African Development Fund gets support for replenishment

The African Development Fund (ADF) has received a key endorsement that will enhance its operation on the continent.

According to ADF’s Governors, Planning and Finance Ministers from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone, they have noted that the ADF is indeed a relevant channel of development financing.

“The ADF strategic orientation and operational priorities are aligned with the Continent’s development agenda and countries’ needs. Successive institutional reforms have strengthened the Bank Group’s Delivery capacity, Responsiveness and Results-focus,” the Governors and Ministers said in a statement after a meeting in Abidjan, May 14, 2013.

They said “We support the building of capacity in the fields of public procurement, internal and external audits, managing revenues from natural resources, and enhancing domestic resource mobilization as they are important for resource rich countries in the region.”

The group therefore appreciated the works of the African Development Bank who runs the ADF.
They also appreciated the establishment and augmenting of the ADF Regional Operations envelope, which is critical in supporting the Bank’s ambitious regional integration agenda.

The Governors and the Finance Ministers, according to the statement recognized the challenges that are facing the AfDB and the ADF in mobilizing resources at a time when many donor countries are facing some economic constraints.

“Nevertheless, we think that we need to keep the momentum and focus on the big picture, which is to help the Bank’s Regional Member Countries transform their economies, create jobs, and reduce poverty. We hope the ADF-13’s replenishment will meet our needs,” they said.

By Ekow Quandzie