Nearly all the regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa now have infrastructure development master plans and strategies that require support to transform them into projects and investment opportunities for governments and the private sector, according to a senior official of the East African Community (EAC).
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Planning and Infrastructure, Dr. Enos Bukuku, made the remark at the closing of the 19th NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) oversight committee meeting jointly organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the UK Department for International Development at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
The two-day meeting brought together representatives of RECs, development and cooperating partners to discuss improvements in the procurement processes, reporting formats, prioritisation of projects, fast-tracked disbursements of the committed funds, capacity building across stakeholders, the strategy for resource mobilisation and communications.
Thanks to the good work that AU, NEPAD, the AfDB and the many development and cooperating partners are doing through the IPPF, the EAC official said many RECs have prepared prioritised regional infrastructure projects for investments.
“I have no doubt in my mind that the NEPAD-IPPF instrument is fulfilling its intended mandate with the improvements that have been recommended during this meeting,” Dr. Bukuku said.
PANA reports that the NEPAD-IPPF supports regional infrastructure development projects in the transport, energy, ICT, and water resources management sectors.
