9 May 2007
Controversial Uganda dam to become the subject of the first trial case for the African Development Bank's new Independent Review Mechanism.
The Board of Directors at the African Development Bank (AfDB) appointed three panelists this week to serve on the Roster of Experts at the Bank Group's Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). The IRM is the AfDB's new accountability mechanism, similar to citizen complaint/accountability mechanisms found at other institutions, such as the World Bank’s Inspection Panel.
Dr. Madiodio Niasse, a Senegalese expert on water and environmental issues, was selected as Chair of the Roster of Experts. The other two panelists will be Dr. Maartje van Putten, who previously served on the World Bank's Inspection Panel, and Professor Daniel Bradlow, a legal scholar and long-time accountability advocate.
According to the AfDB website, the IRM was established in 2004 "to provide people adversely affected by projects financed by the Bank Group with an independent mechanism through which they could request the Bank Group to comply with its own policies and procedures." The Roster of Experts is in charge of investigating claims of policy violations and presenting findings and recommendations to the AfDB Board of Directors.
Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the AfDB's new accountability mechanism may be put to the test for the first time, as a coalition of Ugandan NGOs register a complaint with the IRM over the AfDB’s financing for the Bujagali hydroelectric dam on the Victoria Nile. Last week, the AfDB Board approved a $110 million private investment in the dam, and is expected to vote on a proposal for the construction of transmission lines associated with the project within the week.
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