(AfDB ) - The Management Board and Governing Council of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) have expressed satisfaction with the strong 2021 performance of the ALSF. They also commended the team’s timely and sustained response to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic across the Facility’s areas of intervention. The Board and Council also passed resolutions regarding ALSF operations.

This was the Facility’s 38th Management Board meeting and the Governing Council’s 14th meeting. Both took place on 23 May in the margins of the African Development Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana.

In 2021 ALSF approved 33 new projects and disbursed $11.07 million for advisory and capacity building projects. They covered various sectors, notably sovereign debt, natural resources and extractives, power, infrastructure public-private partnerships, and investment treaties and dispute resolution sectors. These were in  Angola, Botswana, Chad, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Gabon, The Gambia, Lesotho, Sudan, and Somalia. Some projects were multinational.

At this week’s meetings, the Management Board and the Governing Council considered and approved the Facility’s 2021 audited financial statements. According to the statements, the ALSF  received cumulative financial contributions of about $120 million and disbursed nearly$ 94 million from 2010 through year end-2021. The documents confirm that ALSF is in good financial standing.

The meetings also approved the African Legal Support Facility’s 2021 Annual Report. The report provides an account of activities in 2021. They include  projects initiated and completed, key results and achievements, institutional development and corporate management, partnerships and outreach, risks and challenges, and prospective areas for intervention.

The Management Board and the Governing Council also recognized the outstanding and invaluable services of three outgoing members. Ms. Eva Jhala (Chairperson) and Ms. Nimatou D. Feliho will complete their three-year tenures on the Management Board on 29 June 2022.

Mr. Denis Dubuisson’s tenure as a member of the Governing Council representing Belgium will end on 31 August 2022. The Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr. Christopher Chalmers, expressed gratitude to the departing members for what was described as their excellent contributions to ALSF’s work.

ALSF Director and CEO Olivier Pognon commended the outgoing members for their dedication and accessibility. He thanked them for their guidance and support to the ALSF team as it continues its vital work. The Governing Council appointed two new members to replace the outgoing Management Board members.

The Management Board and the Governing Council also urged the Facility to intensify its support for member countries as they seek to accelerate economic recovery and sustainable development efforts. They stressed the importance of addressing issues of climate change, environmental and social protection gender equality and good governance.

About the ALSF

Created by the African Development Bank in 2010, the African Legal Support Facility supports African governments in negotiating complex commercial transactions, providing legal and technical assistance in public-private partnership projects across oil and gas, mining and energy sectors, and covering sovereign debt issues and related creditor litigation.