A team of ten Executive Directors (EDs) from the African Development Bank will be on a three-day stakeholder consultation mission in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) over the period 27-30 January 2019.

The ED delegation, accompanied by Josephine Ngure, the Bank Group's Deputy Director General for the Southern Africa Region and Country Manager for the Kingdom of Eswatini, will hold consultative meetings with the Ministers of Finance; Economic Planning and Development; Agriculture; and Natural Resources and Energy; private sector representatives, civil society organisations and various development partners, among others. The EDs will take stock of the condition and status of the country's portfolio vis-à-vis the socio-economic climate while also assessing the quality and relevance of the development strategies followed.

David Stevenson, the mission spokesperson, said, "This is one of the first missions of the year, and we look forward to meaningful engagement with the key stakeholders, which will enlighten us on the impact of the Bank's interventions and support in Eswatini," Stevenson is the Bank's Executive Director for Canada, China, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, and Turkey.

The delegation will visit three project sites: Ezulwini Sustainable Water and Sanitation Service Delivery Project and the Lower Usuthu Smallholders Irrigation Projects I and II to assess the impact of the Bank's intervention on people's lives.

This mission is part of the annual mandate of the Executive Directors to visit regional member countries to evaluate the quality and impact of the Bank's support to regional member countries. They are also designed to strengthen engagement with member countries by fostering dialogue on economic, social and political issues, and identifying development needs and areas of improvement in the Bank Group's operations.