The African Forum for Utility Regulators holds its 6th Annual Conference and General Assembly under the theme: Pro-Poor Regulation: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals for Infrastructure Services in Africa

Côte d'Ivoire – 22 –24 April, 2009

Group photo following the Opening Session

On 22–24 April 2009, the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR) held its 6th Annual Conference and General Assembly in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. An ACBF delegation comprising Dr. Edwin Forlemu (Executive Secretary a.i) and Dr. Samba Ka (Manager, Operations Department III), attended the event. Dr. Kerfalla Yansane, Chair of the Operations Committee of the ACBF Executive Board, served as Special Advisor to AFUR and Convenor of the Forum.

AFUR was officially launched in November 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa. Its activities concentrate on the regulation of energy, communications, transport, water and sanitation, including cross-sectoral issues that are not necessarily limited to the priority sectors. The mission of AFUR is to promote an effective regulatory system, which would facilitate the development of infrastructure services in Africa. AFUR seeks to facilitate the sharing of information, lessons, and experiences, harmonization of regulatory frameworks, and to support capacity-building efforts relating to the priority areas.

The theme of the 6th Annual Conference and General Assembly was “Pro-Poor Regulation: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals for Infrastructure Services in Africa”. The theme sought to: (i) facilitate information and experience sharing and the application of common and consistent decision making practices and procedures among regulators; and (ii) introduce the need for capacity building among members through skills training and the development of regulatory staff.

The conference theme addressed seven core issues, which included:

1. Infrastructure privatisation: What are the lessons for the poor, and for the future?
2. Are the poor a problem or an opportunity for business? Are the poor too poor to pay for services?
3. Pro-poor regulation: What role for the consumers?
4. Pro-poor regulation: Subsidies or cross subsidies
5. Pro-poor regulation: What obligations and what incentives for private companies?
6. Infrastructure services decentralized: Challenges and lessons for poverty reduction policies
7. Efficiency and Equity trade-offs: What role for development partners?
   

Edwin N. Forlemu, ACBF Executive Secretary a.i., presenting his opening remarks at the Conference

Speaking at the opening ceremony on 22 April 2009, Edwin N. Forlemu, Executive Secretary a.i. of ACBF declared, “Gone are the days when public-utility regulation was driven by the overarching notion that public utilities should be organized and run as public monopolies, indeed as nationalized entities. We know what happened to those utilities. Gone too are the days when it was assumed that private ownership would yield cost-effective services to the poor. It became clear that, because utilities too can be public goods, markets do fail. We also know what happened to those utilities. This is why we are talking increasingly today about a more pragmatic reform agenda – the approach to public-private partnerships in infrastructure regulation. We therefore need to do more to clarify this new framework and make it work for the poor through better access, more affordability, and greater corporate social responsibility”.

Dr. Forlemu indicated that three key requirements need to be met to take forward innovative initiatives in utility regulation: vision, leadership, and capacity building. There is need to develop African leaders and institutions of tomorrow in the area of utility regulation in order to enhance the effectiveness of service delivery to the public. Such leadership should be able to articulate, disseminate and execute the vision through the development and implementation of cutting-edge utility regulation and policies that improve the lives of the people. Efforts should also be invested in building capacity through systematic and coherent rule making, institution building, training, research, partnerships, networking and advocacy so that utility regulation reform may have a sustainable impact.

Dr. Forlemu chaired the session on “Pro-poor Regulation: What Role for the Consumers?” Drawing on the key challenges facing regulatory bodies and the consumer movement, the main presentation of the session delineated the key areas in which the role of consumer organizations would be critical: (i) advisory services; (ii) information, education and representation; (iii) poverty mapping; (iv) choice of the appropriate infrastructure technology; (v) monitoring of the effectiveness of regulatory decisions; (vi) assessment of contracts and licenses, as well as approval of the annual revenue for operators; and (vii) pro-poor awareness campaigns.

Dr. Forlemu presented a paper entitled “Efficiency and Equity Trade-offs: What Role for Development Partners”. The paper delineated roles played by development partners in balancing efficiency against equity in the pro-poor regulation of infrastructure in Africa. After tracing the trends in infrastructure management in Africa, assessing the clashing arguments for efficiency and equity in the provision of infrastructure regulation, presenting the public-private partnership paradigm, and analysing the role of development partners in a changing global context, Dr. Forlemu concluded that “balancing efficiency and equity will always involve costs and benefits, and the key point for development partners and their stakeholders in Africa is to remain aware that change and adaptation are in the DNA of development cooperation.”

AFUR is regarded as a key building block in the efforts of the African Union and its socio-economic programme, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in the integration and rebirth of Africa. AFUR’s vision and objectives are derived from Clause 110 of the NEPAD Framework Document, which recognizes the establishment of AFUR and regional regulatory associations.