Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank (AfDB or “the Bank”) evaluated the Bank’s strategies and programs in Angola for the period 2011 - 2020. The evaluation covers two Country Strategy Papers (2011-2015 and 2017-2020) and a portfolio comprising 27 operations, including only two private sector operations, amounting to USD 2.7 billion (UA 1.9 billion).
The primary purposes of the evaluation were to assess the performance and results of the Bank’s program and to provide useful lessons to inform decisions on future support in Angola.
The evaluation found the Bank’s strategies to be broadly relevant to Angola’s development challenges. It also found the coherence of interventions to be satisfactory, and the strategies in water and sanitation and energy well-coordinated and harmonized with other development partners. Overall effectiveness was also found satisfactory, although the levels of achievement varied by sector. However, efficiency was rated unsatisfactory, notably, in terms of portfolio implementation quality, timeliness, disbursement rates, and the level of monitoring and supervision over the period. Sustainability was found to be partly unsatisfactory.
Some important lessons from the evaluation concerned (i) the need to identify, adopt and monitor measures to mitigate sudden shocks in the country context; (ii) efforts to improve the business enabling environment for private sector development; and (iii) support for capacity building activities.
The evaluation made the following recommendations for consideration by the Bank:
- Enhance the dialogue with the Government of Angola and Project Management Units to address the operational and implementation issues.
- Explore options for strengthening the Bank’s support for private sector development.
- Strengthen the Bank’s non-lending operations in the country.
- Take measures to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on program implementation and country engagement.
Task Manager: Akua Arthur-Kissi, Principal Evaluation Officer