The European Development Fund (EDF) contribution to a sustainable road network in sub-Saharan Africa

By European Court of Auditors (ECA)

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, January 10, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The EU is one of the leading donors in the road sector in sub- Saharan Africa. Road transport is a focal sector for EDF (European Development Fund) cooperation strategy with most sub-Saharan African countries. Financially, it is by far the most important sector, with about € 7.4 billion in EDF commitments made in this region over the period from 1995 to 2011.


European Court of Auditors (ECA) special reports are published throughout the year, presenting the results of selected audits of specific EU budgetary areas or management topics. This special report (SR 17/2012) entitled “The European Development Fund (EDF) contribution to a sustainable road network in sub-Saharan Africa” assessed whether the EDF has contributed to sustainability of the road network in sub-Saharan Africa effectively: whether the road infrastructure supported by the EDF is sustainable and whether the Commission effectively promotes the sustainability of road infrastructure. The audit focused on the technical, financial and institutional sustainability of road transport infrastructure and looked at 48 programmes financed since 1995 under the 8th, 9th and 10th EDFs in six partner countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Tanzania and Zambia.


The main conclusions and recommendations of the report will be presented to the press by Mr Szabolcs Fazakas, Member of the Court.


DATE AND TIME Tuesday, 15 January 2013 at 10:30


VENUE The RESIDENCE PALACE - International Press Centre

MAALBEEK ROOM

155, rue de la Loi, 1040 Brussels – Belgium


A PRESS KIT, consisting of the Special Report and a press release, will be made available for the press conference. The Special Report will be published on the Court's website, www.eca.europa.eu, in 22 official languages.


INTERPRETATION will be available in French and English.