BY Onome Amuge.
African Development Bank (AfDB) has been named the most transparent organisation in the world by Publish What You Fund, the global campaign for aid and development transparency.
The multilateral development finance institution amassed a top score of 98.5 to emerge the highest ranked out of 50 global development institutions in the recently released “Publish What You Fund 2022 Aid Transparency Index”.
Publish What You Fund’s ‘’very good’’ status achieved by the AfDB is the highest of the five categories used to assess organisations’ transparency, with the ranking based on several criteria which include finance and budgets, basic information data, organisational planning and performance.
AfDB’s non-sovereign portfolio was assessed for the first time and separately in the 2022 Index, which saw the bank achieve the highest score in the aid transparency index’s 10-year history, climbing into the top spot from its fourth-place ranking in 2020.
In addition, the bank was ranked the second most transparent development finance institution dealing with non-sovereign operations. Its non-sovereign portfolio was also ranked 12th among the 50 global development institutions under comparison.
Commenting on the acknowledgement from the only independent measure of aid transparency among the world’s major development agencies, Akinwumi Adesina, the African Development Bank Group president, said he was elated to learn of the outstanding recognition.
Adesina noted that the feat is a testament to the relentless efforts of the more than 2,000 personnel across the bank’s organisation who work tirelessly to accelerate Africa’s progress.
He added that the AfDB personnel, who have maintained “razor-sharp” focus, have consistently delivered top quality under the highest levels of scrutiny, which he is incredibly proud of.
“I commend Publish What You Fund for their important mission, combining robust research and technical expertise with targeted advocacy and engagement to make aid and development efforts more transparent and effective,” he said.
Swazi Tshabalala, senior vice president, AfDB, said he was absolutely delighted with the score, considering that it is an index that plays a key role in helping promote openness and greater transparency among international agencies.
According to Tshabalala, AfDB has worked hard over the years to improve the disclosure of its aid flows by providing consistent, high-quality, and easily accessible data.
“Our top ranking has significant human and financial resource implications, as this is the only way to conduct our development business,” he added.
Gary Foster, chief executive, Publish What You Fund, lauded the African Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio for achieving first place in the 2022 Aid Transparency Index.
“For many years now, the AfDB has engaged to understand the demands of the Index, and they have then re-engineered their approach to disclosure, accordingly publishing more comprehensive, higher quality data. This has been made possible because the efforts of their technical staff are matched by commitment to aid transparency from the highest levels of the organization,” Foster remarked.
