The Afdb Group in North Africa 2011
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The African Development Bank Group in North Africa 2011 The African Development Bank Group in North Africa - 2011 2011 - Africa North in Group Bank Development African The www.afdb.org African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group in North Africa - 2011 Table of contents 5 Foreword 7 Preface 11 Acronyms 17 CHAPTER 1 North Africa’s Unfinished Agenda 18 Introduction This report was led by Vincent Castel (Principal Program Coordinator Tunisia, ORNA) , Paula Ximena Mejia (Consultant, ORNA) and 19 Inclusive Growth Challenges Alassane Diabate (Principal Country Economist Mauritania, ORNB) under the guidance of Jacob Kolster (Director, ORNA) and Nono Matondo-Fundani (Director, ORNB). 31 CHAPTER 2 Regional Integration in North Africa: Unlocking the Potential 32 Introduction The authors would like to thank for their inputs Yasser Ahmad (CPO, ORNA), Paul Melly (Consultant, ORNA), James Gavin (Consultant, 34 The North African Context ORNA), Ian Lewis (Consultant, ORNA), Hassan Youssef Aly (Lead Economist, ORNA), Abderrahim Kaouther (Consultant), Ji Eun Choi 36 Integration as a Growth Driver (Economist Egypt, ORNA), Hadja Tall (Governance Specialist, ORNA), Emanuele Santi (Senior Country Economist, ORNA), Saoussen 41 Leading the way Ben Romdhane, (Consultant, ORNA), Malek Bouzgarrou (Senior Country Economist, ORNB), A. Diarra-Thioune (Resident Representative, DZFO), Kossi Robert Eguida (CPO, DZFO), Khushhal Chand Khushiram (Resident Representative, EGFO), Almaz Amine (Country 43 CHAPTER 3 New Players in North Africa: Changing the Name of the Game? Operations Expert, EGFO), Khaled El-Askari (Infrastructure Expert, EGFO), Gehane El Sokkary (Socio-Economist, EGFO), Amani 44 Introduction Abou-Zeid (Resident Representative, MAFO) , Abou Amadou Ba (Principal Economist, ORNB), Natsuko Obayashi (Principal Country 46 Securing Minerals and Capturing New Markets Economist Tunisia, ORNA) and A. Charaf-Eddine (CPO Tunisia, ORNA). Projects Briefs were also reviewed by their respective task 52 From Made-in-China to Made-in-Egypt managers in the sector departments. 55 History and Politics Play a Role 56 Looking Ahead: The Story Has Just Begun The African Development Bank Group 59 CHAPTER 4 The African Development Bank in Brief This document has been prepared by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group. Designations employed in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the institution concerning the legal status 61 The African Development Bank Group at a Glance of any country, or the limitation of its frontier. While efforts have been made to present reliable information, the AfDB accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequences of its use. 67 CHAPTER 5 Bank Group Activities in North Africa 69 Regional Overview Published by: 73 Algeria African Development Bank (AfDB) Group 87 Egypt Temporary Relocation Agency (TRA) 113 Libya B.P. 323-1002 Tunis-Belvedere, Tunisia 121 Mauritania Tel.: (216) 7110-2876 141 Morocco Fax: (216) 7110-3779 173 Tunisia Design and Layout 213 CHAPTER 6 Regional Activities African Development Bank 215 Bank Group and Regional Economic Communities in North Africa External Relations and Communication Unit Yattien-Amiguet L. 217 The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) Zaza creation: Hela Chaouachi 221 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa States (COMESA) 227 The Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) Copyright © 2011 African Development Bank Group Website: www.afdb.org 235 CHAPTER 7 Staff & Contact Details 3 The African Development Bank Group in North Africa - 2011 Foreword eographically defining the northern rim of the year we are taking the report one step further by G continent, North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, including a discussion of three themes which in Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia) constitutes a central important ways define or affect the countries across the part of Africa as well as the history and the daily region—i.e., the unfinished agenda in North Africa, operations of the African Development Bank (AfDB). particularly as relates to the challenges of ensuring The countries of the region were thus instrumental in inclusive growth and development; regional integration the creation of the AfDB more than 45 years ago and and the largely unexploited potential of countries in North are now contributing nearly 20 percent of the Bank’s Africa pulling together and collaborating more closely, subscribed capital. Since the beginning of its operations including with the rest of the African continent; and, in 1966, the Bank Group has committed nearly US$25 finally, the fast-growing economic relations between billion in loans and grants to North Africa, consistently North African countries and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, aimed at supporting the people of the region in their India and China). endeavors to develop and modernize their economies, and improve their living conditions. The African Development Bank must learn from these momentous changes, understand their underlying causes Producing about one-third of Africa’s total GDP and the and make adjustments as appropriate to our interventions. home of nearly 170 million people, North Africa is today This will be done in close consultation with our clients to the most prosperous region on the continent and ensure that we provide the best-possible support for the occupies a geopolitical position that goes significantly betterment of the lives of the people in the region. More beyond its economic weight. Most recently, during the particularly, as we finance infrastructure and other first months of 2011, the region has also become the projects, we will ensure that rural and disenfranchised epicenter of social and political change—and thus, with regions are integrated and pay particular attention to the Tunisia as the forerunner, become the inspiration for creation of meaningful jobs. millions of people in the Middle East and the world over. Against the backdrop of relatively strong economic Ours is a long-term commitment and we remain performance and solid progress towards achieving the engaged in this important region especially during these Millennium Development Goals, the Tunisian revolution important times. and the contagion in other countries in North Africa came as a surprise to most observers, inside and outside It is in that spirit we present this year’s Annual Report the region. for North Africa. In recognition of the importance of the North Africa region, I am thus pleased to present the AfDB’s second Aloysius Uche Ordu Annual Report on North Africa. In addition to providing Vice President an overview of the Bank’s portfolio of activities, lending Country and Regional Programs and Policy and non-lending, in the six countries of the region, this African Development Bank Group 5 The African Development Bank Group in North Africa - 2011 Preface ith annual average growth rates of nearly 5 percent activity are thus essential ingredients in bringing about W over the past decade, North Africa has been the stronger and more sustained economic growth—two fastest growing region of the continent. Impressive dimensions that are likely to go a long way in addressing progress towards achieving the Millennium Development some of the challenges discussed, notably creation of Goals (MDG) cemented the view that the economic gains jobs for educated youth. were translated into improvements in the social and general living conditions of people in the region. The social We start out in Chapter 1 by identifying some of the key and political changes that started in Tunisia in the early items on North Africa’s unfinished agenda, highlighting days of January 2011 and spread across the region, took youth unemployment, poverty and regional disparities, most observers by surprise. Many of the underlying governance, the slow transformation of economic issues, which subsequently were evoked as the key structures and food insecurity and water-stress among drivers behind the calls for change, had been identified the most important challenges to address in a drive and were underway for some time—notably the very high towards stronger and more inclusive growth in the region. levels of unemployment among youth, educated youth in particular; the entrenched and, in some cases, very Regional integration and, through that, unlocking high levels of poverty and within borders regional the potential of scale-economics and improved disparities; and the modest progress in areas related to competitiveness of countries in the region, could well be voice, accountability and transparency. These dimensions a missing element in a concerted effort to establish the of social and economic inclusion are all part of North underpinning for strengthened and more broad-based Africa’s unfinished agenda—the overriding theme of this and inclusive growth in North Africa. For more than year’s Annual Report for North Africa. three decades, a continued expansion of the global marketplace for goods, capital, labor, and ideas has What North African countries are experiencing, it could forged an ever-closer integration among countries and be argued, is the classic middle-income-country trap, regions of the world. Global markets have served as the with economic growth performance constrained and mainstays of economic growth throughout much of the undermined by limited economic transformation towards world, not least for developing countries. In Chapter 2, higher value-added production and insufficient political, it is argued that deepened regional integration, offers social,