The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved 8.9 million dollars to the African Union Commission, AUC as three-year capacity building grant to improve service delivery.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AfDB Vice President, Mr. Charles Boamah said this while signing the agreement for the grant at the AUC Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

He said that it would strengthen the capacity of African countries through their respective Regional Economic Communities. He gave a list of the regional bodies: COMESA, EAC, ECOWAS, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), SADC and the AUC, among others.

He urged them to effectively implement infrastructure programmes and projects in their regions. Boamah said it would also enhance Africa’s physical and socio-economic transformation with a focus on the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). The programme was approved by African Heads of State and Government during the 18th Ordinary Session of African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2012. He said infrastructure remained a core priority for the AfDB and for Africa as over the last six years the bank had invested 20 billion dollars in infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in the year 2012, the total Bank Group lending operations amounted to 6.5 billion dollars of which infrastructure constituted 49 per cent or 3.185 billion dollars of total lending.Boamah said the grant would support the accelerated implementation of PIDA Priority Action Plan (PIDA/ PAP). The PIDA/PAP is a set of 51 priority programmes and projects at an investment cost of 68 billion dollars to be implemented by the year 2020.

It is expected to provide the necessary technical capacity to some regional bodies such as AUC to support member states to move some projects. The AUC Deputy Chairperson, Mr Eratus Mwencha, commended the bank for the support and pledged to ensure the funds were appropriately utilised for the benefit of the AU member states

The signing of the agreement was part of the activities of the 22nd Ordinary Session of AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The signing ceremony was held in the presence of the AfDB’s Director of the NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Department (ONRI), Mr Janvier Litse. Also present were the CEO of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, and the Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure, Dr Elham Ibrahim.