The African Development Bank has appointed Mtchera Johannes Chirwa Acting Director for the Water and Sanitation Department effective 1 August 2024.
Chirwa, a Malawian national, is currently Coordinator of the African Water Facility , a Special Fund of the African Development Bank created in 2004 within its Water and Sanitation Department.
In this role, Mr. Chirwa leads the Facility to support the delivery of Africa's water vision, working with international donors and partners to mobilise resources for African countries and regional institutions to develop water and sanitation programs and projects. He will continue in this substantive role, in addition to his new appointment.
Mr. Chirwa has over 30 years of overall experience in development work, 15 of which have been in the water sector, at the country and international level. His experience is predominantly in development finance, supporting policy reforms, preparation of strategies, programs, and projects in the water supply and other infrastructure sectors. Mr. Chirwa has built and led successful multidisciplinary teams and nurtured high level strategic partnerships locally and internationally. He possesses a strong, respectable professional public and private sector network in the water supply, sanitation development and investment sectors in Africa and globally.
He joined the African Development Bank Group in 2008 as Principal Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Infrastructure Specialist in the Bank's Regional Integration Department where he was responsible for managing the development and preparation of multiple regional infrastructure development projects in the transboundary water and transport sectors in Southern and Eastern Africa. In 2012 he was appointed Chief Infrastructure and PPP Specialist, in the Bank's Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, where he successfully led infrastructure project preparation under the NEPAD-Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (IPPF) Special Fund.
Over a 16 year career in the Bank, Mr. Chirwa also successfully led the development of the Bank's first PPP Strategic Framework (2022), coordinating the Bank's role in the development of the first phase and second phases of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), with an investment portfolio of $161 billion. He also led the Bank's support for the development of regional infrastructure master plans in the Southern (SADC) and Horn of Africa (IGAD) regions.
Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Chirwa worked as Infrastructure Specialist for the World Bank in the Malawi Country Office, as well as Portfolio Manager for Malawi's Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Commission,
Mr. Chirwa is a Registered Civil Engineer, and holds a master's degree in construction project management from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Malawi. Mr. Chirwa is also a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Certified Public Private Partnership Professional.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: "I am truly grateful and privileged to be appointed by President Adesina as Acting Director of the Water and Sanitation Department of the Bank. Improving access to water supply and sanitation and developing water resources sustainably for food and energy production are key priorities for our regional member countries and for the Bank. I remain fully committed and dedicated, under the President's leadership and the Bank's Senior Management team, to contribute to improving the quality of lives for the people on our continent."
