European Union pioneers Twinning in Zambia, the first pilot country outside Europe and its immediate neighbourhood!

15.04.2021

 

The European Union (EU) is stepping-up its partnership with Zambia with an innovative approach on governance, moving away from a “donor-recipient relationship” to a “partnerships of equals”. This week, the EU signed the very first two Twinning projects in Sub-Sahara Africa, which are in support of 1) the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and 2) the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in Zambia. Jacek JANKOWSKI, EU Ambassador to Zambia and COMESA, highlighted in his remarks during the signing ceremony that “Twinning does not work though one-way technical assistance, but depends on joint commitment, where success is determined by common achievements. European and Zambian institutions will exchange, rather than transfer knowledge, thus broadening the perspective of all involved. By doing so, we will build strong and long-lasting professional and even personal relationships.”

The EU and selected Member States are joining forces and acting together as “Team Europe” to support the development of OAG’s and ACC’s partnerships with specialised institutions from European countries. The EU commits EUR 4 million (equivalent to more than 100 million Kwacha) over 3 years to support the two Twinning project under its “Support to Effectiveness and Transparency in Management of Public resources (EFFECT) in Zambia” programme. The Twinning project with the OAG will develop partnerships with specialized peer institutions from Austria, Croatia and Finland, while the Twinning project with the ACC will do the same with institutions from Finland and Germany.

People signing documents