Civil society organizations (CSOs) are valuable partners in monitoring the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) projects. They play an important role in holding the AfDB accountable and promoting inclusive, transparent, and sustainable development. However, the AfDB has largely fallen flat when it comes to providing civil society with a proper platform for participation over the years, particularly in its Annual Meetings.
Since 2018, there has been a glaring lack of dedicated spaces for CSO participation in the meetings. This absence has created a deficiency for the AfDB in maximizing the effectiveness of its work, especially when considering the benefits engagement with CSOs has provided outside of the annual meetings.
For instance, in Uganda, CSOs were instrumental in incorporating the needs of persons with disabilities into an AfDB-funded water supply and sanitation project, leading to more accessible infrastructure and enabling persons with disabilities to benefit from the project.
In the Gambia, CSOs contributed to the Rice Value Chain Transformation Program by overseeing project implementation and advocating for an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) that was responsive to environmental and social risks. More specifically, CSOs successfully advocated for the ESMP to include specific mitigation and response measures related to gender-based violence; sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment of children; and child labor to prevent harm to communities — social risks that were not initially included by the government or the AfDB. Addressing these risks better enables the project to contribute to the country’s development by preventing the generational impoverishment that violence against children is known to create.
The AfDB should build on the successes it has seen from working with CSOs in other aspects of its work. In the upcoming Annual Meetings, it must work to forge more robust, meaningful engagement with civil society, particularly groups that voice critical views.
The AfDB should facilitate greater engagement with CSOs and incorporate their research and opinions during the Annual Meetings and throughout all stages of policy and project development, including by:
Update: Some CSO Members denied entry at this year’s Annual Meetings.
On the opening day of the 2024 annual meetings, around 15 members of the AfDB Working Group were denied entry due to their t-shirts bearing messages such as “we want our forum back,” highlighting the lack of engagement space for CSOs. The AfDB cited a Kenyan law prohibiting public demonstrations, including on t-shirts, which had not been previously communicated to CSOs. The Kenyan government would not reissue entry badges without approval from the AfDB, leaving the affected members unable to attend the meetings.
This instance provides another example of shrinking civil space in the AfDB’s annual meetings. We urge the AfDB to incorporate our recommendations and work to enhance CSO engagement in future annual meetings.