2004 Assembly General Meeting

Transcription

1 Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program 2004 Assembly General Meeting

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3 SSA TP Annual General Meeting Addis A baba, Ethiopia, October 1" 2004 Minutes Chairman: Hachim Koumark UNECA & SSA TP Board Member Agenda: 1. Adoption of agenda 2. Adopt report of 2003 AGM 3. Adopt 2003 report 4. Report by SSATP Board 5. Approve SSATP 2005 work program 6. Date and Venue of 2005 Meeting 7. Any Other Business 8. Meeting Closure (The draft agenda and timetable are attached as Annex 1) Agenda Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda The proposed agenda was adopted. Agenda Item 2: Adoption of the report of the 2003 AGM The draft report had been circulated to all participants for review and comment. There had been no comments on the drafts that were circulated. The report was adopted. Agenda Item 3: Adoption of the annual report of 2003 SSATP Program Manager Nigel Ings summarized the SSATP Progress Report for 2003 the draft of which had been circulated in June He noted that 2003 had been a year of significant progress, and noted key milestones: (i) in January and February 2003, a concerted effort had been made both by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the SSATP to adopt a modus operandi for full engagement of the RECs with the Program, focusing particularly on the Africa Union's NEPAD

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5 initiative, and implementation of the "Short-term Action Plan for Infrastructure" for which, the RECs are the designated implementing agencies; (ii) the Long-Term Development Plan review process had been maintained until a final document was then submitted to the Annual Meeting at Kigali (May 2003) and adopted as the strategic program document, for the period of 2004 through The SSATP Board Chairman had rightly described the Kigali meeting as the launch of the Long-Term Development Plan. Another milestone had been the adoption of the Kigali workshop outputs as the framework for work programs. These had focused on the connection between transport strategies and poverty reduction through a clearly defined thematic approach to the way in which the program and its activities were to be structured. Overarching all was the notion of anchoring transport strategies in poverty reduction strategies - initially, at country level, and as may be possible and appropriate, at regional levels as well. The supporting pillars, the centerpiece of the program, were the national thematic activities, which, again, had regional aspects. These centered on the promotion of regional integration through appropriate transport strategies at regional level, executed by regional economic communities, focusing on what the program can help to do with regard to facilitating trade and transport along both transit and interstate corridors. A draft US$SM 2004 Work Program (WP) was designed, and approved by Donors as a working document in Brussels at the end of October. Sufficient pledges had been forthcoming to ensure that 2004 core activities could be undertaken. For the first time Program funding satisfied principles which had been articulated by the 2000 Business Meeting: there should be a programmatic approach, and funding should be untied. Many participants in the 2004 AGM will recall the difficulties of managing the program, with different donors focusing on specific components, which satisfied the legitimate demands of their own domestic constituencies, but did not allow consistency or coherence between activities, making it very difficult for the PMT to adopt the programmatic approach to deal comprehensively with the issues of transport & poverty reduction. On the administrative part, a multi donor trust fund on the basis of the model that had been agreed between the World Bank and the European Union through the European Commission has been established. And it is the basis for the funding of the program. Following this he congratulated and offered thanks to Sweden for being the very first country to put some money into the fund. In terms of financing, he mentioned that the program is running on the remnants of donor trust funds. The business plan for 2003 called for an expenditure in the region of, over US$5 million. But only $2.9 million was available for the year. However, the core activities of the remaining components of RMI, RTTP, urban mobility, railway restructuring, and trade and transport did continue. In the ensuing discussion, the representative from Ghana (Mr. Edward Kwakye) requested that the video prepared on corridor management and presented in the Kigali meeting is. not distributed as promised. Mr. Ings responded by explaining the legal issues with the soundtrack that was used on the video and informed the participants that every thing is finalized and it is freely available in every format conceivable. The 2003 Annual Report was adopted. Agenda Item 4: Report by SSATP Board Mr. Bruce Thompson reported on the Board's activities and achievements from May 3oth 2003 (date of 2003 AGM) to the date of the present meeting. The Board held four meetings, since Kigali AGM, in

6 September and October 2003, and in May and September 3oth Two of those meetings have been physical meetings, and two have been virtual meetings by teleconferencing. In addition, Board members have attended the SSATP - REC meeting, which was held in Nairobi in February, and the midyear review of SSATP, by donors in Stockholm in June. Attendance at the Nairobi and Stockholm meetings gave the Board members the opportunity to deal with the burning issues of the Board. It also gave the opportunity to give feedback on these discussions to fellow members. Mr. Thompson summarized the Board's activities under the terms of its mandate as set out in the Governance structure of SSATP as follows: Promoting the programmatic approach within the LTDP better serves the African countries in the implementation of transport contribution to their country's development program, which is also complemented by the country support strategy of their development partners. The programmatic approach is also proving to be an excellent way of consolidating the ownership of African countries, and this is demonstrated by the feedback from participants and reports from the working groups. The approach also builds upon the comparative advantage of each Board member, improving their personal effectiveness in terms of their political, institutional, and technical contribution. The Board Maintained close contacts with donors throughout the reporting period, promoting fund mobilization in support of the LTDP. The Board has successfully secured payments in full from Sweden, the European Commission, and partial payments from the World Bank. Ireland, Denmark, and Norway have assured that their 2004 contribution will be paid in full within the coming months. Regarding other donors that have expressed interest and commitments in principle, the Board is continuing financial discussions with Austria and is renewing its dialogue with the U.K, who have been in the past long-term supporters of components of SSATP. France continues to provide targeted support to specific activities. SSATP is now in a position where finance is not too much of a critical issue. In the process of promoting commitments of suuuort beyond traditional donor sources the engagement of the Islamic Development Bank is maturing. With concrete proposals shortly to be made by SSATP, IDB will be able to indicate the level of financial contribution. Reaching to a formal agreement is expected early in 2005.The Board views such a breakthrough as a significant step, in bringing in nontraditional donors into SSATP. This encourages other international financial institutions to join the program. But it also represents the mainstreaming of transport's role in poverty reduction and gives the opportunity to export the knowledge of the program beyond the geographical limits of Sub-Saharan Africa. Ensuring coherence between Prowam obiectives and the policies of donors and development Dartners is gaining momentum through the strengthened partnership of AFDB, NEPAD and the African Union. The Memorandum of understanding signed between AFDB and SSATP will be revisited to reflect the role of the unit established within AFDB to support the implementation of NEPADs short term action plan for Infrastructure. In the process of bringing all donors together, SSATP has participated in the EC-EU member state transport expert meetings and the annual general meeting of the Global Road Safety Partnership. Coordination with African RECs and sub regional organizations is now firmly secured through the RECs' involvement in SSATP's Long-Term Development Plan. Moreover, coordination has also been

7 enhanced by the decision of the annual stakeholders meeting to set up the REC Transport Coordinating Committee, the successor to the REC Task Force. This Committee will be responsible for coordinating the execution of the SSATP REC program. The Board monitors the program, and provides guidance a as a regular a regular activity through telephone conferences, physical meetings and dialogue between Board members and the program management team. The Board has reviewed the candidature of new countries, and recommended to the assembly the approval of the application of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The assembly approved the recommendation of the Board. Following Mr. Thompson the Chairman moved on to the task of revisiting the composition of the Board, and confirmed to be appropriate for the programmatic approach, adopted in the LTDP. However, to improve the contact with transport users and beneficiaries, the Board will recommend to the consultative assembly a second alternate representative of the private sector. The board is engaged in the formation of the SSATP Advisory Group. The Board, together with Dr. Kassu Yilala, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ethiopia, invited Ministers of Transport from Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa to consult on how to ensure the recognition of the role of transport in achieving the MDGs, at the UN conference scheduled in September The Ministers from Nigeria and Senegal (who were present at the AGM) and Ethiopia kindly accepted the invitation. The Minister of transport of Cameroon was keen to come, but, he couldn't be available due to the on going campaign for the upcoming election. The Board took the opportunity to include the State Minister of Transport from Sudan, who is a regular and active participant at SSATP annual meetings. The chairman extended his gratitude to the ministers for their positive and constructive contributions. The Ministers identified areas where there was a significant link between transport and the MDG targets. These areas include contribution of transport in conflict prevention and resolution, and restoring peace within the continent, and health, education, regional integration, as well as international and interregional trade. The Ministers provided clear road map leading up to the UN Conference in New York, which is as follows: the immediate development of a strategy to engage with Africa wide institutions, African countries, and the African unions for convening a meeting of African Ministers of Transport around FebruaryIMarch The outcome will be the recognition of the role of transport in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. And the results of this meeting would feed into a UNECA Conference of African Ministers on the MDGs to be held in Abuja in May That would review and adopt the recommendations of the African Transport Ministers meeting and carry them forward to the LTN Conference in September 2005.The Ministers proposed modality of implementation and responsibilities of the various parties including the Ministers present, UIVECA, and SSATP. The Government of Ethiopia kindly offered to host the African Transport Ministers meeting. Latter, as a final remark Mr. Bruce Thompson announced the appointment of Tesfamichael Nahusenay as deputy program manager and Mustapha Benmaamar as senior transport policy adviser. In addition he conveyed the Board's recognition and appreciation of the dedication, the diligence and hard work of the program manager, Nigel Ings, his small team, and especially the SSATP coordinators at the country level, the REC Task Force and their coordinators, as well as all program stakeholders upon which the program depends for its success.

8 Discussions following the Board's report were led by Dr John Riverson who congratulated the Board on the results since the 2003 Kigali meeting, and requested clarification on the consideration of the Board in the linkages of SSATP, and the African Union and NEPAD. ECOWAS (Mr. Yao Adzigbey) appreciated the creation of the Ministerial Advisory Group and requested this type of high level engagement in the corridor management, stressing that lack of political will is the major constraint in removing road blocks. He commended the actions proposed by the MAG. Lastly he noted the importance of the inclusion of the private sector and Women Associations in the Board. Ireland(Mr. Geny Cunningham)explain the benefits of joint operation based on the experience of DFID from the U.K. and Development Cooperation of Ireland in Ethiopia, in the area of transport and water, including the joint support to the Ethiopian rural travel and transport program. He confirmed that Ireland's proposal for a multi-annual program of core support to the SSATP will go to approval Committee at the end of this month, and subject to approval, the first disbursement will be available in December of this year, with subsequent tranches available at the start of following years. He also noted i)the necessity for SSATP at all levels to involve the lead transport sector specialists in-country and regional levels ii) the need to involve ministries for Planning and finance and ultimately heads of states to make their arguments at the UN forum, since other, such as water are working on prioritizing their sector in the MDG review and iii) the increasing ownership by the African countries, broader participation, strong peer learning approach, learning from each other( road safety case in Nairobi)and mainstrearning HIVIAIDS, gender, and governance. Finally, requested to pay more attention to environment issues. Sweden (Mr. Gosta Werner) shared the view of his colleague from Ireland and noted his concern on the Bank's financial commitments during 2004 and asked if the contribution has been restored to its original level in 2005.He also stressed the impact of this on the possible input of the SSATP thematic leaders. He also noted his concern on the invisibility of the SSATP coordinators and the importance of using appropriate indicators of impact at the ground level, to monitor policy implementation. Finally, appreciated the prominence of traffic safety in the agenda, and mentioned his hope that Sweden will provide expertise to SSATP in this field. Ghana (Mr. Kwakye) requested the Ministers to appreciate the issues discussed here and incorporate in their national program, and work closely with RECs. He also requested the Ministers to encourage other development partners to embrace the SSATP programs. The delegate from Mali congratulated the Board for the clarity of the report and the results achieved. With regard to the composition of the Board, he expressed his concern on the absence of representative of the Civil Society. He also pointed out that Civil Society's representation within the Board would lead to increased attention to the case of populations living in poverty. In response, the chairman stressed on the growing demand of participation of civil societies and mainstreaming gender and further reiterated the questions raised. Following that responding to linkages between SSATP and AU, Mr. Thompson mentioned that SSATP has been involved a year ago in the review of NEPADYs, short-term action plan, which is also part of its linkages between the program and the efforts of the African Union to address infrastructure issues, and particularly transport in Sub-Saharan Africa. To strengthen the connection with the private sector, he noted that the Board will follow up the appointment of the second alternate private sector Board member. The chairman and Mr. Thompson appreciated the view of the delegate from Mali, encouraging the Board to make contact with the civil society, the natural partner for the poverty reduction and transport strategy reviews. Mr. Sanjivi Rajasingham, in response to the question raised on the Bank's contribution to the program, assured that the World Bank is strongly committed to support the SSATP. He stressed that this is demonstrated by the number of people from African transport unit and the Central Transport Unit

9 participating in the meeting. Further he stressed the Bank's budgetary resources to the SSATP will be allocated as strategically as possible, to move forward the SSATP program by the use of its professional staff, both as thematic leaders, and promoting and representing the program in conjunction with country operations. He also mentioned the need to ask for more resources, noting the difficulties of budget negotiations at the moment. Mrs. Maryvonne Fraissard complemented saying that it is a good time to pass a message to the shareholders to look at the distribution in the Bank's partnership money and ensure the partnership effort of the Bank is aligned with its updated strategic priorities. She noted that the share for infrastructure is small, not in line with renewed attention to infrastructure and the vision of the civil society and stressed the need to work from within the Bank and requested for support from the beneficiaries and other partners. In addition she expressed her appreciation to the participants for their comment on the emerging issues of security and road safety. Mr. Nigel Ings congratulated the Board as well as the Ministerial Advisory Group for their exceptional contribution. He echoed particularly what Mr Adzigbey has said about facilitating transport, the use of infrastructure and the question of road blocks. He appreciated Mr. Kwakye for mentioning the very positive and constructive role that Ministers can play in connecting development partners with the initiatives that are coming through the SSATP. He subscribed to everything that has been said, including from Gerry Cunningham and Gosta Werner, with regard to the outputs of the program. The Minister of Senegal congratulated SSATP for it's major contribution to the noticeable progress in the transport sector, particularly the establishment of road funds and road agencies, and road safety issues. In addition, he emphasized the importance of the SSATP in the implementation cycle of NEPAD and acknowledged the significance of strong partnership to attain the millennium development goals. Finally the Minister underlined the influence of the transport network on domestic and international conflicts prevention and management, and sited the recent events in Casamance region, Senegal. The absence of a good network is conducive to conflicts and creates a feeling of abandonment and neglect The state Minster of transport of Sudan congratulated the board for the good performance and stressed the importance of the role of the national and regional institutions and the need to focus on implementation of the ideas and plans on roads and other mode modes of transport including water transportation. Finally, he thanked the Chairman, the Board and ECA and mostly the Minister of Infrastructure of Ethiopia, his government and his people for their hospitality. At the end of this session the chairman welcomed the new SSATP members Cape Verde, DRC, Congo, Lesotho, and Swaziland. He appreciated the active contribution of the RECs in promoting the program objective and recognized the active participation of ECOWAS, ECAS, UEMOA, SEMAC, COMESA, and East African Community. He congratulated SSATP for organizing this successful meeting in partnership of the owners of the program, with out engaging expensive consultants. He further mentioned that donors' participation and support to the program is encouraging. Some donors are supporting the program since IDB, AfDB and other partners of NEPAD and SSATP are coming. With regard to the involvement of non transport stakeholders he mentioned that this was also raised by the ministers and assured SSATP is giving this sufficient attention. Further the chairman stressed on the encouraging partnership of SSATP and AU, which is gaining momentum in the last two years. The implementation of the decision of the Ministers will be done in joint partnership with the African Union. He also noted that the collaboration is with all NEPAD's partners. The chairman

10 also appreciated the high-level participation of the World Bank team even at this very sensitive period of the World Bank annual meeting. He also recognized the contribution of ECA, for providing the conference facilities and the participation of high level experts. Finally he mentioned that the Board will give attention to at the key issue of participation of civil societies. Agenda Item 5: Approval of the SSATP 2005 work program The Program Manager (Mr. Ings) introduced this item refemng to a power point presentation highlighting the following: He noted that the 2005 work program is the out come of the review of the progress so far with 2004 work program, by the participants and owners of the program and the deliberations of the working groups that looked at a number of wider issues within the thematic framework. Further he mentioned that even though we talk in terms of annual programs, we are actually engaged in a four-year development program, which started in January 2004, with relatively secure funding in place in April. We have a rolling plan reviewed every year. The program is moving towards convergence and complementarity of themes. Mentioning the new initiative of the Ministerial Advisory Group he noted that SSATP would be partnering with AU, UNECA and AfDB, to identify the promotional activities to be included into the 2005 work program. Finally he announced that the Board has approved the increase in the program management team, in accordance with the provisions proposed in the Long-Term Development Plan, by recruiting two SSATP regional coordinators, one to serve Western and Central Africa members, and the other Eastern and Southern Africa members. To initiate a debate, the Chairman invited comments or suggestions relevant to the conclusions drawn UP- ILO (Mr. Jan De Veen) led the ensuing discussion by transmitting a message from the African heads of state, who met in Burkina Faso at the AU meeting, early September, to discuss the links between poverty reduction and employment in Africa. He stressed that, there is a very strong political will to better utilize the possibilities of transport investments, in particular infrastructure development and maintenance, for the creation of decent work and better local participation, thus actively contributing to poverty reduction. He finally requested SSATP to take this message seriously. Ghana (Mr. Kwakye) suggested that the program has to flag the issues of road safety and HIVIAIDS and transport. Dr. Charles Kunaka noted the need for guidance on procurement process. He also mentioned the benefit that the participants got from the interaction between the regional transport integration group and the road safety-working group, and requested for similar type of interactions, especially with the indicators group. Zimbabwe (Mr. Tawanda Mdawarima) wanted to know, whether there is scope to broaden the concept of road safety into rail and water transport. In response Mr. Ings mentioned that, the SSATP in the promotion of sound transport policies has always included employment generation and the use of appropriate methods of construction, i.e., labor-based methods, and hoped this will get into the area of transport services and maintenance of infrastructure. He further noted the message that is coming through the policy development process is that, in the generic sense, if we seek to include the attention to poverty, the voices of the poor must be heard. This will be reflected in the poverty reduction transport strategy review, engaging with nontransport actors. Further he mentioned that road safety, which is a new initiative, is going into the 2005 work program; there is clearly a demand for it. HIVIAIDS is part of the REC action plan, and the notion of, to an extent, replicating the successful Abidjan-Lagos initiative, into other corridors is in the

11 arena. With regard to the guidance to partners on procurement, he mentioned the need to work within the framework of the World Bank financial rules, since these are the rules that apply to the multi donor trust fund. He also stressed on the need for a procurement guideline for use by the Transport Coordination Committee and the poverty reduction transport groups will be catered. With regard to widening the scope of safety, Mr. Ings mentioned that the thematic cross-cutting issue that was agreed in Kigali last year was actually safety and security as a generic title. The focus on road safety now, indicates the priority of the members here, but it does not mean we have to ignore those other modes. Agenda Item 6: Date and Venue of 2005 Meeting Nigeria (for the second time), Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea (for the second time) and Mali voiced their willingness and interest to host the next meeting. Ireland (Mr. Cunningham) Urged the Board and all members to consider whether it is time to think a more permanent relationship on the home for the SSATP stakeholder and annual general meetings. The Chairman expressed his gratitude to the countries and noted that the Board will consider the offers for nomination. 7. Any Other Business A delegate from Senegal asked if there is a procedure regarding the selection of countries that host annual meetings. If there is one, candidates should submit their applications before the annual meetings, and the Board has to review the applications and present it's recommendation at the General Assembly. If not, Senegal emphasized the importance of producing one. Lesotho (Ms. Maselorno Pama) on behalf of the four newly admitted countries, thanked the SSATP Board for officially accepting them as members of SSATP and requested the Board to write a letter to the ministers of Transport of these countries, recognizing their formal selection. The chairman assured that the Board would do its best to this effect. 8 Closing Remark Mrs. Maryvonne Plessis-Fraissard delivered the closing remark supported by a power point presentation (See Annex 5). First she expressed her gratitude to the worm hospitality of the Ethiopian Government. She appreciated the governance of SSATP, the improvement and successes over the last two years, the stronger ownership of member states and growing commitment of participants. She also welcomed the new members. Further she stressed on the following issues: The broader donor support: which ensured the full funding of the Long-Term Development Plan, with a growing number of donor countries. She acknowledged the EU for becoming a key partner, and the growing partnership with AfDB, NEPAD and the Islamic Development Bank. She also gratified the strong representation of the World Bank and its commitment to fund this program. The deep rooted knowledge: noticeable by the greater use of African experts and the better gender mix. The ~reater breadth of the work scope: demonstrated by participation of non-transport specialists and representatives of civil societies.

12 The more matured work dvnamic: which has shown the shift from studies and preparatory works to implementation and specific actions. The capacity of participants to make substantive and strategic recommendation improved. This has also led to the inclusion of the road safety as a core theme for future work. The continued improvement and response: to feedback, the capacity to learn, to listen, and change. Communication issues are addressed; the electronic library of knowledge has been improved, and the marketplace has contributed to the learning process. The continued effectiveness of the Board: (quoting Mr. Rajasingham) demonstrated by the quick decision making process based on, the interaction built on trust, respect, shared purpose and complementarity. The better strategic positioning of the SSATP: demonstrated by the larger participation and wider technical network. The growing recognition of policies of SSATP as instrument to lead the activities of NEPAD and the RECs. The consolidation of national coordinators: adds to the growing integration of the transport agenda within the overall national development objective. The greatest develovment: since last year is the activation of the engagement of high-level African policy makers in the form of a Ministerial Advisory Group, which confirmed the contribution of transport to social welfare and economic growth. Finally Mrs. Plessis-Fraissard expressed her gratitude to the facilitators, the organizing teams, the assistants and translators who have worked terribly hard and long hours to make this event a success. The chairman expressed his gratitude to all participants, interpreters, and particularly Mrs. Plessis- Fraissard for her concluding remarks, and closed the meeting.

13 ANNEX 1 DRAFT AGENDA Agenda Item SSATP 2004 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OCTOBER lst, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA Notes 1 Adoption of Agenda 2 Adopt Report of 2003 AGM 3 Adopt 2003 Report 4 Report by SSATP Board 5 Approve SSATP 2005 Work Program formulation schedule 6 Date and Venue of 2005 Meeting 7 AOB 8 Meeting Closure

14 PROVISIONAL TIMETABLE FOR AGM AGENDA ITEMS Time Item Description Introductions, Chairperson Opening Statement 1 Adoption of Agenda 2 Adoption of 2002 AGM Report 3 Adoption of 2002 Annual Report 4 Report by SSATP Board 5 Adoption of LTDP Approve SSATP 2004 Work Program Formulation Schedule 7 Date and Venue of Next Meeting; 8 AOB 9 Wrap up by Chairperson, Closure of Meeting

15 POVERTY AND URBAN MOBILITY IN DOUALA Final Report Prepared by SITRASS, International Solidarity on Transport and Research in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Policy Transport Program (SSATP) Africa Region World Bank

16 The Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) is a joint initiative of the World Bank and the United Nations Economic for Africa (LTNECA) to facilitate policy development and related capacity building in the transport sector of sub- Saharan Africa. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, UNECA or any of their affiliated organizations. Autres publications sur le site Internet du SSATP

17 POVERTY AND URBAN MOBILITY IN DOUALA Final Report Prepared by SITRASS, International Solidarity on Transport and Research in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Policy Transport Program (SSATP) Africa Region World Bank

18 The Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP) is a joint initiative of the World Bank and the United Nations Economic for Africa (UNECA) to facilitate policy development and related capacity building in the transport sector of sub- Saharan Africa. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, UNECA or any of their affiliated organizations. Autres publications sur le site Internet du SSATP

19 SSATP Annual General Meeting Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 1" 2004 Minutes Chairman: Hachim Koumark, UNECA & SSATP Board Member Agenda: 1. Adoption of agenda 2. Adopt report of 2003 AGM 3. Adopt 2003 report 4. Report by SSATP Board 5. Approve SSATP 2005 work program 6. Date and Venue of 2005 Meeting 7. Any Other Business 8. Meeting Closure (The draft agenda and timetable are attached as Annex 1) Agenda Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda The proposed agenda was adopted. Agenda Item 2: Adoption of the report of the 2003 AGM The draft report had been circulated to all participants for review and comment. There had been no comments on the drafts that were circulated. The report was adopted. Agenda Item 3: Adoption of the annual report of 2003 SSATP Program Manager Nigel Ings summarized the SSATP Progress Report for 2003 the draft of which had been circulated in June He noted that 2003 had been a year of significant progress, and noted key milestones: (i) in January and February 2003, a concerted effort had been made both by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the SSATP to adopt a modus operandi for full engagement of the RECs with the Program, focusing particularly on the Africa Union's NEPAD

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21 initiative, and implementation of the "Short-term Action Plan for Infrastructure" for which, the RECs are the designated implementing agencies; (ii) the Long-Term Development Plan review process had been maintained until a final document was then submitted to the Annual Meeting at Kigali (May 2003) and adopted as the strategic program document, for the period of 2004 through The SSATP Board Chairman had rightly described the Kigali meeting as the launch of the Long-Term Development Plan. Another milestone had been the adoption of the Kigali workshop outputs as the framework for work programs. These had focused on the connection between transport strategies and poverty reduction through a clearly defined thematic approach to the way in which the program and its activities were to be structured. Overarching all was the notion of anchoring transport strategies in poverty reduction strategies - initially, at country level, and as may be possible and appropriate, at regional levels as well. The supporting pillars, the centerpiece of the program, were the national thematic activities, which, again, had regional aspects. These centered on the promotion of regional integration through appropriate transport strategies at regional level, executed by regional economic communities, focusing on what the program can help to do with regard to facilitating trade and transport along both transit and interstate corridors. A draft US$5M 2004 Work Program (WP) was designed, and approved by Donors as a working document in Brussels at the end of October. Sufficient pledges had been forthcoming to ensure that 2004 core activities could be undertaken. For the first time Program funding satisfied principles which had been articulated by the 2000 Business Meeting: there should be a programmatic approach, and funding should be untied. Many participants in the 2004 AGM will, recall the difficulties of managing the program, with different donors focusing on specific components, which satisfied the legitimate demands of their own domestic constituencies, but did not allow consistency or coherence between activities, making it very difficult for the PMT to adopt the programmatic approach to deal comprehensively with the issues of transport & poverty reduction. On the administrative part, a multi donor trust fund on the basis of the model that had been agreed between the World Bank and the European Union through the European Commission has been established. And it is the basis for the funding of the program. Following this he congratulated and offered thanks to Sweden for being the very first country to put some money into the fund. In terms of financing, he mentioned that the program is running on the remnants of donor trust funds. The business plan for 2003 called for an expenditure in the region of, over US$5 million. But only $2.9 million was available for the year. However, the core activities of the remaining components of RMI, RTTP, urban mobility, railway restructuring, and trade and transport did continue. In the ensuing discussion, the representative from Ghana (Mr. Edward Kwakye) requested that the video prepared on corridor management and presented in the Kigali meeting is not distributed as promised. Mr. Ings responded by explaining the legal issues with the soundtrack that was used on the video and informed the participants that every thing is finalized and it is freely available in every format conceivable. The 2003 Annual Report was adopted. Agenda Item 4: Report by SSATP Board Mr. Bruce Thompson reported on the Board's activities and achievements from May 3oth 2003 (date of 2003 AGM) to the date of the present meeting. The Board held four meetings, since Kigali AGM, in

22 September and October 2003, and in May and September 3oth Two of those meetings have been physical meetings, and two have been virtual meetings by teleconferencing. In addition, Board members have attended the SSATP - REC meeting, which was held in Nairobi in February, and the midyear review of SSATP, by donors in Stockholm in June. Attendance at the Nairobi and Stockholm meetings gave the Board members the opportunity to deal with the burning issues of the Board. It also gave the opportunity to give feedback on these discussions to fellow members. Mr. Thompson summarized the Board's activities under the terms of its mandate as set out in the Governance structure of SSATP as follows: Promotinn the pronrammatic approach within the LTDP better serves the African countries in the implementation of transport contribution to their country's development program, which is also complemented by the country support strategy of their development partners. The programmatic approach is also proving to be an excellent way of consolidating the ownership of African countries, and this is demonstrated by the feedback from participants and reports from the working groups. The approach also builds upon the comparative advantage of each Board member, improving their personal effectiveness in terms of their political, institutional, and technical contribution. The Board Maintained close contacts with donors throughout the reporting period, promoting fund mobilization in support of the LTDP. The Board has successfully secured payments in full from Sweden, the European Commission, and partial payments from the World Bank. Ireland, Denmark, and Norway have assured that their 2004 contribution will be paid in full within the coming months. Regarding other donors that have expressed interest and commitments in principle, the Board is continuing financial discussions with Austria and is renewing its dialogue with the U.K, who have been in the past long-term supporters of components of SSATP. France continues to provide targeted support to specific activities. SSATP is now in a position where finance is not too much of a critical issue. In the process of promotina commitments of su~~ort beyond traditional donor sources the engagement of the Islamic Development Bank is maturing. With concrete proposals shortly to be made by SSATP, IDB will be able to indicate the level of financial contribution. Reaching to a formal agreement is expected early in 2005.The Board views such a breakthrough as a significant step, in bringing in nontraditional donors into SSATP. This encourages other international financial institutions to join the program. But it also represents the mainstreaming of transport's role in poverty reduction and gives the opportunity to export the knowledge of the program beyond the geographical limits of Sub-Saharan Africa. Ensuring coherence between Prowam objectives and the policies of donors and development partners is gaining momentum through the strengthened partnership of AFDB, NEPAD and the African Union. The Memorandum of understanding signed between AFDB and SSATP will be revisited to reflect the role of the unit established within AFDB to support the implementation of NEPADs short term action plan for Infrastructure. In the process of bringing all donors together, SSATP has participated in the EC-EU member state transport expert meetings and the annual general meeting of the Global Road Safety Partnership. Coordination with African RECs and sub regional organizations is now firmly secured through the RECs' involvement in SSATP's Long-Term Development Plan. Moreover, coordination has also been

23 enhanced by the decision of the annual stakeholders meeting to set up the REC Transport Coordinating Committee, the successor to the REC Task Force. This Committee will be responsible for coordinating the execution of the SSATP REC program. The Board monitors the program, and provides guidance a as a regular a regular activity through telephone conferences, physical meetings and dialogue between Board members and the program management team. The Board has reviewed the candidature of new countries, and recommended to the assembly the approval of the application of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The assembly approved the recommendation of the Board. Following Mr. Thompson the Chairman moved on to the task of revisiting the composition of the Board, and confirmed to be appropriate for the programmatic approach, adopted in the LTDP. However, to improve the contact with transport users and beneficiaries, the Board will recommend to the consultative assembly a second alternate representative of the private sector. The board is engaged in the formation of the SSATP Advisory Group. The Board, together with Dr. Kassu Yilala, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ethiopia, invited Ministers of Transport from Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa to consult on how to ensure the recognition of the role of transport in achieving the MDGs, at the UN conference scheduled in September The Ministers from Nigeria and Senegal (who were present at the AGM) and Ethiopia kindly accepted the invitation. The Minister of transport of Cameroon was keen to come, but, he couldn't be available due to the on going campaign for the upcoming election. The Board took the opportunity to include the State Minister of Transport from Sudan, who is a regular and active participant at SSATP annual meetings. The chairman extended his gratitude to the ministers for their positive and constructive contributions. The Ministers identified areas where there was a significant link between transport and the MDG targets. These areas include contribution of transport in conflict prevention and resolution, and restoring peace within the continent, and health, education, regional integration, as well as international and interregional trade. The Ministers provided clear road map leading up to the UN Conference in New York, which is as follows: the immediate development of a strategy to engage with Africa wide institutions, African countries, and the African unions for convening a meeting of African Ministers of Transport around Februarymarch The outcome will be the recognition of the role of transport in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. And the results of this meeting would feed into a UNECA Conference of African Ministers on the MDGs to be held in Abuja in May That would review and adopt the recommendations of the African Transport Ministers meeting and carry them forward to the UN Conference in September 2005.The Ministers proposed modality of implementation and responsibilities of the various parties including the Ministers present, UNECA, and SSATP. The Government of Ethiopia kindly offered to host the African Transport Ministers meeting. Latter, as a final remark Mr. Bruce Thompson announced the appointment of Tesfamichael Nahusenay as deputy program manager and Mustapha Benmaamar as senior transport policy adviser. In addition he conveyed the Board's recognition and appreciation of the dedication, the diligence and hard work of the program manager, Nigel Ings, his small team, and especially the SSATP coordinators at the country level, the REC Task Force and their coordinators, as well as all program stakeholders upon which the program depends for its success.

24 Discussions following the Board's report were led by Dr John Riverson who congratulated the Board on the results since the 2003 Kigali meeting, and requested clarification on the consideration of the Board in the linkages of SSATP, and the African Union and NEPAD. ECOWAS (Mr. Yao Adzigbey) appreciated the creation of the Ministerial Advisory Group and requested this type of high level engagement in the corridor management, stressing that lack of political will is the major constraint in removing road blocks. He commended the actions proposed by the MAG. Lastly he noted the importance of the inclusion of the private sector and Women Associations in the Board. Ireland(Mr. Gerry Cunningham)explain the benefits of joint operation based on the experience of DFID from the U.K. and Development Cooperation of Ireland in Ethiopia, in the area of transport and water, including the joint support to the Ethiopian rural travel and transport program. He confirmed that Ireland's proposal for a multi-annual program of core support to the SSATP will go to approval Committee at the end of this month, and subject to approval, the first disbursement will be available in December of this year, with subsequent tranches available at the start of following years. He also noted i)the necessity for SSATP at all levels to involve the lead transport sector specialists in-country and regional levels ii) the need to involve ministries for Planning and finance and ultimately heads of states to make their arguments at the UN forum, since other, such as water are working on prioritizing their sector in the MDG review and iii) the increasing ownership by the African countries, broader participation, strong peer learning approach, learning from each other( road safety case in Nairobi)and mainstreaming HIV/AIDS, gender, and governance. Finally, requested to pay more attention to environment issues. Sweden (Mr. Gosta Werner) shared the view of his colleague from Ireland and noted his concern on the Bank's financial commitments during 2004 and asked if the contribution has been restored to its original level in 2005.He also stressed the impact of this on the possible input of the SSATP thematic leaders. He also noted his concern on the invisibility of the SSATP coordinators and the importance of using appropriate indicators of impact at the ground level, to monitor policy implementation. Finally, appreciated the prominence of traffic safety in the agenda, and mentioned his hope that Sweden will provide expertise to SSATP in this field. Ghana (Mr. Kwakye) requested the Ministers to appreciate the issues discussed here and incorporate in their national program, and work closely with RECs. He also requested the Ministers to encourage other development partners to embrace the SSATP programs. The delegate from Mali congratulated the Board for the clarity of the report and the results achieved. With regard to the composition of the Board, he expressed his concern on the absence of representative of the Civil Society. He also pointed out that Civil Society's representation within the Board would lead to increased attention to the case of populations living in poverty. In response, the chairman stressed on the growing demand of participation of civil societies and mainstreaming gender and further reiterated the questions raised. Following that responding to linkages between SSATP and AU, Mr. Thompson mentioned that SSATP has been involved a year ago in the review of NEPAD's, short-term action plan, which is also part of its linkages between the program and the efforts of the African Union to address infrastructure issues, and particularly transport in Sub-Saharan Africa. To strengthen the connection with the private sector, he noted that the Board will follow up the appointment of the second alternate private sector Board member. The chairman and Mr. Thompson appreciated the view of the delegate from Mali, encouraging the Board to make contact with the civil society, the natural partner for the poverty reduction and transport strategy reviews. Mr. Sanjivi Rajasingham, in response to the question raised on the Bank's contribution to the program, assured that the World Bank is strongly committed to support the SSATP. He stressed that this is demonstrated by the number of people from African transport unit and the Central Transport Unit

25 participating in the meeting. Further he stressed the Bank's budgetary resources to the SSATP will be allocated as strategically as possible, to move forward the SSATP program by the use of its professional staff, both as thematic leaders, and promoting and representing the program in conjunction with country operations. He also mentioned the need to ask for more resources, noting the difficulties of budget negotiations at the moment. Mrs. Maryvonne Fraissard complemented saying that it is a good time to pass a message to the shareholders to look at the distribution in the Bank's partnership money and ensure the partnership effort of the Bank is aligned with its updated strategic priorities. She noted that the share for infrastructure is small, not in line with renewed attention to infrastructure and the vision of the civil society and stressed the need to work from within the Bank and requested for support from the beneficiaries and other partners. In addition she expressed her appreciation to the participants for their comment on the emerging issues of security and road safety. Mr. Nigel Ings congratulated the Board as well as the Ministerial Advisory Group for their exceptional contribution. He echoed particularly what Mr Adzigbey has said about facilitating transport, the use of infrastructure and the question of road blocks. He appreciated Mr. Kwakye for mentioning the very positive and constructive role that Ministers can play in connecting development partners with the initiatives that are coming through the SSATP. He subscribed to everything that has been said, including fiom Gerry Cunningham and Gosta Werner, with regard to the outputs of the program. The Minister of Senegal congratulated SSATP for it's major contribution to the noticeable progress in the transport sector, particularly the establishment of road funds and road agencies, and road safety issues. In addition, he emphasized the importance of the SSATP in the implementation cycle of NEPAD and acknowledged the significance of strong partnership to attain the millennium development goals. Finally the Minister underlined the influence of the transport network on domestic and international conflicts prevention and management, and sited the recent events in Casamance region, Senegal. The absence of a good network is conducive to conflicts and creates a feeling of abandonment and neglect The state Minster of transport of Sudan congratulated the board for the.good performance and stressed the importance of the role of the national and regional institutions and the need to focus on implementation of the ideas and plans on roads and other mode modes of transport including water transportation. Finally, he thanked the Chairman, the Board and ECA and mostly the Minister of Infrastructure of Ethiopia, his government and his people for their hospitality. At the end of this session the chairman welcomed the new SSATP members Cape Verde, DRC, Congo, Lesotho, and Swaziland. He appreciated the active contribution of the RECs in promoting the program objective and recognized the active participation of ECOWAS, ECAS, UEMOA, SEMAC, COMESA, and East African Community. He congratulated SSATP for organizing this successful meeting in partnership of the owners of the program, with out engaging expensive consultants. He further mentioned that donors' participation and support to the program is encouraging. Some donors are supporting the program since IDB, AfDB and other partners of NEPAD and SSATP are coming. With regard to the involvement of non transport stakeholders he mentioned that this was also raised by the ministers and assured SSATP is giving this sufficient attention. Further the chairman stressed on the encouraging partnership of SSATP and AU, which is gaining momentum in the last two years. The implementation of the decision of the Ministers will be done in joint partnership with the African Union. He also noted that the collaboration is with all NEPAD's partners. The chairman