Conference wraps-up with call for action from MPs, government officials and development partners

Over 100 Members of Parliament (MPs) from 40 African countries have agreed to step up efforts to improve the business environment on the continent by reviewing legislation linked to governance, trade barriers, and regional infrastructure in a bid to strengthen sustainable private sector development. They met during a conference on Private Sector Development in Africa as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Growth held in Kigali, Rwanda, March 14-16.

This is a time of profound change for Africa and the African Development Bank (AfDB). Africa has seen an unparalleled and sustained improvement in growth with an increasing number of countries registering annual growth rates of five percent or more.

High commodity prices have played a role, but so have improved macro-economic policies and sustained reform.  Many countries are making progress towards achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals and strengthening their institutions of governance.

The African Development Bank, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the African Ministers Council on Water, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the French government holding a conference on 14 March to discuss solutions and financing for boosting water security in Africa, within the context of the Sixth World Water Forum in Marseilles, France, which is taking place from 12 to 17 March 2012.

The African Development Bank‘s (AfDB) Board of Directors has approved a €58 million loan (equivalent to FCFA 38 billion) towards the financing of the construction, operation and maintenance of the 1.9 km-long Henri Konan Bédié Toll Bridge to be built over the Ébrié lagoon in Abidjan, in what will be the Bank’s first private sector operation in the country in more than a decade.