By Jimoh Babatunde
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said the bank will be in safe hand under Sidi Ould Tah, former Mauritanian Finance Minister, just elected as president of the bank.Adesina on his verified X handle, @akin_adesina, on Sunday wrote “Smooth transition! I am delighted with the election of @sidiouldtah as the new President of the @AfDB_Group.
The AfDB, which has $318 billion in capital, is owned by 54 African states and non-regional nations including the U.S., Japan and Saudi Arabia. Its biggest shareholder is Nigeria.
Sidi Ould Tah, former Mauritanian Finance Minister , was elected president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), after a poll during the bank’s annual meeting in Ivory Coast last week.
He will replace Akinwumi Adesina, the Nigerian economist who will step down in September after completing the maximum two five-year terms in office.Adesina in the post added that “Sidi is mature, experienced and competent. The Bank is in good and safe hands. Congrats bro! High5s! @AfDB_Group @CheikhGhazouani”Tah will take over as the bank grapples with Washington’s plans to cut $555 million in funding to its African Development Fund (ADF), which offers low-priced financing to more than 30 of the continent’s poorest nations.
The bank is responsible for backing several large-scale infrastructure developments within the continent, in part using resources from the African Development Fund (ADF). International partners replenish the ADF’s resources every three years, with the next round of funding due to begin this November.
However, with the Trump administration committed to cutting US funding to the AfDB by $555m (£411m) to focus on domestic matters, the bank will have to find creative ways of doing more with less or finding new donors. Adesina has said the current capital of the AfDB has grown to $318bn.
Tah will have to either persuade the U.S. to reinstate the funding or seek to replace the lost cash elsewhere, either from other African members or wealthier countries outside the continent who want a bigger say in the bank’s activities, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or China, analysts said.
Apart from constrained funding sources, the president-elect will also have to help heavily indebted African economies avert potential debt distress and meet historically high investment needs despite limited access to international funding.
The AfDB is in the process of helping to set up a Financial Stability Mechanism (AFSM) for the continent to prevent countries from tipping into debt-induced crises.
The post AfDB: Adesina says bank in safe hands with Tah appeared first on Vanguard News.