Closing ceremony: From left to right: Dr. Soumana Sako, ACBF Executive Secretary; Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Tandian-Tall, Program Team Leader, Zone II, ACBF.

ACBF multi- stakeholder workshop, held on 5-7 November 2007 in Abuja, Nigeria, examined the ACBF performance measurement framework and indicators designed to track the results of the Foundations capacity building interventions. The main objective of the workshop was to provide an opportunity for stakeholder input in the finalization of the ACBF performance measurement framework and indicators. ACBF-supported projects, partner institutions and staff members took part in the workshop.

In his welcoming remarks to the participants at the opening session, which was chaired by Honorable Oppah Muchinguri, Zimbabwean Minister of Womens Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Dr Soumana Sako, ACBF Executive Secretary, expressed his gratitude to the Government of Nigeria for hosting the workshop. He highlighted the need for ACBF to measure its performance which would serve to account for results to its stakeholders and to guide its future interventions. He emphasized that the process of refining the ACBF performance indicators framework should involve all stakeholders so as to ensure collective ownership by African governments, donor communities and beneficiaries, including civil society and the private sector. Mr. Abiodun Alao, representing the Minister of Finance of Nigeria, underlined the importance of capacity building in Nigerias development agenda. He recognized the good relationship between ACBF and Nigeria and reiterated the pledge of the Government of Nigeria to the tune of US$1 million towards the implementation of the ACBF second Strategic Medium Term Plan (SMTP II).

The proposed framework, as presented by Dr. Dieynaba Tandian-Tall, Chairperson of the ACBF Performance Indicators Panel, sets out to measure the performance of ACBF interventions on the basis of the four strategic objectives outlined in the Foundations Strategic Medium Term Plan (SMTP II) 2007-2011.

The proposed performance measurement framework is centered on the Result-Based Management (RBM) approach and will measure results at three levels. The first level highlights key strategic results and indicators, the second level measures the performance of ACBF in relation to the SMTP II objectives, and the third level measures the institutional performance of the Foundation, with a particular focus on effectiveness and sustainability. In this approach, the gender dimension is considered as a crosscutting and separate theme.

In terms of the implementation of the framework, Dr. Tandian-Tall indicated that ACBF would work closely with ACBF-supported projects to help define appropriate indicators, establish baselines and set targets, report and document the cumulative results of ACBF interventions. She added that baseline surveys would be conducted prior to implementation in order to set benchmarks for evaluation of desired results. She also highlighted several challenges related to performance measurement framework and indicators for capacity building, mainly the lack of a common definition of capacity building and issues of attributing development outcomes to specific interventions or development institution.

ACBF HOSTS THE LAUNCHING OF UNCTADS WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT (WIR) 2007

On October 16, 2007, ACBF and the United Nations Information Center (UNIC), Zimbabwe, jointly organized the launching of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report (WIR) 2007. The launch, which took place at the ACBF Office, was attended by Mr. Richard Mbaiwa, representing the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, members of the diplomatic corps, the press, invited guests, and ACBF professional staff.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Soumana Sako, ACBF Executive Secretary, congratulated UNCTAD for the publication and launching of this years WIR on the theme Transnational Corporations, Extractive Industries and Development. He highlighted the importance of the report as a tool for understanding trends of foreign direct investment (FDI) and activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) and their developmental impacts and issues, which are of special interest to developing countries, particularly Africa. He indicated that recent developments had shown an increase in FDI flows to Africa, attracting US$ 36 billion in 2006 mainly in extractive industries, as a result of improved macroeconomic management and investment climate in African countries. However, the declining global FDI flows to the continent, which dropped from 3.1% in 2005 to 2.7% in 2006 was reflective of Africas failure to secure a larger share of FDI. He provided pointers as to how to improve the continents share of global FDI by focusing on the upgrading and development of an enabling environment. He further stressed the need for ACBF and similar organizations to endeavour towards building the capacity of institutions and strengthening regulatory frameworks to ensure good governance, rule of law, and transparency, aspects that positively impact on the rate of FDI inflows to Africa.

Mr. Richard Mbaiwa from the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, for his part, read out the official UNCTAD statement on the launch of WIR 2007. In his speech, he noted the steady growth of global FDI inflows over the last three consecutive years, reaching US$ 1.3 billion in 2006, the largest growth since 2000. The rise in global FDI flows reflected partly strong economic performance in many parts of the world. He added that while FDI inflows in developed countries rose by 45% to reach US$857 billion, flows to developing countries and the transition economies attained their highest levels ever at US$ 379 billion (a 21% increase from 2005). The largest inflows to developing countries were to China, Hong Kong (China) and Singapore, while Russian Federation ranked first in terms of inflows to transition economies. He indicated that Africa attracted US$ 36 billion, the highest record to-date. While cautious due to uncertainties related to financial instability and high oil prices, WIR projects higher figures for FDI flows in 2007. In defining the role of TNCs in extractive industries, Mr. Mbaiwa stated that, while developed-countries TNCs accounted for the bulk of global FDI, TNCs - state-owned and private companies - from developing and transition economies were expanding rapidly, providing development opportunities to their home economies. In recent years, from developing and transition economies have emerged some of the biggest gas and oil producers in the world. He further indicated that foreign affiliates in these companies were on the rise in developing countries, registering a growth rate of 57% for sub-Saharan Africa as against 3% in Asia. He noted that, while TNCs were important for the development of extractive industries in developing countries, TNCs involvement came at a price as they claimed a larger share of the revenues generated by the extractive industries. In order to foster sustainable development, home countries should keep in check TNCs behaviour through effective policies and strong governance to enable transparent management of the revenue derived from these industries. He concluded by indicating that the current price increase in commodities offered a window of opportunities that the developing world, particularly Africa, could make good use of in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

In bringing the ceremony to a close, Ms. Tafadzwa Mumba, Officer-in-Charge of UNIC, expressed her gratitude for ACBFs support in organizing the launching of the Report and extended her thanks to the Zimbabwe Investment Authority as well as to all participants who took part in the ceremony. Thereafter, the floor was opened to questions from the media and invited guests. Among the issues discussed were Zimbabwes current state of FDI; the fact that TNCs were not the drivers of development; and the need to build institutions, systems and capacities to keep in check TNCs so as to ensure in the long run the management of resources by the developing countries themselves.