African countries face many challenges in the economic front. Recent developments have worsened the situation and hastened the urgency of skilled management. With the effects of coronavirus and economic dislocation of most African economies, the African Development Bank needs at its apex a steady hand based on competence, experience, exposure, and vision.
The African Development Bank is the foremost development finance institution on the continent. AfDB seeks above all to “spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction”. It would do this by “mobilising and allocating resources for investment in member countries and providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts”.
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Several compelling issues require concerted management with the technical and financial support of a strong development finance institution. They include the management of African economies post-covid19, implementation of the goals of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA almost a year after it came into force and diversification as well as strengthening of the economies of Africa.
The call is for tried and tested leadership. BusinessDay joins the Economic Community of West African States as well as the Executive Council of the African Union to call for and support the re-election of Akinwunmi Adesina as president of the AfDB.
The eighth president of the AfDB, Akinwunmi Adesina, brings to bear wide-ranging experience in economic and financial management. His pedigree includes hands-on management of agriculture in Nigeria. Agriculture is one of the significant areas of concern going forward in Africa. He also has a sound theoretical and practical experience and exposure to the most pressing issues in development, including the geopolitics of finance and economics.
The days ahead of African states demands focus on ensuring the economic fundamentals follow a positive path. The AfDB envisions the transformation of the African continent and its economies. Its five-point operational priorities of infrastructure development, regional integration, private sector development, governance and accountability as well as skills and technology deserve support. We believe it has considered well the particular focus areas of fragile states, agriculture and food security.
Since 2015, the African Development Bank has witnessed strong leadership and strategic focus on the core issues confronting member countries. As the 55 ministers of member states of the Executive Council of the African Union noted in February 2020, shareholders of the AfDB approved during Akinwunmi’s first term a landmark $115 billion capital increase in late October. The increase in the capital base, from $93 billion to $208 billion, signalled strong support from the Board of Governors in the continent’s foremost financial institution.
AfDB has maintained a high level of accountability and transparency with Adesina as the head. As AfDB stated in response to misguided criticism by the president of the World Bank “our institution was ranked 4th most transparent institution in the world by the 2018 Publish What You Fund report”.
ECOWAS hinged its endorsement of Adesina on at least two key considerations. First is the involvement of the AfDB “in the provision of technical and financial interventions to the West African region”. Another is for the implementation of numerous projects and programmes across the region. The African Development Bank has an investment portfolio of $20billion in West Africa.
Adesina’s management of the African Development Bank has enhanced its credibility and brand equity. It is a lender in whom member countries repose confidence for technical and financial depth, what with its enhanced capitalisation necessary to face the challenges of now and the future.
When they meet in May 2020, we encourage representatives of regional member countries to vote for Akinwunmi Adesina. Then charge him to ensure that the elegant prose of its Strategy for 2013–2022 translates into actual projects, programmes and activities that enhance Africa’s development and sustainability in a changing global economy. Africa must leapfrog, and the AfDB should lead in providing the enablement.
