Ms. Okonjo-Iweala says there is need to ensure long-term financial sustainability of the Foundation.
The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Friday called on African finance ministers to scale up their level of assistance to the African Capacity Building Foundation, ACBF, to boost its capacity to develop Africa’s human and institutional capacity.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala was speaking during a meeting with finance ministers and heads of delegations to the Seventh Joint African, AU and Economic Commission for Africa, ECA Conference of Finance, Planning and Economic Development which ended in Abuja on Sunday.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, is the current Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Harare-based ACBF.
“There is need to ensure long-term financial sustainability of the Foundation,” Ms. Okonjo-Iweala said. “In addition to members paying up their pledges, they should also raise their financial contributions to the Foundation. This would enable it to cover its operating costs and make it use money pledged by its development partners to perform its core mandate.”
The Minister also appealed for greater political support from African countries, adding that they need to own the Foundation as an African institution, because “Africa’s continued reliance on external partners will not help Africa develop.”
She used the occasion to formally introduce to the ministers, the new Executive Secretary of the body, Emmanuel Nnadozie, a Nigerian, who she said was appointed purely on merit last year after an internationally contested selection process.
he Executive Secretary in his first address to the ministers listed some of ACBF’s achievements since inception, especially in helping to create some of the best think-tanks on the continent and in developing Africa’s capacity in economic policy management.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Executive Board, Kenya’s Kithinji Kiragu, equally appealed to the ministers and heads of delegations to nurture ACBF into a strong Pan-African institution.
The ACBF was established in 1991 as the outcome of collaboration between African governments and the international donor community. Its mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Africa, with the ultimate goal of improving the lives and people throughout Africa.
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