Uganda: Evaluation of the AfDB Country Strategy and Program (2011-2021)

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) has carried out an evaluation of the Country Strategy and Program of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB or “the Bank”) in Uganda over the period 2011 - 2021. During this period, the Bank approved 37 projects, for over USD 2 billion of financing, mainly in the sectors of transport, agriculture, power, and water supply and sanitation (WSS). The evaluation also assessed an additional 17 projects that were approved before 2011 but completed during the evaluation period, which had received USD 770 million of financing. The main purpose of the evaluation was to inform the design of the AfDB’s next Country Strategy Paper for Uganda (2022–2026). 

The evaluation found that the AfDB's interventions were generally aligned to the development challenges and priorities of the country. Results in energy, transport, WSS, and agriculture, were however mostly below target. Projects that were completed in agriculture and WSS had positive economic returns, but cost overruns and delays in project completion were an issue in all sectors. The evaluation noted that while the Bank’s interventions had reversed power shortages, the power surplus now threatens the sector’s financial viability because the government has to pay for deemed energy usage, which drives up end-user tariffs. Furthermore, the sustainability of Bank-funded infrastructure was challenged by Uganda’s weaknesses in terms of funds, human capacity and institutional capacity. 

The evaluation advised the AfDB to adapt its Country Strategy Paper priorities to the country context in the areas of skills development and private sector growth, to refocus its support for the energy sector, and to make AfDB-supported benefits more sustainable.
 

Task manager: Girma Kumbi, Chief Evaluation Officer