NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer Dr Ibrahim Mayaki has said that we have been used on the continent to speak with different voices on important issues regarding our development. “This political competition is not useful and goes against the technical expertise which we need, to move ahead,” said Dr Mayaki.

The CEO was speaking at the opening a three-day meeting in Pretoria, which will among other things brainstorm to finalise concrete means in which information on national and regional projects can best be researched and shared on the Virtual PIDA Information Centre (VPiC).

Hosted by the NEPAD Agency and the German International Development (GIZ), the workshop on the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has brought together experts in the industry, from the African Union, Regional Economic Communities, African Development Bank, and other development and ICT partners.

On the first day, discussion on how information on Africa’s infrastructure projects is shared and managed by key players in the Infrastructure sector, were robust and highly interactive.

PIDA, which is currently in its implementation phase, serves as the AU’s flagship infrastructure mandate. Based on more than 50 regional and continental projects and programmes, is designed to address the infrastructural deficit that hampers Africa’s competitiveness on the world market. It provides a common framework for African stakeholders to build the infrastructure necessary for more integrated transport, energy, ICT and trans-boundary water networks to boost trade, increase growth and create jobs.  

Mr Aboubakari Baba-Moussa, the African Union’s Director of Energy and Infrastructure said a clear system of information management is very important because a lack of it will defeat the purpose of ensuring the impact of VPiC, which is key to sharing information on our infrastructure projects.

PIDA requires a platform such as VPiC to engage various stakeholders and investors.  The portal will be linked to the websites the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank, GIZ and other partners associated with PIDA.

GIZ’s Programme Manager for AU Infrastructure, Mr Winfried Zarges, said  that the success of PIDA depends on how many projects will be implemented at the end.  He emphasised on the need for partnership between the different stakeholder involved in PIDA so as to sustainably implement the Programme. 

Besides VPiC, the three-day meeting will also workshop on the forth-coming Dakar Financing Conference, an important  conference on November 5 to 6, which will lay emphasis on political support and the role that the private sector will play in supporting infrastructural development in Africa.