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Statement by the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa
6 October 2005
Background
The
Infrastructure Consortium for Africa is a major new effort to accelerate progress to meet the urgent infrastructure needs of Africa in support of economic growth and development.
Infrastructure is key to accelerating growth, reducing poverty, promoting
regional integration and improving Millennium Development Goals.
The inaugural meeting was held on 6 October 2005 in London.
The Consortium aims to make its members more effective at supporting infrastructure in Africa
by sharing efforts in selected areas such as information sharing, project development, and good practice. Although the Consortium is not a financing agency, the Consortium will act
as a broker for more donor financing of infrastructure projects and programmes
in Africa. The success of the Consortium will be judged by the quantity and quality of sustainable infrastructure
benefits delivered to Africa’s people.
Structure and partners
A Secretariat located in the African Development Bank (AfDB) has been
established. Through the Secretariat, the Consortium will work closely with the African Union
(AU), New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Regional Economic
Communities (RECs) and the AfDB, on the Short Term Action Plan (STAP) and the Medium to Long-Term Strategic Framework (MLTSF).
Participation
The participation of key African institutions is critical. We have a tripartite relationship between bilateral donors, multilateral agencies and African institutions.
African members will be led by the African Development Bank while AU Commission, NEPAD and RECs will participate as observers in
Consortium meetings. The AU will indicate to the AfDB and to the Consortium which of the development banks in their sub-regions will be members. This will ensure ownership and alignment of Consortium activities on African priorities
and in particular the NEPAD Short Term Action Plan (STAP) and the Medium to Long Term Action Plan (MLTAP) for infrastructure development in Africa. Membership
is open to other donors who make a significant financial contribution to infrastructure in Africa. The Consortium will engage with the private sector through information and best practice sharing.
Outcomes
The Consortium has agreed the following joint actions and decisions:
Secretariat
- To ensure delivery, a small secretariat will be set up to support work on the Consortium objectives and commitments, reporting annually on progress and results
- Consortium members will, on a voluntary basis, support the first two years of the Secretariat, financially or in kind through secondments, for example
- The Secretariat will be located at the African Development Bank
Strengthened NEPAD Short Term Action Plan (STAP) on Infrastructure - Finance
- The Consortium will support the NEPAD Secretariat on the Short Term Action Plan process, and help to accelerate project preparation
- The Consortium will act as a broker in helping to match funds with prioritised projects, and identify and secure finance for at least 5 STAP projects by June 2006
- The Consortium will encourage financiers to develop instruments that respond to the need for finance for regional infrastructure projects
- The Secretariat will work with others to monitor the impact and use of increased infrastructure resources
- The Consortium will report on an annual basis to its members and to the Africa Partners Forum
- There is a need for donors to reduce transaction costs for African Partners and ensure more effective and efficient delivery of funding.
Support to the process of project preparation
- Consortium members agreed to co-operate to reduce the fragmentation and increase the effectiveness of existing project preparation facilities. Members agreed to look at future needs for project preparation funding, noting the NEPAD Infrastructure Preparation Facility is now a multi-donor facility. It was also agreed to explore ways in which this could be more widely accessed, including by the sub-regional economic organisations.
- The Secretariat will develop a guide to the full range of facilities available, including good practice criteria. We will aim to speed up the time between concept and funding, by informing those involved in developing projects about the existence of different project preparation facilities.
Analytical Work in Support of Outcomes
- Building on existing work, the Consortium will support the NEPAD’s Medium Long Term Strategic Framework study by AfDB and a Country Level Diagnostic Study by the World Bank. These complimentary studies will deliver baseline data on the state of Africa’s infrastructure and of the associated investment and policy needs at the Country and Regional levels.
- The Consortium will systematically put information into the public domain that will support both public and private investors in accelerating their support to African infrastructure.
Capacity Building
- The Consortium will promote support to the RECs, NEPAD Secretariat and African Union in targeted capacity building activities in infrastructure development.
Next steps
Progress will be reviewed at next meeting of the Consortium in Addis Ababa, June 2006, at the headquarters of the African Union
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