AfDB Country Strategy and Program Evaluation – Kingdom of Eswatini

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) at the African Development Bank (AfDB) has conducted an evaluation of the Bank’s Country Strategy and Program (CSP) in Eswatini for 2009-2018. The evaluation covered a Bank portfolio of 14 projects representing a total of UA 119 million in seven sectors: (i) agriculture; (ii) water supply and sanitation; (iii) transport; (iv) finance; (v) power/energy; (vi) environment; and (vii) multi-sector (governance). The objectives of this evaluation were (i) to assess the AfDB’s assistance to Eswatini through an analysis of the development results of its key interventions; ii) to learn from successes and challenges to provide lessons and recommendations; and iii) to inform the design of the next CSP for Eswatini.

The evaluation combined quantitative and qualitative research methods, and data was collected through multiple processes including literature review, portfolio review and analysis, field visits, and key informant interviews. A four-point rating scale was used to examine the level of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the Bank’s support to Eswatini. A theory-of-change approach was used to investigate not only which results were achieved, but also how and why the results were achieved or not. The evaluation also examined how the Bank’s interventions were managed, the performance of the borrower, and success factors and lessons.

Overall, the evaluation found that the AfDB’s interventions in Eswatini were relevant to the country’s needs, development challenges and priorities. The portfolio was found to be well aligned with the Bank’s corporate priorities and with Eswatini’s country policies. The evaluation however found some shortcomings, including overreliance on the farmer company model in agriculture; a focus on highways rather than feeder roads in transport; and on using Swaziland Development Finance Corporation’s existing practices to reach Small and Medium Enterprises. It also emerged that interventions were often developed in silos, which increased risk of costly duplication and re-invention of wheels. Spreading the Bank’s interventions across seven sectors rendered their delivery ineffective and compromised their impact, as it reduced the amount of attention that could be provided to each of the sectors. This also weakened synergies across interventions.

The evaluation has proposed five key recommendations that could improve the development outcomes of the Bank’s interventions in Eswatini, including:

1. enhancing selectivity and portfolio design for more effective and sustainable results;
2. improving quality at entry to improve efficiency of implementation of the interventions;
3. managing for development results to improve overall aid effectiveness and reduce aid transactions costs on the Royal Government of Eswatini;
4. safeguarding development benefits to improve sustainability of Bank’s interventions in Eswatini; and
5. boosting of policy dialogue and knowledge management to improve project design, implementation and dissemination of results.