The African Development Bank (AfDB) Special Envoy for Share-holder Relations (Africa), Mr. Modibo Toure visited the SADC Secretariat and met the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Her Excellency, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax in Gaborone, Botswana on 20th February 2019.
Mr. Modibo thanked the SADC region for its unmitigated support to the Bank through its Member States as shareholders by continuously injecting and replenishing the capital resources of the Bank. Mr. Modibo stated that the AfDB had made a commitment during the African Union and African Development Bank, High Level Consultative Meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2019, to continue enhancing support for African countries to implement Agenda 2063 and other continental frameworks, including the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and other related projects, such as the renewable energy and digital transformation and the Presidential Infrastructure Champions Initiative (PICI), and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). To this end, he stated that plans were underway for the Bank to embark on a General Capital Increase and to replenish the resources of the African Development Fund, in order to meet its ambitious programs and to maintain the Bank’s AAA rating. Mr. Modibo further stated that this will require the full support of the Bank’s Member Countries.
Dr. Tax expressed SADC’s appreciations to AfDB for the continued support to SADC Member States at national level and regional level through various programmes aimed at contributing to socio-economic development, and assured the AfDB Special Envoy of SADC continued support. She further underscored the need to fast-track the implementation of areas of support that were agreed between the two parties in 2017, which include: support in the development of regional value chains; capacity development for preparation of infrastructure projects; capacitation of Regional Development Finance Institutions, and operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.
The two parties agreed to have further engagements between the African Development Bank and SADC Ministers responsible for Finance at a mutually convenient venue and time.
