AfDB and the Government of Angola and commended the authorities for their increased commitment to reforms following the approval in 2014 of the Bank's US $1-billion power sector support program, and the Public Financial Management and Fiduciary System Review (PEMFSR) to be undertaken in 2015. Martin also urged the authorities to improve the pace of implementation of Bank-financed projects, in particular, in the areas of procurement and financial management. Finally, he said that the Bank is taking these challenges as a serious risk and has recently placed long term consultants in the AfDB's Angola Field Office to provide support in these critical areas.

In his address, the Minister of Finance praised the successful cooperation between the African Development Bank and the Government of Angola and reiterated the Government's commitment to continue implementing reforms for sustainable and inclusive growth. He also expressed Government's willingness to benefit from additional Bank's support through use of innovative financing instruments such as the Partial Credit Guarantee that is currently under consideration. The Institutional and Sustainability Support to the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Service Delivery Project envisages the creation of seven Provincial Water and Sanitation Utilities, the establishment of the regulator for the sector, and fostering national dialogue to improve governance and accountability in urban service delivery. In broad terms, the project will benefit close to 0.9 million urban residents directly and over 2.3 million people gradually.