ADB funds for governance, potable water

The African Development Bank (ADB) and Cote d'Ivoire's government signed on Tuesday two agreements totaling 4.3 billion francs CFA (US $5.8 million) for a project on governance and capacity building, and another that seeks to improve the water system in two of the country's biggest cities. The money comes from the African Development Fund, the small-loans branch of the ADB. It includes 3.5 billion francs CFA ( $4.7 million) will be used to cover Cote d'Ivoire's National Good Governance and Capacity Building Programme. The programme's goals include supporting decentralisation, promoting democratic culture by involving citizens in the decision-making process and improving the management of public resources. The three-year programme also seeks to improve the legal system and to encourage the flow of economic investment by restoring the "confidence of citizens, economic operators and development partners", the ADB said in a statement. The remaining 785 million francs CFA ($1.1 million) will finance a study on upgrading water supply systems catering for the three million people living in the economic hub, Abidjan, as well as the needs of some 500,000 people living in the central city of Bouake, the country's second largest town.