Emulate AfDB Boss If You Want To Succeed, Expert Tells World Bank President

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Development Reimagined, an independent African-led international development consultancy Hannah Ryder, has advised the newly elected president of the World Bank, Ajaypal Singh Banga to emulate the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina if he must succeed.

Ryder disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday made available by the AfDB and seen by THE WHISTLER.

She revealed that the newly appointed president has never “worked in a multilateral development bank (MDB) before”, and this has created room for doubt on his capacity to deliver good and credible governance.

This further prompted her advice to the WB president to seek counsel from Adesina whose staffs are more diverse, with different theories about development, and “Its board structure is more recipient-dominated, unlike WB.”

She said the US has nominated Indian-American business executive “Ajaypal Singh Banga to be the next president of the World Bank”, making his appointment by the Bank’s board all but certain.

“All eyes in the development finance community will be peeled for indications of what he will focus on since Banga has never worked in a multilateral development bank (MDB).

“The new head of the world’s largest development bank could take a leaf out of the books of the presidents of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).”

Ryder while giving more reasons, cited that during the 2019-2020 fiscal year mostly before the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank disbursed $14.5bn to Africa, but only a small proportion of this went to building new infrastructure.

However, the AfDB disbursed $5.1bn, of which the vast majority went into infrastructure, she said
“This was the right thing to do”.

She also revealed that the continent exports more fertilizer than it imports, despite its need to improve the quality of food production.

This she attributed is partly because the existing logistical infrastructure, which the World Bank provides small loans to “rehabilitate”, is mostly oriented to trade outside Africa.”

“Whether or not Banga decides that infrastructure is a priority for the Bank, it will be crucial for him to understand how the AIIB and AfDB as well as other regional MDBs who deliver better finances in times of crisis,” she added.