AfDB counts development strides at 60.

“Since September 1964 when representatives of 25 African countries gathered in Khartoum, Sudan, to agree on the vision for a bank to drive economic development across Africa, it has been a journey of resilience and passion, including a fair share of bumps and bruises,” Alassane Ouattara stated.

The Bank's oldest retiree, Georges Rigobert Aithnard, captivated attendees at the 60th anniversary commemoration event, with his account of the challenges faced by the then-fledgling institution. Speaking as part of a staff panel discussion, the 89-year-old offered unique insights into the Bank's formative years.

From his role in 1965 as Personal Assistant to the first President of the Bank, to his retirement as Director of the African Development Institute of the Bank in 1995, Aithnard showed deep enthusiasm for his work and a strong belief in the future of the Bank.

He recalled a time when the Bank president struggled to secure a meeting with the vice president of a sister multilateral development bank.

That, he said, has since changed. He told the audience of past and present Bank staff, partners, and senior government officials. He affirmed that the African Development Bank has emerged as a leader among its peers and a powerful voice within the multilateral development community.

Emerging & lingering challenges

Despite the enviable achievements recorded over the past 60 years, the Ivorian leader warned that there were not only challenges that refuse to go away, but new ones are being added.

“Our Bank is a steadfast support in times of crisis. Africa still has floods and wars and hunger is rife. Therefore, the Bank must do even more and encourage states to invest more across climate, agriculture, wars and endeavour to pursue peace and democracy to bring these wars to an end,” President Ouattara said.

Ouattara said the President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina, has been a pillar of extraordinary support. Adesina paid tribute to the Bank’s achievements since its inception in Abidjan in 1964.

He celebrated how the Bank has supported over 6,575 projects across the continent and how in the past 10 years alone it has invested $77 billion across 3,000 projects to become Africa’s most trusted development partner.

Adesina thanked President Ouattara for hosting the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan and for his strong support. He described how in 2019 President Ouattara helped the Bank secure a general capital increase of $115 billion - the largest increase in the Bank’s history. The Bank’s total capital rose to $318 billion earlier this May, in another show of shareholder support.

“This provides the firepower to do more for Africa”, Adesina said, adding that: “We are today a bigger, bolder and better bank better positioned to meet Africa’s future needs and challenges, to fast-track Africa’s development.”

He recounted that: “Following my election as President in 2015, during my first term, I made a case for a stronger bank with financial resources to help implement and scale up our High 5s: To light up and power Africa; To feed Africa; To industrialize Africa; To integrate Africa; To improve the quality of life of the people of Africa”.

“In the past 9 years, we have provided over $55 billion in support of infrastructure, from energy to roads, corridors, seaports, airports, rail, digital infrastructure, water and sanitation. Today, the Bank is the largest multilateral financier of infrastructure in Africa,” he said. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3233 of Wednesday September 18, 2024