Over 100 Projects Financed by the AfDB in Burkina Faso

The Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy, Nicolas Kobiané, presided over the opening of a training workshop on procurement, financial management and disbursement on Monday, November 7th, 2022. The work, which brings together specialists in procurement, administrative and financial managers, accounts, and external auditors, continues until November 10th. On the sidelines of this workshop, jointly organized by the Ministry of Economy and the African Development Bank (ADB), will be held a meeting to monitor the performance of the portfolio and the improvement plan developed jointly with all stakeholders in the implementation of projects within the administration.

These two activities are opportunities for participants to talk to each other, get to know each other better, and consider together practical responses to recurring problems and constraints that slow down the effective implementation of projects and the achievement of development objectives. After recalling the importance of financial resources in the implementation of projects and programs, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy said that supervision missions held with the African Development Bank in Burkina Faso, have identified some shortcomings in the implementation of projects and programs funded by the bank.

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Participants promise fruitful exchanges

These shortcomings include the frequent rejection of procurement files, disbursement requests, financial management, and procurement. In order to fill this gap and ensure the effective implementation of projects and programs, the need for continuous sensitization and familiarization of stakeholders with AfDB rules and procedures was expressed.

Burkina Faso and the AfDB have a long tradition of cooperation dating back to 1970

With more than 100 projects financed for a cumulative amount of $1.83 billion (CFAF 1.2 trillion), the Bank has established itself half a century later as one of the country’s main donors, multiplying interventions in key development sectors. “We currently have a portfolio of about 500 billion CFA francs covering several sectors,” said AfDB Country Manager Daniel Ndoye.

For the AfDB country manager in Burkina Faso, Daniel Ndoye, this workshop will help to select targeted actions whose progress will be monitored during future workshops and meetings on the portfolio.
Nearly half of the public portfolio commitments are directed to the transport sector (49%), followed by the energy sector (30%), agriculture and environment (17%), water and sanitation (2%), and 2% for social sectors. Beyond project financing, the bank’s interventions integrate the new challenges facing Burkina Faso, mainly the deteriorating security situation, the humanitarian crisis, and the food crisis exacerbated by the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. As an illustration, Mr. Ndoye noted that the Bank supports the care of internally displaced persons in the Sahel, North Central, and Northern regions, describing the cooperation between the AfDB and Burkina as being of high quality.

Despite everything, he believes that it is always good to see where there are difficulties and seek to improve them. This is the objective of this four-day workshop that brings together procurement specialists, administrative and financial managers, accountants, and internal auditors.

Specifically, according to the country manager, it will be a matter of “identifying the bottlenecks that we have in the procurement procedure, financial management, disbursements that may sometimes be related to misunderstandings in the mastery of the rules of procedure of the bank. In view of the importance of this activity, he encouraged participants to remain active and assiduous during these four days of training, so that the results of this workshop are felt throughout the chain of project execution. This type of workshop, it should be noted, is a concrete manifestation of the capacity-building strategy that the Bank has been implementing for a number of years with the aim of facilitating the implementation of the projects it finances in the regional member countries.

Presentation of the AfDB

Established on August 4th, 1963, the AfDB Group, according to officials, comprises three entities: the AfDB itself, and two concessional windows, the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF).

The bank’s purpose is to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent by promoting public and private capital investments in projects and programs that contribute to economic and social development in member states. Since 2015, it has focused its interventions on five major development priorities, known as the “High Five”: lighting and providing energy to Africa; feeding Africa; industrializing Africa; integrating Africa, and improving the quality of life of Africans.

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(Featured image by Kyle Glenn via Unsplash)

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First published in lefaso.net, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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