PREVIEW
Officials in Pretoria claim that Lusaka’s candidate to run Africa’s biggest bank was railroaded through the selection
A diplomatic row is brewing after South Africa endorsed its own candidate to take over from African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina next year – despite the Southern African Development Community officially backing Zambia’s Samuel Munzele Maimbo.
A World Bank vice-president with over 20 years' experience at the Bank, Maimbo was the surprise selection as the SADC’s candidate in August from a field of seven candidates in the regional bloc. At the time, the SADC stated that Maimbo was the bloc’s ‘sole candidate’ for the AfDB job. But he was not a consensus pick.
Last week, South Africa’s Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala resigned with immediate effect from her position as the bank’s Senior Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group, after being endorsed by Pretoria.
The decision was taken to ‘to avoid any potential conflict of interest as I pursue my candidacy,’ she said. Tshabalala was interviewed as part of the SADC process but South African officials say Maimbo’s candidacy was rail-roaded through ahead of her.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that Tshabalala’s candidacy ‘represents continuity’ as well as ‘an opportunity for a capable female leader to take up a key African leadership position.’
Adesina will stand down after his second term ends in August 2025. The elections to succeed him will be held in May. It is already a crowded field. Makhtar Diop, managing director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector affiliate, has been touted as a likely candidate and Abbas Mahamat Tolli, the Chadian former governor of the Banque des États de l’Afrique Centrale has confirmed his candidacy (AC Vol 65 No 12, Adesina urges the bank to go private). Senegal could have two contenders – Hassatou Diop N’Sele, the bank’s current vice-president of finance, could also stand as could Amadou Hott, who was Adesina’s Special Envoy for Green Infrastructure in Africa.
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