Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development/Fortieth session of the Commission
I. Introduction by the Executive Secretary II. Follow-up to Recent Decisions and Resolutions of the Commission and other relevant bodies
III. Main Achievements and Outcomes of Programmes, Special Events and Meetings
IV. Enhancing Programme Delivery and Impact 1. Enhancing programme delivery through Improved programme clustering and management 2. Streamlining systems and internal processes 3. Knowledge Management and Peer Learning 4. Enhancing the management of extrabudgetary resources
Abbreviations and Acronyms
CHAPTER I
1. The present report, which is being submitted to the fortieth session of the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development covers the period from May 2006 to February 2007. It reviews progress made in the implementation of the ECA work programme, focusing on the main results achieved. It is the first ECA annual report to be prepared in a results-oriented format, and reflects ECA's new strategic direction. 2. Apart from this introductory chapter I, there are three main chapters of this report. Chapter II reviews the actions and measures taken by the Secretariat to implement the major decisions, resolutions and declarations adopted by the last session of the Commission and other relevant review bodies. The past year witnessed the successful implementation of many of the measures proposed for repositioning ECA. Among them were measures taken to strengthen the programmes, and improve management and administrative processes. The main objective of these measures was to make the organization more efficient, effective, credible and relevant to meet the current and emerging challenges facing member States, particularly in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the priorities of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The repositioning also enabled us to clearly see and map out strategies to reinforce our partnership with the African Union (AU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the subregional organizations, other United Nations bodies and the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI). Equally important, the exercise offered an opportunity to deepen our relationship with our core group of bilateral partners and build new relationships with other potential donors for our future activities and programmes as reflected in the ECA Business Plan 2007-2009 . 3. The preliminary outcomes of the repositioning exercise undertaken in 2006 has been enthusiastically acknowledged by member States, as expressed in various fora, including the last session of the Commission in 2006; the Group of African Ambassadors in New York and Geneva; and subsequently the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government (at their Summits in Banjul in July 2006 and Addis Ababa in January 2007). With the repositioning, ECA has emerged as a strong, relevant and capable entity. Its credentials both as a regional forum for policy dialogue and an advocate for Africa's development have never been better. Furthermore, member States have reaffirmed a sense of ownership of ECA, endowed with a creative and proactive Secretariat responding to their needs in a constantly evolving regional and global environment. 4. Chapter III of the report provides an account of the major accomplishments under the work programme for the 2006-2007 biennium, covering such themes as i) finance and economic development; ii) food security and sustainable development; iii) governance and public administration; iv) information, science and technology for development; v) economic cooperation and regional integration; vi) gender and women in development; vii) social development; viii) subregional activities for development; ix) statistics; and x) development planning and administration. This chapter of the report highlights the major activities undertaken, the progress made towards attaining set objectives, and the results achieved, including follow-up activities relating to the outcomes of the thirty-ninth session. Chapter III also covers the work of the subsidiary bodies, which highlights key issues arising from the meetings of the governing bodies of the subregional offices held during the year. Among the key achievements of the year was the publication of the flagship Economic Report on Africa that has attained new heights by focusing more intensively on issues of production patterns. In addition to reviewing Africa's economic performance, the 2007 edition of the report, which would be launched at this Conference, also focused on the issue of diversification of African economies. The report notes that diversification is essential for sustaining the recent growth momentum of African economies, and argues for a paradigm shift, to make diversification the cornerstone of economic policy design as a means of both accelerating growth and sustaining high levels of growth. The report aims at contributing to the adoption by member States of policy measures for achieving diversification as an integral part of their national development policies and programmes. Similar good progress was achieved in relation to the preparation of other flagship publications such as those on regional integration, sustainable development, governance, and women in development. 5. In the realm of normative activities, I would like to draw attention to the many meetings and conferences organized by the Secretariat during the year, including in particular, the fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V), which was held last November and focused on the important role and contribution of the youth in the continent's development. The Forum launched a number of important initiatives including the establishment of a mechanism for operationalizing and monitoring the implementation of the African Youth Charter. 6. Another area where we continued to make impact is our support to NEPAD, particularly the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), where we have been involved as one of the strategic partners. ECA worked with member States, the NEPAD Secretariat and other partners in 2006 to keep this landmark process on course. Also in this context, ECA successfully exercised its lead agency responsibility in organizing the annual regional consultations of UN agencies working in Africa in November 2006 to agree on modalities for strengthening the consultative mechanism in support of the implementation of NEPAD at the regional and subregional levels. 7. These are only some of the many areas where ECA has assisted its member States to build a better future. A more detailed account of the activities undertaken, together with a list of relevant outputs can be obtained from the ECA website at www.uneca.org . 8. Finally, Chapter IV of the report covers some of the important steps being taken by ECA to improve programme delivery and impact; for example, initiatives to strengthen monitoring and evaluation and ensure quality of ECA's knowledge products, improve internal knowledge management, and enhance the effective utilization of extra-budgetary resources. 9. It is my hope that the report and the information contained in it will help readers evaluate the usefulness, relevance, effectiveness and impact of the work of the Commission. 10. I am also confident that member States will continue to support us in our efforts. Abdoulie Janneh March 2007 CHAPTER II 11. At its thirty-ninth session in May 2006, the Commission adopted a number of resolutions and decisions on repositioning ECA, its role in statistical development in Africa, the Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP), and on facilitating employment policies in Africa. This chapter provides an overview of the concrete measures and actions taken by the Secretariat to respond to the relevant provisions of the resolutions and decisions. 12. In the period since May 2006, the Executive Secretary undertook a number of actions and measures in response to the Commission's mandate to reposition ECA, which encompassed three dimensions, namely, programmes and priority setting; institutional and organizational restructuring; and strengthening management and administrative processes. A full discussion of the actions taken are contained in three documents: (i) Repositioning ECA - Harnessing Regional Resources to meet Africa's Development Priorities; (ii) ECA Business Plan 2007-2009; and (iii) the UN Secretary-General's report on enhancing the role of the subregional offices of the Economic Commission for Africa. • Programme and priority setting 13. After a careful analysis of Africa's development challenges and opportunities vis-à-vis ECA's comparative assets, the Commission adopted a more streamlined programme structure focusing on a consolidated set of two broad themes and priorities, namely, (a) P romoting regional integration in support of the AU vision and priorities, and (b) Meeting Africa's special needs and the emerging global challenges. 14. The work programme is carried out through ten subprogrammes: trade, finance and economic development; food security and sustainable development; governance and public administration; information, science and technology for development; economic cooperation and regional integration; gender and women in development; subregional activities for development; development planning and administration; statistics; and social development. The proposed programme budget for the biennium 2008-2009 has been prepared to reflect the new programme orientation. 15. The new programme direction is also underpinned by a commitment to make ECA a knowledge-based organization at the cutting-edge of development thinking in the region. To this end, a knowledge management initiative has been launched to facilitate synergies across subprogrammes and ensure continuous improvement in performance and service standards that will in turn help to maximize the value and impact of knowledge resources on the continent's development in terms of the quality of policies adopted by member States and RECs. In this context, ECA will deepen its collaboration with African universities, research institutes and research networks such as the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). • Institutional and organizational restructuring 16. The new organizational structure of ECA is fully aligned with its programmatic priorities as reflected in the biennial programme plan for 2008-2009. Hence, ECA programme divisions have clear terms of reference, responsibility, authority and accountability. The structural reorganization was completed in August 2006 with the redeployment of staff to the new Divisions and SROs based on skills mix and within existing budgetary resources. The intergovernmental machinery has similarly been aligned with the new programme orientation, to promote coherence between ECA and the intergovernmental machinery of other regional organizations in Africa, particularly the AU. (The review of the intergovernmental machinery is described in more detail in a separate note presented to the current session of the Commission). • Strengthening ECA's subregional presence - Implementing the SRO Action Plan 17. Another important facet of the repositioning exercise is strengthening ECA's subregional presence through effective decentralization of activities, particularly advisory services, and redeployment of additional resources (including personnel) to the subregional offices (SROs). Decentralization to the field is necessary to bring ECA's services closer to its clients, and ensure effective programming and delivery of technical assistance to meet the sharpened focus demanded by member States. In this regard, particular attention is being given to implementing the Secretary-General's report on enhancing the role of the SROs of ECA, which was submitted to the General Assembly last September, based on an assessment conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) in 2004. 18. Key features of the SRO Action Plan include implementing ECA agenda at the subregional level and providing technical support to the regional economic communities (RECs); p romoting and supporting specific subregional priorities and programmes; using the SROs to serve as subregional nodes for knowledge management; and partnering with other relevant actors in support of the AU agenda at the subregional level. • Strengthening management and administrative processes 19. The new Office of Strategic Planning and Programme Management (OPM), as a wing of the Office of the Executive Secretary, has replaced the existing Office of Policy and Programme Coordination (OPC) with overall responsibility for programme planning, budget, technical cooperation and project management, monitoring and evaluation, within a results-based management framework. The Office of the Executive Secretary also includes a unit dealing with functions related to external relations, quality assurance, knowledge management and peer learning, and coordination of field representation. Other important aspects of the organizational restructuring include introduction of measures to enhance human resource management and other administrative processes.
20. Collaboration among continental institutions, UN agencies and development partners is key to harnessing the required resources, ensuring coherence and avoiding duplication of activities. Building and sustaining effective partnerships with other organizations is therefore integral to ECA's strategic orientation. To this end, ECA continued to forge stronger collaboration with its traditional and potential new partners, namely Africa's premier intergovernmental organizations – AU, AfDB, and RECs; other UN agencies, bilateral partners, as well as research institutions and centres of excellence. To underpin these partnerships, the Secretariat has developed a 3-year business plan (2007-2009), which articulates the linkages between its future priorities and activities and those of key partners, notably the AUC, in addition to defining new approaches to resource mobilization appropriate for the anticipated expansion of ECA's reliance on extrabudgetary resources. 21. Cooperation with AU and AfDB: ECA's long-standing relationship with the AU and AfDB has been cemented with the recent resuscitation of the AU-ECA-AfDB Joint Secretariat. In addition, ECA has held a series of consultations with the two organizations to define a framework for their collaboration based on complementary activities in various development fields, with particular focus on the following: regional integration and trade; gender and women's empowerment; agriculture, land policy and sustainable development; governance and institution-building, including peace-building, statistics and knowledge management. The three organizations intend to explore the possibility of joint funds mobilization to implement programmes and projects in the areas identified. 22. Cooperation with UN agencies: ECA has entered into constructive dialogue with a number of UN agencies with a view to establishing intensive collaboration guided by carefully drafted Memoranda of Understanding, which would further enhance coherence of UN activities in Africa. Some concrete partnership activities have already been agreed with several of the agencies including an MOU on capacity development with UNDP, the World Bank, WTO and UNCTAD. 23. Given its mandate to coordinate UN activities in support of NEPAD, ECA has taken steps to revitalize the regional consultation mechanism which brings together UN agencies working in Africa to improve coherence and effectiveness in their collective work at the regional and subregional levels. The mechanism, together with its various clusters has been reinvigorated to deliver more effective and efficient support to the NEPAD programme within the framework of the 10-year capacity-building programme of the AU. 24. ECA is also actively participating in the work of the Executive Committee of Economic and Social Affairs (EC-ESA) and its various clusters, and will improve its participation in UN country-level mechanisms and programming exercises (including the resident coordinator system and CCA/UNDAF). This move has been given further impetus by the Secretary-General's initiative to improve UN system-wide coherence. 25. Cooperation with bilateral partners: ECA's growing bilateral partnerships was further underscored with the recent convening of the Big Table event in Addis Ababa, which brought together senior African policy makers and their counterparts from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to focus on improved policies for the management of Africa's natural resources for economic growth and poverty reduction. The repositioning has also resulted in deepening cooperation with ECA's core group of bilateral partners and efforts are being intensified to build new partnerships with other potential donors, such as Brazil, China and India. 2. Strengthening Statistical Capacities for Tracking Progress towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa 26. In recognition of the important role of statistics in tracking progress towards the MDGs and other internally agreed development goals, the ECA Conference of Ministers adopted a resolution at their last session in May 2006 requesting the Secretariat to assist member States in strengthening their capacities for data collection and developing performance measures. In response to this request, the Secretariat launched a number of initiatives. Among them was the establishment of a new division for statistics - the African Centre for Statistics, whose major priority is to undertake research and provide capacity-building support to member States to improve the range and quality of data for policy analysis and informed decision-making on socio-economic issues. 27. The Centre will enhance the institutional capacities of African countries to collect, compile and use quality statistics in accordance with international standards, i ncluding indicators for monitoring the MDGs. It will continue to support the MDG monitoring process through its participation in the UN interagency Expert Group on MDG Indicators convened by UN-DESA. Furthermore, it is collaborating with DESA and ESCAP in the implementation of a project under the sixth tranche of the UN Development Account aimed at s trengthening capacities of national and regional statistical systems for tracking progress in internationally agreed development goals. 28. The Centre is also charged with the responsibility for the implementation of the new Reference Regional Strategic Framework for Statistical Capacity-building in Africa (RRSF) and support to countries in the adoption and implementation of national strategies for the development of statistics. In this regard, it is currently focusing on updating the 1993 System of National Accounts (with a new system planned for 2008), and preparation for the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses in African countries. 3. Review of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) 29. Despite its achievements in support of Africa's capacity development and recent efforts by ECA to strengthen IDEP, the Institute has continued to face severe difficulties in its operations due to a steady decline in financial contributions from member States. The decisions and commitments made by the ECA Conference of Ministers in recent years have done little to alleviate these difficulties. While similar UN institutions such as the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES) are provided with substantial resources from the UN regular budget, IDEP only receives a limited grant, which is inadequate for it to carry out its operations. It was t o alleviate these difficulties and revitalize the Institute to enable it deliver on its mandate that the 2006 session of the ECA Conference of Ministers adopted a resolution requesting the Executive Secretary to undertake an in-depth review of the Institute's operations and submit a report to the fortieth session of the Commission in 2007. 30. In response to the request, the Executive Secretary commissioned an external panel of reviewers to undertake the exercise. An ultimate objective of the review is to help IDEP overcome its current financial difficulties and enable it meet the challenges and demands placed on it by various stakeholders. Another objective of the review is to define a clear purpose and role for IDEP within the architecture of training institutes in Africa in order to ensure its continued relevance and guarantee political and financial support from member States. In this context, the review will examine modalities for improving cooperation with other organizations, particularly the AU. The report of the review panel will be submitted to the current session of the Commission for its consideration. 4. Follow-up to Decisions on Employment 31. T he thirty-ninth session took note of the need to mainstream employment in national development and macroeconomic policies and to facilitate the implementation of the Ouagadougou Plan of Action (2004) to ensure sustainable human-centred development of the continent. It further encouraged ECA to collaborate with its regional partners, notably, AU and International Labour Organization (ILO) in promoting the development and implementation of employment-focused development agendas through regional employment forums within the context of the Ouagadougou Plan of Action. In this light ECA contributed technical papers at subregional meetings convened by AU with the support of ILO. The purpose of the subregional meetings was to review proposals for a continental framework on integrated employment policies and programmes in Africa. The outcomes of these meetings will be fed into the Africa Regional Meeting of the ILO to be held in Addis Ababa in April 2007, an event in which both AU and ECA are participating as partners. A technical task force comprising AU, ECA and ILO has been established to review the draft concept paper on the establishment of the Regional Employment Forum (REF), which would be expanded to include UNDP and AfDB as institutional partners. Launching of the REF initiative is planned to take place by January 2008.
32. This chapter highlights key achievements of ECA under the ten sub-themes that form the main components of its programme of work. It also reports on the outcomes of two special events organized in the year under review, namely, the fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) and the 2007 Big Table as well as meetings of the subsidiary bodies. 1. Main Achievements from Programme Activities • Trade, finance and economic development 33. Strengthening development policy and programme formulation through research: Economic Report on Africa : The Economic Report on Africa (ERA), ECA's main flagship publication, aims at disseminating key findings of ECA's research activities. It is based on themes reflecting emerging issues of strategic concern to African development. Following the themes on Unemployment and Poverty in 2005 and Capital Flows in 2006, the 2007 edition is devoted to the theme, Accelerating Africa's Development Prospects through Diversification . The report emphasizes the need for African countries to develop concrete strategies to diversify their economies, so as to accelerate growth and reduce vulnerability to external economic shocks as well as to broaden the base of employment and secure inclusive development, as recognized by the thirty-ninth session. The report will be launched at the 2007 session of the Commission. 34. Strengthening national trade negotiations capacity: ECA provided various services to support trade capacity-building in a number of member States. For example, training services were provided to upgrade the analytical skills of national trade policy officials and experts in the application of the World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) and SMART/WITS partial equilibrium models. These methodologies enable meaningful assessment of the implications of trade agreements for national economies. Through the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and the Geneva Interregional Advisory Services, ECA provided training to the African WTO Geneva Group of trade negotiators on WTO processes and trade-related issues. 35. ATPC was established in 2003 with the support of the Government of Canada i n response to new demands for trade-related technical assistance by African governments. The broad objective of ATPC is to strengthen the capacity of African governments to formulate, analyse and implement sound trade policies and programmes, and to participate more effectively in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations with the active involvement of the private sector and civil society. The efforts of the centre have yielded notable results. The national capacity for trade negotiations has been strengthened in a number of countries as evidenced by their proactive and constructive participation in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. More and more African countries are now participating actively in the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations. Unlike in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, many African countries have been very active in the current Round of trade talks, defending their interests and making several submissions to various WTO Negotiating Committees and organs. • Food security and sustainable development 36. ECA as a regional commission mandated to facilitate and promote the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, organized the meeting of the Africa Committee on Sustainable Development, including the Regional Implementation Meeting that reviewed the draft Africa's Consensus Agenda for the Fifteenth Policy Session of the Committee on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) to be held in May 2007. ECA is finalizing this draft in consultation with stakeholders. 37. ECA provided substantive technical support in preparing and servicing a Ministerial Conference and two major AU/NEPAD Summits related to the implementation of the NEPAD Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). As a member of the Technical Committee of the Africa Fertilizer Summit held in Abuja in June 2006, ECA advocated for the adoption of the declaration on a regional cooperation/integration approach to food security, and the creation of a financing facility to improve the availability, accessibility and affordability of fertilizers for African farmers. The Declaration of the Summit further called explicitly on ECA to collaborate closely with the AUC, AfDB and RECs in following up on the implementation of its resolutions on the establishment of regional fertilizer procurement and distribution facilities, the promotion of national/regional fertilizer production and intraregional fertilizer trade, the establishment of an African Fertilizer Development Financing Facility, and the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Declaration. 38. In recognition of the central role of land in Africa's development, peace and security, ECA has continued to play a critical role in the AU-ECA-AfDB Joint Initiative on Land Policy. The initiative in particular seeks to support NEPAD's efforts and programmes related to agricultural development, environmental management, peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction, and the APRM. Among others, the initiative is to provide technical support and mobilize resources to develop and build consensus on a continental framework and guidelines for land policy in Africa. A multi-stakeholder consultative workshop held jointly with AU and AfDB, and hosted by ECA in March 2006 provided a platform for gaining consensus on the main land issues and pillars; roadmap consisting of critical steps that would guide the formulation and implementation of the framework, modalities for building institutional capacity and partnerships necessary for resource mobilization, development and implementation of the framework. It is expected that the continental framework and guidelines with clear benchmarks and indicators of land policy will be completed and adopted by the AU African Heads of State and Government Summit by the end of 2008. • Governance and public administration 39. ECA intensified its collaboration with African civil society organizations especially through various workshops, to build their technical capacity to play a meaningful role in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process, as part of the process of strengthening governance and achieving stable development with freedom and accountability in Africa. The workshops and research undertaken in this regard, underlined the need to promote policy dialogue between and amongst all national stakeholders, effective participation in the evaluation process of the APRM and implementation of the National Action Plan. 40. APRM : In line with its role as a Strategic Partner to the APRM and with the mandate given to it by the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of NEPAD, ECA continued to contribute to this end by assisting the APR Secretariat and providing support to African countries. 41. The African Governance Report and related publications: As a result of the publication of the African Governance Report (AGR-I), ECA's expertise in building institutions for good governance has been widely acknowledged, leading to an increasing number of requests for advisory services from member States, including civil society organizations, most of them relating to APRM. In December 2006 alone, ECA fulfilled four of such requests. As a by-product of its governance studies and APRM support, ECA carried out subregional workshops for parliamentarians, policy makers and civil society organizations on the role of parliaments in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) process. These workshops were aimed at achieving effective participation and management of the MTEF process. • Information and science and technology for development 42. Following the outcomes of the first African Development Forum (ADF-I) devoted to ICT, ECA has been supporting the implementation of the National Information and Communication Initiative (NICI) in two major ways: formulation of national ICT policies and action plans, and development and utilization of ICT infrastructure. In 2006, ECA provided several technical advisory services that enabled an additional eight member States to initiate, formulate and implement NICI plans. 43. ECA assisted the East African Community (EAC) to develop its Regional e-Government Framework that was approved by its Council of Ministers at its thirteenth meeting. The EAC Regional e-Government Framework was developed with assistance provided under the Global ePolicy Resource Network (ePol-Net), funded by the Government of Canada, and the Cooperation on ICTs with the Government of Finland. The Framework document aims at information sharing and promoting collaboration on cross-border data flow issues to avoid duplication, error, and aggregate resources for the benefit of the community. The framework document includes a short-to-mid-term action plan for the immediate implementation of the framework. Similar regional initiatives are also being undertaken for the ECOWAS, CEMAC and UMA subregions. 44. Information for development-related knowledge resources were produced and widely disseminated during 2006. Two video programmes entitled "Ensuring ICT for All" and "Community-based access: ensuring a multi-stakeholder dialogue" (in French) were finalized in November 2006. Twelve issues of a monthly Partnership on ICTs in Africa (PICTA) Bulletin were produced both in electronic and print format to strengthen information sharing among members of the PICTA and were largely disseminated via online resources and during face to face meetings. In 2006, the AISI website, comprising ICT, Geo-information and library resources was the second most frequently visited ECA websites next to the main ECA website with 2,273,199 hits (11 per cent of the whole ECA hits), and 405,062 visitor sessions. Two issues of both electronic and print versions of iConnectAfrica, which is a quarterly web, paper and e-mail service that aims to raise awareness in the wider African development community regarding the possibilities offered by ICTs in development were launched. Seven new online D-groups with a total of over 500 members (16 per cent of total AISI D-group members) were created in the reporting period. Four exhibitions, promoting the use of information products were organized and successfully sensitized decision and policy makers on the continent. 45. On science and technology for development, ECA prepared a document “Building Science, Technology and Innovation Systems for Sustainable Development”, which informed deliberations at the AU Summit held in January 2007 that adopted key recommendations for embedding science and technology in national development programmes in Africa. • Economic cooperation and regional integration 46. NEPAD: Since 2002, ECA's mandate as the coordinator of UN agencies and organizations working in Africa in support of NEPAD has been reaffirmed by various documents and resolutions. Accordingly, ECA has gone beyond its already prominent role in the conceptualization of NEPAD and in promoting intra-UN cooperation in support of NEPAD, to the provision of strong and tangible support for the implementation of NEPAD priorities, notably, coordination of institutional support for Africa's development, governance (APRM) and infrastructure development. 47. Coordination of institutional support to NEPAD: Under ECA repositioning exercise, the existing NEPAD Unit was merged into the subprogramme on Regional Integration to enhance synergies and strengthen ECA's role of coordinating regional support to NEPAD. The new division (NEPAD and Regional Integration) undertook a review of the Regional Consultations among UN system agencies in support of NEPAD, particularly, the Cluster system in order to improve its effectiveness and impact. The Division collaborated with the NEPAD Secretariat in organizing capacity-building workshops that led to further elaboration of implementation strategies for the NEPAD priorities. In November 2006, ECA convened the seventh regional consultations meeting (RCM) of UN agencies with the AUC, the regional economic communities and AfDB, which adopted recommendations for (a) strengthening coordination and revitalizing the cluster system; (b) fostering subregional coordination; (c) improving coordination between the UN and African regional institutions; (d) monitoring and evaluation of actions and outcomes; and (e) mobilizing resources and enhancing capacity. 48. Regional infrastructure development: Lack of infrastructure impedes regional integration in Africa. ECA's work in this area is to help establish an efficient, integrated and affordable transport and communications system as a basis for the physical integration of Africa. ECA provided assistance to its member States and their institutions in the promotion of energy pools, and in the management of shared natural resources such as water. A training workshop was held in December 2006 in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to raise awareness of African energy planners to the benefits of promoting the application of Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) tools for the sustainable development of least-cost power. 49. Regional integration and rationalization of RECs: It is generally acknowledged that integration of African economies is key to sustainable socio-economic development of the continent. ECA intensified its support to this process along three key lines: (a) deepening analytical research aimed at the identification of policy measures and actions necessary for enhancing regional integration; (b) facilitating the development of agreements or conventions on transnational issues; and (c) building consensus for regional integration and regional/trans-border public goods. 50. ECA provided inputs for the preparation of various technical papers for the AU Summit in Banjul in July 2006, which provided the basis for the Summit's decision to suspend the recognition of new RECs. The second edition of Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA II) launched in Banjul in July 2006 had focused on the need to rationalize the RECs, with a view to minimizing overlapping functions and optimizing the use of subregional resources for the promotion of intergovernmental organizations. 51 . Africa Water Report : Africa needs a strong scientific and technological approach to water resources assessment and development. In response to this, the first comprehensive African Water Development Report (AWDR) was launched in 2006. Prepared on the basis of official data and indicators from various relevant organizations, AWDR is expected to serve as a dynamic system of monitoring progress in the implementation of the African Water Vision and other international challenges such as the Millennium Development Goals. UN agencies active in the water sector, national water-related institutions, scientific bodies and other stakeholders worked together in the preparation of the AWDR, which in its first issue brought to the attention of policy and decision makers the status and perspectives of water resources development in Africa, bearing in mind the modern advances in science and technology. The UN Inter-Agency Group on Water created a link between World Water Development Report (WWDR) and AWDR so that Africa can share in the rich stock of scientific and technological knowledge and information bases largely available in the developed world in order to make use of advances in science and technology for water resources development and management in Africa, particularly for the purpose of monitoring key water and environmental parameters such as water quantity and quality, biodiversity and land degradation. 52. Integrating mining and mineral issues in development : ECA organized a training workshop on the issue of minerals clusters and economic development strategies, which was attended by eighty-five participants from the private sector, universities, civil society organizations and senior policy makers in the ministries of mining, finance and economic planning. The participants requested that the workshop be held periodically to acquaint policy makers and other stakeholders with the day- to-day issues of mineral exploitation and development in member States, especially within the framework of NEPAD's spatial development initiative (SDI). • Promoting the advancement of women 53. ECA serviced the fifth session of the Committee on Women and Development, which made recommendations for the implementation of the Follow-up Strategy on Beijing+10 based on a document prepared by ECA on “Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the Outcome and Way Forward of the Decade Review of the Beijing Platform for Action: The Follow-up on Beijing+10”. 54. In July 2006, a subregional workshop was organized in Tunisia to equip Northern African member States with the necessary tools that will assist them in drawing up national action plans to accelerate their effort in addressing the commitments outlined in the Outcome and Way forward document of Beijing +10. Furthermore, ECA, in collaboration with UNDP Regional Gender Programme of Africa Bureau has set up an African Women's Human Rights Observatory intended to serve as a comprehensive source of data for awareness-raising, analysis and use of data at the national level to inform policy debates and sound policy-making. The compilation of the ‘Quick Win' document entitled ‘ Launching an African Women's Rights Observatory: Participation of Women in Politics and other Decision Making Arenas ' is the first activity in the process of operationalizing the Observatory. Work is ongoing to produce thematic studies on women's access to resources such as land and credit. These documents, compiled using the AGDI national reports, will be used as advocacy tools to raise awareness on key gender issues. 55. In 2006, the results of the AGDI country studies conducted in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda were synthesized for publication in the African Women's Report. The report, currently being edited, gives the overall gender profile of the pilot African countries and point out to major gaps in the implementation of internationally and regionally agreed gender commitments. The report reveals that the social sector has witnessed critical milestones in gender equality. However, country performances in reaching gender parity are average for the economic sector and very weak for the political area. Based on the lessons learnt, ECA has started the extension process of the AGDI to four countries: Cape Verde, Namibia, Senegal, and the Gambia. • Subregional activities for development 56. ECA's subregional effort is two-pronged: (a) activities for enhancing the capacity of member States to harmonize policies in the areas of trade, infrastructure, human capacity and agriculture and food security, and (b) activities for strengthening capacities of the regional economic communities and other intergovernmental organizations to coordinate and monitor the implementation of regional and subregional programmes, including NEPAD. In this light, the SROs serviced various workshops and sessions of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts. These sessions ended with recommendations for member States to (a) adjust educational systems to better meet the demands of the labour market, (b) take steps that would mitigate the impact of food aid and agricultural subsidies on food security, (c) undertake studies on the effects of non-tariff barriers on intraregional trade, and (d) strengthen financial resource mobilization for development, including the participation of the poor in the financial sector - all aimed at helping member States to achieve the MDGs. 57. The subregional offices compiled and disseminated reports on the economic and social performance of member States, which were endorsed by the respective Intergovernmental Committee of Experts. Special events were also held with the aim of highlighting emerging issues of strategic importance to the development of the subregions. For example, in Central Africa, a special event on investments was held, which was attended by key institutional stakeholders in the subregion. A major outcome of this event was the adoption of a Road Map to boosting investments in the subregion. The establishment of an Observatory for Regional Integration in North Africa has similarly gained the support of the member States and other stakeholders and advanced awareness of regional integration processes in the subregion. • Development planning and administration 58. Lack of technical and analytical skills is a major constraint to effective policy-making in Africa. In 2006, ECA's African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP) trained 95 mid-career and senior officials from member States and the regional economic communities. The main challenge facing IDEP is mobilizing extrabudgetary resources to meet the need for accelerated expansion in human capacity within African economic policy institutions. 59. The thirty-ninth session of the Commission decided that to enable IDEP play its role effectively, its structures and capacity be reviewed and strengthened sequentially. The review has been undertaken and the review report will be presented at this fortieth session. • Statistics for development 60. ECA undertook various activities to increase the capacity of national offices to monitor progress towards the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. The primary focus of these activities in the collection, processing, analysis and dissemination of statistical data was to develop performance indicators and statistics. As part of the data dissemination process, the main recurrent publication, African Statistical Yearbook 2006 has been produced in one volume to enhance user-friendliness of the publication. The Commission has also developed and maintained a regional statistical database, following a comprehensive data needs assessment, to provide an authoritative source of statistical data on African countries, directly accessible to users. 61. ECA has also assisted the development of a database for ECOWAS. On data collection, ECA continued its collaboration and information sharing with national statistical offices and regional economic communities, including SADC, ECOWAS, COMESA, and UMA. On statistical coordination, ECA and partners convened the second Forum on African Statistical Development (FASDEV II) in February 2006. The meeting requested ECA and the AfDB to coordinate statistical capacity-building in Africa, and to implement the RRSF. Another achievement of the Commission was the organization of the third annual meeting of the Advisory Board on Statistics in Africa (ABSA). The Board urged ECA to re-establish the Statistical Division with adequate resources, reflect in its work programme the recommendations of ECA's partners, and to coordinate the RRSF in collaboration with AfDB and the AUC. These recommendations have been implemented as part of ECA repositioning. 62. ECA provided support to member States in the preparations towards the 2010 Round of Population and Housing Censuses and contributed to the organization of the African Symposium on Statistical Development (ASSD), through a series of training workshops and experts group meetings in collaboration with UNSD, ECOWAS and SADC. • Social development 63. As part of the restructuring, ECA has established a subprogramme on Social Development, which is responsible for issues relating to MDGs and Poverty Analysis and Monitoring; population, migration, health and HIV/AIDS; and employment, youth and other social conditions. ECA provided technical support in the preparation of the regional perspective to the UN Secretary- General's report on International Migration and Development 2006, and participated in drafting Africa's inputs for the proposed global policy on International Migration that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2006. 64. ECA co-organized the African Plenary on Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs) and the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs ) with the AU and AfDB in Cairo, March 2006. In a follow-up of the Plenary Session, ECA facilitated knowledge sharing among PRS practitioners. Through knowledge audits in 15 African countries and electronic discussion among practitioners themselves, ECA significantly contributed to an enhanced policy dialogue, and policy formulation and implementation among its member States. 65. ECA continued to implement its activities related to the HIV/AIDS Treatment Acceleration Programme (TAP) covering Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique, as well as activities related to the Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance in Africa (CHGA). Through regional advisory panels (RAPs) organized every six months for the TAP countries and partners, knowledge sharing has contributed to: (i) improved management of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWAs); (ii) greater collaboration among associations and public health institutions; (iii) scaling up access and adherence to anti-retroviral treatment (ART); (iv) increased promotion and strengthening of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in treatment acceleration; and (v) strengthened capacity of entire health care systems. 2. Main Outcomes of Special Events • The Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) 66. The African Development Forum (ADF), an initiative led by ECA, has become an effective multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development since its inception in 1999. ADF-I (1999) was devoted to ICT, ADF-II (2000) to HIV/AIDS, ADF-III (2002) to Regional Integration, and ADF-IV (2004) to Governance. These forums, among other things, contributed markedly to the genesis of national ICT policies across Africa, the establishment of a research agenda on the macro impacts of HIV/AIDS in Africa under the Secretary-General's Commission on HIV/AIDS and Governance (CHGA), the birth of the strategic framework for the new African Union that came out of the old Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the development of the technical framework for the assessment of countries under the APRM. 67. The Fifth African Development Forum (ADF-V) was held from 17 to 19 November 2006 under the theme “ Youth and Leadership in the 21 st Century” , and was graced by the presence of Mr. Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General, who gave the keynote address . An interactive dialogue session was held between youth and selected political leaders, including the President of Switzerland, the vice-president of the Republic of Tanzania, prime minister of Ethiopia, the prime minister of Equatorial Guinea, and a former prime minister of Canada. Key collaborators included AU, UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNV, OHCHR, IOM, AfDB, and Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) , British Council, and Leonard Cheshire Foundation as well as DFID and the Government of the Netherlands. Fifty African States and 35 international organizations were represented. 68. The immediate objective of ADF-V was to fulfill the requirements of UNGA Resolution 60/2 of October 2005, which requested the regional commissions to provide a platform for regional consultations and discussions on key issues affecting youth with member States, UN agencies, civil society as well as African youth, with a view to evaluating progress towards the objectives of the World Programme of Action on Youth (WPAY). 69. Notable outcomes of the forum include: (1) the launch of AU Youth Charter with participants pledging to support its operationalization and implementation at national and regional level; (2) the Draft Consensus Statement, which has now been finalized, reaffirmed the commitments made by the African Union leaders in Banjul in June 2006 to develop and implement national youth policies. The statement recommended among other things: (a) the establishment of an African youth exchange programme; (b) the establishment of a Pan-African Youth in ICT programmes; (c) the strengthening of the role of sports in achieving the MDGs in Africa; (d) the establishment of an African Youth Volunteer Corps; (e) a framework for operationalization of the African Youth Charter; and (f) the development of a joint post-forum (follow-up) Action Plan. 70. To date, seven of the collaborating partners have submitted inputs for the development of the Common Action Plan for Youth and Development in Africa. ECA's proposed African Youth Action Plan reflects the new strategy to work closely with member States and key stakeholders, in particular AU and the youth. The proposed Plan has eight key objectives: 1) to increase representation of youth in all ECA stakeholder meetings and anchoring all post-ADF-V activities in one ECA division; 2) strengthen the capacity of youth organizations to participate effectively in policy-making at national and regional levels; 3) support the adoption of policies to enhance the health and well-being of Africa's youth, with emphasis on young women; 4) support youth employment and entrepreneurship in the area of ICT; 5) support AU and NEPAD in the establishment of a Pan-African ICT Youth programme; 6) connect Africa's youth to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities arising from the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament; 7) maximize the benefits of internal and international migration for development, and 8) promote the role of Africa's youth in peace-building and conflict resolution. • The Big Table: Managing Africa's Natural Resources for Growth and Poverty Reduction 71. The Big Table is an initiative designed by ECA to promote, in an informal environment, frank and constructive dialogue between senior African policy makers and their OECD counterparts. This year's Big Table was held in collaboration with AfDB and AU, on February 1, 2007 in Addis Ababa with the objective of advancing discussions on meeting the challenge to make natural resource extraction a cure rather than a curse for African development. 72. The meeting noted that Africa possesses large proportions of the world's reserves of gold, platinum, and other precious minerals yet the continent has the highest incidence of poverty among the regions of the world. The meeting therefore called on African countries to undertake the political and economic reforms needed to place their economies on a path of sustainable and inclusive development, whilst external partners invest in the resources sector through aid, debt relief and market access. 73. In the area of reforms, the meeting stressed the importance of the following: (1) strengthening and expanding the APRM to incorporate natural resource governance including revenue transparency as a key governance performance indicator, and establishing codes of conduct and guidelines on natural resource exploitation, particularly on safety, health and environment; (2) strengthening participation and ownership of local communities in natural resources projects and ensuring intergenerational equity through, among others, the promotion of local beneficiation and value-addition, promoting local inputs industry, and investing natural resources wealth in Future Generation Funds and other sustainable activities; (3) strengthening negotiating capacity and bargaining power of African countries, and designing new generation of natural resource laws and regulations to better accommodate the interest of African countries underpinned by solid geological databases and inventories of mineral resources and viable inter-linkages between mineral projects and local infrastructure development; (4) strengthening multi-stakeholder role in monitoring and enforcing environmental compliance; and (5) strengthening natural resource management capacity through peer learning among policy makers, oversight bodies, legislators and legal drafters; harmonization of laws, standards and regulations across African countries; and development of trans-boundary approaches to dealing with environmental problems. 74. Eleven African countries and high-level representatives from four OECD countries, and regional and international organizations including the World Bank and IMF attended the meeting. They concluded that for Africa's mineral resources to contribute to accelerated growth and poverty reduction, the issues of mineral resources exploitation should be mainstreamed into poverty reduction and infrastructure development programmes. 3. Main Outcomes of Meetings of Subsidiary bodies of the Commission, including meetings of the ICEs 75. This subsection provides a summary of issues discussed by various meetings of subsidiary bodies, notably Intergovernmental Committee of Experts held or planned meetings since the last session of the Commission. • Tenth Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts for East Africa (ICE-EA) 76. The tenth meeting of the ICE for East Africa took place in Bujumbura, Burundi from 2 to 5 M ay 2006 under the theme Enhancing Poverty Reduction and Growth Prospects for Peace and Development: Which way forward for Eastern Africa? The meeting reviewed the socio-economic conditions of the subregion and considered a number of specific development issues, including strategies and policies for poverty reduction; challenges of achieving the MDGs and the concept of the Millennium Village; food security with specific focus on Millennium Agricultural Programme for Africa (MAPA); and cooperation in development and energy distribution. 77. Three group-training workshops were also organized covering topics such as the WTO trade negotiations and the prospects of the Doha Round in the aftermath of the Hong Kong meeting; statistical systems and ECA data base; and the use of ECA gender index as a means of introducing gender variables in national accounting and budget systems. 78. On subregional socio-economic conditions, the Committee recommended that the new macroeconomic framework for poverty reduction should be based on the need to achieve the MDGs in the subregion. Member States were encouraged to put particular emphasis on an integrated approach to the development of the rural sector, rural infrastructure and healthcare system. 79. With regards to MAPA, the meeting called on governments to promote community water retention schemes and low cost irrigation programmes and introduce new crop varieties to boost food production. To ease distribution constraints, the meeting also recommended the re-introduction of cooperatives in rural areas and the establishment of modern marketing facilities. The meeting noted with concern the small share of agriculture in national budgets and urged governments to implement the NEPAD action plan on agriculture in order to ensure a substantial increase in budgetary allocations for agriculture and rural development. Participants called on the AfDB and other multilateral institutions as well as bilateral partners to support programmes and projects for agricultural development, food security and integrated rural development in the subregion. • Special meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts for North Africa (ICE-NA) 80. A special meeting of the ICE for North Africa was held in Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco, on 21 February 2007, intermediate to the main ICE meeting, which would be held shortly after this Conference of Ministers. The objective of the special meeting was for the ICE Bureau to consider and decide on some important issues to be brought to the attention of the principal legislative organ. 81. The meeting reviewed the main accomplishments of the Bureau in 2006; the 2007 work programme; the outcomes of the North Africa Development Forum on trade for growth and job creation; the proposed themes and priorities for the 2008-2009 work programme; and progress in the establishment of the observatory on integration. It adopted the 2007 and 2008-2009 programmes, and in particular, the following decisions and recommendations: (a) to p resent the Marrakech Declaration (2007) issued at the North Africa Development Forum to the fortieth session of the Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development; (b) t o promote i nnovative policies and programmes in the areas of education and training as well as the development of statistical tools to support social and economic studies on the performance of the subregion; (c) to mobilize support for countries of the subregion in implementing the international development agenda, including the MDGs through relevant follow-up activities; (d) to intensify efforts towards advancing the regional integration agenda and translating the objectives and strategies of NEPAD into actionable programmes and projects in the subregion, in close collaboration with the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU); and (e) to elevate ICE thematic experts group meetings to the status of ministerial caucuses, which would be held when necessary. • The Thirteenth ICE Meeting for Southern Africa 82. The thirteenth ICE Meeting for Southern Africa was held under the theme, Accelerating Africa's Development to meet the MDGs: Challenges and the Way Forward for Southern Africa. The choice of the theme reflects the concerns of many about Africa's intractable development challenges as we approach the midpoint from 2000 to the year 2015. The experts' discussion focused on the impact of macroeconomic policies and their linkages to job creation, and the role of the private sector in achieving the MDGs. 83. In recognition of the above challenges, the thirteenth Intergovernmental Committee of Experts made the following recommendations, among others: (a) Since the majority of the population in southern Africa live in rural areas, any effort to tackle poverty must address the imbalance in allocation of resources that continue to marginalize the rural communities by increasing access to productive resources such as financing and agricultural inputs; access to land and improved rural infrastructure; (b) Governments should use improved fiscal space created by higher growth rates to inject more resources to social sectors, particularly quality education and health, improved water sources, sanitation and alternative sources of energy particularly in rural areas; (c) More attention is needed on creating value-addition to raw materials, and the need for economic diversification; and (d) Governments need to provide the necessary leadership to galvanize all stakeholders to fully play their respective roles to achieve the MDGs. • The Eleventh ICE for East Africa 84. The eleventh session of ICE for East Africa is scheduled for April 16-20, 2007, under the theme, Financing Development and Poverty Reduction in Eastern Africa. The meeting examined the macroeconomic situation in the countries of the subregion, as well as progress in the productive, social and infrastructure sectors, with focus on development financing constraints and prospects, and noted while GDP growth rates have been appreciable, this has not been translated into improvement in the livelihoods of the people in the subregion. The meeting also noted that whilst much effort is expended in attracting foreign direct investments, the need to mobilize internally generated investment, which is more sustainable and would enable the continent to be in control of its own development has been ignored. The meeting therefore examined the paradigm that mobilization of domestic and foreign resources, mastering and good use of skills for financing development constitute a necessary condition to overcome poverty. CHAPTER IV 85. In 2006, ECA adopted a number of measures and embarked on new initiatives to enhance its own internal efficiency, effectiveness, and the quality of its programme delivery. The Commission's new way of doing business now places emphasis on results and impact, and these are being achieved through: (a) improved programme clustering and management process; (b) strengthening and streamlining systems and processes; (c) knowledge management and peer learning; and (d) enhancing transparency in the management of extrabudgetary resources. 86. It is expected that these initiatives would lead to clearer responsibilities for programme managers, marked increase in efficiency and timeliness of our outputs, and hence to a higher rating of ECA products by member States, partners and other clients. The long-term objective is a better-focused and stronger ECA, more effective in its partnership with other organizations, and more responsive to the needs of its member States. 1. Enhancing programme delivery through improved programme clustering and management 87. As a critical part of the repositioning exercise, ECA has clearly and strategically refocused and regrouped related activities into more coherent programme clusters for greater impact. New management practices and processes have been put in place for greater efficiency and improved decision-making. The Senior Management Team (SMT) has been revamped and made more inclusive, while an Executive Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters has been established as part of the process of ensuring transparency and equity in the allocation of resources, and to follow up and evaluate the use of regular and extrabudgetary resources. Various management committees have also been set up, which are now elaborating on their respective terms of reference. 88 . Enhancing programme delivery through strengthened SROs: The report of the Secretary-General on enhancing the role of the Subregional Offices of the Economic Commission for Africa, has put particular emphasis on SROs acting as “ privileged ” partners of the RECs and has called for partnership agreements with them on multi-year programmes. In this regard, the SROs are being strengthened through additional human and financial resources and deployment of regional advisory services, to take up the expanded tasks of meeting the increased demand for assistance from the RECs. Some posts have been transferred from the Secretariat to the SROs. The proposed 2008-2009 work programme has been designed to ensure maximum synergy between substantive divisions and the SROs. 2. Streamlining systems and internal processes 89. Strategic planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation: The Office of Policy Programme Coordination (OPC) was revitalized with enhanced responsibilities and renamed the Office of Strategic Planning and Programme Management (OPM). For coherence and greater effectiveness in strategic planning, budgeting and the management of programmes, the budget function as well as the management of technical cooperation activities have been relocated within OPM. Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) and the quarterly Reviews of Programme Performance have been established and will be more systematically used as a tool for ensuring organizational performance. 90. I mproving programme delivery and impact through higher quality assurance: The results that ECA delivers to RECs and member States are highly dependent on the quality of its deliverable outputs. Learning from the practices of other knowledge-based development institutions, ECA has introduced standard processes, embedded in clear guidelines, to assure the quality of its outputs in terms of relevance and responsiveness to client needs, timeliness, effectiveness and intensity of stakeholder participation. Team leaders and their managers will now be accountable for compliance with the processes and for quality; and this accountability would be reinforced through systematic performance evaluation. Clear criteria and an agreed, objective methodology are to be introduced to enable the measurement of quality and the monitoring of quality trends. 91. Other Key Processes are currently being reviewed and existing planning and monitoring tools, as well as new proposals are being considered for the improvement of programme management. These tools include: Operational Guidelines for Programme Management; Management of Mission Travel; Management Compacts; Management of Regional Advisory Services; Management of the Development Account; Strategic Management of staff Resources; Management of Ad Hoc Request, and Management of Consultants in ECA. 92. Human Resources: A number of key initiatives are being embarked upon in human resource management to enable ECA utilize its human resources optimally, whilst delivering results in a timely and effective manner. These initiatives include the re-structuring of the Human Resource Service Section (HRSS), staff training to build trust and ensure accountability and internal access to justice. 3. Knowledge Management and Peer Learning 93. The ECA Knowledge Management and Peer Learning initiative are designed to facilitate efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of its knowledge products. Through effective knowledge management, the Commission will deliver continuous improvement in performance and standards of service delivery and global outreach, and underpin its efforts to be a repository of development related information on Africa. ECA will deliver flagship outputs, support the APRM and Peer Learning, deliver demand-driven studies and policy papers, and promote the collection and use of data and statistics. ECA plans to gradually transform its internal and external operations in three phases. Phase I focuses on internal processes to lay the foundation for a knowledge-based organization, including the acquisition of necessary information management systems and tools, the human resource capabilities and the networking modalities. Phase II focuses on the provision of knowledge services, working closely with partners and clients. The nature of ECA products and services to support Africa ' s development agenda will be refined. This phase also introduces a virtuous feedback loop between ECA ' s delivery of services and its own internal working modalities. In Phase III, ECA aims to fully position itself as a lead Centre of Excellence for African development. Through its partnerships and relationship with clients, ECA hopes to be at the forefront of development thinking and development programming in its core areas of intervention. Implementation of phase I of this initiative has reached an advanced stage while work on phases II and III are yet to commence. 94. Closely aligned to ECA's knowledge management activities is the peer learning activities. These are being undertaken across all thematic clusters and entail the building of “communities of practice” (COP), which will provide forums for policy makers and other stakeholders at the regional and subregional level to share experiences in their various fields. The peer learning groups to be established by ECA will also help to identify best practices and how to adopt them for implementation and also build a critical mass of informed practitioners. Peer learning groups will also be used to articulate and refine tools for policy analysis and implementation and altogether enhance knowledge and capacity in ECA ' s thematic clusters. 4. Enhancing the Management of Extrabudgetary Resources 95. To further enhance oversight of its strategic management of extrabudgetary resources and ensure integrated planning, budgeting and management of core and extrabudgetary resources, the ACABM was established on 13 October 2006. The Committee will oversee the management and allocation of extrabudgetary resources, with the same due diligence as for regular budget resources, ensure equitable distribution of XB resources to strategic priorities, and encourage multidisciplinary programme implementation. 96. Other initiatives towards strengthening institutional capacity to manage the resources and improve effectiveness of financial resources planning include the following: 97. Trust Funds Learning and Accreditation Programme (TFLAP) : To manage Trust Funds (TF) effectively and efficiently and promote better understanding of the required policies and procedures, ECA has initiated a Trust Funds Learning and Accreditation Programme (TFLAP) for Programme Managers and others involved in TF operations. This new initiative will seek to promote accountability, transparency, and effectiveness in the use of donor resources. The initiative is especially designed to ensure that staff has adequate appreciation of the Commission's fiduciary responsibilities, command of the policies and procedures, and information on the resources available for efficient TF management. Preliminary work on the programme has commenced. It is envisaged that the programme will become operational by December 2007. 98. ECA Donor Portal : This is a web-based application designed to provide personalized information to donors and partners on the management of ECA Trust Fund (TF) activities. ECA donors and partners will be able to log on remotely and access relevant information in relation to their funds and other ECA TF activities. Information to be provided on this network will include: the un-audited TF financial statements, TF annual reports, the ECA Annual Report, a short profile of ongoing projects, progress and terminal project reports, and other relevant information. Work on the Portal system has reached an advanced stage and will become fully operational by June 2007. 99. Trust Funds Management and Reporting System : Over the past couple of years, ECA has intensified its efforts to improve the format, quality and timeliness of financial and narrative project reports. However, the preparation of these reports has not been without serious systemic and operational difficulties. The report formats in the United Nations-wide Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) often do not match the format agreed with donors, and as a result, a combination of manual and semi-automated processes had to be devised to produce regular financial reports for the use of donors and ECA internal management. This process is not only cumbersome, but also time consuming. ECA has therefore commenced the development of a customized, simple and flexible Financial Information Management System that will improve its internal management and monitoring of XB-funded programmes and projects, and make the production of regular financial reports and project reports smoother. Work on this System will be completed by end of 2007. For instance, the Second Report of the Secretary-General's Advisory Panel on International Support to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (2006) and the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on ECA's “Assessment of UN System Support to NEPAD: Rethinking the Collective Approach” (2004). The report of this meeting was completed after the last session of the Commission in May 2006.
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