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The African Development Bank has approved a $2,8 million grant to finance the Strengthening Institutions of Transparency and Accountability Project through the African Development Fund.
In a statement, AfDB said the project’s broad development objective is to improve transparency and accountability in the public sector and promote gender equality for inclusive and sustainable economic development.
The specific objective is to improve institutional capacity and effectiveness of institutions of public oversight and accountability.
AfDB said the project has three mutually reinforcing components which include improved capacity and effectiveness of Parliament, enhanced capacity and effectiveness of the Office of Auditor General and project management support.
“The various interventions are expected among others, to result in establishing a Parliament Budget Office, aligning laws with the new Republican Constitution, revising laws with greater impact on women’s rights and gender, training of women caucus members,” said AfDB.
The project which is expected to be implemented within a period of three years, between September 2015 and December 2018, is aligned with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation which outlines priorities for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
The project has been designed in collaboration with other partners who are supporting capacity development of Parliament and other key accountability institutions in Zimbabwe.
“We designed this Project in consultation with key stakeholders. Building upon previous and ongoing bank-supported capacity building programmes and complementing other development partners’ interventions, the project aims to strengthen oversight institutions and build capacity in areas of accountability.
“It will also strengthen the trust between state institutions such as the Parliament of Zimbabwe and CSOs, thereby contributing to advance the effective implementation of the social contract,” said AfDB resident representative Mateus Magala,
The bank’s current portfolio in Zimbabwe constitutes eight active operations with a total commitment of $80 million in support of rehabilitating Kariba Dam, improving economic and financial governance, enhancing youth and tourism development, as well as developing a transport sector masterplan.
In support of the private sector, the bank’s portfolio also constitutes Lake Harvest aquaculture project.
AfDB also manages four development projects to the tune of $139,8 million funded by the seven countries which contribute to the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
ZimFund has thus been instrumental in rehabilitating key water and sanitation and energy infrastructure in the country.
The overall thrust of ZimFund is to rehabilitate the country’s capacity to prevent and deal with threats of deadly water-borne diseases that have been confronting Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter