Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank (AfDB of "the Bank") conducted an evaluation of the Bank's country strategies and programs in Gabon, covering the period 2011-2020. The evaluation covered an overall portfolio of 1,093.65 million UA.
The objectives of this evaluation were: (i) analyze the performance of the Bank’s actions and the achievement of Gabon’s development results linked to them and (ii) draw lessons from the Bank's experience in managing its programs in order to improve its subsequent strategies and programs in Gabon.
The evaluation concluded that the performance of the Bank's intervention strategies and programs in Gabon was satisfactory in terms of relevance and effectiveness, but unsatisfactory in terms of the efficiency and sustainability of interventions. Indeed, while the interventions address the country's priority challenges and needs, very few projects in the indicative lending program of the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2011-2015 have materialized.
Despite a revitalization during the 2016-2020 CSP, it was noted a dispersion of certain projects beyond the main sectors of intervention and a lack of in-depth initial diagnoses. Delays in start-up and in implementation, inadequate institutional anchoring, a lack of resources for institutional support, monitoring - evaluation and maintenance mechanisms of the road network hinder the efficiency and sustainability of interventions.
The consideration of the gender theme in all of the Bank's interventions is deemed unsatisfactory.
Some of the main lessons to be learned from this report are as follows:
• The concentration of available resources in a limited number of sectors is crucial for the Bank to make a difference and strengthen the impact of its interventions on the country's development, even in difficult contexts;
• Frequent changes in strategic orientation or operational priorities following leadership changes in a partner country's public administration constrain the implementation of the indicative lending program and the effectiveness of Bank interventions in the country;
• Ownership by stakeholders and the implementation of complementary measures by the partner country are key to ensuring the sustainability of project impacts and infrastructure.
Recommendations
IDEV made the following recommendations to the Bank:
• Deepen the analysis of Gabon’s specific context and challenges;
• Strengthen the selectivity of the Bank's interventions around key sectors with high impact for economic recovery and diversification;
• Support the promotion of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
These recommendations will improve the implementation of the extension of the current 2016-2020 CSP to the end of 2022 as well as the preparation and design of the next CSP.
Task Manager: Samson K. Houetohossou, Principal Evaluation Officer