EU-Zambia Partnership

Andris Piebalgs, who was then the EU commissioner for development, with Fredson Yamba, secretary to the treasury at Zambia's Ministry of Finance, during the signing of the EU's latest national indicative program for Zambia. Photo by: European Commission A middle-income country, Zambia is considered among the strong performers in the southern African region, maintaining an average 5.7 percent growth rate from 2002 to 2012. Despite stable economic growth, development has not been inclusive. According to the European Union, 42 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty. Incidence is significantly higher in rural areas where two-thirds of Zambians reside — an alarming 58 percent. Zambia also lags behind in health and nutrition. Life expectancy and maternal and under-5 mortality rates in the country are below the average of low-income countries on the continent. One-third of the population is unable to meet basic food needs as well, while 45 percent of Zambian children are stunted. In 2013, the government of Zambia released its revised sixth national development plan, which will be implemented through fiscal 2016. The strategy document outlines the government’s plans to further accelerate growth and achieve inclusiveness to improve livelihood opportunities, especially in rural areas. The EU has aligned its latest national indicative program for Zambia with the government’s objectives and has committed substantial assistance to the African country. Funding levels and priorities The NIP for Zambia provides an indicated budget of 484 million euros ($529.69 million), which will be financed under the 11th cycle of the European Development Fund. This makes up the EU’s A-allocation and will cover fiscal years 2014-2020. The A envelope will be used for macroeconomic support, sectoral policies, programs and projects. A B-allocation will also be made available for humanitarian aid, emergency assistance and recovery efforts, debt relief contributions and other unforeseen expenditures. The amount for the B envelope will be determined as the need arises. Both A and B allocations are subject to midterm and end-of-term reviews and may be revised if deemed necessary. Under this partnership period, the EU will channel most of its assistance to three sectors: Energy: Programs in this sector will enable the country to maintain growth and boost competitiveness by easing access to clean, reliable and affordable energy. Activities envisioned under this component will be geared toward increasing power generation capacity, extending distribution networks, improving sectoral policies and supporting energy institutions. Agriculture: Emphasis will be given to improving livelihoods and nutrition of smallholders while strengthening environmental sustainability. These objectives will be achieved by providing support to ongoing efforts to implement conservation agriculture, fostering private sector participation in increasing access to markets and services for smallholder farmers, and improving policies in agriculture and nutrition. Governance: The EU’s goal for this sector is to promote equality and broaden access to justice through heightened levels of democratic governance, accountability and effectiveness in state institutions. This component will also strengthen the electoral system, public finance management and service delivery. In addition, the EU will finance support measures for the preparation and implementation of its programs, as well as deliver support to the National Authorizing Officer. Devex analysis Program delivery across all sectors will be faced with implementation challenges due in large part to the Zambian government’s limited capabilities. In the energy sector, the EU sees a lack of technical capacity to implement key programs as well as poor coordination and sector and financial management. To mitigate these risks, the EU intends to be in constant dialogue with the government while also carrying out advisory and capacity building services. With regards to poverty reduction, the EU foresees that the current misalignment between government policies and objectives could lessen the positive impact of private sector involvement. Moreover, Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture still lacks the necessary expertise and suffers from high staff turnover. To address these challenges, the EU will encourage dialogue between the government and other stakeholders to ensure sector priorities and development efforts are cohesive. Human resource development and capacity building measures will also be carried out to support the agriculture ministry. In the governance sector, there is considerable risk in that the government is likely to change its priorities in light of constitutional reviews and the possibility of adopting new justice sector reform and public finance management strategies. The EU will maintain a flexible approach in its programming and continue its active participation in policy dialogues with the government and other development partners to mitigate such risks. To allay other institutional weaknesses in the public sector, the EU will also deliver monitoring and evaluation support and financial sustainability assessments for projects. The 28-member bloc will continue to collaborate with key development partners throughout the implementation of this partnership strategy. In the energy sector, the EU is coordinating with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank to combine efforts and identify possible areas of co-financing. For public finance management, the EU continues to collaborate with its member states, particularly Germany, while also coordinating with the U.K. Department for International Development. In the justice sector, the EU works with Germany and its development agency GIZ, and the Danish Institute for Democracy and Human Rights to identify key areas for improvement and for designing the judicial sector reform program. Lastly, the EU will work with the U.S. Agency for International Development in agriculture, where the bloc will lead sector interventions. Contact Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Zambia and COMESA Tel: (260-211) 255-583 Fax: (260-211) 252-336 Email: