The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana, in collaboration with the Centre for Global Development (CDG), USA, hosted a debate among candidates vying for the prestigious position of President of the African Development Bank last Thursday.
The event was held at the CGD Conference Centre in Washington DC and broadcasted live at the premises of The IEA.
As the election of a new president scheduled for May 28 2015 nears, the purpose of the debate was to engage the candidates in a public discussion on their vision for the Bank.
The debate creeated a platform for shareholders, policymakers, media, and the public to hear directly from the candidates on various issues related to the Bank’s role in African development.
The event was intended to highlight each candidate’s strengths, promote transparency and competition in the election, and showcase the AfDB’s open selection process.
The IEA brought together representatives from a broad section of the society including Government, Parliament, Political Parties, the Diplomatic Corps, Academia, Think Tanks and the Media to witness the Debate via live broadcast.
The debate panel consisted of the following candidates:
| Country | Name | Current position | |
| 1 | Nigeria | Mr. Akinwumi Adesina | Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development |
| 2 | Chad | Mr. Kordje Bedoumra | Minister of Finance and Budget |
| 3 | Mali | Mr. Birma Boubacar Sidibe | VP Operations, IsDB |
| 4 | Cape Verde | Ms. Cristina Duarte | Minister of Finance and Planning |
| 5 | Sierra Leone | Mr. Samura Kamara | Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation |
| 6 | Tunisia | Mr. Jalloul Ayed | former Minister of Finance |
| 7 | Zimbabwe | Mr. Thomas Zondo Sakala | former VP Country and Regional Programs, AfDB |
Candidates first presented their vision statements to the audience after which they were asked a range of questions from representatives of member countries on issue areas such as:
- Challenges in the region
- Fragile and Post-Conflict States
- Natural Resource Management
- Bank Governance and States’ Accountability
- Bank’s relationship with china
- Encouraging the Private sector
- Financial Inclusion and Inequality
Representing Ghana, the Executive Director of the Institute, Mrs. Jean Mensa, posed the first question to the candidates on Africa’s development challenges. Mrs. Mensa asked what candidates saw as the major development challenges facing the region, and how they proposed to resolve these challenges. Hon. Adwoa Safo, MP for Dome-Kwabenya and Mr. Bernard Avle, CitiFM’s Director of News, were also selected by the IEA to pose questions to the candidates. Hon. Safo asked what specific polices and monitoring measures the candidates would put in place to ensure that funding given to African governments for the procurement of goods and services for the development of their countries are utilized in an efficient, competitive and accountable manner to ensure good value for money. Mr. Avle questioned the candidates on what specific plans they had to improve financial inclusion for groups like SME’s, women, the rural poor and those in rural agriculture.
The African Development Bank
With almost $8 billion worth of operations in 2013 and a growing share of multilateral lending to African countries, the African Development Bank is an institution of great importance to African governments and, therefore, to the lives of people across African nations.
The current President, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, a national of Rwanda, was elected in July 2005, and commenced his first term on 1 September 2005. Following his re-election in May 2010, he commenced his last 5-year term on 1 September 2010. Dr. Kaberuka is reaching the end of his term and is widely regarded as having led the bank to greater prominence and standing. His successor will be chosen by the bank’s governors, who represent its 80 members: 54 African states and 26 other countries with a stake in the bank.
- Presidential Candidates
The Steering Committee of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank met on 11 February, 2015 at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan and agreed to the following list of candidates for the election of the next President of the African Development Bank:
Akinwumi A. Adesina – Nigeria, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Previous position/role
Vice-President (Policy and Partnerships), Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Sufian Ahmed – Ethiopia, Minister of Finance and Economic Development
Previous position/role
Commissioner, Ethiopian Customs Authority
Jaloul Ayed – Tunisia, President, MED Confederation; former Minister of Finance
Previous position/role:
- Minister of Finance, Tunisian Republic
- Board Member, General Manager, BMCE Bank, Morocco
- Vice-President, Citibank
Kordjé Bedoumra – Chad, Minister of Finance and Budget
Previous position/role
- Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, Republic of Chad
- Minister of Planning, Economy and International Cooperation, Republic of Chad
- Secretary General, then Vice-President in charge of Corporate Services; African Development Bank
Cristina Duarte – Cape Verde, Minister of Finance and Planning
Previous position/role
- Director, Private sector development and competitiveness program, World Bank Project, Cabo Verde
- Vice-President and Head of Corporate & Investment Banking Citibank, N.A., Angola
Samura M. W. Kamara – Sierra Leone, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Previous position/role
Minister of Finance and Economic Development
Thomas Z. Sakala – Zimbabwe, former VP Country and Regional Programs, AfDB
Previous position/role
Vice-President, Country and Regional Programmes, AfDB
Birma Boubacar Sidibé – Mali, VP Operations, IsDB
Previous position/role:
Managing Director, Shelter Afrique, Nairobi, Kenya
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Source: IEA