Accra, 27th May 2022 – Minister for Finance, and outgoing Chairman of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group Board of Governors, Ken Ofori-Atta has called on African leaders to leverage on its rich and enormous natural and human resources to make the continent prosperous.
He said, the Continent, which was the world’s second largest and second-most populous continent can make meaningful progress and realize its development aspirations through a shared responsibility.
The Minister said this at the closing ceremony of the just ended 57th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors and the 48th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
He said: “Without a doubt, the events of this week must further embolden us to reimagine an Africa that leverages its national and human resources to become the Eden of prosperity and human rights for the next generation.”
“As we advance, we must continue to have a unified voice and table initiatives (such as the introduction of carbon-credits) to ensure Africa can build forward better, smarter, and boldly while avoiding being locked into stranded assets and having our progress derailed by the fallouts from events that occur hundreds of miles away,” Mr. Ofori-Atta added.
The Minister underscored that the continent, just like others around the world, was in a difficult time as food and fuel prices continued to increase amidst financial constraints and high debt, through novelty, it can change the fortunes of its people.
“Indeed, the exigencies of the moment (rising food and fuel prices amid limited financing tools constrained further by elevated debt levels) demanded that we “think out of the box” to enhance the fortunes of 1.3 billion people,” he said.
He noted that the weeklong discussions at the AFDB annual meetings “have re-affirmed that despite the many challenges ahead, our collective resolve can ensure that we nurture an enduring recovery that creates prosperity across our entire continent and helps us create the Africa we want.”
He expressed appreciation to the Bank Group for the honour and privilege to serve as Chairperson of the Boards of Governors for two successive years.
He also thanked members of the Bureau (Belgium and Nigeria), the Boards of Governors, the Boards of Directors, Senior Management and Staff for their strong support.
The Minister noted that without their support, stewarding the affairs of the highest decision-making organs would have been an impossible task.
He welcomed and expressed best wishes to the new Bureau of the Bank Group - comprising of Egypt, Brazil and Uganda – for a successful tenure.
The annual meetings was under the theme “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa.” END