Executive Summary
PART I - MULTI-DONOR THEMATIC FUNDS
Under four Multi-donor Thematic Funds which are being managed by relevant Technical Depart-ments, 28 proposals were approved in 2010, totaling UA(1) 34.2 million. These funds are African Wa-ter Facility (AWF), Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative Fund (RWSSI), , NEPAD-Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF), and the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA).
PART II - BILATERAL TRUST FUNDS
In 2009, the Partnerships and Cooperation Unit implemented a rationalization plan of bilateral Trust Funds, whereby three options have been offered to tied Donors, namely: 1) untying the remaining balance; 2) allocating the unused balance to untied Thematic Funds; and 3) returning the tied balance to Donors.
At the end of 2010, all new Bilateral Trust Funds are untied. There is a decrease in the number of re-maining tied funds, from fourteen in 2006 to five at the end of 2010. Since January 2007, all new re-sources mobilized for Bilateral Trust Funds, including the replenishment, are fully untied, as required by the Trust Funds Reform Program. In 2010, SAP-based Trust Funds Management System was fully operationalised to enhance the internal efficiency.
66 proposals were newly approved in 2010, totaling UA 21.18 million under 12 Bilateral Trust Funds. As compared with 2009, the annual commitment of Bilateral Trust Funds has increased by 72% in volume. The trend in new approvals demonstrates the considerable growth in the utilization of Bila-teral Trust Funds. Improvement in results reporting of Trust Funds operations remains a challenge.
PART III - CO-FINANCING
The Bank has currently fifteen co-financing agreements signed with partners to jointly finance priori-ty sector projects such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture, and human resources development. The main objective of co-financing is to pool investment resources and development expertise, enhance synergies, reduce transaction costs and share risks in financing large-scale projects.
PART IV - TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SECONDMENTS
In 2010, the Bank has benefited from the growing interest from partners to provide technical experts and secondees, mainly to support the institutional capacity building of the Bank and strengthening partnership. Ten donors are providing experts and secondees in governance, water, climate change, infrastructure, private sector development, among others. At present, 12 secondees and 9 technical assistants are posted in various organizational units of the Bank. Institutional arrangements for 22 new technical assistants and secondees are being formalized with various partners.
The Bank is finalizing a new policy governing donor-funded technical assistants and secondees to ensure its alignment with the ongoing human resources reform and the Bank‟s Medium-Term Strate-gy. Partnerships and Cooperation Opportunities
PART V – INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
The Medium-Term Strategy (2008-2012) states that: “The Bank will build more effective partnerships based on clearer and more specific agreements to deliver well-articulated results.” The AfDB has partnered with a wide range of development actors in both public and private sectors to achieve great-er coordination and complementarities in responding to the needs of Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The Bank‟s partnerships are usually formalized through Cooperation Agreements and MOUs. The emergence of new donors and the renewed interest of traditional partners are reflected in the Bank‟s recent partnerships development.