The African Development Bank (AfDB) is now ranked fourth out of 47 global development institutions for its adherence to transparency.
What You Fund, the only independent measure of aid transparency among the world’s major development agencies, on its Aid Transparency Index, placed the Bank in the highest category of transparency along with other world-class institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and UNDP.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Gary Forster, CEO of Publish What You Fund, that has produced the index since 2011, congratulated the AfDB, noting that “as large quantities of aid are being reallocated to deal with the COVID-19 emergency, the transparency of international aid is more important than ever.
Saying that the African Development Bank ranks ‘very good,’ the highest of the five categories used to assess organisations’ transparency, it stated that it is based on several criteria, including finance and budgets, basic information data, organisational planning and performance.
In the new Index, which covers the 2019 year, the African Development Bank scored 95.5 out of 100 on transparency — A significant improvement on its score for 2018.
Gary Foster said: “it is promising to see an increase in the quantity, quality and timeliness of aid data now being shared by a broad cross section of the world’s major aid agencies. As we work together to fill the gaps in the aid data landscape, we look forward to exploring how we can best meet the demand for data and data engagement.”
The CEO of Publish What You Fund noted that the institution’s commitment to total transparency is illustrated by MapAfrica — A web-based platform that maps all of the Bank’s investments across the African continent.
Mr. Swazi Tshabalala, Acting Senior Vice President for the African Development Bank Group, said in reaction to the index ranking, said: “I am absolutely delighted with this achievement! It crowns this institution’s commitment to transparency at a time when it has never been so important. With such large volumes of funding now being assigned to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, it is crucial for our citizens to know how much, where and when the African Development Bank is investing in Africa’s development.”