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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Nov 22 2010 - 09:23:50 EST
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP
Interim Country Strategy Paper for Eritrea 2009-2011
OREB
September 2009
Executive Summary
Eritrea, one of the youngest nations in the world, gained its
independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after 30 years of debilitating war.
The post independence period was characterized by rapid development in
both social and economic fronts, but the border war with Ethiopia that
erupted in 1998, lasting until 2000, reversed some of the gains that
were made. Since then, the country has been suffering from
macroeconomic imbalances and its trade activities, which were behind
the strong economic performance during the post-independence period,
have been badly disrupted. The situation has been made worse by the
periodic drought problem given the country‘s dependence on rain. In
the past eight years, annual crop harvest has oscillated from a high
of 70-80 percent to a low of 20-30 percent of annual consumption
needs, making the country vulnerable to food insecurity problems. In
addition, the country has also been facing severe foreign exchange
shortages making it difficult to meet all its import needs, thus
forcing it to operate at low levels of capacity. On top of that,
shortages of skilled manpower continue to hinder the country‘s ability
to move fast on the growth trajectory.
1.2 Despite all these challenges, the Government of the State of
Eritrea (GoSE) has managed to improve its fiscal position through
major cuts in defence spending and other expenditure rationalizing
measures. Efforts have also been made to improve public financial
management and fiscal transparency, although the national budget is
still not publically available. The GoSE has also undertaken measures
to attract foreign investment, including the establishment of the free
trade zone in Massawa, and also to resuscitate its mining industry.
Already the GoSE has granted more than 17 mining licences to various
foreign companies. Some, like Bisha, have advanced to actual work on
exploration. Moreover, it has also been investing in infrastructure
developments to promote domestic and external interconnectivity, so as
to promote trade and improve the overall business environment. The
construction of a new airport in Massawa is one of such activities. In
addition, the GoSE has undertaken a number of measures to improve
regional integration, which has resulted in the reduction of customs
clearance time and the rolling out of the ASYCUDA1 and its trade
activities within COMESA has increased. On the social side, Eritrea is
reported to be on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal
(MDG) goal 3 on gender equality and MDG goal 4 on child survival.
Eritrea is also considered to be one of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA)
countries with the best models of malaria control.
1.3 To increase agricultural productivity, the GoSE is focusing on
multifaceted programmes of transition to irrigation, through
comprehensive water management programmes and increased use of
essential inputs. It has embarked on the programme of constructing
micro dams and has put in place the programme of terracing and
afforestation to control and contain environmental degradation and
effects of climate change. And has also piloted a high speed wind farm
in Assab, which is a model with a great potential for scaling up.
1.4 For the past eight years, the GoSE has also invested a lot of
resources in human capital development. For instance, the country has
managed to triple the enrolment rate in primary education from a very
low base. The Government has also expanded access to tertiary
education by opening seven new colleges and has established a hands-on
management school in the country to increase the efficiency of the
Civil Service and managers of Public Enterprises. The capacity of the
Civil Service and the Office of the Auditor General has also been
strengthened. Overall, the Government‘s policies are geared towards
self-reliance, driven by the need to find own solutions to the
challenges currently being faced by the country and it is within this
context that the Bank continues to lend its support.
1.5 The coming into force of the ADF XI cycle has therefore presented
the Bank with an excellent opportunity to prepare a new results based
interim strategy for Eritrea. Two previous attempts to present to the
Board the 2006-2007 CSP and the 2007 CSP update failed because of the
objections raised by the Government on the contents of these
documents.2 The last CSP to be approved by the Board in 2004 was the
2002-2004 Country Strategy Paper (CSP).3 The focus of that CSP was on
human resource development and was valid until 2006. The Education
Sector Development Programme (ESDP) was the only project that was
approved in 2004 following the approval of the last CSP for Eritrea
and its objective was to contribute to increased access to quality
education at basic and secondary level. The freeze on private
construction between 2006 and 2008, delayed the execution of the
construction component, although implementation is expected to
accelerate now with the lifting of the freeze. Normally in Eritrea,
once agreement is reached with the Government on the elaboration of
the project, implementation tends to move fast.
1.6 The new Interim Country Strategy Paper (ICSP) therefore reflects
the continuation of the Bank’s strategic response to the country’s
human resource development challenges and a natural progression to the
tertiary level. This is a priority for the GoSE since investment in
education is seen as critical for achieving sustainable growth and
poverty reduction. This is also in line with the Bank‘s own Medium
Term Strategy 2008-2012, which has also identified ‗Higher education,
technology and vocational training‘ as one of its pillars. Therefore,
the 2009-2011 ICSP strategy is anchored on one pillar, the Promotion
of Human Resources Development and will revolve around interventions
that will help the GoSE address some of the challenges currently being
faced in the tertiary education sector. The ICSP will cover the period
of 24 months from its approval date. As for the GoSE‘s plans under ADF
XII, the focus is likely to switch to agriculture given the importance
of this sector in growth and poverty reduction.
1.7 The Boards of Directors are, therefore, invited to consider and
approve the proposed strategic response to the country’s skilled
manpower shortages as elaborated in the 2009-2011 ICSP. It is
recommended that the total ADF-XI grant allocation of UA 13.7 million
be utilized to finance activities geared at ensuring sustained human
resource development in Eritrea.
ERITREA INTERIM COUNTRY STRATEGY PAPER 2009-2011
I. Introduction
1.1 This results based 2009-2011 Interim Country Strategy Paper (ICSP)
presents the Bank’s strategic and selective response to development
challenges currently facing Eritrea in the higher education
sub-sector. Specifically, the Bank Group‘s interim strategy seeks to
assist the country address human resource challenges through
activities that will contribute to the country‘s efforts to build the
optimal level of human capital stock required to achieve sustainable
growth...
To see full report go to:
http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Policy-Documents/Eretrea_Interim%20Country%20Strategy%20Paper%202009%202011%20-%20Eritrea_2.pdf
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