Ghanaian Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, is the new Chair of the Board of Governors for the African Development Bank.
This was announced on Thursday at the closing session of the bank’s Annual Meeting. As with tradition, the formal transfer of authority was conducted during annual meeting which was conducted virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Authority was transferred from Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister for Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba, to Mr. Ofori-Atta, indicating that Ghana will host next year’s Annual Meetings of the bank which will hold in May 2021.
In his acceptance speech, Ofori-Atta commended his predecessor for her “incredible strength, fortitude and wisdom” in successfully guiding the Bank in the challenging COVID-19 period.
He commended the unanimity displayed by the Governors during the meetings and their support for Africa’s future, which will require collective and strenuous efforts to help it build back from the loss inflicted by the pandemic.
“We urgently need, across African economies, liquidity, debt sustainability solutions and capital for recovery in order to truly emerge from this pandemic. We need tailored solutions to our problems (and) as Africa’s premier Bank, the AfDB is best suited to play this role in such a time as this,” he added.
He called on the Governors to support efforts to avert a potential debt default by member countries in the coming years.
This year’s Annual General Meeting saw the re-election of Adewunmi Adesina as the bank’s president for a second five-year term. Adesina’s re-election comes as the pan-African development body gears up to support the continent’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.
During his first term, the Group President led a successful seventh General Capital Increase that saw the Bank’s general capital from $93 billion to $208 billion currently.
Adesina was first elected in May 2015 at the 50th Annual Meetings held in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan.
Ghanaian Finance Minister, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, is the new Chairperson of the Board of Governors for the African Development Bank.
This was announced on Thursday at the closing session of the bank’s Annual Meeting. As with tradition, the formal transfer of authority was conducted during annual meeting which was conducted virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Authority was transferred from
Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister for Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba, to Mr. Ofori-Atta, indicating that Ghana will host next year’s Annual Meetings of the bank which will hold in May 2021.
In his acceptance speech, Ofori-Atta commended his predecessor for her “incredible strength, fortitude and wisdom” in successfully guiding the Bank in the challenging COVID-19 period.
He commended the unanimity displayed by the Governors during the meetings and their support for Africa’s future, which will require collective and strenuous efforts to help it build back from the loss inflicted by the pandemic.
“We urgently need, across African economies, liquidity, debt sustainability solutions and capital for recovery in order to truly emerge from this pandemic. We need tailored solutions to our problems (and) as Africa’s premier Bank, the AfDB is best suited to play this role in such a time as this,” he added.
He called on the Governors to support efforts to avert a potential debt default by member countries in the coming years.