The African Development Bank has developed a three-year project in response to demands by member countries for technical assistance to monitor revenues generated from their extractive industries.

This was made known during a virtual inception workshop for the Financial Modelling Project in the Extractive Sector organised by the African Natural Resources Centre of the bank in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

FIMES, according to the project report will be implemented in eight transitional countries – Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Zimbabwe from 2020 to 2022.

The aim of the project is to enhance the abilities of the focal countries in order to improve domestic resource mobilisation from the extractive sectors.

Mrs Vanessa Ushie, Division Manager, Policy Analysis, while presenting the background information on the FIMES project said the project was aimed at the overall economic resilience of the continent.

Ushie said, “Twenty government officials in each beneficiary member country will participate in the training, learning and knowledge activities as national beneficiaries, that is, 180 officials in the eight countries.

“Set criteria for selection of beneficiaries in the national cohort include relevance to primary job function on extractive revenue management, knowledge of extractive sector fiscal issues’ potential multiplier effects (trainer-of-trainers approach) and IT proficiency.

“The project commits to at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries in the eight countries to be women.

“National Focal Point main coordinating actor in each beneficiary country must be nominated by the national government to play this role.’’