The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced plans to decentralise its operations over the next five years, in an effort to strengthen the quality of its direct on-the-ground support to member countries.

The Bank’s Board of Directors, on Friday, approved a roadmap for decentralisation of its operations, which entails opening up of four new field offices in Burundi, Central African Republic, Liberia and Togo.
 
The mentioned countries, according to AfDB, are classified as fragile states. The exercise revolves around three key pillars; strengthening the Bank’s existing field offices, expanding its presence in fragile states, and consolidating regional capacity.

"There are clear benefits of decentralisation. The overriding value comes through improved portfolio quality, better project design and supervision, faster implementation and procurement, and enhanced dialogue and knowledge to deepen our analytical work and advisory services,” AfDB’s President, Donald Kaberuka, said in a statement.

As Africa’s premier development finance institution, Kaberuka said, decentralisation of the bank will enhance its quality of services in regional member countries.

The Bank will also re-classify its regional offices in Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo as country offices and designate at least two existing field offices as regional resource centres on a pilot basis.

By expanding its presence in fragile states, AfDB says it expects to improve its portfolio management, support weak government capacity and promote better donor coordination and harmonization.

The exercise also entails consolidating regional capacity by reorganising current regional offices and using a phased approach to establish at least two regional resource centres on a pilot basis by 2012.

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