EAC hosts the 30th New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) Oversight Committee in Arusha
The meeting which took place on the 13th and 14th of February 2020, convened over 30 participants
ARUSHA, Tanzania, February 19, 2020/ --
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Infrastructure Project
Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) held its 30th Oversight Committee
meeting for the Special Fund at the headquarters of the East African
Community, in Arusha, Tanzania.
The meeting which took place on the 13th and 14th of February 2020,
convened over 30 participants, including donors providing financial
support to the NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, representatives of the African
Development Bank, African Union Commission, African Union Development
Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Regional Economic Communities, Regional Power
Pools, Corridors Authorities and Transboundary River basin
organizations.
Members agreed to implement recommendations of NEPAD-IPPF’s independent
evaluation held in 2019, and also approved operational reforms and the
2020 work program.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure,
Steven Mlote, thanked the Bank for its generous support over the past 20 years which he said had resulted in numerous achievements in various
sectors including transport, energy, one stop border posts, ICT and
Trans-Boundary Water Projects.
He said the recently completed Arusha-Tengeru dual carriageway and the
Arusha by-pass had substantially improved traffic flow in the Arusha
region while the counterpart section in Kenya – the Taveta-Mwatate road, has opened up a new and shorter trade and transport route for Rwanda
and Burundi from the port of Mombasa.
“Along the Coast of East Africa, the transport corridor from Malindi in
Kenya to Bagamoyo in Tanzania is due for upgrading with funds from the
Bank. It is gratifying to note that its preparation was funded by the
NEPAD-IPPF. This road will close the missing surface transport link
between the EAC and SADC regions which traverses Kenya, Tanzania and
Mozambique,” he added.
The successes of initial Bank-funded multinational projects between
Kenya and Tanzania provided the impetus to widen the geographical spread to other EAC partner states with current projects underway to link
Tanzania to the three landlocked states of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
“To date, NEPAD-IPPF has extended support to the EAC to the tune of
almost $15 million for road and rail soft infrastructure projects over a period of 13 years,” said Mlote.
Also represented at the meeting were development partners KfW, and the
Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business which both acknowledged the
pivotal role NEPAD-IPPF continues to play in the infrastructure space on the continent. They equally recognized the need for more resources to
enable the fund to achieve more.
Laura González Villarejo representing the Ministry of Economy, Spain
said in her statement that Africa is a priority region for Spain. She
added that the Spanish Council of Ministers’ long term strategic plan
for Africa demonstrated the interest of Spain in Africa.
Michael Andres from KfW, the Oversight Committee Chairman, reiterated
the full support of Germany for the Fund. He thanked the NEPAD-IPPF team led by Mike Salawou, Bank Division Manager Infrastructure &
Partnerships, for the good performance of the fund during 2019, for a
well-organized meeting and the East African Community Secretariat for
hosting the event. He emphasized the need for joint effort from all
concerned parties including the RECs to seek funding for the facility.
AUC representative Mr. Yagouba Traore called upon AUC Member states to support the Fund.
Director of Infrastructure at the African Development Bank, Mr. Amadou
Oumarou reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to mobilize more
resources for NEPAD-IPPF and highlighted a Euro 3 million contribution
received by the facility from the Spanish government in
2019. Infrastructure development would be more critical as the continent sought to make the African Continental Free Trade Area functional, he
said.
“The facility has maintained a sustained drive towards building
partnerships and can report on positive co-financing results.
Notwithstanding, our efforts to secure more resources will continue
through 2020, both from African governments and stakeholders as well as
in collaboration with private sector companies and philanthropists,”
Oumarou said.
Going forward, implementing cost recovery instruments to support Public
Private Partnership projects to attract more private sector financing
downstream would be an important focus for the NEPAD-IPPF, he added.
The meeting ended with a visit to the Namanga “One Stop Border Post”
between Tanzania-Kenya. This project funded by NEPAD-IPPF, has helped
increase trade and tourism and has also stimulated the regional economy
within the East African Community.
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African
Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground
in 44 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB
contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its
54 regional member states. For more information: j.mp/AfDB_Media
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