Independent Evaluation of the African Development Bank’s Country Strategy and Program for the Republic of Mauritius (2009-2018)

Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) has conducted an evaluation of the Country Strategy and Program (CSP) of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the Republic of Mauritius over a ten year period (2009 - 2018). During this period, which encompasses two strategic cycles (CSP 2009–2013 and CSP 2014–2018) the funds committed by the AfDB to Mauritius amounted to approximately USD 854 million (this excludes equity funds and some trust funds). The bulk of the AfDB’s operations over the evaluation period focused on the governance, finance and power sectors.  

The purpose of the evaluation was twofold: First, to assess the extent to which planned development results from the AfDB’s key interventions in Mauritius have been achieved and the reasons for their achievement or lack thereof. Second, to provide AfDB Management with evidence and lessons learned to consider as it develops the AfDB’s next Country Strategy for Mauritius.

The evaluation followed a theory-based approach. Quantitative and qualitative information were collected through portfolio and document reviews, interviews with key stakeholders and site visits to provide evidence for the assessment.

The evaluation’s main findings, over the period in review, were as follows:

• The relevance of the AfDB’s strategies and programs in Mauritius was deemed satisfactory. The AfDB’s country strategies are aligned to the strategic plans of the Government of Mauritius (GoM).

• The effectiveness of the AfDB’s strategies over the evaluation period presented a mixed picture. This performance dimension was rated unsatisfactory, as many of the planned operations did not materialize, mainly due to the GoM’s cap on sovereign loans.

• The efficiency of the AfDB’s assistance to Mauritius was found unsatisfactory, as most of the projects faced implementation delays, in particular Technical Assistance, leading to extensions of the completion dates.

• The Bank’s interventions in Mauritius are likely to be sustainable. Over the decade under review, all the Bank’s interventions had either been sustainable or had the potential to pave the way for other sustainable projects in the country.

• While the Bank’s interventions have supported inclusiveness, the country continues to face challenges with respect to the issues of youth participation and gender gaps in employment.

Overall, while the AfDB’s strategies in Mauritius were relevant, they did not reflect the reality of the portfolio and therefore the results framework was overambitious. The report proposed several recommendations for an improvement of the AfDB’s development impact in Mauritius:

• The Bank should consider various scenarios when developing its strategy, and maintain an active strategic dialogue with Mauritius when there is a change in leadership or policy orientation.
• On private sector development, the Bank should consider suitable financing mechanisms including partial risk guarantees, loan syndication and private equity participation in Mauritian firms that have investments in the country.
• It would also be advisable to adopt a programmatic approach to allow the Bank the flexibility to adjust to the country’s changing environment, and to devise alternative instruments and adequate resources to enable it to respond effectively and rapidly to the expectations of the country in terms of advisory services and dialogue.
• The Bank should mainstream crosscutting issues into the design and implementation of its upcoming country strategy, in particular the environment, youth employment and gender equality in the labor market.    

Task Managers: Samson Houetohossou, Bilal Bagayoko