From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has said that its portfolio in Nigeria is one of the largest among the regional member countries (RMCs), with a total commitment value of $4.4 billion.
The credit facilities, the regional multilateral development finance institution noted, are anchored on 48 activities distributed between public and private sector operations.
AfDB’s Director General, Nigeria Country Department, Mr. Lamin Barrow, made the disclosure in Abuja on Friday, at the 2023 Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) Workshop.
According to him, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, annual disbursements to countries have been on a gradual climb to fortify them to meet up with current economic volatilities.
Barrow also revealed that since the 2022 CPPR Workshop, some of the portfolio performance metrics have improved.
“In particular, operations flagged for implementation challenges decreased from 36 per cent in January 2023 to 32 per cent in September 2023. This is a result of collective efforts from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the executing agencies and the bank to reduce start-up and implementation delays. Indeed, the time taken to meet loan effectiveness and first disbursement conditions tend to be excessive.
“We are pleased that the share of start-up delays has been reduced from 32 per cent of flagged operations in June 2023 to 28 per cent in October 2023, and is expected to reach 8 per cent by end 2023 with timely and targeted actions for some projects. This progress notwithstanding, we are yet to be where we should be. The Bank’s corporate target for flagged operations is 20 per cent,” he explained.
Barrow added that with diligent monitoring of the procurement plans implementation processes,100 per cent compliance was achievable.
He added that a Country Portfolio Improvement Plan (CPIP), highlighting clear actions that will guide efforts to accelerate implementation of projects in the Nigeria portfolio would be designed by all parties.
In his remarks at the event, the Director, International Economic Relations Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria, Mr Stanley George, said the era of hinging delays in projects in excuses was over, as all hands must be on deck to ensure projects are delivered according to set objectives.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Finance, as the borrower, has a keen interest in the performance of projects and programmes.