ACBF INJECTS A FURTHER US$16 MILLION INTO CAPACITY BUILDING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
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| ACBF EXECUTIVE BOARD |
From left to right:
Standing: Tchabourne Aimé Gogue; Abdelatif Bernoussi; Jan Isaksen; Frans Werter; Lare Sisay; Kithinji Kiragi; Sahr Kpundeh
Sitting: Ginette Yoman; Kerfalla Yansane (Chair: Operations Committee); Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile (Chair – Executive Board); John Loxley (Chair – Finance Committee); Edwin Forlemu (Executive Secretary a.i.) |
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On April 24-25, 2008, the African Capacity
Building Foundation (ACBF) held the 39th
Regular Meeting of its Executive Board
in Cape Town, South Africa. The Board considered
and approved nine projects amounting to
US$16.352 million. The approved operations
included the Ethiopian Development Research
Institute (EDRI, Phase II), Ethiopia; the
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations
(TANGO), The Gambia; the Angola Public
Administration Capacity Building Project
(PRCAPA), Angola; Programme National de
Renforcement des Capacités du Burundi
(PNRCB), Burundi; Labour Market Information
Systems (LMIS-AFRISTAT); West Africa region;
the Economic Policy Analysis Unit – ECOWAS
(EPAU-ECOWAS); Centre d’Etudes de
Politique pour le Développement
(CEPOD, Phase II), Senegal; Cellule d’Analyse
et de Prospectives en Développement
(CAPED, Phase II), Niger; and Projet de
Renforcement des Capacités en Gestion
Economique et Financière de la République
du Cameroun (CAMERCAP, Phase II), Cameroun.
Angola Public Administration Capacity Building Project (PRCAPA): A grant of US$1.4 million was approved by the Board for the implementation of the PRCAPA. The project goal is to enhance good governance and to strengthen the performance of public administration in Angola at both central and decentralized levels. Strategic focus will be on training and capacity building activities on specific thematic areas of public administration and management, planning and budgeting, revenue collection and management, human resources management and governance and leadership principles. The project is envisaged to (i) Strengthen institutional capacity within the Instituto Nacional de Admnistração Pública/Escola Nacional de Admnistração (INAP/ENAd) and the Instituto de Formação de Admnistração Local (IFAL) to fulfill their mandates; (ii) Enhance performance of public administration at central and local level for improved service delivery, and; (iii) Enhance local leadership in public administration reforms in Angola, building knowledge sharing practices through developing and encouraging information dissemination on Angolan public administration experiences, innovations and lessons among Angola public sector players and other relevant stakeholders in the region and beyond. This project falls under the ACBF core competence area of Public Administration and Management.
Projet de Renforcement des Capacités en Gestion Economique et Financière en
République du Cameroun (CAMERCAP – Phase II) : A total of US$1.4 million grant was approved for the implementation of Phase II of CAMERCAP. The overall objective of the CAMERCAP Project Phase II is to consolidate the gains of Phase I by enhancing further the effectiveness of the public sector so that the Government can increase economic growth and reduce poverty. This objective is consistent with the institutional and human capacity gaps identified in the public sector as well as challenges and opportunities of the new economic and social environment. This objective will be achieved through: (i) the strengthening of the human and institutional capacity of the public sector agencies in charge of economic policies so as to develop and apply appropriate skills and competencies in the design and implementation of economic policy and programs; and (ii) the promotion of evidence based policy and program development and management process in the country through rigorous research and policy analysis. The training program under CAMERCAP II is intensely gender sensitive. The project is built on a strong collaborative platform with other ACBF-supported interventions in Cameroon.
Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (TANGO), The Gambia: A total of US$1.0 million was granted to support TANGO. This project will contribute to the capacity development of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community-based Organizations (CBOs) in The Gambia to influence policy public processes and implementation so as to promote people-centered development.
Several strategies have been identified including: (i) Improving the facilities, systems and procedures of the umbrella organization TANGO to facilitate and coordinate civil society activities; as well as growing the intellectual capacity of TANGO to improve technical skills and expertise, including programming and service delivery capacity and understanding of public policy making processes; (ii) Organizing linkages and consultative forums between state and non-state actors and promoting gender equity and equality in public policy making processes; (iii) Undertaking training so as to upgrade skills and retool stakeholders in order to increase knowledge and improve conceptual and analytical skills for policy dialogue of non-state actors, and also improving skills in information collection, analysis and utilization; and (iv) Improving information dissemination, networking, advocacy and NGO/CBO visibility so as to enhance stakeholder influence in public policy dialogue and policy making. The proposed project will capacitate TANGO and its members to contribute towards improvement in participation in public policy dialogue. The project will therefore contribute towards achievements of the PRSP II and other national development planning instruments operating in the Gambia. This project falls under the ACBF core competence area of Professionalization of the voices of the private sector and civil society.
Cellule d’Analyse et de Prospectives en Développement (CAPED), Phase II, Niger : A funding support of US$ 1.6 million was approved for the implementation of the second phase of the CEPOD project in Niger. Niger remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The country has made significant progress, but this is yet to translate into a visible dent on the high poverty level. Niger still suffers a huge deficit in technical and professional expertise. CAPED Phase II aims at: (i) consolidating the achievements of phase I; and (ii) contributing significantly to the efforts made by the Government of Niger and its partners, to address the challenges posed by the prevalent needs in capacity building in the context of implementation of a new Poverty Reduction Strategy. The overall objective of CAPED Phase II is therefore to strengthen the capacity of government and other development actors to formulate and implement appropriate social and economic policies.
Phase II will continue to specifically strengthen national expertise to create a critical mass of competencies in analysis, design and management of policies and development programs; provide the Government with relevant research and analysis to guide policy formulation; and develop strategic partnerships and networking with other institutions involved in capacity building to contribute to the successful implementation of the second Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Centre d’Etudes de Politiques pour le Développement (CEPOD), Phase II, Senegal: A grant of US$1.5 million was approved for the implementation of CEPOD, Phase II. The goal of CEPOD Phase II is to strengthen the Centre’s institutional platform and consolidate its achievements to enhance the capacity of the Government of Senegal to effectively guide and manage the implementation of the Accelerated Growth Strategy (AGS), poverty reduction strategy and development efforts in the country.
Phase II has four specific objectives. These are to: consolidate and enhance CEPOD’s human and institutional capacity for policy analysis and formulation; consolidate and strengthen the human capacities of the Senegalese public administration, the private sector and civil society in the area of economic policy analysis and management; develop a more responsive agenda based on policy challenges faced by the country for the short, medium and long-term; and to raise CEPOD’s visibility through increased participation in public debates on current economic issues , at the national, regional and international levels.
Outcomes expected of the project include: professional staff and efficient research and Policy Analysis Unit at the disposal of policy-makers and representatives of donor community, private sector and civil society; an effective public sector able to formulate sound economic policies in the implementation of the AGS; a better informed private sector able to play its role of engine of economic growth and social development; and civil society sector that is able to participate effectively in policy dialogue and play its advocacy role for equitable distribution of the gains of growth in order to alleviate poverty. This project falls under the ACBF core competency area of Economic Policy Analysis and Management.
Economic Policy Analysis Unit – ECOWAS (EPAU-ECOWAS): A total of US$1.9 million was granted to ECOWAS for the setting up of its Economic Policy Analysis Unit. EPAU/ECOWAS has been developed as a response to acute capacity challenges facing the newly restructured ECOWAS Commission, particularly in the area of macroeconomic policy analysis. The establishment of EPAU is premised on the need to bridge existing institutional capacity gap and to realize the objectives of the Macroeconomic Policy Programme of the Commission as articulated in the ECOWAS Commission Strategic Plan, 2007 – 2010. The overall objective of the programme is predicated on the necessity for evaluation and facilitation of the harmonization of ECOWAS member states’ economic and financial policies with a view to attaining economic integration, private sector development and sustained growth. The overall goal of EPAU / ECOWAS is to strengthen the capacity of the ECOWAS Commission to enable it to achieve economic and monetary integration, poverty reduction and sustainable development in West Africa.
EPAU has four specific objectives, namely to: (i) Strengthen the institutional capacity of the Macroeconomic Policy Directorate of ECOWAS to enable it to effectively carry out its mandate; (ii) Build the capacity of staff of the ECOWAS Commission and the National Coordinating Councils in the member countries; (iii) Provide Research and Policy Analysis support to the Macroeconomic Policy Commission in the discharge of its functions; and (iv) Promote Networking among institutions and groups involved with Macroeconomic policy issues and dialogue in the region. This project falls under the ACBF core competency area of Economic Policy Analysis and Management.
Burundi Country Capacity Building Program – Programme National de Renforcement des Capacités du Burundi (PNRCB): The Executive Board approved a grant of US$4.5 million for the implementation of the Burundi Country Capacity Building Program. The PNRCB program is a response to the enormous development challenges and capacity deficits facing the country in the wake of twelve years of conflict and political instability. The goal of the program is to contribute to the improvement of economic performance and the achievement of the country’s development objectives under the PRSP through the building and strengthening of the capacity of state and non-state actors involved in economic and financial management. Components of the program include: (i) Strengthening of the Capacity of Economic Policymaking institutions; (ii) Enhancing Public Financial Management and Accountability; (iii) Stepping up participation of non-state actors in economic policymaking and development management process; (iv) Human Resources Development.
The implementation of the program is expected to strengthen the capacity and linkages between targeted Ministries, Departments and Agencies. . As a result, the capacity of the government to effectively formulate, manage and monitor sound economic policies and programmes would be enhanced; public expenditure management would become increasingly transparent, effective, and rigorous; and an effective public/private sector and civil society partnership would be created for dialogue on economic policies and governance. The program covers three of ACBF’s competency areas, economic policy analysis and management, financial management and accountability and professionalization of the voices of the private sector and civil society.
Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI Phase II): A total of US$1.4 million was granted to support phase II of EDRI. Formed in 1991, EDRI is a semi-autonomous policy institute hosted under the Office of the Prime Minister. In 2001, ACBF granted EDRI US$1.5 million to undertake policy analysis and research targeted at benefiting the public, private and civil society sectors in Ethiopia. The overall objective of EDRI II is to enhance the capacity of EDRI to fulfill its mandate of providing policy advice to the Government of Ethiopia and other stakeholders, thereby contributing to the achievement of the country’s Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to end poverty (PASDEP - 2002-2006).
The specific objectives of the project are to: (i) Strengthen EDRI’s institutional and human capacity, (ii) Provide policy options and raise public awareness on economic and development issues to the Government of Ethiopia and other stakeholders through research, and (iii) Establish and deepen the already existing networks and linkages with other national, regional and international development policy institutes. The project is expected to enhance the methodological capacity to conduct and formulate quality research policy analysis; increase participation in the policy making process and dialogue between the various sectors; and increase ownership of policy analysis findings and outcomes. This projects falls under ACBF core competency area of Economic Policy Analysis and Management.
Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS-AFRISTAT): A grant of US$ 1.5 million was approved for the implementation of the second phase of the Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS-AFRISTAT) project. The pilot countries for this regional project are Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda. The objective of the project is to improve labour market information and to strengthen poverty monitoring systems in order to make available suitable information for formulating and evaluating public policy and to stimulate in the long term, the development process. The project particularly seeks to build the capacity of governments, social partners and national institutions of beneficiary countries for regular collection, analysis and dissemination of information on the labor market and for monitoring data on poverty.
The strategic focus areas of the project are: i) advocacy for improving labor market information systems and communication; ii) use of information and communication technologies (ICTs); iii) reinforcement of labor market data production; iv) building of capacity for analyzing issues relating to the labor market by upgrading existing information systems; and v) networking to enhance the coordination of production, storage and release of LMI. In view of the differences in levels of development of labor market information systems between countries, the approach adopted is to grant participating countries leeway to determine activities to be conducted within these strategic areas. The project should thus contribute to improving information use and the analysis of labor statistics in policy formulation and in monitoring/evaluation of PRPS and MDGs. This project falls under the ACBF core competency area of National Statistics and Statistical Systems.
