AfDB
External Relations and Communication Unit
interviews ACBF Executive Secretary
“The good news is that ACBF
has developed its own knowledge management
strategy through the sharing of knowledge
products and services, including the
exchange of publications, the conduct
of joint research
work, the provision of access and links.
Our two institutions can help to strengthen
collaborative ventures in this domain,” ACBF
Executive Secretary Edwin N. Forlemu told
AfDB Newsletter, following discussions
in Tunis on April 3rd with various Bank
Group Officials.
Question: You are currently on
a working visit to the AfDB. What are
the key objectives
of the visit?
Answer: The ACBF
Mission to the AfDB is intended to
achieve
three main objectives:
(i) to renew contact with AfDB officials
at the highest level in order to
exchange ideas and perspectives on
possible
areas of co-operation germane to
the respective
mandates and priorities of both institutions;
(ii) to identify areas of improvement
in the relations between the AfDB
and ACBF,
which will pave the way for more
effective and efficient collaboration
on the
ground between both institutions;
(iii) and
to address financing issues, given
that the
AfDB is not only one of the Foundation’s
three sponsoring agencies but is
also a founding and major donor to
the Foundation.
Question: What is your assessment of the
cooperation between the AfDB and ACBF?
Answer: The co-operation
between the AfDB and ACBF is in excellent
shape. Through
its representatives on the ACBF Executive
Board and Board of Governors, the AfDB
plays a critical role in shaping operational
policies at the Foundation and in the
approval of projects and programs.
The AfDB also
co-operates with ACBF in the conduct
of capacity profiles in various countries
on the Continent such as Benin and Sierra
Leone. Obviously, we can do more together – which
is why this mission to the Bank is critical.
Question: What more can you do with the
AfDB?
Answer: Some departments
of the AfDB (such as those dealing
with operations, governance,
and trade etc.) can exchange information
on their work programs with the Foundation.
The AfDB and ACBF can share information
on their funding priorities and financing
windows as this will improve the capacity
of potential beneficiaries to leverage
additional co-financing. Also, the
Bank and the Foundation can work together
on the development or refinement of
performance
management systems in order to better
measure
and track the results of their interventions – and,
ultimately, their development effectiveness.
Lastly, we can jointly organize or
sponsor workshops dealing with themes
and topics
of mutual interest.
Question: Capacity
building is one of the key planks for
the realization
of the MDGs.
It is also relevant to your institution.
What are your views about this?
Answer: This is eminently
true. Through its support in the design
and financing
of policy units or institutes that
address PRSP and post-PRSP issues,
and through
its support to training programs in
economic policy analysis and management,
ACBF helps
to shape public policies that address
the MDGs in African countries. In addition,
through its interventions in such areas
as public administration and management,
national statistics, financial management
and accountability, strengthening of
the
policy analysis function of parliaments
and enhancement of the voices of the
private sector and civil society, ACBF
has helped
to build sustainable capacity to reduce
poverty and foster good governance
on the Continent. These efforts have,
in turn,
helped to take forward national and
regional efforts to reach the MDGs.
Question: What is your strategy to
address brain drain?
Answer: Our strategy
to help stem brain drain is simple:
to help build or enhance
credible and sustainable human and
institutional capacity by providing
the requisite financial
and non-financial incentives that will
enable beneficiaries to remain on the
Continent or to be attracted back to
it. We accomplish
this through the establishment of policy
units, the financing of training programs,
the reform or restructuring of fragile
entities as well as the upgrading of
the advocacy function of organizations
and
networks across sub-Saharan Africa.
Question:
Could you cite some concrete success
stories from your portfolio
of projects and programmes that have
helped
build capacity in Africa?
Answer: We can cite
successful policy units or institutes
such as CAPAN in
Benin, BIDPA
in Botswana, CAPES in Burkina Faso,
CIRES-CAPEC in Côte d’Ivoire,
CEPA in Ghana, KIPPRA in Kenya, PNRC
in Mauritania, CEPOD
in Senegal, ESRF in Tanzania, and EPRC
in Uganda. We also have training operations
such as the EPM training programs in
Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana, and Uganda, the AERC Collaborative
Master’s
Degree Program in Economics (a regional
program,
which is based in Kenya), the AERC
Collaborative Ph.D. Program (a regional
program, which
is also based in Kenya), and the PTCI
Program (which is a regional program
based in Burkina
Faso). The policy units have not only
helped to upgrade the quality of evidence-based
policy research in Africa and influenced
the content and scope of economic policies
in the countries which they are based,
but have also produced sound analysts
and
development managers who have gone
on to become cabinet ministers, governors
of
central banks and prime ministers.
The
training programs have increased the
supply of a critical mass of high-caliber
policy
analysts and development managers who
will become captains of development
in the years
ahead.
Question: Is the ACBF mature
enough to graduate from AfDB’s
support?
Answer: No, ACBF is
not yet mature enough to graduate from
AfDB support
because
it does not yet have an independent
source of funding. As you well know,
ACBF is
in
the business of building capacity,
which is essentially a public good.
However,
our vision is that, in the future,
the results registered on the ground
and
the Foundation’s track record
will be strong enough to earn it the
reputation
as Africa’s preeminent capacity-building
institution. Accordingly, it will be
able to attract traditional funding
support
from other sources and even build a
robust endowment. This will enable
it to diversify
its funding base – and, thereby,
rely increasingly less on support from
the AfDB and other donors.
Question:
You’ve held discussions
with AfDB officials. What are your
expectations from these discussions?
Answer: We expect
that the discussions with AfDB officials
will enable us
to identify a few core areas of co-operation
that will
serve as the focus of our joint work.
This will result in the preparation
of
an Aide
Mémoire or similar instrument
that will be signed by both institutions.
In
addition, we hope to clarify or resolve
a number of issues relating to the
speedy honoring by the AfDB of its
financial
pledges to the Foundation. Lastly,
we hope to improve
the communication flow between the
AfDB and ACBF in order to preempt or
resolve
difficulties before they become obstacles
to progress.
Question: Given that the
AfDB has identified the generation
and dissemination of
knowledge as a major strategic focus,
what kind of
cooperation can AfDB develop with
ACBF?
Answer: The good news is that ACBF
has developed its own knowledge management
strategy as part of its vision to
become a knowledge broker in the
future. Through
the sharing of knowledge products
and services
(including the exchange of publications,
the conduct of joint research work,
the provision of access and links
to our respective
knowledge sources online, as well
as the co-sponsorship and convening
of
workshops
and other learning forums), the AfDB
and ACBF could help to strengthen
their collaborative
ventures in this domain. In addition,
the AfDB and ACBF could become members
of the
communities of practice and other
networks that they have each established
for
the generation, capture, custody,
and dissemination
of their knowledge resources.
Interview by: Aristide Ahouassou
AfDB External Relations and Communication
Unit,
Email: a.ahouassou@afdb.org
Tel: (+216) 7110-3414 or (+216) 23-24-43-43
