Governance

Bureau of the Board of Governors

The African Capacity Building Foundation, (ACBF), has a three–tier governance structure that is consistent with good corporate governance principles. Management and Board oversight responsibilities are adequately segregated to allow for effective controls and checks and balances. The shareholders primarily focus on defining the continental priorities and securing the long term sustainability of the Foundation but do not influence technical programming decisions. In the circumstances, decisions on priorities for interventions are made entirely based on prospects to achieve impactful results

Board of Governors: The Board of Governors is the forum of shareholders of the Foundation. This comprises representatives of ACBF regional member countries and non-regional funding partners, the founding institutional members (African Development Bank,  United Nations Development Program and World Bank) and other stakeholders that may be granted Honorary Member status. The Board of Governors is the highest policymaking organ of the Foundation. Its main responsibility is to set the broad policy and strategic direction of the Foundation.  The Governors meet annually to consider the report on the activities of the Foundation and review the financial sustainability of the entity. A   Bureau of three members, (Chairperson and two vice-Chairpersons) spearheads and leads the discussion by the Governors. The Board of Governors may convene a Special Meeting should it be necessary to consider urgent matters relating to the sustainability of the Foundation.

Executive Board: Appointed by the Board of Governors, the Executive Board is charged with oversight responsibility of the activities of the Foundation. The Executive Board sets the Guidelines and Rules and Procedures under which the Foundation operates and approves the projects and budgets for all programming interventions.

The Executive Board comprises of 11 members: (representatives of the founding Sponsoring Agencies and nine independent members). Executive Board members are appointed on individual merit and primarily because of their experience and knowledge of development issues in Africa. Decisions of the Executive Board are premised on the best interest of the Foundation. The Executive Secretary is an ex-officio member of the Executive Board.

To effectively discharge its mandate, the Executive Board operates with the support of three committees: An Operations Committee which reviews project proposals submitted for consideration as well as provide strategic guidance on implementation of the approved strategy. A Finance and Human Resources Committee which examines and provides strategic guidance on all financial and human resource matters of the Foundation with due consideration for efficiency and effectiveness. An Audit and Risk Committee which is the anchor of oversight of the internal controls of the Foundation tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the entity has a robust and effective risk management framework and assurance that resources are being utilized for intended purposes. Overall, the Committee assists the Executive Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for financial reporting process, the system of internal control, the audit process, risk management, and the monitoring of compliance with accounting policies and practices, and the code of conduct.    The Committees of the Board can coopt experts who will sit as Independent members to enhance the skill set and mix on the Board and thus improve the quality of decision making.  

Secretariat: The Secretariat administers the Foundation, in accordance with the policies and guidelines set out by the Boards. Headed by an Executive Secretary, the Secretariat is responsible for conducting the business of ACBF; the development, execution and monitoring of the Foundation’s programs, plans and budgets; the development and management of the portfolio of projects, knowledge and programs and enhancing its visibility.  The Secretariat also establishes and maintains strong links and working relationships with African stakeholders (Governments, regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, universities, and policy research institutes etc.) and the international community.

Constitution Of The African Capacity Building Foundation (Download, 320Kb)