The African Development Bank Group appoints Dr. Kevin Kanina Kariuki as Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

03-Mar-2020

The African Development Bank Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kevin Kanina Kariuki as the Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth, effective from 16 April 2020.

Kariuki, a Kenyan national, is a chartered electrical engineer with over 30 years of experience in power system development, renewable energy development and energy efficiency, climate change and green growth, strategic energy partnerships, energy financial solutions, policy and regulation. Well known for his passion for the development of privately financed infrastructure, Kariuki is credited for his leadership in the successful development of over $1.75 billion of privately financed infrastructure projects.

Since November 2002, Kariuki has been working at the Industrial Promotion Services Kenya Ltd (IPS) where he is currently the Head of Infrastructure. IPS is the industrial and infrastructure development arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). As the Head of Infrastructure, Kariuki has been responsible for identifying and coordinating the development as well as management of opportunities and investments in infrastructure services in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Mozambique.

As the Power Sector Lead for AKFED, Kariuki has overseen several power investments worldwide. Some of the successful projects he has led include the following: a $650 million, 147 MW Ruzizi III Hydropower project which is sponsored by the Governments of Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda; the $902 million, 250 MW Bujagali Hydropower Project in Uganda which was successfully commissioned in 2012 ahead of schedule and within budget. A greenfield BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) project, Bujagali won the 2007 Africa Power Deal of the Year Award by Euromoney “Project Finance Magazine” and is currently the largest Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project in a Least Developed Countryworldwide. Kariuki was also the sponsor focal point for the renegotiation of $403 million Bujagali power project financing, which reached financial close in July 2018. The unprecedented refinancing of a “Project Financed” project resulted in the extension of Bujagali’s financing tenure which occasioned significant reduction in bulk tariffs. Another investment was the West Nile Rural Electrification Project, a vertically integrated isolated power utility that is involved in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity in the West Nile region of Uganda. The project was the first African Project to qualify for carbon trading under World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund.

Other successful projects that Kariuki has overseen include the 75 MW, $86 million Kipevu II Power Plant in Kenya; Pamir Energy, a vertically integrated (generation, distribution and supply) utility in Tajikistan whose generation is from a 44 MW hydropower plant; and the 460 MW AzitoEnergie CCGT (to be expanded to 713 MW, approximately 30% of Cote d’Ivoire’s installed capacity) power plant in Cote d’Ivoire and arguably the largest independent power producer (IPP) in sub-Saharan Africa. Kariuki has also been overseeing the development of the 150 MW SanodbodHydropower Project, a border project in Tajikistan whose output is planned for export to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kariuki also led the IPS team that co-developed the $650 million, 15,000km state-of-the-art SEACOM submarine cable – an undersea optic fibrecable linking South and East African countries with other international broadband cables in South Africa, India and Europe. The project, which was commissioned in July 2009, won the 2007 African Communications Deal of the Year Award by Euromoney’s “Project Finance Magazine”.

Before joining IPS, Kariuki worked at the Kenya Electricity Regulatory Board (predecessor of the Energy Regulatory Commission) as the head of the Technical Division and lectured at the International Law Institute in Uganda. He has served on boards of several organizations including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Consolidated Infrastructure Group (CIG) where he is a non-executive board member and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) where he was Chairman of the Board from 2012-2013. He is a frequent global speaker on private sector participation in infrastructure, including public-private partnership (PPP) schemes. He was a 1996 joint-winner of Institution of Electrical Engineers Premium Award.

A Chartered Electrical Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Kariuki is a holder of a PhD in the Reliability of Power Systems and MSc in Electrical Power Engineering both from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology; a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi; and a Diploma in General Management from the Kenya Institute of Management.

Commenting on the appointment, Dr. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank said: “Kevin Kariuki’s leadership is well known in the power sector of Africa and he brings a robust set of skills and competencies to lead the Bank’s Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Complex. He has extensive knowledge and hands on project development, investment and management experience of the power sector and has worked on many successful power development projects. I am delighted that Kevin will lead our team to accelerate our goal for universal access to electricity across Africa, while continuing to drive the Bank’s leadership position for accelerating renewable energy for Africa”.

African Legal Support Facility launches new handbook on sovereign debt at 10th anniversary

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

03-Mar-2020

The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) has launched a handbook on sovereign debt aimed at improving users’ understanding of the subject and offering development and implementation strategies and tips to avoid over-indebtedness.

The Handbook on Sovereign Debt, produced by the ALSF in collaboration with 11 prominent debt professionals, was officially launched February 27 in Abidjan, on the first day of a High-Level Forum, convened for members to reflect on ten years of the institution’s history in providing legal and technical assistance for Africa’s development. The meeting brought together some 30 delegations from across Africa and beyond.

The handbook discusses the fundamentals of sovereign debt, including the technical, financial and legal aspects of debt instruments and the markets in which they are traded. It also presents development and implementation strategies for debt financing and the tools and methods that can be used to avoid over-indebtedness.

Opening the forum, Charles Boamah, who retired as Senior Vice President of the African Development Bank Group on March 1, outlined the mission of the ALSF, which was created in 2010.

"Ten years on, the ALSF continues to play a key role as an intermediary in discussions aimed at ensuring the successful conclusion of agreements for more impactful development results on the continent," Boamah said.

Speaking on behalf of all members of the ALSF and its partners, the Central African Republic’s Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicrafts and the Informal Sector, Maouloud Moussa Terab, reviewed ALSF's achievements over the past decade.

“The Facility has more than doubled its annual operations from $7 million in 2014 to about $16 million in 2019; 10 additional states have ratified the agreement establishing the ALSF, and our financial partners, including one regional member country, have generously contributed about $60 million to support its activities,” he said.

As members' needs evolved, the Facility has diversified its portfolio by designing toolkits, developing bidding documents in the infrastructure, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors and supporting the development and implementation of reforms in the extractive sector, as well as developing the skills needed for sustainable natural resources management.

ALSF is also developing innovative tools for capacity building and knowledge management such as the ALSF Academy (https://alsf.academy/), an e-learning platform that offers a three-level certification programme aimed at deepening the legal expertise of its members. On the sidelines of the event, the academy organised training sessions for some 40 African law firms and senior legal advisers.

The handbook, written in a very practical way, is designed for professionals, debt officials and students. It is available on the ALSF website at: https://www.aflsf.org/

ALSF is an international institution hosted by the African Development Bank. Its mission and mandate is to provide legal advice and technical assistance to African countries to strengthen their legal expertise and negotiation capacity in debt management and litigation, natural resources and extractive industries and in negotiating complex commercial transactions, especially in the natural resources and extractive industries sectors.

African Development Bank Group President Appoints Ms. Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala as Acting Senior Vice President

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

02-Mar-2020

The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Bajabulile “Swazi” Tshabalala as Acting Senior Vice President of the Bank with immediate effect.

 Ms. Tshabalala, currently the Vice President for Finance and Chief Finance Officer for the African Development Bank Group, joined the Bank on August 1, 2018.

 Ms. Tshabalala will replace, in this acting capacity, Mr. Charles Boamah, the former Senior Vice President of the Bank, who retires effectively from the Bank today after 23 years of meritorious service to the institution.

 Commenting on the appointment, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said “Ms. Tshabalala has demonstrated highly commendable senior leadership management qualities and brings a strong perspective on results orientation and delivery that will be important as the Bank moves ahead with the delivery of its programs and commitments. I am very pleased to appoint her to step up into this role as Acting Senior Vice President, as the Bank manages this senior leadership transition, to ensure stability and continuity of our work and operations. I am confident she will do very well. She will continue to hold simultaneously her position as Vice President for Finance and Chief Finance Officer in this interim period”.

Somalia and the African Development Bank Group sign agreement for arrears clearance support

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

02-Mar-2020

Somalia‘s Minister of Finance, Dr. Abdirahman Beileh and the African Development Bank‘s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Khaled Sherif on Monday signed a $122.55 million grant agreement to advance Somalia’s national development agenda, consolidate peace and ensure inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction.

The signing follows the approval on February 26 by the Bank’s Board, of Somalia’s Arrears Clearance framework and a Policy Based Operation, and is the second stage of a process that would see the United Kingdom Government and European Union provide the necessary financial support to clear Somalia’s arrears to the Bank Group, paving the way for the Bank to begin a new relationship of support to the East African nation.

Reflecting on the journey that made the agreement possible, Somali Finance Minister Dr. Abdirahman Beileh, said reaching the signing stage had taken a lot of work, beginning with the initial work on debt reconciliation, which started in 2014.

“This operation heralds the beginning of a new relationship between the Government of Somalia, the people of Somalia and the Bank Group. We wish to build on the existing excellent relationship. I also thank the Bank Group leadership and the Bank’s Somalia country team who have worked tirelessly to make this historic day possible. In addition, we are truly grateful for the UK’s championship in Somalia’s arrears clearance process, its financial support and that of the EU,” Beileh said.

Calling on the international community and the Somali government to build on this momentum and to continue the fruitful collaboration, Sherif urged all parties to turn their focus to supporting the authorities to continue implementing reforms, and to cement the gains made. He further mentioned that the Bank Group will soon be engaging the Somalis to agree on the country’s priorities before the development of a comprehensive country strategy, that will focus on unlocking the nation’s potential to benefit from greater regional integration in the Horn of Africa.

Somalia has made significant progress toward realizing its political security and economic development agenda, although it faces real challenges. The agreement will see the Bank assist in institutional capacity building and skills development for improved governance in the nation.

The Bank’s Acting Director General for East Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo, congratulated Somali authorities for their efforts to build a better Somalia. She acknowledged that challenges lay ahead, but was confident that with greater determination, a vision driven by a deep desire to change the Somali narrative and the current reform momentum, Somalia would stay on course.  She noted, “At the start of the reforms it seemed impossible as many underestimated the resolve of the Somali leadership and its people. We congratulate them today for such an outstanding feat.”

The African Development Bank trains its representatives on the boards of directors of companies and financial institutions

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

21-Feb-2020

The African Development Bank organized, in early February in Abidjan, a training session for the benefit of its representatives on the boards of directors of companies and national, regional and continental financial institutions.

This training on corporate governance and financial institutions was led by the Bank department in charge of non-sovereign operations and support to the private sector (PINS).

A total of 26 Bank employees who sit on boards of directors or who are involved in the governance system of Non-Sovereign Operations took part in this session provided by the firm Avanz Capital and Mosaic Africa.

“The training was timely, the content was relevant and the participation interactive, inspiring. Adopting best corporate governance practices is essential for success in both the private and public sectors, ”said Henry Paul Batchi Baldeh, one of the participants.

The training workshop enabled them to examine questions related to the representation of investors in the governance bodies of financial institutions and companies, to the roles and responsibilities of the members appointed by the Bank on the boards of directors in order to allow the value of their contributions to be maximized without going beyond their responsibilities.

They were introduced to the corporate governance structures, their roles and functions. These include general meetings of shareholders, boards of directors, board committees, the general secretariat, executive bodies and external and internal auditors.

The session also addressed the corporate governance code, the code of ethics, the problems of governance of international financial institutions (IFI), with the specific case of commercial banks.

Case studies allowed for rich discussions and an interesting sharing of experiences.

The workshop was found to be very useful, especially for new board members. They took the opportunity to ask all the questions useful for the accomplishment of their future missions.

President of The African Development Bank Receives 8th African Leadership Magazine African of The Year Award

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

01-Mar-2020

Over 200 leading African political, business, and diplomatic leaders gathered in Johannesburg for the 8th African Leadership Magazine Persons of the Year Award dinner. They witnessed Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, being honored as the African of the Year 2019. 

 Themed ‘Africa for Africans – Exploring the Gains of a Connected Continent’, the evening brought together dignitaries including South African Deputy President, David D Mabuza, South African Ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Lindiwe Zulu, and Dr. Ken Giami, Publisher of African Leadership Magazine.

The highlight of the event was the keynote speech delivered by Dr. Adesina. His passion for the continent was palpable, connecting with the attentive audience throughout his speech. Dr. Adesina expressed his humility in being “recognised for my very modest achievements and contributions to Africa. Humbled to be nominated by what I gather to be the 60% of the votes cast by some 1 million people, humbled to be at the helm of an organisation that is making a tremendous difference across Africa - the African Development Bank. An organisation that is daily making prosperity a reality.”

He dedicated the award to his wife, Grace, the Board, staff, and colleagues at the bank, his mother, and “to the young mothers, struggling to bring up a child, to the farmer in search of a better tomorrow, to the youth of Africa longing for a better future, and to Africa’s journalists who risk their lives in helping to tell Africa’s true story.”

Dr Adesina, the visionary behind the African Development Bank’s High 5 strategy, explained that primary focus of the African Development Bank is “to light up and power Africa, to feed Africa, to industrialise Africa, to integrate Africa, and to improve the quality of life of the people of Africa. Five simple, strategic, and highly focused objectives.”

South African Deputy President, David Mabuza, delivered the second keynote speech. Accepting the Award on behalf of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar Teny, Mabuza said: “the struggles of our people and their development aspirations remain fundamentally intertwined with those of fellow Africans elsewhere on the Continent.” 

He added: “these are the values that President Oliver Tambo and President Nelson Mandela taught us. Our commitment to the cause of a prosperous and better Africa is unwavering. It is in that spirit that as a country, we have placed our resources both human and financial, to the resolutions of conflicts.”

The African Leadership Magazine Persons of the Year Awards is now the most popular vote-based third-party endorsement in Africa. 

Dr. Adesina was elected the 8th President of the African Development Bank in 2015. He has been a leader in the African agricultural innovation space for over 30 years. He has contributed to Africa’s economic growth by helping to strengthen the continent’s food security and promoting a workable agribusiness model.

Under his leadership, in the past four years, the bank has helped 18 million people get electricity, 141 million people get agricultural technologies, 13 million people get finance through private sector investee companies, 101 million people get improved transport services, and 60 million people get better water and sanitation.

In his remarks, Adesina urged Africans to rise, be bold and determined.

 “Africa does not need anyone to believe in her or to affirm her place and position in history. Africa will and must develop with pride. For right on
 the inside of us, as Africans, lies our greatest instrument of successes:
 confidence!” Adesina said.

Dr Adesina is in good company joining some notable previous winners of the African of the Year Award:

• Former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2011)
• Sudanese businessman, Mo Ibrahim (2012)
• Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar (2013)
• Former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete (2014)
• Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan (2015)
• Tanzanian businessman and philanthropist,Mo Dewji (2016)
• President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame (2017)
• Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Abiy Ahmed (2018)

Cameroon: Directors of the African Development Bank on a consultative mission in Yaoundé and Douala

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

Event location: 

Yaoundé and Douala, Cameroon

The directors of the African Development Bank Group are carrying out a mission from 2 to 6 March next in Yaoundé and Douala, to assess the quality of the Bank's support program in Cameroon based on consultations with various stakeholders and field visits.

Meetings at the highest level are planned with the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, and the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute. The discussions will notably concern the economic and social development policies undertaken in the country, the challenges of the local economy and the expectations of Cameroonian leaders with regard to development partners in general, and the Bank in particular.

Meetings are also on the administrators' agenda with Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development (Governor of the Bank for Cameroon) as well as with Louis Paul Motaze, Minister of Finance, Gabriel Mbairobé, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nganou Djoumessi, Minister of Public Works and Gaston Elondou Essomba, Minister of Water and Energy.

Meetings with the main technical and financial partners also aim to assess the situation of cooperation with the host country.

They will visit the sanitation project in the city of Yaoundé (PADY), the project to strengthen and extend the electrical transmission and distribution networks (PREREDT), the Kribi Power Development Corporation (KPDC) project and the project development of the Kribi deepwater port.

A working session will be organized with representatives of the private sector in Douala on Friday March 6.

Cooperation between the Bank and the Republic of Cameroon started in 1972 with the financing of the construction project for the terminal of the Douala international airport. As of December 31, 2019, the Bank's portfolio in Cameroon included 35 operations totaling commitments of approximately three billion U.S. dollars.