Swazi Tshabalala, South Africa's candidate to head the African Development Bank, knows exactly what she'll do if she gets the job.

With billions of dollars of US aid for the continent drying up, which she called an opportunity rather than a threat, Tshabalala said the regional lender must be clear in its priorities.

"We have a persistent infrastructure gap and unless we address that, nothing else is possible," she said in an interview at Bloomberg's offices in Johannesburg. The bank should avoid stretching itself too far and ought to be "selective in its focus."

The election of the next AfDB president takes place on May 29 and Tshabalala faces competition -- including from a separate Southern African Development Community candidate, Samuel Maimbo of Zambia -- whom Pretoria rejected because a Zambian has previously held the post.

Five people have been shortlisted, with Senegal's Amadou Hott, a former minister of economy and planning, viewed as a strong contender who is expected to get heavy backing from the francophone bloc in West Africa.

The president of the bank, which was founded in 1964 to promote development in Africa, is elected by its board of governors to a five-year term, which can be renewed once. As part of her campaign, Tshabalala has been lobbying for support beyond the continent, among non-regional members including Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Britain and Germany.

A core part of her strategy would be to fast-track infrastructure projects and drive financing to meet the continent's estimated US$100 billion-plus annual infrastructure spending need.

"The second pillar in my strategy is around how we mobilise the private sector to actually help with the investment in that transformational infrastructure," she said. -- Bloomberg.