On Wednesday, 29 November 2023, the Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) of the African Development Bank (“AfDB” or “The Bank”), hosted a learning event on the theme of sustainability in development interventions. The half-day event in hybrid format attracted 160+ people to learn what can be done differently by the Bank, governments, and other development partners for development results to last. In her opening remarks, AfDB Evaluator General, Karen Rot-Münstermann explained that the motivation for holding the discussions under the umbrella title “Improving the sustainability of development interventions: what will it take?” came from the recurrent shortcomings in the sustainability of the Bank’s interventions, as revealed by IDEV evaluative evidence.
The keynote address was made by the AfDB Executive Director Mette Knudsen. She affirmed that sustainability matters are a common cause of questions for the AfDB Board of Directors when reviewing its country strategies. She added that the Bank’s Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) is the first consumer of IDEV’s evaluative evidence, giving a recent example of how IDEV’s impact evaluation of the Last Mile Connectivity Project for electrification in Kenya was informing discussions for financing the future phase. “Sustainability should be the guiding principle throughout all development interventions”, said ED Knudsen, reminding the audience that there can be no sustainability if we mismanage our natural resources, and that each stakeholder plays a vital role.
Watch the opening remarks and the keynote address
The event was punctuated by two presentations that gave practical examples and good practices for infrastructure development and its financing. The first was on what evidence tells us about the sustainability of the Bank’s development interventions, by IDEV Chief Evaluation Officer, Joseph Mouanda. He shared good practices to adopt and the pitfalls to avoid when financing infrastructure projects. The second, on the success story of mainstreaming Green Growth and Climate Change into the AfDB’s interventions, was made by Marco Yamaguchi, Division Manager, Infrastructure & Urban Development at AfDB. He explained the various financing mechanisms and special funds leveraged by the Bank to foster sustainable growth and resilience in infrastructure development being deployed for example by member countries in urban planning, green mobility, green infrastructure for ports and airports, green corridors, and support for modal migration towards rail transport for freight.
View the presentation made by Joseph Mouanda and watch the recording
View the presentation made by Marco Yamaguchi and watch the recording
The event had two-panel discussions, drawing on the knowledge and experience of experts from within the AfDB and government agencies of the Regional Member Countries, namely Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tunisia.
The first panel discussion, entitled “Financial sustainability in development interventions: what are the underlying factors of success and failure?”, was moderated by Armand Nzeyimana, Acting Director of the Development Impact and Results Department (SNDR) of the AfDB. The three panelists were Yvonne Quansah, Director of Resource Mobilisation and Economic Relations of the Ministry of Finance in Ghana; Firmin Croi, Technical Advisor to the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development in Côte d’Ivoire; and Tamiru Gedefa, Lead Executive Officer at the Ministry of Water and Energy in Ethiopia. They shared their insights, drawn from practical experience working on government projects to develop infrastructure in their respective countries. Panelists covered issues of co-financing of projects to and the need for harmonization of policies and frameworks between lenders; the success of using public-private partnerships (PPP) in managing resources after project completion; and the burden of financial compensation for those affected by infrastructure projects.
Watch the panel discussion
The second panel discussion, entitled “How do we ensure institutional sustainability and strengthening of capacities in projects and programs?” was moderated by Eric Kehinde Ogunleye, Acting Director of the AfDB's African Development Institute, AfDB. He made introductory remarks that institutional capacity is important for sustainability, and projects have failed for lack of it, then invited François-Corneille Kedowide, Managing Director of Benin's Environment Agency; Tarek Bouhlel, Director of African Cooperation at Tunisia's Ministry of Economy and Planning; and Pietro Toigo, AfDB Country Manager for Angola and Sao Tome and Principe, to present their views on institutional capacity needs. Panelists agreed that human development should be at the center of any project. They conferred that indigenous knowledge was a key element of project success, providing the population is involved from the project identification phase and associated with the projects through the lifecycle incorporating the socio-cultural context upon project completion for its success. On the theme of capacity building, the main takeaway was that, given the- long project completion timelines, it is the institution itself that needs to gain in capacity, rather than the individuals who often move on and leave the institution with a knowledge gap. There are positive signs of institutional development, the panelists concurred. The continent is changing, taking charge of its own destiny, and developing home-grown institutions. Discussions on sustainability in this context are timely.
Watch the panel discussion part 1
Watch the panel discussion part 2
Asking ourselves the right questions about sustainability is a step in the direction of finding the appropriate response. Exchanging knowledge in the form of a learning event like this takes us in the right direction.” concluded Ibrahima Konate, Division Manager in the Power Systems Development Department at the AfDB in his closing remarks.
Watch the closing remarks
This was the last of IDEV’s learning events for 2023. More are planned in the new year, including the biennial Development Evaluation Week, concluded Jayne Musumba, IDEV Division Manager and Master of Ceremony of the event.
See the full program of the event