The African Development Bank on Wednesday released its most recent Country Report Brief for Guinea. The report highlights the West African nation’s progress over the past 10 years, aided by the Bank, particularly in the areas of economic and financial governance, agriculture, road and energy infrastructure, living conditions.
The report also underlines the many challenges Guinea faces in exploiting its vast development potential, withstanding potential shocks and enhancing the benefits of economic growth for its people.
The Results Brief describes recent economic and social trends in Guinea, particularly those related to the Bank’s five key development priorities, enshrined in the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. These five key priorities are based on a set of indicators from the Bank’s 2016-2025 Results Measurement Framework.
Some of the Bank’s achievements in Guinea over the past decade:
The Bank has contributed to improving budget and financial management as well as procurement systems.
The Bank’s projects in the energy sector have made it possible for almost 500,000 persons to benefit from new or improved connections to electricity.
In the area of rural development, the Bank has enabled 465,000 persons to have access to drinking water and sanitation.
The Bank’s support for strengthening domestic mining negotiating capacity has led to the introduction of new mining and petroleum codes, improvement in negotiation of 19 mining contracts and agreements, and the country’s compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
In the area of microfinance, 134 SMEs and microenterprises have been established while some 132,000 microcredits have been granted with the Bank’s support.
In the transportation sector, the Tombo-Gbessia Road Rehabilitation Project reduced the travel time to Conakry by 80%.
The Bank has played a crucial role in addressing the Ebola epidemic, including funding the construction of 27 specialized epidemiological treatment centers across the country to cope with new epidemics in the future.
The Results Brief also examines the effectiveness of the Bank’s engagements in Guinea and the progress since it opened its new office in Guinea.
“This Results Brief highlights the extent of Guinea’s efforts over the last decade in its quest for development based on its considerable potential despite the shocks it has had to undergo”, said Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Director General, West Africa Regional Office for the African Development Bank.
“In addition, this report shows how important the African Development Bank’s support has been, is, and will continue to be – based on listening, proximity and excellence to build, in coordination with other development partners, an inclusive and improved standard of living for Guineans.”
The Bank’s new Country Strategy 2018-2022 for Guinea focuses on two pillars, namely improving access to energy and developing agricultural and industrial value chains. Objectives: to help the country meet the challenge of fragility and achieve food self-sufficiency.
