After bidding a fond farewell to its outgoing members, the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) warmly welcomed two new additions to its Management Board - Rafique Mahomed and Bruce Montador - during a Board meeting held on Thursday, 13 July.

The ALSF's Management Board is responsible for the efficient and effective conduct of all operations of the Facility, as well as the approval of its Budget and appointment of its Director. The Board is composed of five members, serving in their personal capacity, who are each appointed by the Governing Council for a three-year, non-renewable term.

Although he presently serves as Chair of the Africa Study Group of the National Capital Branch of the Canadian International Council, Montador is very familiar with the work of the ALSF and AfDB, more broadly, as he was the Executive Director representing Canada, China, Korea and Kuwait at the AfDB from 2007-2011. Beyond his duties at the Canadian International Council, Montador also acts as a Board member and Treasurer of CODE, a Canadian NGO promoting literacy and children's book publishing in Africa.

The addition of Mahomed--a former AfDB Board member representing Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe as well former member of the ALSF's Governing Council--confers a wealth of maritime law, banking, investment, and tourism experience onto the Facility's Management Board. As the Board provides operational guidance to the ALSF's staff, Mahomed's diverse experience as cabinet member of the Mozambique government, as the Director General of the Mozambique Investment Promotion Center, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Standard Bank in Mozambique, will prove to be an asset to the Board.

Both Montador and Mahomed have been appointed for a three-year term, which will come to a close in mid-2020. Throughout their terms, the new Management Board members will leverage their expertise to support the Facility's staff in the provision of advisory services, capacity building programs, and support to Regional Member Countries (RMCs).

Established in 2008, the ALSF is an international public institution, hosted by the African Development Bank Group. Its mandate is to support African states by providing legal advisory services, launching capacity building events, and developing unique knowledge management tools.