Meeting on the Future of the AfCoP

At the Second African Regional Meeting on Aid Effectiveness, South- South Cooperation and Capacity Development, held in Tunis, Tunisia, a side event was organized on November 5th to discuss a proposal made by the African Development Bank (AfDB) on the future of the AfCoP-MfDR. I co-chaired this half-day meeting, to which a total of thirteen AfCoP members and Presidents of National CoPs participated in, along with Mr. Thomas Hurley, Director of the AfDB’s Quality Assurance and Results Department.

This meeting was extremely timely as the AfCoP is facing challenges to gather continuous and sustained financing for its activities, as the current arrangement will come to an end in June 2011. This meeting follows a letter sent on August 18, 2010, by the Co-Chairs of the OECD/DAC supported Global Partnership on MfDR, to the President of the AfDB inviting him to consider a regional programme to build country capacity on MfDR with the AfCoP for the period 2011-2013 which could be funded by the African Development Fund.

Mr Lamine N’Dongo, Lead Economist with the AfDB, formulated proposals for moving forward AfCoP Strategy Phase II. Specifically, the AfCoP could be linked to key institutional reforms to build African countries capacity on MfDR to help reduce poverty and gaps in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. A survey has been carried out by AfDB in the African countries for identifying the needs and existing capacities in MfDR. Mr N’Dongo then spoke on the proposal to carry out a MfDR readiness assessment to diagnose the institutional needs of selected MDG-related institutions in African countries and implementation actions to respond to these needs. The national CoPs will be supported to implement their action plans, so will the AfCoP secretariat to support the CMT to carry out the AfCoP work program.

Among the proposed institutional arrangements, suggestions were made for the setting up of a Country Steering Committee and the identification of an independent learning or research institution for the coordination and support of CoPs activities at country level. A suggestion was also made that the AfCoP secretariat be based in Africa for practical reasons and more effective coordination. After an exchange of views on the proposals, it was agreed that the institutional arrangements will be adapted to each country context and the national CoPs send their three-year action plans to help cost the project. It was also agreed the AfCoP participants will constitute a standing committee to follow-up the finalization of the proposal.

AfCoP members also took part with 150 participants in the entire Regional Consultative Meeting organised by the African Development Bank and the NEPAD Agency. The event was designed to identify the main challenges and actions needed to ensure that more effective use of development resources translates into more effective development for the people of the African continent. The outcome of the consultative meeting will be taken into account for the determination of issues to be included in the agenda of the fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness to be held in the Republic of Korea in November 2011.

The consultative meeting provided an opportunity for participants to keep abreast of the progress achieved and the strategic issues involved in the implementation of the Accra Agenda for Action and the outcome of the First African Regional Meeting on Aid Effectiveness held in Pretoria, South Africa, in March 2010. The consultations stimulated deeper reflections on how to harness opportunities for attaining the desired development outcomes from aid effectiveness. The discussions on the following topics were an enriching experience: Ownership, Sustainability and Accountability for Results; South- South Cooperation as a Mechanism for Development Effectiveness; Developing Capacity by using and Strengthening Country Systems; Regional Dimensions of Development Effectiveness; Funding Development Sustainably: Growing Out of Aid; The Changing Landscape of Development Cooperation: Africa and the BRICs.

AfCoP members intervened at the plenary sessions to explain how AfCoP-MfDR could help to improve the effectiveness of public management and promote best practices in results-based management. It was also interesting to learn more about the forthcoming African Platform for Development Effectiveness, an integrated Community of Practice wherein development effectiveness is promoted as one of the various tools that may be used for enriching public policy design and implementation.

Devendra Parsad Ruhee, Mauritius
Co-Chair AfCoP-MfDR