On Thursday, Hassatou Diop N'Sele was the guest of Appels sur l'actualité, the flagship current affairs programme of Radio France International (RFI), the French language radio station with global reach. Speaking from a studio set up by RFI in Abidjan on the sidelines of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, the Bank's CFO answered questions from listeners about transformative projects in agriculture, industrialisation and infrastructure.
Ms. Diop N'Sele emphasised that, in keeping with the theme of the Annual Meetings, "Making Africa's Capital Work Better for Africa's Development", the priority for African countries today is to mobilize the continent's internal resources for industrialization and regional integration in the face of geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis and trade conflicts.
"By exporting our raw materials, we export our jobs. Our products lack added value. That's why it is so important to speed up implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area," she stressed.
Answering a listener's question about the real impact of the Bank's investments in the energy sector, Ms. Diop N'Sele noted: "In 10 years, we have helped to connect more 28 million people to electricity. That's a lot, but it's not enough, which is why our alliance with the World Bank to reach a target of 300 million people newly connected to electricity by 2030 is so important. We are also working with other partners to achieve this goal."
Agriculture, education and health as priorities
Discussing food sovereignty, Ms. Diop N'Sele reminded RFI listeners that agriculture is one of the institution's five main operational priorities (the "High 5s"). She pointed out that 12.8 million African farmers have applied new, climate-resilient technologies over the past 10 years thanks to the Bank. "We're saying that by 2050, Africa will be able to feed part of the world," she said.
"The Bank is also making concrete investments in the education and health sectors," the Bank CFO commented, responding to specific questions from many callers from Africa. Examples include the Bank's financing of a capacity-building project for youth employability and improved social protection in Gabon, which has already enabled the upgrading of 11 technical education and vocational training establishments, from Port-Gentil to Franceville, also in Tchibanga and Mouila. These fully equipped facilities are now operational, training young people in technical trades.
In the health sector, the African Development Bank has mobilized significant resources for the acquisition of all-terrain vehicles, scanners, and protective equipment, and for improvements to health infrastructure, notably as part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Public Health Laboratory in Libreville (Gabon) and the National Institute for Training in Health and Social Action (INFASS), also in Gabon, are being re-equipped, along with six other establishments.
Well-managed investments
To ensure optimal use of its funds, the Bank Group applies a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and fraud. "We have rigorous systems and processes in place to prevent corruption and abuse, and to ensure that our disbursements meet their intended objectives," Ms Diop N'Sele said, in answer to a question from a listener.
She explained that the Bank has an Integrity and Anti-Corruption Office, which monitors all projects and operations. The Office works to prevent and actively discourage fraudulent and corrupt practices, as well as to investigate and impose sanctions where necessary. "On our website, you will find a list of 'excluded entities', which includes individuals and legal entities that have been sanctioned for acts of corruption or fraud," the Vice-President told a listener.
In the second part of the 40-minute program, which was divided into two 20-minute segments, the Vice-President was joined by Alain Ebobissé, Managing Director of Africa50, an entity founded by African countries, the African Union and the African Development Bank to bridge the infrastructure financing gap by mobilizing private sector resources. Mr Ebobissé described infrastructure projects led by Africa50, particularly the ongoing, high-profile project for a road- rail linkage between the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville.
