1. Background

The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) is an intergovernmental institution formed in 2002 in Abuja, Nigeria. The vision of AMCOW is an Africa where there is an equitable and sustainable use and management of water resources for poverty alleviation, socio-economic development, regional cooperation and the environment. AMCOW’s mission is to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources for sustainable social and economic development and maintenance of African ecosystems. The Organs and structures of AMCOW serve as the working group on Water and Sanitation of the African Union’s Specialized Technical Committee (STC) of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (ARBE).

Over the past 5 years, AMCOW Secretariat has gone through a number of institutional reforms to improve its operational and governance arrangements to deliver on its mandate effectively. The overall objective is to provide a high-level platform to push the water agenda forward at the continental, regional and country levels. Ultimately, the aspiration is for Member States to ensure effective and sustainable management of water resources for all purposes to address both poverty reduction and social development goals.

2. Rationale

A key outcome of the institutional development support to date has been the establishment of broadly inclusive participatory mechanisms – coordinated by the AMCOW Secretariat – for informing decision-making. Information generated from the Africa Water and Sanitation Sector (WASSMO) system is used to inform continental policy initiatives to coordinate and technically facilitate the water sector in Africa.

On the continuum of institutional growth, the focus has now shifted to assuring both the short-term funding stability and the long-term financial security of AMCOW.

Numerous political commitments notwithstanding, the water sector – in general – and AMCOW as an institution – are faced with a chronic challenge of incommensurate funding. The Sharm-el-Sheikh Declaration takes it on with commitments on:

• increasing domestic allocations to the sector;
• developing appropriate financial instruments and investment plans for funding the water and sanitation sector; and,
• mobilising funding support from development partners.

In the N’Gor Declaration, a commitment is made of having established sanitation and hygiene budget lines of a minimum of 0.5% of national GDP by 2020.

For the majority of AMCOW’s Member States, action on these commitments has not matched the enormity of the task of ensuring water security. By extension, statutory contributions to the core budget of AMCOW are insufficient to meet a key stipulation of the AMCOW Governance Framework on funding AMCOW initiatives.

To fund AMCOW activities, the Secretariat is mandated to receive and manage Member States’ contributions, as well as such sources as shall be established by the Executive Secretary. These sources include contributions from the private sector; and funding, technical and implementing partners. The AMCOW Governance Framework, thus, stipulates that the core functions of the Secretariat shall be financed by the Member States themselves to demonstrate commitment and ownership.

As such, strengthening the Secretariat’s capacity to mobilise resources towards implementation of AMCOW’s core functions has implications for the institution’s funding model. The Secretariat’s ability to attract partner investments into AMCOW activities is linked to the ability to demonstrate financial commitment to AMCOW’s core functions.

Hence the ongoing activities to formulate and implement a business plan to set the strategic direction and inject new approaches into AMCOW’s resources mobilisation efforts.

Objectives of the Assignment

Against the background of the foregoing, technical services are sought to prepare an impact oriented AMCOW Business Plan to support implementation of the AMCOW Strategy 2018 – 2030. A key immediate output from the plan will be to put in place measures – including revenue generation – to provide financial stability at the Secretariat.

A key requirement is to concisely articulate strategies – grounded in private sector business acumen – to assure both the short-term funding stability and the long-term financial security of AMCOW.

Scope of Work

Under the overral  guidance of the Executive Secretary and direct supervision of the  Director of Corporate Services, the consultant will be responsible to:

• Conduct detailed consultation on AMCOW programmes and other potential revenue generating products and services, such as Conferences etc, with the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Management, Staff and key partners/stakeholders.
• Conduct a market analysis and risk assessment, and study the critical sustainability factors for similar entities, including operational gaps, funding loopholes, competitiveness and viability;
• Conduct a thorough review of AMCOW’s governance, management and operational structure, systems and policies to inform the development of a sound and efficient business model and plan;
• Conduct validation sessions to discuss and review the draft Business Plan before it is finalized. This should include proposed products and services; governance, operational and financial management structures, including any tax implications; branding and communication strategies and cost estimates/budget.

Deliverables

A 5-year Business Plan that fully responds to the objectives of the assignment as detailed in Section 2 above. It will include, but not be limited to:

1. clearly defined operational strategies, governance and management structures;
2. details of the key tasks and responsibilities of each actor;
3. a financial and operational plan;
4. cost estimates/budgets of recommended actions, including tax implications;
5. a risk mitigation/management plan, as well as,
6. a plan for measuring performance and impact.

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to take approximately 30 input days spread over a period of 3 calendar months.

Qualification and Experience

Demonstrated experience in undertaking similar assignments within Intergovernmental mandated institutions such as the AU, Regional Economic Commissions, River and Lake Basin Organisations and the UN and Not-for-Profit Organisations such as NGOs and Civil Societies within the last ten (10) years.

At least a Master’s degree or equivalent in business administration, strategic Management, development studies, Economics or related fields;

Familiarity and strong understanding of the water and sanitation sector in Africa

Strong research and analytical skills, communication (oral and written), interpersonal and facilitation skills.

Ability to work remotely with a multi-disciplinary team

Good leadership and organisational skills.

Language capabilities to function in both English and French is an added advantage.

Submission of Proposals

Interested parties – both individuals and firms – that meet the criteria above are invited to submit proposals (maximum of 15 pages as a single attachment) providing the details below:

1. an expression of interest and technical capability statement;
2. details of the proposed approach, methodology and activity scheduling;
3. a summary of relevant experience – over the last 5 years – of preparing business plans in both private sector and inter-governmental organisational contexts. Please use the table below for each of the relevant assignments. Contact information of the respective clients should be provided for each of the relevant assignments listed.

Assignment name:	Approx. value of the contract:
Countries:	Duration of assignment:
Name of client and contact details:	Total no. of staff-months of the assignment:
Address:	Approx. value of the services provided by your firm/you under the contract:
Start date:   Completion date:	No. of professional staff-months provided by associated consultants:
Name of associated consultants, if any:	Name of senior professional staff of your firm involved and functions performed: Eg. XXXX YYYYY, Team Leader, hydrologist, hydraulic conditions ZZZZ AAAA, Water Economist BBBB CCCCC, Financial Modeller
Narrative description of project: (please provide summaries of the background, approach and methods used, and outputs/recommendations)
Description of actual services provided by your staff/you within the assignment:

• the aplicant’s resume – for individual consultants – or resumes of the key staff of the bidding firm highlighting relevant expertise;
• a financial proposal containing time and cost estimate for delivery of the above-described deliverables, including a break-down to level of effort and expenses.
• links to samples of the bidder’s written work/deliverables from previous assignments
• How to apply

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit a formal proposal and resume not later than 8^th May 2023.

The application should be addressed and email to:

The Executive Secretary

African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)

No. 11, T.Y. Danjuma Street, Asokoro District

Abuja, Nigeria.

Email: info@amcow-online.org

The same e-mail address can be used for requests for additional information and or clarifications.

On 27 January, the African Ministers’ Council on Water Secretariat paid a courtesy visit to the Ministry for Sanitation and Water, Ghana. The delegation, led by the Executive Secretary of AMCOW, Dr Rashid Mbaziira, was received by the Minister of Water Resources, Ghana, Honourable Cecilia Abena Dapaah.

During the meeting, the Minister stated that Ghana had made strides in the sector. She highlighted that, by implementing some of its projects between 2018-2021, the Ministry has provided over 40 000 household toilets to help reduce open defecation in the country.

According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census released by the Ghana Statistical Service, the population with improved toilet facilities is about 80.9%. Of this, 25.3% of the populace use exclusive household toilet facilities (basic sanitation), and the remaining 55.6% use shared toilet facilities with multiple households. In addition, the 2021 Population and Housing Census released by the Ghana Statistical Service states that 87.7% of the populace has access to basic water supply services. During the meeting with Dr Rashid Mbaziira, Hon Mrs Cecilia Abena added that Ghana is on course to attain the Sustainable Development Goals Target 6.1.1. come 2030.

Regarding data management and information, the Minister reiterated that reliable and accurate data is critical for decision-making and planning, especially in a situation of limited resources.

She added that Ghana had participated actively during the production of the WASSMO report since 2011. In the last edition, Ghana was cited as one of the best-performing countries in data collection and reporting regarding meeting the WASSMO System’s numerous targets.

Even though developing the WASSMO report has been going on for some time, many countries, including Ghana, still find it difficult to provide data for some of the required indicators. Weaknesses exist in some national data, information management and monitoring systems, and the lack of credible and sufficient reporting on the state of the water resources within the African Continent, including Ghana, which has been the subject of various regional and global stakeholders’ fora.

In Ghana, a lot has been done to establish a robust monitoring system to help track the water and sanitation sector’s progress and to inform decision-making towards accelerated access to clean and safely managed water and sanitation services for all. Ghana will always play a key role in AMCOW. It will support policy revisions and the creation of reverse linkages for Ghana to share her experience and provide support to other Member States, says the Hon Minister.

On the revision of the African Water Vision, she added that Ghana is ready to be part of the countries to champion the commitment of developing a roadmap to formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision. The vision should be audacious enough to largely influence the post-2030 Developmental Agenda of the United Nations. The NGOR declaration in Senegal on ending Open defecation found space in the 2030 SDG targets, and the same must be the vision as we formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision. The Continent is blessed with substantial water resources, and the time has come to effectively harness these resources to better the lives of people within the Continent.