Maputo, Mozambique, May 19th, 2008 - the Compliance Review and Mediation Unit (CRMU) in partnership with the non-governmental organization "Movimento de Educação para Todos" (Movement Education for All) co-organized a seminar entitled "Independent Review Mechanisms: Raising Awareness and Improving Access to Accountability Mechanisms for Communities and Civil Society Organizations". Approximately 40 participants mainly from Mozambique attended the event. Other participants were representatives of NGOs from Ghana, Zambia, Malawi and international NGOs.

This report presents the highlights of the final results of the extensive monthly price surveys and gross domestic product (GDP) expenditure data compilation undertaken in 48 African countries during the past two years under the International Comparison Program for Africa (ICP-Africa) managed by the AfDB. A more detailed report will follow later and will provide information on the methodological approaches used to generate the results.

Energy is critical to all development efforts across the globe. The absence of reliable energy supply could hamper development efforts, especially for struggling Third World economies.

In a bid to actively reconnect with international donors, the Zimbabwean government last month paid part of its arrears to the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group. On April 14, 2008, the country paid US$ 500,000 to the African Development Bank and US$150,000 to the African Development Fund. Zimbabwe has, in all, paid US$ 650,000 to the Bank Group despite numerous economic challenges currently facing the country, both globally and locally. According to Mr.

Heads and Senior Representatives of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) met in London on 11 March 2011 for their regular consultations on the global economy and to discuss how they work on issues of common concerns.