MEDIA

Echoes from the field

African Legal Support Facility holds Annual Meetings

The ALSF Management Board and Governing Council members

 

Accra, Ghana, 25 May 2022 — The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) held its 38th Management Board and 14th Governing Council meetings on 23 May 2022, on the margins of the African Development Bank’s 2022 Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana. The meetings considered and passed resolutions regarding the operations of the ALSF.

In their respective Annual Meetings held on 23 May 2022, the Management Board and the Governing Council of the ALSF considered and approved the 2021 Audited Financial Statements of the ALSF. The Audited Financial Statements showed that by the end of 2021 the ALSF had since 2010 received cumulative financial contributions of about USD 120 million and disbursed nearly USD 94 million, and that the ALSF was in good financial standing.

The meetings also approved the 2021 Annual Report which gives an account of the ALSF’s activities in 2021, including the projects initiated and completed, key results and achievements, as well as institutional development and corporate management, partnerships and outreach, risks and challenges, and prospective areas for ALSF intervention. It was noted that the ALSF approved 33 new projects and disbursed a total amount of USD 11.07 million in 2021 for advisory and capacity building projects in the sovereign debt, natural resources and extractives, power, infrastructure PPPs, and investment treaties & dispute resolution sectors in various regional member countries such as Angola, Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Lesotho, Sudan, and Somalia and regionally across multiple countries. The Management Board and the Governing Council expressed satisfaction with the strong performance of the ALSF, and acknowledged the ALSF team’s timely, appropriate, and sustained response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across its areas of intervention in the regional member countries.

The Management Board and the Governing Council also recognized the outstanding and invaluable services of three outgoing members. Ms. Eva Jhala (Chairperson) and Ms. Nimatou D. Feliho will complete their three-year tenure on the Management Board on 29 June 2022, and Mr. Denis Dubuisson’s tenure as member of the Governing Council representing Belgium ends on 31 August 2022. The Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr. Christopher Chalmers expressed profound gratitude to the departing members for their excellent contributions to the ALSF’s work. For his part, the Director and CEO of the ALSF, Mr. Olivier Pognon, noted the dedication and accessibility of the outgoing members and thanked them for their guidance and support for the ALSF team to continue its vital work. The Governing Council also appointed two new members to replace the outgoing members of the Management Board.

The Management Board and the Governing Council of the ALSF also took note of the updates on projects and institutional developments in the ALSF in 2022 and urged the ALSF team to intensify its support for the regional member countries to negotiate fair and balanced transactions to bolster their economic recovery and sustainable development efforts, and especially in addressing issues concerning climate change, environmental and social protection, and gender equality; and to promote good governance. Mr. Olivier Pognon assured the members of the commitment and zeal of the ALSF team to realise the goals of the ALSF for 2022 and beyond.

The ALSF’s Management Board is responsible for overseeing the efficient and effective conduct of all operations of the ALSF, including the approval of the ALSF’s budget and appointment of the Director. The Management Board comprises five members of high integrity and competence that are appointed by the Governing Council for a three-year, non-renewable term.

The Governance Council is the supreme body of the ALSF that meets once a year and comprises twelve members representing both Member States and international organizations. The current Governance Council is composed of representatives from Morocco, Guinea, Eswatini, Burundi, Tanzania, the African Development Bank, Belgium, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Brazil. The College of International Organizations was represented at this meeting by the African Finance Corporation (AFC).

 

About the ALSF

The ALSF was established by the African Development Bank in 2008, and assists African governments in negotiating complex commercial transactions by providing legal and technical assistance and developing capacity building tools in the key sectors of infrastructure public-private partnerships, energy, natural resources and extractive industries, as well as on sovereign debt and creditor disputes.

 

Contact us

Eve Ehoura, Communication Officer : e.ehoura@afdb.org

ALSF Website : https://www.alsf.int