WORKSHOP ON MECHANISMS FOR CAPACITY BUILDING OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES (RECS) AND SPEEDING UP IMPLEMENTATION OF NEPAD INFRASTRUCTURE SHORT TERM ACTION PLAN (STAP) PROJECTS HELD IN ABUJA, NIGERIA. 7-8 MARCH, 2005 CONSOLIDATED REPORT OF SYNDICATE GROUP DISCUSSIONS 1
After two days of intensive brainstorming on mechanisms for capacity building of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and for accelerating implementation of NEPAD STAP infrastructural projects workshop agreed on the following critical interventions in the following five areas. A. CAPACITY BUILDING The capacity of RECs and other NEPAD implementing agencies, both on a short term and long term basis needs to be dramatically increased for accelerating effective implementation of NEPAD projects. Capacity building is required at many levels including the NEPAD Secretariat and member states. Increased capacity needs to be supported by political will to implement the reform measures in order to ensure compliance with decisions reached at the regional and continental level. Actions agreed to: i) The NEPAD Secretariat and African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) should expedite finalisation of the Terms of Reference for the Capacity Building Needs Assessment Study that the ACBF is to undertake on behalf of the Secretariat. ii) iii) The NEPAD Secretariat and ACBF should launch, no later then April 2005, the capacity needs assessment study. The assessment should differentiate short term needs to accelerate and implement priority NEPAD projects, from medium to long term needs to implement the NEPAD Infrastructure Programmes. The assessment should also differentiate between overall capacity needs and specific project-by-project needs for the priority projects. The assessment should be completed within three months of launching the exercise. Within the framework of the capacity needs assessment study, the RECs, in collaboration with ACBF should, amongst other things, assess their capacity needs in terms of: Policy harmonisation and facilitation to ensure implementation of regional agreements/treaties; Project preparation, development, and implementation for both facilitation and capital investment projects; 2
iv) Within the framework of the capacity needs assessment study, the RECs, in collaboration with ACBF should design capacity building programmes and initiatives, cost them, and package them into project/programme proposals to be submitted to development partners for funding. The proposed programmes should also draw on the use of African capacity in the diaspora. v) The NEPAD Secretariat and the ADB should assist the RECs in mobilising funds for the capacity building programmes. B. CO-ORDINATION FRAMEWORK TO ENHANCE INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS The creation of a co-ordination framework is a critical necessity. The Coordination Framework must assign the roles, responsibilities, and functions for the respective parties (African Union Commission, NEPAD HSGIC/Steering Committee/Secretariat, RECs, Member States, Implementing. Agencies), and clearly define broad coordination principles, mechanisms/platforms and lines of communication amongst parties. The RECs with coordination and assistance provided by the NEPAD Secretariat and the ADB should initiate definition of this coordination framework. Further, there should be focal points in the respective RECs, member states and the NEPAD Secretariat so as to enhance both co-ordination and communication. The Framework should take into account the overlapping responsibilities of the NEPAD Secretariat, RECs, and member states. It should also devise mechanisms to avoid both duplication of effort and to ensure clarity on the lead agency for each project. Where the projects cut across the RECs it is urgent that the leadership of co-ordination needs to be resolved by the affected RECs. The decision must be communicated to the NEPAD Secretariat and all other interested parties. Actions agreed to: i) The NEPAD Secretariat must convene a meeting of the RECs within a period of three months to agree on the basic principles of a formal coordination framework that defines clearly the coordination mechanism that shall be adopted to facilitate smooth and faster implementation of the NEPAD Infrastructure Programme; 3
ii) iii) iv) As a first step towards the above proposed meeting, RECs must each create an internal Task Force or hold an internal workshop to brain-storm and make some basic recommendations on the coordination principles, mechanisms/platforms, lines of communication, roles and responsibilities that should be adopted for member country- REC coordination; Intra-REC Coordination; Inter REC Coordination, REC-Implementing Agencies, and REC-NEPAD Secretariat Coordination. The Recommendations should be shared with the NEPAD Secretariat, which shall in turn, with support from the ADB, consolidate the recommendations into a base document for the Coordination meeting. It is envisaged that the RECs shall inform their recommendation from existing formal and/or informal coordination initiatives they are already utilising. The RECs should submit their recommendations within two months of the Abuja Meeting. The NEPAD Secretariat will convene meetings of all RECs to review implementation of NEPAD projects at least once a year. The first meeting will be in June 2005. RECs should plan to acquire Video conferencing facilities, where they do not already exist, with the view to facilitate and enhance interaction amongst themselves, with development partners and with the NEPAD Secretariat. RECs should submit requests for financial assistance for acquisition of these facilities to the various development partners. A consolidated proposal could be coordinated by the NEPAD Secretariat and submitted for co-financing by a number of Development Partners, if necessary. C. FRAMEWORK FOR MOBILISATION OF RESOURCES The NEPAD Secretariat and the ADB together with the RECs shall develop a coherent framework and action plan for the mobilisation of required funding resources for each REC. This Framework would seek to pool resources and channel them appropriately to the RECs. This will assist in ensuring a co-ordinated approach to development partners and avoid duplication of efforts. NEPAD will raise the matter of Development Partners co-ordination within the African Partnership Forum. The Workshop called upon the Development Partners to support the Project Preparation Facility at the ADB and this facility to include facilitation projects. 4
The RECs support the idea of raising domestic resources such as pension funds and other domestic resources for funding NEPAD infrastructure projects. Actions agreed to: i) The NEPAD Secretariat will report to the next Steering Committee meeting on the study being undertaken on the investment of pension funds in NEPAD projects. ii) The NEPAD Secretariat with support from the Africa Development Bank, the World Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa and European Union shall convene by end of June 2005 a donor s meeting to review each of the priority projects retained by the Abuja meeting and a) agree on concrete steps to move each project forward, and b) make indicative pledges for financing and co-financing of each project. This meeting could be held back to back with the one mentioned above in item B iii) above. iii) In preparation for the above meeting, RECs shall provide detailed project briefs of each project, indicating the financial and technical assistance requirements. The project briefs shall be submitted to the NEPAD Secretariat by end of May 2005 and the Secretariat in turn shall distribute them to the development partners and all the RECs. D. INFORMATION SHARING AND MONITORING Sharing of experiences and information is critical to overcome bottlenecks and obstacles being experienced. The sharing of information must be between RECs with the NEPAD Secretariat and AU Commission, RECs with RECs, RECs with member countries, as well as with Africa s Development Partners both in the North and the South. The meeting identified the need for each REC to establish a database of its projects and keep it up-to-date. The meeting also decided that the establishment of the databases must be included in the capacity building plans of the RECs. In this respect it was agreed that NEPAD Secretariat must establish a continental database, linked to the RECs databases, containing the details and status of all projects in the STAP. The report of the STAP Second Review being conducted through ADB-provided technical assistance will be used in this connection. This database must also be accessible from a website, which could also allow interaction between RECs and NEPAD Secretariat. 5
The meeting agreed that video-conferencing and utilisation of the margins of the various AU and NEPAD meetings be used to increase interaction and sharing of information between NEPAD stakeholders. Actions agreed to: i) Each REC shall establish a data base of its projects and keep it up to date. Capacity building plans of RECs must include the establishment of these databases. ii) That the NEPAD Secretariat shall establish a continental database of projects and that will be linked to the database developed by the RECs. Capacity building plans of the NEPAD Secretariat must include the establishment of this database. iii) NEPAD Secretariat and development partners will assist RECs in establishing the latter s databases. E. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) Noting that the UN will be conducting a review of progress made to achieve the MDGs this year, the following was agreed: i) Each REC shall coordinate and work with its member states in preparation of the MDG Report for its region. ii) The RECs review must include an assessment of current funding by member states and additional external funding required for achieving the MDGs. These reports shall be submitted to AU/NEPAD for consolidation of the African position on MDGs. The NEPAD Secretariat will consult and coordinate with the RECs and AU Commission to agree on schedule for the various stages for the preparation and submission of the RECs inputs to the AU MDG Report. F. PRIORITISATION OF PROJECTS The RECs confirmed the following NEPAD STAP priority projects in their specific sub-regions. The coordination principles and mechanisms that shall be defined as proposed in (B) above, shall be the basis for the coordination of preparation and implementation of those projects that cut across more than one REC. The NEPAD Secretariat jointly with the ADB will convene a development partners roundtable meetings to mobilise funds for projects that are ready for funding. 6
ECOWAS Energy: i) West Africa Gas Pipeline ii) West African Power Pool Transport: i) Railway Development ii) Road Transport Facilitation iii) Implementation of Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) Telecommunication: i) Infrastructure Backbone Development ii) Harmonisation of Policy/Framework Capacity Building: i) Establishment of a Project Development and Implementation Unit (PDIU) ii) Modernisation of Regional Procedures and Monitoring Mechanisms (ICT) IGAD EAC Transport: i) Isiolo-Moyale Road ii) Ethiopia Djibouti Road Corridor Development iii) Road Transport Facilitation iv) Implementation of the YD. Energy: i) IGAD HYCOS Project ii) Renewable Energy Project Telecommunications: i) ICT Support Programme Transport: i) East Africa Road Network Project (five Projects) ii) East Africa Railways Development Restructuring of East African Railways Railways Development Master Plan iii) Road Transport Facilitation iv) Implementation of the YD. 7
Energy Development: i) Power Master Plan ii) Gas Pipeline from Dar Es Salaam through Kenya to Kampala, Uganda iii) Oil Pipeline from Eldoret, Kenya to Kampala, Uganda SADC Telecommunications: COMESA i) ICT Policy Regulation Programme ii) East African Submarine Cable System i) Kanzungula Bridge ii) SADC Inter-connectors iii) Assessment of Surface Water iv) Okavango Project v) SADC Regional Information Infrastructure vi) Capacity Building Needs vii) Implementation of YD Yamoussoukro Decision: i) Competition Regulation ii) Cooperative Development of Operational Safety Continuing Airworthiness Programme (COSCAP) iii) Communication, Navigation Surveillance and Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) iv) Joint Competition Authority ICT: i) Regional ICT Policy and Regulation ii) COMTEL Water Management: i) Nile Basin Initiative ii) Safe Navigation of Lake Tanganyika/Malawi Road Transport Facilitation: i) One Stop border Post ii) Axle Load Harmonisation iii) Efficiency improvement of Railways, Roads and Ports iv) Transport Reform and Integration Support Facility for Policy Institutional and Regulatory Reforms and Assisting member in implementing Regional agreed interventions 8
CEN-SAD i) Institutional capacity building; ii) Transfer of Oubangui waters to augment Lake Chad through River Chari; iii) Transport: a) Road axis - Libya-Niger-Chad - Libya-Sudan-Eritrea b) Railways - Egypt-Libya-Tunisia-Algeria-Morocco-Mauritania - Libya-Niger-Chad. CEEAC i) Feasibility study on Port Mayumba (Gabon) ii) Feasibility study of Doussala-Brazzaville highway iii) Feasibility study of the bridge on the road/rail across River Congo between Brazzaville and Kinshasa; iv) Transport facilitation on the Douala-Bangui and Douala- Ndjamena corridors; v) Marina Project and the Re-dowe Tourist Platform. Continental Project: RASCOM The RASCOM project of launching the first African-owned telecommunications satellite was re-confirmed as a priority project to be supported by all the RECs and NEPAD Secretariat. ACTIONS: i) Each REC shall prepare an action plan in respect of the prioritized projects showing how it will accelerate implementation of these NEPAD projects. ii) NEPAD Secretariat shall convene meetings with RECs, and development partners to consider action plans for individual major projects in each region within three months iii) That each REC must ensure that the outcomes of this workshop are reported in terms of each REC s decision making structures Please submit written comments and amendments to Godwin Punungwe, NEPAD Secretariat Transport Advisor at godwinp@nepad.org 9