AfDB Board approves new policy to disclose more information on bank’s operations

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has taken a decision to disclose information on the Bank’s operations to the public.

This is to increase the level of transparency over its operational actions and policies and sector strategies.

“The decision was taken by the AfDB’s Board of Directors on May 2, 2012, which approved the AfDB’s revised policy on disclosure and access to information,” the Bank said in a statement May 7, 2012.

The World Bank on March 17, 2009 also launched a similar review of its disclosure policy. The Bank proposed to shift its approach to disclosure from its previous policy, which spells out what information the Bank discloses (a “positive list”), to “one under which the Bank would disclose any information in its possession that is not on a list of exceptions”.

The Board also recognized that more transparency and accountability were essential to the AfDB’s effectiveness in delivering its developmental mandate.

The change, the statement said also forms part of the AfDB’s institutional reform agenda, and the decision was taken after extensive consultation with external stakeholders.

One of the major features of the revision is that, “for the first time, the AfDB will release audited project accounts of borrowers involved in AfDB-financed sovereign projects”.

AfDB president Donald Kaberuka who remarked on the importance of the revision, noted that it was a positive outcome of extensive and transparent discussions inside and outside the AfDB.

He said “The revised policy on disclosure and access to information has clarified the role of the Office of the Vice President and Secretary General, the Regional Resource Centers and the Field Offices.”

Among the outcomes of the revised policy, according to members of the Board, will be the promotion of good governance, transparency and accountability.

The new policy comes into effect, nine months after approval by the Board of Directors, according to the statement.

By Ekow Quandzie