June 15, 2015 - The African Development Bank Group President, Donald Kaberuka received a special Valedictory Recognition at the 33rd NEPAD* Heads of State and Government (HSGOC) orientation meeting on Saturday, 13 June 2015, at the Sandton Convention Centre in South Africa.
Presenting a commemorative plaque to Mr. Kaberuka, the NEPAD HSGOC Chair and President of Senegal, Macky Sall, recognized “the effective collaboration and constant support of Dr. Donald Kaberuka at the head of the African Development Group (AfDB) during the past ten years.”
He also underscored the achievements made by NEPAD in advancing regional integration through infrastructure and capacity development projects; and stressed the need to tackle illicit financial flows from Africa and to enhance the capacities of African member countries to negotiate mining and oil contracts for the social benefit of African people. President Sall commended the NEPAD Spanish Fund for African Women’s Empowerment. He mentioned Africa50 Fund as a solution to the infrastructure challenge in the African continent.
Welcoming the delegation to the opening session, South African President Jacob Zuma said that investments in infrastructure programmes, regional integration and intra-African trade were sure bets for Africa’s sustainable growth and development.
For his part, the African Union Chairperson and President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, applauded NEPAD’s breakthroughs in project conceptualisation and implementation, noting that “NEPAD has provided critical synergies between and among African institution, thereby enhancing a much needed continental integration.” He urged the Partnership to play a lead role in capacitating Regional Economic Communities to fast-track Africa’s quest for industrialisation and create greater value for its vast mineral resources.
In a message to the summit, the newly elected President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, emphasised his country’s commitment to support NEPAD programmes and projects. His message was read by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. B.Z. Lolo.
The 20-member NEPAD HSGOC met ahead of the 25th African Union Summit to provide leadership to the NEPAD process as well as to set policies, priorities and the programmes of action.
The NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer, Ibrahim Mayaki, reported back on concrete results made from January to June 2015. “We have achieved 313 results each of which has had quantifiable impacts: 20 at the continental level, 30 at the regional level and 264 at the national levels. All the impacts demonstrated are geared towards the industrialization of the continent,” he said.
The AfDB President briefed the meeting on the “Implications of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for Africa’s Development Agenda.”
The year’s African Union Summit is on the theme: “Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”.
· NEPAD – New Partnership for Africa’s Development
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