Charting Africa’s Road to Recovery – Infrastructure Sector Upgrades

On Wednesday, 9 December 2020, the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) held the first in its new series of webinars examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic shocks on infrastructure projects in Africa. With over 150 participants registered, the fruitful discussion identified infrastructure gaps exposed by the pandemic and pondered potential solutions whilst suggesting new considerations for African governments.

The webinar, hosted by ALSF legal counsel, Primah Atugonza, posed poignant questions for the esteemed panellists of veterans in infrastructure development.

The central themes arising from the webinar were the importance of new models of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) including “People-centric” PPPs and the importance of risk analysis and the adequate balancing of risks in PPP projects.

Panellists included:
Beatrice Florence Ikilai - Vice-Chairperson of the Bureau of the UNECE Working Party on PPPs
Dr. John Tambi – Chairman of the Office of The Special Presidential Infrastructure Initiative in the Republic of Sierra Leone
David Baxter - Senior Advisor to the International Sustainable and Resilience Center (IPPPRC)
Mark Moseley – Principal,Moseley Infrastructure Advisory Services
Rachel Speight – Partner, Finance Group Mayer Brown International LLP

The Facility will be hosting its next webinar in the series in January 2021.