ECA-supported Africa Water Facility Takes Off
By Yinka Adeyemi, Communication Officer,SDD, ECA
28 May 2004

The $680 million African Water Facility (AWF) initiated by the Africa Water Task Force and supported by ECA has been approved by the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank, ECA's Senior Regional Adviser on Water Resources, Max Donkor, said today.

ECA is a founding member of the African Water Task Force and the Secretariat of UN-Water/Africa.

In a report to the NEPAD's Infrastructure Development Cluster which met today in Addis Ababa, Donkor said the Water Facility would be overseen by a Board of Governors composed of a Minister from each subregion selected under the aegis of the African Ministers'''' Council on Water. There would also be a Governor selected from the African Water Task Force and the UN-Water/Africa group.

The Board will set policy guidelines, said Donkor, but the day-to-day running of the Facility will be carried out by an Executive Director and two other staff members appointed by ADB, where the Facility is housed.

ECA and ADB say the African Water Facility is needed because of the current low domestic spending on water, especially in rural areas, and because water is not yet sufficiently prioritised at central government level inspite of the strong evidence of huge demand at local levels.

The Facility will assist African countries with limited access to funding in meeting the MDGs, and provide grants for important non-revenue generating water sector activities where full cost recovery is not feasible in the short run.

It will react quickly and with minimal bureaucracy in partnership with African states to meet their needs and provide a robust project preparation facility for potential water and sanitation investments.