Message delivered by Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, AUDA-NEPAD CEO at the OECD-G20 Symposium on Quality Infrastructure Investment

The importance of infrastructure for Africa cannot be overstated. More than half of the gains in economic growth in Africa is due to infrastructure development; this contribution could be even more significant in the future.

The usual narrative concerning infrastructure outlook in Africa consists of enumerating a set of statistics: USD 100 billion financing gap per, 600 million people without electricity, 315 million people without access to clean drinking water, et cetera. However, as the continental Development Agency, we at AUDA-NEPAD consider and analyse the importance of infrastructure from the developmental consequences of its absence, or the low quality and insufficient provision of infrastructure services delivery.

For example, the recent widespread floods that Africa experienced is an illustration of this view. Within a period of a month from August to September 2020, “more than 1.21 million people in 12 different countries have been affected by floods across Africa”.[1] These floods are now followed by an alarming increase in severe cases of malaria in so many countries. The situation, coupled with existence stress from the ongoing pandemic, is challenging the health system capacity, the education system, and the overall economic resilience.

The crisis appears as an inevitable natural disaster. However, its effects could have been mitigated if we had adequate integrated water resources management, sanitation, transportation, power, and other economic infrastructures.

That is the reason that in our role of technical advisor to African countries, we are proposing tools and frameworks to shift the focus of infrastructure programming from mere construction of physical facilities to sustainable provision of services & economic opportunities.

Under the framework of PIDA, over the coming years, will be coordinating the implementation of an Integrated Corridor Approach for Infrastructure Development across Africa. The objective of this approach is to make infrastructure development works sustainably for communities, environment, and small and medium business.

Alongside the integrated corridor approach, we have developed the PIDA Quality Label to ensure excellence in the preparation of infrastructure project in Africa. Our principles for quality infrastructure include:

• Domestication - it is essential to build regional-level ownership and leadership for successful implementation;
• Building capacity and institutions for quality infrastructure investment;
• Quality financing - which also includes creating guarantee mechanisms and rethinking the model of financing for infrastructure.

The COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity for all of us to rethink the model of financing infrastructure.

The OECD-G20 Symposium on Quality Infrastructure Investment can be used as the foundation of a new paradigm towards embedding infrastructure at the center of the economic reconstruction strategy and, above all, provide ideas for making infrastructure investment work for small business, local content, and rural communities.

The PIDA Quality Label that AUDA-NEPAD developed under the framework of its Service Delivery Mechanism (SDM) for project preparation, coupled with the G20 Principles, offer a solid ground to that effect.

From the African perspective, AUDA-NEPAD is working with various relevant stakeholders across industries on Re-thinking Infrastructure Investment for Africa, to build a platform for coordinated dialogue with development partners, private sector and the national Governments on quality financing and quality services of infrastructure in Africa.

[1] International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), September 2020se