Mr. Chairman of the Board
of Governors,
The President of the African Development Bank Group,
Honourable Governors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Mr. Chairman,
I would like to thank the government of the Republic of Ivory Coast and its
people for hosting these meetings and for the warm reception and hospitality
extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in this Country. I would also like to thank and commend the
AfDB Group for the excellent arrangements and facilitations to make these
meetings successful. Further, let me
thank the Bank for choosing a good theme for this year’s Annual Meetings, which
is “Africa and the New Global Landscape”.
2. Mr. Chairman,
the 2015 Annual Meetings are especially important for the
Bank and all of us for three main reasons: First, during these meetings we will
be celebrating fifty years since the Bank was established to serve as the
premier Bank in Africa. This year’s
Annual Meetings therefore offer us the opportunity to reflect on the work of
the Bank over the last fifty years. Looking at the records, it is clear that
over the last fifty years, the Bank has performed remarkably well in serving
the African continent through financing essential infrastructure projects and
provision of policy and legal advice.
These efforts by the Bank have contributed
to many important achievements in member states in Africa, including expansion
of the road and railway infrastructure networks, water supply, education,
energy, health infrastructure and agriculture. We feel very proud of these
achievements. I commend the Bank leadership over these years for steering the
Bank and African countries to these achievements. Second, the 2015 Annual
Meetings are important because this is the last year of implementation of the
Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs). The 2015 Annual Meetings offer an
important opportunity for the Bank and all of us to see how much progress we
have made towards achieving the MDGs.
According to this year’s African Development
Report and other reports by the United Nations, many African countries have not
been able to achieve the MDGs. The Bank should therefore use the occasion of
these meetings to dialogue with member states on how best the Bank can assist
countries to do better in future efforts to reduce poverty in Africa. Third,
the 2015 Annual Meetings are also
important and special because during these meetings, we will elect a new
President to lead the Bank over the next five or probably ten years. This
Presidential election is especially important for two reasons: first because of
the very high leadership standard the current President has set for the Bank. This
is a huge challenge for both the Governors who will vote to elect the new
President and for the incoming President who will be expected to match the
standard set by President Kaberuka. My advice and appeal to the Governors is to
vote and elect a President who will further lift the Bank and African Continent
to greater heights of success. Second, the 2015 Presidential elections are also particularly
important because the incoming President will assume office when there are many
and complex economic and social challenges to deal with. For example, poverty
remains a major challenge in Africa and governance is still a formidable
challenge in many African Countries. At same time, concessional sources of
finances to address these challenges are shrinking. The new President will be expected to develop
strategies that will enable the Bank to effectively support Africa in dealing
with these challenges.
3. Mr.
Chairman, during the last ten
years, we have witnessed very challenging economic and social shocks namely the
2008 world economic crisises, the 2009 global food shortage crisis, the rapid rise
in oil prices, the Arab springs and the emergency of al-Shabaab and Boko Haram
in East Africa and Nigeria respectively; and more recently, the outbreak of
Ebola in Liberia, Sierra- Leone, and Guinea.
I am happy and proud
to note that in each case, the Bank responded very effectively. For example, during
the 2008 global financial and food shortage crises, the Bank coordinated and
assisted African countries in designing and successfully implementing policies
and strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of the crisis. As a result, many
African Countries sustained robust growth at an average of 7 percent. The Bank
also represented and spoke with loud voice at the G20 meetings to promote
Africa’s interest in the Global economy.
The recent intervention in the Ebola crisis in the three Western African
countries is yet another landmark service by the Bank to African countries.
These are some of the major reflections of the able and visionary leadership of
President Kaberuka. I want to commend
him for successfully lifting the reputation of the Bank to this level.
4. Further,
it is also important to note that under the leadership of President Kaberuka,
the Bank has introducing several innovative initiatives in order to respond to
the ever changing needs of member states. These initiatives include the
creation of the Africa50 Fund. The Bank has also granted ADF only countries
access to ADB window resources. These initiatives are intended to increase the
amount of resources available for member states. However, it is important to
note that the success of these initiatives by the Bank depends on our collective
support. I would like to urge all Governors to support the Bank on these
initiatives. At the same time, I want to commend the Government of the Kingdom
of Morocco for offering to host the Headquarters of the Africa50 Fund. Our
strong support to the Bank on this initiative is critical in order to enable
the Bank to respond effectively to emerging development challenges in Africa.
5. Mr. Chairman,
apart from dealing with the crises I have mentioned above, the Bank has also
successfully implemented the return of its operations from the temporally
relocation offices in Tunis to its traditional Headquarters here in Abidjan.
Indeed, this was not a simple task. It involved a lot of careful planning and
implementation of the road map. I am happy to note that as we are celebrating
the fiftieth birth day of the Bank, most operations are now based in Abidjan. I
commend President Kaberuka, his management team and all staff for their commitment
to successfully accomplish this task on time. I also want to thank both the Ivorian
and Tunisian Governments and all other Governors for supporting and facilitating
the return of the Bank’s operations to Abidjan. My Government will continue
supporting the Bank whenever necessary.
6. Mr. Chairman, in 2010
we made an important decision to recapitalize the Bank through the Sixth General Capital Increase (GCI-VI). Under the sixth general capital increase of
the Bank (GCI-VI), Tanzania has already paid for four installments for its
shares. I want to appeal to all Governors to do everything in their powers to
ensure that this general capital increase is fully implemented.
7.
Lastly Mr. Chairman,
as I said, one very important activity of the 2015 Annual Meetings is the
election of the new President of the Bank, following the coming to end of Dr.
Kaberuka’s second term. Dr. Kaberuka has served the Bank and the African
continent with distinction. Many other Governors and I have attempted to enumerate
many achievements under his leadership. Indeed, it was an honour and privilege
to interact with him in course of our official duties. It is very difficult to
find the right words to express our appreciation of his excellent service to
the continent. I can only thank him for all the great things he has done and
extend to him my best wishes in his next phase of life. Further, I want to
conclude my statement by pledging my Government’s full support to the next President
of the Bank and the entire management.
Mr.
Chairperson and Honorable Governors, I thank you very much for your kind
attention.
Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, Tuesday, 26th May, 2014
Delivered by: Ingiahedi Mduma
Spokes Person
Ministry of Finance-TZ
Abidjan- Ivory Cost
27th
May, 2015.
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