Gavana wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania Dkt. Servicus B.Likwelile ambaye pia ni Katibu Mkuu Wizara ya Fedha na Mlipaji Mku...
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Gavana wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa
Tanzania Dkt. Servicus B.Likwelile ambaye
pia ni Katibu Mkuu
Wizara ya Fedha na Mlipaji Mkuu wa Serikali akitoa tamko lake kwa niaba ya nchi ya Tazania Katika Mkutano wa mwaka wa
kundi la Benki ya Maendeleo unaofanyika hapa Mjini Abidjan- Ivory cost. Mkutano
huo umeanza rasmi tarehe 25 Mei utaendelea hadi tarehe 29 Mei 2015.
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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 to make these meetings successful. Further, let me thank the Bank for choosing a
good theme for this year’s 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 year’s 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 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 year’s 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 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 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 Africa’s 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. I 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 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 Bank’s 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. Kaberuka’s 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 Government’s 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.
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