The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has over last year undergone and completed a deep transformation process, which will make it more efficient in contributing to Africa’s structural transformation and development.
In his opening address to the third Special Meeting of the ACBF Governors, held in Addis Ababa on 30 March, the Foundation’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie said that currently the ACBF was in a better situation than it was last year and that it had revitalized its partnership with key pan African organizations - African Union, the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the Agency of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
“I have no doubt that our collective commitment to an effective teamwork among the five organizations will lead to a decisive support to Africa’s transformation process,” Prof. Nnadozie said. “Economic and social transformation of our continent through the successful implementation of our national emergence plans harmonized with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, will indeed require a strong teamwork of all pan African institutions, with the aim of keeping capacity at the center of the continent’s development process.”
Prof. Nnadozie said that the Foundation was already working with its partner organizations to identify the capacity imperatives of Agenda 2063 and would support the process of harmonizing national development plans with the African development blueprint. The Foundation was also contributing to clarify the respective responsibilities of the AUC and the Regional Economic Communities in the implementation of Agenda 2063.
Addressing the Governors through a statement read by a representative, Hon. Christian Magnagna, Gabon’s minister of Budget and Chair of the Board of Governors said that the Foundation’s sustainability depended on ACBF member countries’ financial contributions and called on defaulting parties to meet their financial commitments to the Foundation’s Strategic Medium Term Plan III (2012 – 2016). “Let’s not forget our collective commitment to contribute US$28.15 million to ACBF’s SMTP III. Currently, our contributions represent only 45% of the commitments made,” said Hon. Magnagna.
He commended five countries for meeting their commitments in full - Cameroon, Guinea, Senegal, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, as well as the 4 other countries which are up-to-date, namely Gabon, Mali, Nigeria and Swaziland. He also said 15 other countries had met their commitments partially. He expressed concerns over the ten other countries which have not made any disbursement yet. These are: Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone and Uganda.
Ms. Nandipha Mkunqwana, Director, Africa Multilateral Institutions, Ministry of Finance, South Africa called on more countries to join the ACBF Committee for Resource Mobilization’s membership. “I urge all African countries to join the Committee’s effort to give our Foundation an Endowment that will guarantee its sustainability and its continued support to Africa’s development process, because indeed capacity is development,” she said.
