The African Union Commission, NEPAD Agency, representatives of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and other strategic development partners have concluded a two day meeting of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Steering Committee in Midrand, South Africa, with a clear map of activities for the programme.

The PIDA Steering Committee is composed of NEPAD, AUC, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). It is responsible for evaluating the current status of implementation, identifying challenges and recommending ways to improve working processes within PIDA and to oversee its work and activities.

The AUC Director for Infrastructure and Energy Department, Mr Aboubakari Baba Moussa, who chaired the meeting, recognized the integration efforts that have been made by the continent’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs). He stressed the need for the steering committee to evaluate what has been achieved to date, three years after implementation of PIDA projects began.

Dr. Baba Moussa stressed that PIDA is at the heart of Africa’s Agenda 2063, which has endorsed infrastructure development as a key enabler of the continent’s integration. Further to this, the Director highlighted that all 54 member states of the African Union are fully committed to PIDA and that all five regions of the continent are fully integrated into the PIDA implementation process.

Finally, Dr Baba Moussa recalled that 2015 is the African Union year of “Women’s Development and Empowerment Towards Agenda 2063”, and in this context, called on the meeting to ensure that PIDA projects focus on the empowerment of women and youth on the continent.

The Head of the NEPAD Infrastructure Programme, Mr. Adama Deen highlighted the activities of the PIDA implementation work plan and its achievements since the last meeting which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in October 2014. His presentation focused on the undertakings of the PIDA Capacity Building projects and the NEPAD-ISBU work plan.

He indicated that there has been progress as the first disbursement of funds from AfDB has been received by the Agency. Other highlights include the signing of four performance MoUs with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the upcoming recruitment of Infrastructure experts within the NEPAD Agency and RECs, the finalization of the RECs projects list and the NEPAD work plan and budget for 2015 is also prepared and ready for presentation.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and GIZ both committed their continued support to the implementation of PIDA through various support mechanisms. This includes funding of the PIDA capacity building projects that will aid skills development in the RECs, NEPAD Agency and the African Union Commission.

Representing the AfDB, Mr. Shem Simuyemba commended the partnership between the AUC, NEPAD Agency and AfDB under PIDA which has achieved formidable results in advancing Africa’s infrastructure development. “This partnership has helped to have a coordinated approach in the delivery of PIDA, and has been critical in launching the joint Africa50Fund, which will help facilitate large-scale funding from the private sector,” he said.

The Steering Committee heard presentations on the Monitoring and Evaluation system currently being set up by the NEPAD Agency and the AUC, which will help monitor the progress of PIDA Projects. A presentation on the Virtual PIDA Information Centre was done and recommendations were made on the improvement of the portal to better serve its purpose of providing information on PIDA activities and projects on the continent.

Mrs. Wynne Musabayana presented the PIDA communication strategy, focusing on the 2015-2016 work plan and the formation of a PIDA communication network that will be focused on communicating PIDA. As one of the outcomes, the meeting recommended that the communications component should be included within all the protocols of PIDA project proposals.

The meeting also heard comprehensive reports from the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Union of Arab Magreb (UMA) on the implementation of the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PAP) projects within their regions. PIDA PAP is composed of 51 programmes in the sectors of energy, transport, trans- boundary water and ICT.

Africa’s engagements in recent global development processes such as the TICAD and the Forum for China Africa Cooperation were also discussed.

The meeting yielded key recommendations that will help in the successful implementation of PIDA at national, regional and continental levels. The steering committee is the highest technical body tasked with fostering overall coordination of implementation efforts by various stakeholders and to provide general policy guidance and facilitation for smooth implementation PIDA.