Mozambique: African Development Bank holds open day with civil society organizations in Maputo | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank in Mozambique recently met with representatives of Mozambican civil society in Maputo. Country Manager Cesar Mba Abogo welcomed government officials, development partners and civil society representatives to the Bank’s Civil Society Open Day on 9 March.

The country strategy and portfolio of the African Development Bank were discussed. The participants also looked for opportunities and interventions for the sustainable and inclusive development of Mozambique, in particular around involvement with civil society organizations and a just energy transition.

This event is the latest development of the bank’s dialogue on the country strategy paper for the period 2023-2028, which was recently presented to the government of Mozambique. The Open Day is an opportunity for “civil society organizations to address and address the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities to turn economic benefits into clear social benefits,” said Abogo.

Also participating in the meeting were the Special Programs Director of the African Development Bank in the office of the Bank’s President, Ms. Maria Mulindi, and Ms. Enilde Sarmento, the National Director of Economic Policy and Development from the government side.

Mulindi explained that “The African Development Bank usually assesses and analyzes its engagement with civil society, learning from their technical expertise, as it seeks to improve the quality of impact of its development interventions.” She encouraged participants to explore how the bank can add value to their work.

Sarmento saw the timely implementation of the African Development Bank initiative in Mozambique, given that the government was finalizing the proposed National Development Strategy for the next 20 years. “This forum will provide valuable input to the National Development Strategy and align the African Development Bank’s strategic interventions in Mozambique,” ​​she added.

Bank officials emphasized the institution’s recognition of the critical role civil society organizations play in raising the voices of the soil, especially those of the less privileged, to advocate for the work being done at grassroots level – particularly in areas where governance faces vulnerabilities and post-conflict situations – and to increase public sector accountability and transparency through strong support for good governance. Open Days is a forum for civil society organizations to provide meaningful and actionable feedback to the African Development Bank. The bank’s goal is to optimize its development interventions in Mozambique based on this feedback.

Some of the main recommendations at Open Days were: (1) strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations in the procurement processes of the African Development Bank; (2) continue to involve local civil society organizations in the bank’s high-level platforms/discussions; and (3) organize a “National Multistakeholder Platform” between civil society, private sector actors, government and bank as a mechanism to explore business creation opportunities to share value.

This initiative is in line with three of the banks High 5s priority areas – energy, industrialization and quality of life – and the institution’s strategic pillar on economic governance, aimed at catalyzing Mozambican’s structural transformation to improve its fiscal position, generate decent jobs and stimulate inclusive growth.

Martha Njeri Kinyoho, senior civil society officer at the African Development Bank, shared information about how the bank works with civil society organizations. The bank’s country program officer, Patrícia Baptista, and senior country economist in Mozambique, Rômulo Corrêa, moderated two panel discussions entitled Perspectives of civil society organizations on cooperation with the African Development Bank, And Only energy transitions for civil society, respectively.

Panelists included Frederica Ferrari, Country Program Coordinator of the Institute for International Economic Cooperation; Eduardo Sengo, Executive Director of the Confederation of Mozambique Economic Associations; Professor Adriano Nuvunga, Director of the Center for Democracy and Development; Lidia Mangane, marine biologist and Girl Move Academy alumnus; Olga Utchavo, the director of renewable energy at the Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM); and Feliciano Massingue, energy specialist at the African Development Bank Group.