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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, has described the growth of the African economy as his major priority, which propelled him to secure approval of the shareholders to grow its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion, the largest so far in the bank’s history.
Speaking on Arise Television on Thursday, the AfDB President, who was in Lagos to receive the 2024 Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Award, said the capital growth of the regional financial institution has enabled it undertake audacious projects and initiatives strategically designed to tow as many African out of the poverty pit as possible.
Adesina said there are 37 low-income countries in Africa who are yet to access the commercial offerings of the bank, promoting the bank to create the African Development Fund.
“And so we do it every two years. We replenish the fund and so on. “Again, by the confidence of our shareholders, we had about 16 replenishments in 2022. And that we were able to raise this donor money/grant money.
“We were able to raise $8.9 billion dollars, which again, was the largest ever raised in terms of replenishment for the African Development Fund, since it was established in 1973. So, those are the things that I felt were very important to do”, he revealed.
Adesina added that he was elected, designed a blueprint that will transform the lives of Africans.
“So, it is not just a not a job. As far as I am concerned, it is a mission and a responsibility that I had to this continent to do that, and so I started off by actually having a clear vision of exactly how I wanted to see Africa, different.
“One, I do not accept poverty as normal. I think we have to end poverty in Africa. And so I said, Look, five key things we are going to do is one: light up and power Africa. Give Africa 100% access to electricity, feed Africa. I believe that if you cannot feed yourself, you cannot develop with pride. And therefore, you have to feed your people, nutritious people, productive people to industrialize Africa.
“I do not accept that Africa has to be at the bottom of the value chain in anything. We have a natural comparative advantage. And so how do you turn that into real assets for yourself competitively and globally? That is very important, but also to integrate Africa with 54 countries, and we have got a population of 1.4 billion people. And so we must be able to industrialize and not get stuck at the bottom of value chains and use that market size to grow ourselves.
“And finally, the fifth one is to improve the quality of life of the people of Africa and there, you have to improve the skills, the education of young people in particular. I am trying to make sure financial systems work for young people and particularly women because I am a very pro-women person all through my career.
“Also the importance of water and sanitation, and also making sure that people have top quality health care services.
“So, those are the things that I set out to do”, he explained.
Adesina, who captured the goals as high five, said there was an external assessment by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“You know what they found? They said, if Africa achieved those high fives, Africa would have achieved 90% of the Sustainable Development Goals globally. And they would have achieved 90% of the Agenda 2063 successfully, of our heads of state, which is the Africa we want. So we are relentless in making sure that we push for this”, he said.
