Civil Society Organizations (CSO) have demanded a greater voice in determining priorities to be used in selecting projects being financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at the start of a three-day session in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations, economic development activists, representatives of organizations producing farm inputs and fertilizers and experts representing organizations dealing with education were attending a regional Summit organized by the bank in Nairobi.
Maria Mulindi, Senior Adviser to the AfDB President on matters of civil society and community organizations, said the Bank convened the meeting with civil society organizations as part of its project planning and implementation initiative, which would enhance economic development within Africa.
“We have realized in our consultations with the civil society that the issues affecting the development of Africa are common to all regions. These are climate change, environmental policies, agriculture and creating jobs for the millions of jobless youth in Africa,” said Mulindi in an interview.
The Abidjan-based Bank has been active in providing funding to various projects in Africa, covering education, economic development, infrastructure and energy.
AfDB’s President Akinwumi Adesina is pursuing a five-point plan, emphasizing attention on agriculture, regional economic integration to ease travel for traders and workers within Africa, generating more electricity to power industrialization and creation of more jobs for the African youth.
Speaking in Nairobi, where more than 100 civil society executives are meeting for the regional consultations with the Bank executives, Noel Kulemeka, AfDB’s Division Manager for Gender and Civil Society Department, said the bank set an objective of creating 25 million jobs for the youth in Africa.
“The Bank is trying to reach the rural areas in Africa where we have a majority of the people working in agriculture. We believe we can do this through the civil society organizations which are already represented in those areas,” Kulemeka said.
AfDB officials said the meeting with the civil society organizations drawn from around East Africa would enable the Bank to work effectively with the CSOs because they would understand the Bank’s approach to continental economic and social development, policies and strategies adopted by the Bank.
Kulemeka said the creation of the 25 million jobs in Africa for the youth should not be left to the Bank but should be a continental initiative backed by sectors of the society to improve lives.
Civil society representatives at the meeting said they believed the crisis facing social and economic development in Africa was not the lack of ideas on how to solve the problems but the specific weaknesses and gaps in government decision-making, which excluded most people, including the CSOs.
“The move towards the civil society is to help us reach inclusive growth. We do not want to face the challenge of inclusive growth with inaccurate information,” Kulemeka said, when asked about the Bank’s plans to work with the CSOs in improving governance and role in state decision-making processes.
Photo credits: AfDB
