By Folasade Akpan, NAN
Abuja, March 3, 2022 (NAN)The African Development Bank (AfDB) and other co-financing partners’ portfolio in Nigeria increased by 2.031billion dollars between 2019 and 2021.
AfDB’s Director General, Nigeria Country Department, Mr Lamin Barrow, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the opening of the 2022 Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) Workshop.
According to him, with the exit of 15 operations and the entry of six operations since the 2019 CPPR, the bank’s portfolio in Nigeria increased by 198.6million dollars.
“In 2020, a 288.5million dollar General Budget Support operation was approved under the COVID-19 Crisis Response Facility.
“Meanwhile 544million dollars in loan financing was approved for five operations in 2021.
“The bank has leveraged its resources by mobilising co-financing from other development partners to the tune of nearly one billion dollars.”
He also said that the bank’s portfolio in Nigeria was comprised of 63 operations for a total commitment value of five billion dollars.
According to him, the portfolio is almost evenly distributed between public and private sector operation in many sectors.
Barrow lamented that since the 2019 CPPR workshop, the operating environment had witnessed significant changes, in particular, the COVID-19 pandemic.
He, however, said that in spite of the disruptions, there were some modest gains recorded.
“For instance, the pace of project implementation picked up in 2021 as evidenced in the cumulative disbursement rate which increased from 57 per cent in 2019 to 66 per cent in 2021.
“Similarly, the portfolio performance rating remained satisfactory at around three on a scale of one to four over the same period.
“Fiduciary compliance is also improving with progress observed in the submission rate of audited financial statements by the executing/implementing agencies.”
The director general said that in spite of the progress made in 2021, more needed to be done to ensure that new projects reached implementation stage at a faster pace.
“The 2022 CPPR therefore presents a good opportunity to take stock of progress and execute timely actions to avoid further slippages and clean up the portfolio.
“This has become more urgent in the context of the Federal Government’s efforts to achieve rapid economic recovery from the pandemic as articulated in the medium-term National Development Plan 2021-2025.”
Barrow said that the workshop was an important milestone for the bank’s programming cycle as it provided an opportunity to jointly assess the performance and quality of the portfolio of projects in Nigeria.
It would also inform the on-going mid-term review of the bank’s Country Strategy Paper 2020-2024.
Aisha Omar, Director, International Economic Relations Department, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said that the workshop was critical to the development strategy of government.
She said the workshop would enable government to review its portfolio with AfDB and determine the efficiency of the implementation of projects and how they impact on the development of the country.
“Particularly, it allows us to ascertain how value for money was achieved in implementing projects and to make amends where there are deficiencies and challenges in order to achieve the primary objectives of these projects.”
She commended AfDB for its partnership not only in facilitating the workshop but also in the support to achieve Nigeria’s development agenda towards a common goal.
CPPR reveals the efficiencies of the implementation performance and effectiveness of our projects and programmes.
She said that though the pandemic prevented several activities globally, including Nigeria and impacted the pace of implementation negatively, due to the lockdown, the country had gone past that and could no longer hinge on excuses.
She said the forum was expected to provide dynamic interactive action plans to address critical issues that had impacted negatively on Nigeria’s portfolio.
She said it would also facilitate means to set a strategic direction for efficient and timely implementation projects and programmes.
According to Omar, the ministry has a keen interest in the performance of projects and programmes, enhancing portfolio quality and driving valuable lessons to harness its resources appropriately.
“AfDB has demonstrated its unwavering support in our times of difficulty by mobilising resources for investment in Nigeria.
”Nigeria is currently stepping up efforts to ensure the implementation of donor assistance for the effectiveness of our portfolio.
”Our approach is to adopt a rigorous tracking and monitoring of all donor interventions across the country.”
She added that the ministry would continue to deepen its partnership with AfDB towards effective portfolio management strategies.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop is an interactive process that is underpinned by the principles of partnership and mutual accountability between the bank, the borrower and other co-financing partners. (NAN
