2006 Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank

Burkina Faso, 17 May 2006

Mr Chairman,
Mr President,
Fellow governors,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me join the others in thanking the Government of Burkina Faso for hosting this year’s annual meetings in the charming city of Ouagadogou.

2005 was a significant year for Africa and for development, and also for the African Development Bank. I would like to congratulate you, Mr President, on your election and the way you have promoted the Bank since your inauguration. You have talked about a closer relationship with African governments – about listening to their needs and concerns, about increasing analytical capacity in the Bank and acting as a voice for Africa, about a focus on poverty and economic growth, implementation and quality of operations, fighting corruption, and more.

Mr President,

We support your vision for Africa and for the role of the Bank in realising it. The hard part is making it come true. Implementation has been the key word for some years, and the ADB is still far from fulfilling its ambitions and potential. The Bank must improve on efficiency, on harmonisation, on relevance. At the same time, it is understaffed, overworked, short of capacity in key areas – and constantly being asked to take on new roles and new responsibilities. More selectivity and less institutional red tape are called for.

A reform of the Bank is under way. It will never be the full answer to all the challenges, but we find the focus on country teams sensible, and we are impressed by the credentials of the top management team. Norway likes to see itself as a pioneer in gender equity, and I am therefore pleased that there are two women in the team. This should be an encouragement to other competent and ambitious women in the Bank.

Mr Chairman,

I would like to mention three areas of importance to the Bank that are currently receiving a lot of attention – anti-corruption, infrastructure and energy.

Under Wolfowitz the World Bank seems to be enforcing anti-corruption policy more stringently. I believe all the multilateral development banks should be doing this together. We are pleased to note the increased cooperation between the MDBs. In this context, we would like to encourage you, Mr President, to take a firm public stance on good governance and anti-corruption together with your colleagues in the other MDBs. As donors we also need to point the finger at ourselves. The bribing party gets off too easily. Those involved in corruption and crime operate across borders, and we need global tools and international cooperation to solve the problem.

Basic infrastructure – always an important part of the ADB’s work – is back in vogue, and the Bank is well placed to take a lead role. It is already entrusted with substantial responsibilities through NEPAD, the Africa Infrastructure Consortium and the African Water Facility. This is a credit to the Bank, but there’s no time for it to rest on its laurels. Delivery is paramount, and will require increased institutional capacity. The needs and challenges are greatest in rural areas. By leading the way in the water and sanitation sector, the Bank could have a tremendous impact on African lives. The plans, the instruments and the programme are there, but the Bank must promote them forcefully, and the financing must be found.

The increasing cost of energy is worrying. Norway will support the Exogenous Shocks Facility, and we have made oil and energy one of four main priorities in our development programme. While many African countries benefit from higher income, the majority of citizens are not enjoying their share of it. We are expanding our work in this area, and we would be happy to discuss relevant cooperation with the Bank.

Finally, I would like to return to an issue that I personally am very preoccupied with: gender equity. It has been around for a long time as priority area, but progress seems to be slow. While we are happy to see women in the Bank’s top management, the institution as a whole should have more female staff, and is certainly short of gender experts. In Africa, where women are so important for food production and household income, they usually have a proportionally low influence on how that income is spent. Radical development strategies with a clear gender perspective are called for.

To conclude, Norway is enthusiastic about the new dynamism and ambition shown by the ADB. We foresee a more active and a stronger Bank, working even more closely with governments, voicing the opinion of Africans – and one that will be the preferred channel for development funds to Africa.

Thank you for your attention.