Eastern and Southern Africa - Support for Capacity Development of the AUC and other African Union Organs Project (English)

Ratings for the Support for Capacity Development of the AUC and other African Union Organs Project for Eastern and Southern Africa were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low or negligible, the Bank performance was highly satisfactory, and the monitoring and evaluation quality was modest. Some lessons learned included: The nine-year duration of the project indicates the need to take a long view when supporting capacity development and institutional reform. Options to provide financial and technical support to clients beyond the usual project cycle of four years should be available, including series of projects. Based on the progress of the project assessed at the mid-term review and the AF appraisal, new IRIs was introduced. Although two restructurings were processed after the AF approval to extend the project closing date, the Results Framework was not reassessed to adjust targets impacted by Covid-19, leading to some potentially avoidable shortfall in reaching the end targets. Given the AUC's role as implementation body of the AU, the span of programs and activities it coves is significant as is the potential for impact to be diluted if resource allocation decisions are not made at a level where there is a strategic view of priorities, and authority to make decisions accordingly.