Harare, (ACBF) – Hon. Minister Christian Magnagna, Minister of Budget and Public Accounts of the Republic of Gabon and new Chair of the ACBF Board of Governors (BOG) visited the African Capacity Building Secretariat in Harare on 20 – 23 August 2014. Hon. Magnagna took over as Chair of the BOG at the recently held 23rd annual meeting of the Board of Governors in Dakar, Senegal in June. He takes over from Hon. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, and Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The visit aimed at familiarizing Minister Magnagna with the work of the Foundation as well as his role as Chair. It provided an opportunity for extensive discussions with the Executive Secretary and his team on the short- to medium-term priorities of the Foundation. In the discussions that centred on strengthening political support for the Foundation and supporting the resource mobilisation efforts of the Foundation, the Chair reiterated Gabon’s support to ACBF and committed to mobilizing its stakeholders and, in particular, Committee of the Board of Governors on Resource Mobilization. Of importance is the need to reposition ACBF as a strategic partner of African countries for capacity development. In that regard, the Chair noted the relevance of the new avenues being explored by the Foundation. The new avenues include capacity building for private sector development, preparation of bankable infrastructure projects, domestic resource mobilization, successful regional integration and Africa’s effective engagement with global groupings such as the G-20, BRICs, etc.
The Chair also met with Honorable Patrick Chinamasa, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Zimbabwe and ACBF Governor for Zimbabwe and visited the one of the ACBFs supported think tanks based in Harare, the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Unit (ZEPARU). During the meeting with Minister Chinamasa, the Chair thanked the government of Zimbabwe for hosting the Foundation since inception. Both ministers acknowledged the importance of the work of ACBF on the continent and the need for greater African ownership of the institution. They also agreed on the need to strengthen relations between Gabon and Zimbabwe.
The mission also included Mr. Jean-Fidèle Mba Zoghe, Senior Adviser and Mr. Moukila Maka, Communication Adviser.
Members of the ACBF Board of Governors are Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning. They constitute the highest governing body for the Foundation. Supporters of the Foundation since 1992 include, multilateral partners – the World Bank, African Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme and the International Monetary Fund. Bilateral partners include Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, India, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States of America. African Partners are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
