Kaberuka begins his second five-year mandate

The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, Dr Donald Kaberuka, has begun his second five year mandate at the Tunisia-based continental development bank. This follows his re-election by acclamation in May during the Bank’s annual meetings in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. “I want to thank all who have provided me their advice, counsels and support during the last five years; my country and my Government, for proposing my name for a second time, and to all the member countries for your unanimous vote of confidence,” Kaberuka said on Wednesday during his inauguration ceremony in Tunisia. During the next five years, Kaberuka noted that the institution will continue to consolidate its achievements and continue to focus on deepening integration, developing the private sector and closing the infrastructure gap – energy in particular. “We will continue to strive everyday to build a world class organization, a purposeful, responsive, institution for which the founding fathers can be proud and people of Africa deserve,” he said. The AfDB Group has made improvements in its internal operations and governance, while better focusing on its core development responsibilities in Africa. The President also said the Bank will focus on enhancing high level technical skills, building strong governance institutions and continue to support fragile states. “These are, and they remain the strategic axes best placed to support Africa’s momentum,” he said.The former Rwandan Finance minister was first elected as the 7th President of the Bank in 2005. As minister he initiated and implemented major economic and governance reforms in the fiscal, monetary, budgetary and structural domains, including the independence of the central bank. Since his election, Kaberuka has successfully carried out wide-ranging reforms at the bank including offering special support to fragile states and post-conflict countries.The bank also played a significant role during the global financial crisis as it stepped in to help African countries, committing several additional billions of dollars. In 2009, the Bank’s project and programme approvals, more than doubled to $12 billion compared to $5.4 billion in 2008.Under Kaberuka’s leadership, the Bank has also dramatically expanded its presence with country and regional offices throughout the continent. In May, the Board of Governors of the Bank also approved tripling of the Bank’s capital resources to nearly $100 billion, signalling strong confidence in the bank’s management. The Bank says the capital increase will allow the Bank to meet the growing demand for financing projects programmes in the Regional Member Countries. Kaberuka was educated in Tanzania and the United Kingdom where he obtained his M Phil (Econ) and a PhD in Economics from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Ends