The Board of Governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) met on Thursday, May 24 in Busan, Korea, for the second time during the 53rd Annual Meetings to review the state of the Bank’s operations and its prospects for the coming years.
Introducing this session entitled “Governors' Dialogue,” the Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, shared operational results and urged Governors not to hesitate to offer their views or suggest advice.
Adesina welcomed the results achieved with Bank’s five development priorities, the High 5s (link is external) : Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
Nearly 27 million Africans will soon benefit from the Light up and power Africa priority in terms of energy, whereas 23 million more will be reached by the Feed Africa initiative.
At least 10 million women will soon benefit from the implementation of the High 5s, said Adesina, who also highlighted the environmental and social aspects of the Bank’s operations.
Since the sixth capital increase, the Bank’s loans to eligible states as part of the African Development Fund (ADF) have multiplied 17 times while the approval level rose to about US $8.7 billion in 2016, an unprecedented amount.
“In 2017 we provided more than US $7 billion to our regional member countries. We plan to continue our efforts, especially by strengthening the private sector and recruiting appropriate staff,” added Adesina.
Family reunion
Several Governors spoke after the remarks by the Bank’s President, welcoming the results he shared, offering advice, and discussing development challenges in Africa.
“This meeting is a sort of family reunion. It is the framework for clearly assessing our efforts so far and planning the future. Personally, I think that our Bank has obtained admirable results in a number of areas. We must now reflect together on ways to consolidate them,” said Kenneth Ofori-Atta, the Bank’s Governor from Ghana.
“Africa has high expectations and great challenges. We must therefore give the African Development Bank – our Bank – the means to achieve its policies. Specifically, we must give it the resources it needs to ensure that African people thrive. To do this, we must plan a general capital increase for the Bank,” continued Mondli Gungubele, the Bank’s Governor from South Africa.
Abderrahmane Raouya, the Algerian Governor, said it was important to continue the Bank’s efforts while increasing its resources to enable African nations to better resist external shocks.
“The Bank’s general capital increase is an initiative we fully support because we believe we must consolidate progress and create jobs for young Africans. The place of our youth and their future are here in Africa,” he said.
The Nigerian Governor, Kemi Adeosun, echoed these thoughts, explaining that it was possible to proceed with the general capital increase while pursuing reforms needed to improve the Bank’s performance.
“Don't delay. The African Development Bank, our Bank, needs resources: Let’s agree to a general capital increase. We can also work to implement the reforms desired by my colleagues,” added Adeosun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance.
80 Governors from 80 member countries
Other Governors addressed more specific questions, such as urging the Bank to do more in its gender promotion policy, the fight against climate change, and promoting the private sector.
“We believe that the Bank can do even more in terms of gender. For us, it means allowing more space for women within the Bank’s managing bodies as well as paying gender attention to gender in projects that are selected,” said Leslie Norton, Assistant Deputy Minister, Global Affairs Canada, on behalf of Chrystia Freeland, the Bank’s Canadian Governor.
French Governor, Cyril Rousseau, called for the Bank to continue efforts to strengthen the private sector, which he said must play a more decisive role in financing African economies.
“Financing needs in Africa are immense. We must therefore keep mobilizing the private sector to contribute even further to financing these economies than in the past. I have noted the Bank’s previous efforts in this area and urge it to do more,” he said.
The Bank’s 80 Governors met for the first time on Wednesday to adopt their working agenda for the Bank’s 53 rd Annual Meetings, which were held in Busan, Korea, from May 21 to 25.
A third working session for the Board of Governors was planned for Friday, May 25 on the closing day of the Annual Meetings.
Some 3,000 participants attended the Annual Meetings, which this year were on the theme “Accelerating Africa’s Industrialization.”
