STATEMENT BY DR. SERVICUS B.

LIKWELILE, PERMANENT
SECRETARY, TREASURY AND GOVERNOR FOR THE UNITED
REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA AT THE ANNUAL MEETINGS OF
THE AfDB GROUP HELD IN ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST,
FROM 25TH TO 29TH MAY, 2015
Mr. Chairman of the Board of Governors,
The President of the African Development Bank
Group,
Honourable Governors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the government of the
Republic of Ivory Coast and its people for hosting these
meetings and for the warm reception and hospitality extended
to me and my delegation since our arrival in this Country. I
would also like to thank and commend the AfDB Group for the
excellent

arrangements and facilitations

meetings successful.

to

make

these

Further, let me thank the Bank for

choosing a good theme for this years Annual Meetings, which

is Africa and the New Global Landscape.
2. Mr. Chairman, the 2015 Annual Meetings are especially
important for the Bank and all of us for three main reasons:
First, during these meetings we will be celebrating fifty years
since the Bank was established to serve as the premier Bank in
Africa.

This years Annual Meetings therefore offer us the

opportunity to reflect on the work of the Bank over the last

fifty years. Looking at the records, it is clear that over the last
1

fifty years, the Bank has performed remarkably well in serving

the African continent through financing essential infrastructure
projects and provision of policy and legal advice.
These efforts by the Bank have contributed to many important
achievements in member states in Africa, including expansion
of the road and railway infrastructure networks, water supply,
education, energy, health infrastructure and agriculture. We
feel very proud of these achievements. I commend the Bank
leadership over these years for steering the Bank and African
countries to these achievements. Second, the 2015 Annual
Meetings are important because this is the last year of
implementation

of

the

Millennium

Developments

Goals

(MDGs). The 2015 Annual Meetings offer an important

opportunity for the Bank and all of us to see how much
progress we have made towards achieving the MDGs.
According to this years African Development Report and other
reports by the United Nations, many African countries have not
been able to achieve the MDGs. The Bank should therefore use
the occasion of these meetings to dialogue with member
states on how best the Bank can assist countries to do better
in future efforts to reduce poverty in Africa. Third, the 2015
Annual Meetings are also important and special because
during these meetings, we will elect a new President to lead
the Bank over the next five or probably ten years. This
Presidential election is especially important for two reasons:
first because of the very high leadership standard the current
2

President has set for the Bank. This is a huge challenge for
both the Governors who will vote to elect the new President
and for the incoming President who will be expected to match
the standard set by President Kaberuka. My advice and appeal
to the Governors is to vote and elect a President who will
further lift the Bank and African Continent to greater heights of
success. Second, the 2015 Presidential elections are also
particularly important because the incoming President will
assume office when there are many and complex economic
and social challenges to deal with. For example, poverty
remains a major challenge in Africa and governance is still a
formidable challenge in many African Countries. At same time,
concessional sources of finances to address these challenges
are shrinking. The new President will be expected to develop
strategies that will enable the Bank to effectively support
Africa in dealing with these challenges.
3. Mr. Chairman, during the last ten years, we have witnessed
very challenging economic and social shocks namely the 2008
world economic crisises, the 2009 global food shortage crisis,
the rapid rise in oil prices, the Arab springs and the emergency
of al-Shabaab and Boko Haram in East Africa and Nigeria
respectively; and more recently, the outbreak of Ebola in
Liberia, Sierra- Leone, and Guinea.
I am happy and proud to note that in each case, the Bank
responded very effectively. For example, during the 2008
3

global financial and food shortage crises, the Bank coordinated

and assisted African countries in designing and successfully
implementing policies and strategies to mitigate the adverse
effects of the crisis. As a result, many African Countries
sustained robust growth at an average of 7 percent. The Bank
also represented and spoke with loud voice at the G20
meetings to promote Africas interest in the Global economy.
The recent intervention in the Ebola crisis in the three Western
African countries is yet another landmark service by the Bank
to African countries. These are some of the major reflections of
the able and visionary leadership of President Kaberuka.

want to commend him for successfully lifting the reputation of

the Bank to this level.
4. Further, it is also important to note that under the leadership
of President Kaberuka, the Bank has introducing several
innovative initiatives in order to respond to the ever changing
needs of member states. These initiatives include the creation
of the Africa50 Fund. The Bank has also granted ADF only
countries access to ADB window resources. These initiatives
are intended to increase the amount of resources available for
member states. However, it is important to note that the
success of these initiatives by the Bank depends on our
collective support. I would like to urge all Governors to support
the Bank on these initiatives. At the same time, I want to
commend the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco for
offering to host the Headquarters of the Africa50 Fund. Our
strong support to the Bank on this initiative is critical in order
4

to enable the Bank to respond effectively to emerging

development challenges in Africa.
5. Mr. Chairman, apart from dealing with the crises I have
mentioned above, the Bank has also successfully implemented
the return of its operations from the temporally relocation
offices in Tunis to its traditional Headquarters here in Abidjan.
Indeed, this was not a simple task. It involved a lot of careful
planning and implementation of the road map. I am happy to
note that as we are celebrating the fiftieth birth day of the
Bank, most operations are now based in Abidjan. I commend
President Kaberuka, his management team and all staff for
their commitment to successfully accomplish this task on time.
I

also

want

to

thank

both

the

Ivorian

and

Tunisian

Governments and all other Governors for supporting and

facilitating the return of the Banks operations to Abidjan. My
Government will continue supporting the Bank whenever
necessary.
6. Mr. Chairman, in 2010 we made an important decision to
recapitalize the Bank through the Sixth General Capital
Increase (GCI-VI). Under the sixth general capital increase of
the

Bank

(GCI-VI),

Tanzania

has

already

paid

for

four

installments for its shares. I want to appeal to all Governors to

do everything in their powers to ensure that this general
capital increase is fully implemented.

7. Lastly Mr. Chairman, as I said, one very important activity of

the 2015 Annual Meetings is the election of the new President
of the Bank, following the coming to end of Dr. Kaberukas
second term. Dr. Kaberuka has served the Bank and the
African continent with distinction. Many other Governors and I
have attempted to enumerate many achievements under his
leadership. Indeed, it was an honour and privilege to interact
with him in course of our official duties. It is very difficult to
find the right words to express our appreciation of his excellent
service to the continent. I can only thank him for all the great
things he has done and extend to him my best wishes in his
next phase of life. Further, I want to conclude my statement by
pledging my Governments full support to the next President of
the Bank and the entire management.
Mr. Chairperson and Honorable Governors, I thank you
very much for your kind attention.
Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Tuesday, 26th May, 2014
Delivered by: Ingiahedi Mduma
Spokes Person
Ministry of Finance-TZ
Abidjan- Ivory Cost
27th May, 2015.