The African Development Bank Group (AfDB Group) held a capacity-building workshop recently to improve the management and monitoring of projects financed or co-financed by the Bank in Senegal. 

The workshop, a joint initiative by the Bank’s country office in Senegal and its Disbursement Division, took place in the coastal town of Saly, 70 km south-east of Dakar.

AfDB statement copied to the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) at communicate2develop@gmail.com, which is a development communication advocacy non-governmental organization based in Ghana, stated.

The CDA Consult is a Ghanaian-based consultancy firm that specializes in providing expert services in communication, development, and advocacy and aims to promote effective communication, development, and advocacy for sustainable social change.

Abdoulaye Kane, head of the Disbursement Division of the Bank’s Financial Control Department, said that by bringing together bank project coordinators, administrative and financial officers, and accountants, as well as representatives of Senegal’s public expenditure departments involved in project monitoring and implementation, the workshop provided training in the bank’s disbursement rules and procedures.

He said the objective of the workshop, to build the capacity of units managing projects that are financed by the Bank Group, was achieved. 

He said it was also to enable better understanding of the rules and procedures for disbursement, increasing fluency in the process of disbursing funds that have been mobilized for development projects.

He explained that the ultimate aim is to improve the quality of incoming disbursement files, substantially reduce the rate of rejection of disbursement files, and provide funds to contractors more quickly.

Massata Fall, in charge of the bank’s portfolio in Senegal, said: “It is important for directors and administrative and financial managers to be familiar with and

proficient in these disbursement methods, since this will reduce the rate of disbursement rejections and speed up the disbursement process.”

Madam Valentine Ogougbemi Diop, a participant, expressed satisfaction with the training, stressing, “We would like to thank the African Development Bank for making this support available and for the quality of the support.” 

Ms. Diop, who is a Chief Accountant at a project to develop transport routes linking inaccessible production regions in Senegal, noted, “I would stress the importance of completing projects in a way that is satisfactory for all parties and the value of these projects for institution-building.”

Oumou Kalsome HaneOumou Kalsome Hane, program manager at Senegal’s Public Expenditure Approval Department, said: “The training was very valuable because it gave us a clearer understanding of the disbursement procedures followed by the African Development Bank and helped us understand the process, from request formulation right through to project closure.”

The training was followed by bilateral working sessions involving Bank Group experts and local project managers to clarify specific concerns.

By Francis Ameyibor