The African Development Bank Group: A performance review

This book examines the performance of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as advisor to African governments on Economic policy and planning. It focuses on countries within the Economic community of West African States (ECOWAS). Ghana, a member of the ECOWAS countries, is singled out as a case study for the analysis. This book concludes that the AfDB is an institution in the process of (re)defining its focus and seeking to establish itself among its member states. The AfDB has been in the shadows of the World Bank Group, the IMF and other multilateral institutions. Overall the AfDB has so far played a limited role in national policy dialogue with low visibility and minor contributions within the West African region. Moreover, in Ghana the AfDB has been criticised for being over-responsive to incumbent governments to the extent that it sometimes becomes inconsistent with the need for a firmer, more fundamental and coordinated stand in policy dialogue.