By Chris Ndibe
Publish What You Fund has ranked the African Development Bank (AfDB) fourth out of 47 global development institutions on its Aid Transparency Index.
The bank’s Communications and External Relations Department made this known in a statement on Wednesday.
The Index is the only independent measure of aid transparency among the World’s major development agencies.
It index places AfDB in the highest category of transparency along with other world class institutions such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UNDP.
The Chief Executive Officer of the fund, Gary Forster, according to the statement, congratulated the AfDB’s sovereign portfolio on achieving fourth place in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index.
Forster said the ranking is based on several criteria, including finance and budget, basic information data, organisational planning and performance.
“In the new index, which covers 2019 year, the AfDB scored 95.5 per cent on transparency which a significant improvement on its score for 2018.
“It is promising to see an increase in the quantity and timelines 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” he said.
The AfDB’s Acting Senior Vice President, Swazi Tshabalala expressed joy over the achievement.
“It crowns this institution’s commitment to transparency at a time when it has never be 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 AfDB is investing in Africa’s development” he said.
