OREANDA-NEWS. A delegation of African Development Bank Group Executive Directors is preparing to travel to Mozambique to assess the impact of Bank projects in the country.  The 11 Board members and one Senior Advisor, representing 46 countries, will visit Mozambique from March 28 to April 4.

“These annual field visits aim to examine the effectiveness of Bank policies and strategies, across a number of key sectors”, said Mahomed Rafique, the Bank’s Executive Director representing Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe on the Board of Directors.  “They involve consultation with the Bank’s key shareholders and stakeholders, as well as project visits. They are designed to identify gaps in the Bank Group’s operations, and to offer solutions.”

The visits will focus on projects in natural resources management and governance, finance sector management, and private sector development.

The Executive Directors will hold consultations with senior government officers, and pay a courtesy call on the Head of State. They will also hold discussions with the private sector and civil society.

The team will meet with senior officials of regional economic bodies to discuss regional integration.  It will also hold sessions with international financial institutions and donor partners to discuss how to harmonise bilateral efforts, drawing from conventions such as the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action and 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. 

“These visits are a critical part of our annual agenda”, continued Rafique.  “Executive Directors are mandated by the Board to evaluate the quality of the Bank Group’s support to its regional member countries.”  It is an opportunity to look again at the social, economic and political challenges we confront, and to see how the Bank’s work complements that of other donors.  They also look closely at the challenges of achieving regional integration and inclusive growth, of combating climate change, of enhancing the role of the private sector, and of promoting small and medium enterprises. 

Since commencing operations in Mozambique in 1977, the Bank Group has committed about US \$2 billion in 95 operations in the country.  Just over half of this funding has supported the transport sector, and a fifth has supported agriculture.

The delegation includes Board Members representing Angola, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, C?te d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guinea, Japan, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Portugal, S?o Tom? & Pr?ncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.