The African Development Bank Group (AfDB)is calling for nominations of suitably qualified individuals including from Tanzania to serve on the Appeals Panel of the Bank Group’s Disclosure and Access to Information (DAI) Policy.
Bank Group’s Vice President Secretary General, Ms Cecilia Akintomide
A statement released by the Bank Group’s Vice President Secretary General, Ms Cecilia Akintomide yesterday, stated that the Panel requires candidates who have extensive experience dealing with issues of governance, transparency, access to information and related-matters.
“They should have a good working knowledge of freedom of information policies from a national, regional or international perspective, a good understanding of the functioning of multilateral development finance institutions and independent judgment and demonstrated integrity,” reads the bank’s statement made available to this newspaper.
According to the statement, citizenship of an AfDB member state is mandatory and preference will be given to candidates who are fluent in either English or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language African experience will also be considered favourably during the evaluation process.
The bank stated that the Disclosure and Access to Information (DAI) Policy re-affirms the commitment of all Bank Group entities and staff to the principles of good governance, particularly transparency, accountability, increased access to information and active communication. Under the DAI Policy, members of the public may request a review of Bank’s decisions to deny their requests for information through a two-stage appeals process.
The first stage of the review is conducted by the Bank Group Information Disclosure Committee (IDC), constituted by members of Management of the Bank. The second stage is conducted by an Appeals Panel constituted by three persons, at least two of whom shall be external to the Bank.
The Appeals Panel reports directly to the President of the Bank Group and functions independently of the IDC. Its mandate does not, however, extend to Bank Group decisions concerning requests to override the provisions of the DAI Policy.
The decisions of the Appeals Panel are final and the remedy, where applicable, will be to provide requested information to the requester. Successful candidates will be appointed by the President of the Bank Group, in consultation with the Boards of Directors, to serve on a case-by-case basis for a two-year term renewable once.
Source Tanzania Daily News