Abstract:

In line with the Senate’s interests, as conveyed by the committee secretariat, this submission places considerable emphasis on the financial and human resource aspects of the proposed Australian engagement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, and the effectiveness of the Bank’s governance and management arrangements. We have consciously avoided the inclusion of information provided in other documents available to the committee, most notably the consultation paper prepared by AusAID in 2012. However, we have included some broader observations on the benefits and possible modalities of engagement, and we have drawn attention to significant developments which post-date the above consultation paper.