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FeaturedPress Release
March 24, 2023

Sida supports the launch of the TEI on Transboundary Water Management in Africa at the UN 2023 Water Conference.

The Team Europe Initiative (TEI) launch took place during the week of the UN 2023 Water Conference, with David Lymer representing the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Sida supports the Abuja-based African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). The ongoing contribution to AMCOW builds institutional capacity for 2018-2023 (40 MSEK) to support their role and mandate as an African mechanism for water and sanitation under the African Union – with the natural entry points to the African Union and water ministries of African countries.

These 55 Member Countries of AMCOW are represented by their water Ministers in the AMCOW steering committee. Preliminary findings in a Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Sida support to AMCOW demonstrate excellent and tangible results.

Sida’s engagement within the ”Team European Initiative for Transboundary Water Management in Africa” has been carried out so far through our support to AMCOW. In the dialogue with the European Union (EU) around the TEI, Sida has demanded a clear and coordinating role for AMCOW. Sida is currently discussing with AMCOW about a second phase of support (50 MSEK, 2023-2026).

By Obinna Anah
FeaturedJobs
March 17, 2023

Request for Proposal: Independent Mid-term Evaluation of the AMCOW Strategic Operational Plan (SOP) 2020 – 2024

Publication Date: 17th March 2023

Background

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) is an autonomous African intergovernmental body formed in 2002 to provide a coordinating platform for water policy dialogue on the African continent and promote sustainable management and development of the continent’s water resources with a focus on expanding access to water supply and sanitation services in Africa. AMCOW serves as a delivery mechanism on water and sanitation to the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) on Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment (ARDWE) of the African Union Commission.

To achieve its mission, AMCOW developed a twelve-year  Strategic Plan (SP) 2018-2030 to guide its activities and initiatives. The development of the SP 2018-2030 was a collaborative effort involving AMCOW’s Executive Committee, staff, and various stakeholders. The process involved a comprehensive review of AMCOW’s past performance, analysis of the current water sector landscape in Africa, and consultations with relevant partners.

The SP articulates the high-level vision, mission, core values and overarching priorities of the Organization. It outlines a set of long-term goals and strategic objectives with a 2030 horizon as well as identifies areas of focus for the 2020-2024 financial period. The Operating Plan 2020-2024 translates the strategy into specific actions by defining outputs to be delivered (i.e. lower-level results) and annual milestones to be achieved. It also lists planned activities, indicates the resources available, and outlines performance indicators intended to measure progress in achieving the strategic objectives over the next 5 years. Building on the framework of strategic and cross-cutting priorities and actions laid out in the Strategy, the SOP articulates AMCOW’s values and theory of change that shape the organisation’s approach to its mission to “Provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems”. Given the significant investments made in developing and implementing the SOP 2020-2024, AMCOW is committed to monitoring and evaluating its implementation to ensure its relevance and effectiveness in achieving its strategic objectives. As such, AMCOW is seeking to engage the services of a team of experienced and professional independent evaluator or company to undertake a mid-term evaluation (MTE) of the implementation of the SOP 2020-2024.

Rationale for the mid-term review

This mid-term review fulfils the AMCOW Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy for the purpose of learning and reflecting on the delivery of AMCOW’s work priorities. The evaluation will provide a critical assessment of progress and recommendations for enhancing AMCOW’s effectiveness in the remaining years of the SOP as well as the next five-year planning period.

Evaluation objective

The objectives of this mid-term evaluation are to:

  • evaluate the relevance and coherence of both the SOP 2020-2024 and the triennial Work Programme 2022-24 vis-à-vis achieving the goals of the AMCOW Strategy 2018 – 2030;
  • benchmark achievements to-date and the rate of progress against the expected results and outcomes of implementing SOP 2020-2024, taking into consideration the updates to the plan as contained in the Triennial Work Programme 2022-2024.
  • analyse the challenges faced and draw lessons to enhance organisational developmental learning.
  • develop recommendations to assure:

o   efficiency of implementation going forward; and

o   alignment of planned activities for the period 2023 – 2024 with both the expected SOP outcomes and emerging urgent water and sanitation sector needs at Member States’ level.

 Evaluation findings will be used by the Secretariat and stakeholders to understand what, if anything, needs to be approached differently to assure the eventual attainment of the AMCOW Strategy 2018-2030. The evaluation is also expected to document lessons and good practices to inform the approaches for the period 2023-2024 and beyond.

Evaluation approach and key questions

The evaluation should be conducted in the context of criteria and approaches for international development assistance as established by the OECD/DAC Evaluation Quality Standard (the relevance, effectiveness, coherence, sustainability, and impact) of the AMCOW Strategic Operational Plan (SOP). The MTE will include an evaluation matrix with evaluation questions, qualitative and quantitative indicators and data collection techniques designed to be gender sensitive and maximize participation.

Relevance:

·        To what extent does the SOP 2020-2024 respond to the goals of the AMCOW Strategy 2018-2030?

·        To what extent are the outcomes of the SOP 2020-2024 addressing the African water vision and the sustainable development water agenda?

·        What emerging issues in the water sector in Africa need to be taken into consideration vis-à-vis the relevance of the AMCOW Strategy 2018-2030 and the SOP 2020-2024 to achieve water and sanitation goals in Africa.

Effectiveness:

·        What partnerships have been mobilised to support the implementation of the SOP 2020-2024?

·        What resources mobilisation mechanisms have been developed to assure attainment of the expected outcomes of the SOP 2020-2024?

Efficiency:

·        To what extent has the SOP 2020-2024 been implemented as planned and achieving the expected results

Sustainability: 

·        What mechanisms are being put in place to assure continuity of the outcomes and impacts of the SOP 2020-2024 in the long-term

·        To what extent do the Member States identify with the continental policy initiatives being implemented within the framework of the SOP 2020-2024

 Coherence:

·        In the course of implementing the SOP 2020-2024, what are the emerging areas of potential redundancy, duplication, overlaps and or gaps vis-à-vis ongoing efforts to achieve the goals of the water and sanitation sector in Africa? It is recognised that the pursuit of the Africa water vision is supported mandated institutions including the AUC, AfDB, UNECA, and RECs/R/LBOs, all of which have got ongoing water programmes.

 Impact:

·        What monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place to track the attainment of results, outcomes and the impact of the SOP 2020-2024.

The evaluation will use these questions as a guide to assess the implementation of the SOP 2020-2024 and provide recommendations for improvement or additional .

The evaluator/evaluation team will be expected to develop a more detailed evaluation methodology at the inception phase. The aim is to explain how the various criteria will be addressed using a mixed and triangulation methodology, to increase the validity and rigor of the evaluation findings. The AMCOW Secretariat and relevant stakeholders are available for consultation during the data collection and reporting phases. 

AMCOW Secretariat adheres to the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) evaluation norms and standards as well as to the OECD/DAC Evaluation Quality Standards. The evaluation is an independent evaluation, and the final methodology and evaluation questions will be determined by the consultant in consultation with AMCOW Secretariat. A virtual workshop will be organized toward the end of the evaluation, with participation from the respective stakeholders and AMCOW Secretariat Staff. This will provide the opportunity to present the preliminary findings, invite the participants to validate them and fill in any data gaps. Compilations of a draft evaluation report will follow thereafter.

The draft will be subject to a methodological review and upon the necessary adjustments, it will be circulated among the key stakeholders.

The key deliverables of the evaluation are:

  • An inception report that clearly outlines the evaluation approach and tools to be used. The inception report must also include an evaluation matrix which includes the methodology to be used, indicators, evaluation questions and detailed work plan.
  • A draft evaluation report in English. The draft of the report will be presented to AMCOW for comments and inputs, after which the evaluator will finalize the report and submit the final evaluation report to AMCOW Secretariat.
  • A final evaluation report that reflects comments/feedback from stakeholders consolidated by the AMCOW team as well as annexes, including electronic copies of raw data, copies of the data collection tool, the list of staff and stakeholders interviewed, or organizations included in surveys.
  • Report submission shall be followed by a briefing session to present findings and recommendations.

A two-page evaluation brief in English language.

The evaluation fee is all-inclusive and should take approximately 30 effective working days spread over a period of 2 calendar months from April to June 2023. The financial proposal should include the evaluator’s daily rate and a breakdown of the number of days for each of the tasks planned under the methodology. If travel becomes possible, all costs related to flights, hotel accommodation, trip to AMCOW Secretariat and any other cost associated with a field evaluation should be indicated as a separate item. Disbursement of the evaluation consultancy fees will be paid upon satisfactory submission and approval by AMCOW Secretariat.

Application procedure:

Qualified interested candidates or teams should submit their proposal (maximum 10 pages excluding CVs), including:

  • Detailed CVs
  • Technical offer describing in detail the approach and methodologies for the assignment.
  • Financial offer (budget) including estimated working days for above-mentioned deliverables and daily rate.
  • A recent evaluation report example.
  • A list of previous evaluations that are relevant to the context and subject matter of this assignment, indicating the role played by the consultant(s) applying (they can be highlighted in the CV)
  • A statement confirming their availability to conduct this assignment in the period stated, and the daily professional fee expressed in US dollars (being a home-based assignment no other extra cost will be considered)
  • Two references of clients (mails and phone to be potentially contacted).

Women are encouraged to apply.

Qualification and eligibility:

The evaluator or evaluation team are expected to have the following minimum qualifications and experience:

  • Minimum master’s degree in social research and/or evaluation methods, social science, Development studies, or similar disciplines.
  • Minimum of 10 years of experience in evaluating development programmes, Institutions or initiatives including Theory of change approach on evaluation programming, and Results Based Management.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of Africa intergovernmental organisation and familiarity with the Water and Sanitation sector
  • A good working knowledge of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques quantitative data analysis techniques and report writing.
  • Knowledge of AMCOW roles and mandate is an asset.
  • Strong conceptual, analytical, and communicational abilities.
  • Demonstrated ability to deliver quality assignments under tight timeframes and managing an evaluation remotely.

This application is open to all individuals / companies. In the case of a company, you are expected to provide the following:

  • Profile

References list, a copy catalogue of previous related work done will be an added advantage.

Assessment of proposal:

The proposal will be assessed considering the following criteria:

  1. Team leader and/or team member: 50%
  • Qualifications required in the ToRs
  • Samples of previous work
  1. Proposed methodology and approach: 30%
  • Overall concord between the ToR requirements and proposal
  • Detailed proposal with main tasks, including sound methodology to achieve key outputs
  • Proposal presents a realistic implementation timeline

3. Financial proposal (honorarium): 20%.

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit a formal proposal and resume not later than 31st March 2023. The application should be addressed and email to:

The Executive Secretary 

African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) 

No. 11, T.Y. Danjuma Street, Asokoro District 

Abuja, Nigeria. 

Email: info@amcow-online.org    

You may want to download a copy of the RFP in the link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9rys9yqfjkliyof90a0i7/RFP_SOP_MTR_Rmb_inputs_revised-17-02-2023.docx?dl=0&rlkey=y44mgzwa7j2mh92dy91avukrg   

By Obinna Anah
FeaturedSpecial Messages
March 10, 2023

VOTE OF THANKS BY Dr MBAZIIRA AT THE HANDOVER OF AMCOW PRESIDENCY FROM NAMIBIA TO EGYPT

4TH EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE AFRICAN MINISTERS COUNCIL ON WATER, HELD ON THURSDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2023.

Honourable Ministers,

Esteemed Members of the TAC

Colleagues from the Secretariat, I am honoured to deliver this vote of thanks and gratitude to our leadership.

I will start with you, Honourable Carl Herman Gustav Schlettwein, in both your capacity as the Minister for Agriculture, Water and Land Reform of the Republic of Namibia and the AMCOW President for 2021 – 2023.

Working under your leadership has been an enriching experience, characterised by immense learning and growth at the Secretariat.

With your guidance, we have been able to scale to new heights.

You have passionately defended AMCOW’s interests and have always been direct in negotiations on behalf of AMCOW in Africa and globally. This has demonstrated our strength as an organisation and improved our franchise value globally. Your leadership has revitalised AMCOW’s convening power as demonstrated by:

  1. the response by the substantive Ministers responsible for water affairs in Africa to your invitation to the 13th Ordinary Session of the Executive Committee;
  2. a similar response to your hosting of the Africa Focus Seminar at the 2022 World Water Week;
  3. the response by high-level dignitaries from all over the world to your hosting of the Focus on Africa session at the 2022 UN Summit on Groundwater; and,
  4. the response to the advocacy campaign that AMCOW has led for the nomination of a Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Water.

It is thus our collective responsibility to jealously preserve this legacy and continue – under the leadership of Honourable Prof Hani Sewilam – on the growth path you have set.

And to you Hon Eng Suleiman Adamu, AMCOW’s host Minister in Nigeria and Vice President for West Africa for 2021-2023.

  1. Your accessibility and enviable willingness to give freely of your time to advance AMCOW matters;
  2. Your profound insight into the political economy of motivating concrete action to move the water and sanitation agenda forward; and
  3. Your prioritisation of AMCOW has been invaluable to our achievements in your tenure.

You have been a tireless AMCOW Brand Ambassador.

You made the AMCOW@20 celebrations undoubtedly one of the highlights of the 9th World Water Forum.

In your tenure, the Secretariat has lacked nothing related to what is provided under the Headquarters Agreement. Indeed, you have spearheaded ongoing efforts to secure land to construct a permanent Secretariat as per the Headquarters Agreement. This will address the requirements for space given the growth at the Secretariat and contribute to assuring our financial sustainability.

And, of course, it would be amiss of me not to mention the great update to our fleet by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through your office. We are forever in your debt.

Hon Schlettwein, Hon Adamu, allow me to reiterate that it has been an immense privilege to serve the two of you in this role, and I hope to learn more from both of you as we move forward.

Our appreciation goes out to all the Members of the Executive Committee for the period 2021 – 2022.

The Vice Presidents: Hon. Engr Suleiman ADAMU; Hon. Sidi Mohamed TALEB AMAR; S E M Eloundou ESSOMBA GASTON; Hon. Dr Eng. Habitamu Iteffa Geleta; and S E M Carlos A Fortes Mesquita are ably represented by Hon Cecilia Chamutota. The guidance received during the tête-à-tête consultations with you shaped the regional priorities that informed the decisions of the 13th Ordinary Session of the EXCO on the AMCOW triennial work programme for 2022 to 2024.

Your leadership made it possible – for the first time – for us to have five (5) regional consultations before an ordinary session of the Council. In so doing, we operationalised the bottom-up and top-down approach that is the cornerstone of responsive continental policy initiatives.

Allow me also to single out:

  1. Hon Abida Sidik Mia and Hon John Bande of Malawi
  2. Hon Cecilia Abena Dapaah of Ghana
  3. Hon Alice Muthoni Wahome of Kenya
  4. S E M Dr Maminata Traore Coulibaly of Burkina Faso
  5. Hon Amb Jeanne Mujawamariya of Rwanda
  6. Hon Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu of Zimbabwe
  7. S E M Samou Seidou Adambi of Benin
  8. The Kingdom of e-Swatini
  9. Hon Eng Dr Habitamu Iteffa Geleta of Ethiopia
  10. S E M Fidiniavo Rovoktra of Madagascar
  11. Hon Sam Cheptoris of Uganda
  12. Hon Jumaa Hamidu Aweso of the United Republic of Tanzania
  13. Hon Kefentse Mzwinila of Botswana
  14. Hon Senzo Mchunu of South Africa
  15. Hon Eng Suleiman Adamu of Nigeria
  16. Hon Carl Gustav Hermann Schlettwein of Namibia; and
  17. Hon Prof Hani Sewilam of Egypt

You have led by example by contributing to ensuring the financial stability of the Secretariat to advance Africa’s water, sanitation and hygiene agenda. Allow me to highlight that your commitment to finance the core activities of AMCOW lies at the heart of the renewed interest from our funding partners to support AMCOW programmes.

To our Members of the Technical Advisory Committee, the policy initiatives undertaken during your tenure came to fruition with the benefit of your technical expertise. You invested your time to analyse and improve all propositions to facilitate higher-level decision-making and eventual practical implementation. This is what resulted in the delivery of, among others, the following:

  1. the African Sanitation Policy Guidelines;
  2. the African Groundwater Programme; and,
  3. the AMCOW Knowledge Hub.

To our TAC Chair, Mme Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata.

  1. Your open-mindedness and disposition to listen;
  2. your agility;
  3. your decisiveness; and
  4. your commitment to improving the financial situation at the Secretariat has been crucial to our success during your tenure.

The dedication with which your team at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform organised the 13th Ordinary Session of the EXCO is reflected by its success it was. You left an indelible memory of Windhoek and the Land of the Brave on all that took part in the 13th Session of the EXCO.

Suffice it to say that your leadership has been inspiring, and we will utilise all available opportunities to continue to benefit from it.

To my colleagues at the Secretariat, I would like to thank you for your excellent work. Your collective efforts have contributed significantly to the results reported in the AMCOW President’s handover report. Let us remain committed to delivering the expected outputs from our triennial work programme. We are bound to face setbacks along the way. What is essential is for us to learn from our shortfalls and push forward with even more dedication.

In conclusion, I look forward to working with the new leadership while maintaining our engagement with the outgoing team. We remain at your service at all times, and I believe that working together can achieve even greater success for AMCOW.

I thank you.

By Obinna Anah
FeaturedSpecial Messages
February 23, 2023

Prof. Dr Hani Sewilam’s Acceptance Speech as the incoming and new President of AMCOW for 2023-2025

First, allow me to express my great honour to be today among my brothers from all African countries to take over AMCOW Presidency for the next two years on behalf of the North African Region from my dear Brother Honorable Minister Carl Hermann Gustave Schlettwein, Minister for Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Republic of Namibia, who led the African Continent very successfully as AMCOW President during the challenging time of COVID 19 pandemic where water and sanitation were key to overcome the implications of this severe crisis with his vast experience and wisdom.

By Obinna Anah
FeaturedSpecial Messages
February 23, 2023

4th Extra-ordinary Session of the Executive Committee of the Governing Council of AMCOW – A handover report from Namibia

4th EXTRA-ORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE AFRICAN MINISTERS’ COUNCIL ON WATER (AMCOW)

By Obinna Anah
FeaturedNews
October 13, 2022

Decisions of the 13th Ordinary Session of the EXCO – African Ministers’ Council on Water

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By Obinna Anah