The African Development Bank (AfDB) has recently approvedUS $53.24m for the funding of a water project and a financial reform programme in Zimbabwe and Chad, respectively.
In tandem with the Bank’s role in improving government delivery of basic services particularly to vulnerable groups, the Board of Directors has approved US $34.93 million for Bulawayo’s Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (BWSSIP) in Zimbabweestimated at US $37.075 million, which aims to ameliorate the health and social well-being of the people in Bulawayo, the second most populous city in Zimbabwe and a major economic hub, by improving its municipal water supply and sanitation services.
The project, which will benefit directly 471,798 people, is to be implemented in 48 months from January 2016, will focus on rehabilitating and enhancing the water supply system, strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing service delivery and efficiency and improvement of environmental sanitation.
Some of the key outcomes are improved household access to municipal water supply, reduced environmental pollution from raw sewage, and improved utility efficiency. About 75,000 people previously isolated from basic services will gain access to water supply.
The remaining US $18.34 million is for Chad’s Public Finance Reform Support Programme (PARFIP), a general budget support programme to be implemented over a 12-month period from December 2015, with a US $4.62-million grant from the African Development Fund and a US $13.72-million grant from the Transition Support Facility.
This is part of AfDB’s contributions to assist Chad in addressing a combined security and fiscal shock that has affected the country largely due to the terrorist threat in the sub-region and the drop in oil prices. The Programme will promote public finance management efficiency and transparency in the country by improving domestic resource mobilization enhancing public expenditure efficiency and transparency.
