20100528
all africa

Dr. Donald Kaberuka has been re-elected as the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), giving him five more years at the helm of the continent’s development bank.

Kaberuka, who was contesting unopposed, was re-elected on yesterday during the ongoing annual meetings of Board of Governors in the Ivorian capital, Abidjan.

Addressing a press briefing shortly after his re-election, the President said he would focus on accelerating economic integration of the continent, which is still largely viewed through the prism of natural resources.

“Africa is still viewed as the continent to supply oil, minerals …During my second term of office we shall deploy all the talent and energies to accelerate economic integration of the continent,” he said.

Kaberuka said he would achieve this by working closely with regional economic commissions.

The former Rwandan finance minister was first elected as the 7th President of the Bank in 2005.

Since his election, Dr. Kaberuka has carried out major reforms to refocus the ADF's agenda on regional economic integration, private sector, infrastructure, governance, and a special initiative for post conflict countries and fragile states.

In 2009, the Bank's project and programme approvals, more than doubled to $12 billion compared to $5.4 billion in 2008.

In a related development, Governors of the Bank on Thursday also approved tripling of the Bank’s capital resources to nearly $100 billion, signaling strong confidence in the bank's management.

This substantial increase allows the AfDB to sustain a higher level of lending - even to the private sector - in response to overwhelming demand in all countries.