The 2nd Joint Review committee in Côte d'Ivoire has formulated several recommendations to improve the performance of development projects and programs, addressing implementation constraints and enhancing their contribution to the country's 2026-2030 National Development Plan (PND). The committee's report highlights the need for better operational management of projects, strengthened monitoring, and optimized involvement of technical and financial partners. According to the report's main author, Yao Madeleine, these recommendations aim to enhance project execution and alignment with national priorities.
The committee recommends a selective development of result-based programs, prioritizing operations with realistic indicators, reliable verification mechanisms, and sustainable national capacities. It also suggests anticipating project land acquisition, integrating costs and diligence related to Resettlement Action Plans (PAR) to prevent execution delays due to compensation and population displacement. Furthermore, the committee proposes simplifying exemption procedures and streamlining the expenditure chain by harmonizing validation and control circuits and strengthening dossier tracking.
The committee emphasizes the importance of consolidating fiduciary, contractual, and environmental discipline through better audit anticipation, rigorous market monitoring, and implementation of necessary corrective measures. It also stresses the need for anticipating project closures to ensure operation clearance and effective transfer of assets and responsibilities. Additionally, the committee recommends institutionalizing and extending local portfolio monitoring cells to regional and departmental levels, building on successful experiences in certain regions.
The committee proposes strengthening the role of prefects in territorial coordination, organizing quarterly reviews, and facilitating the resolution of land and social issues. It also recommends conducting joint visits to monitor project progress, identify potential non-compliance, and prevent overlapping investments. Moreover, the committee highlights the importance of informing beneficiary populations and developing local enterprise capacities to access public markets while respecting competition rules.
Regarding the contribution of technical and financial partners to the 2026-2030 PND, the committee recommends operational monitoring of announced commitments, their contractualization, effective mobilization, and obtained results. It also advocates for better alignment of external financing with national priorities, indicators, and budget programs, as well as multi-year programming of national capacities to absorb mobilized resources.
At the strategic level, the committee calls for reinforced engagement from government authorities around five key areas, including portfolio management based on harmonized indicators and regular reviews, presentation of mature projects to partners, acceleration of administrative and land-related decisions, and finalization of regulatory and institutional texts governing project execution. The committee also emphasizes the need for revising certain decrees and adopting new regulatory texts to facilitate project implementation.
The committee's recommendations aim to enhance development project performance, address implementation challenges, and ensure better alignment with Côte d'Ivoire's national development goals. The implementation of these recommendations is expected to improve the country's development outcomes and foster sustainable growth. Key stakeholders will need to work together to ensure the effective implementation of these recommendations and achieve the desired results.
Key points
- Improved project management and monitoring are crucial for enhancing development project performance in Côte d'Ivoire.
- Strengthening the role of prefects and local monitoring cells can help address implementation challenges and ensure better project outcomes.
- Aligning external financing with national priorities and indicators is essential for achieving development goals.
