Ambassador Harold Doley, the United States (U.S) first ever Representative to the African Development Bank (AfDB), has urged President Donald Trump’s administration to support the bank’s President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
Doley gave the advice in an open letter addressed to the U.S Secretary of the Treasury which was accessed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
NAN recalls that Ambassador Doley was nominated by former U.S President Ronald Reagan to serve as first U.S Executive Director of AfDB from 1983 to 1985.
The ambassador, who said supporting AfDB was a good business for America, noted that since taking office in 2015, the current president of the bank had rapidly restructured the bank and refined its focus through a high strategy.
According to him, the strategy has directly impacted the lives of millions of Africans.
He stated that this was achieved through strategic investment in energy, and electricity, agriculture, technology that significantly improved food security, access to private sector finance, improved transport infrastructure, water and sanitation.
“In 2019, with U.S support, the AfDB stakeholders approved a general capital increase of 115 billion dollars, the largest in the bank’s 56 years history. The increase more than doubled capital from 93 billion dollars to 208 billion dollars.
“Also in 2019, the bank’s concessional Window, the African Development Fund, received a 35 per cent replenishment with donor contributions.
“U.S shares of 499,695,200 dollars represents 7.81 per cent of total subscriptions are a critically needed resource for low income countries and transition states.
“Ultimately, supporting Africa’s private sector is critical for social and economic development. In 2018, Adesina led an unprecedented effort to attract global investment into Africa through the inaugural Africa Investment Forum” he added. (NAN)