Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo has joined the presidential race for the African Development Bank, AFDB, noting that he will rebuild the bank and help create a middle income status for the continent.
His candidacy is backed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Community for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA), as he seeks to succeed Nigeria’s Akinwunmi Adesina whose tenure expires in October.
Maimbo seeks to become the second Zambian to assume the Presidency, following Wila Mungomba, who served a single term from 1980 to 1985. He joins the race at a time many countries are struggling with high debs, inflationary pressures and plummeting exchange rate, meaning he has a big challenge to solve if he triumphs in the elections scheduled for May 29 in Ivory Coast.
Also, Maimbo says his presidency will prioritise increasing Africa’s global trade capacity from the current 3% by unifying the efforts of its 1.4 billion people, strengthening regional markets and modernising the continent’s infrastructure and agriculture while boosting energy generation and access to electricity.
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“Africa needs significantly higher rates of growth to successfully navigate today’s development challenges and capture tomorrow’s opportunities,” he said. “I’m ready on day one to support governments in reaching their goals. It’s time to stop talking about Africa’s potential and start realising it.”
Formed in the 1960s, the AFDB is the only African financial institution rated triple A by Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. It provides funding to different countries to facilitate a prosperous, inclusive and resilient continent.
