afrol News, 11 December - UK Minister for International Development, Shriti Vadera, has urged the donor community to emulate his government and increase their commitments to development in Africa, particularly to the AfDB. UK had doubled its contribution to the African Development Bank (ADB).

In a news dispatch from ADB, Vadera, who was addressing the ADF-11 replenishment meeting in London yesterday, said eonomic growth in Africa is presently averaging more than at any time since the 1970’s.

However, he said there remain many challenges to sustain this level of growth and to utilize it effectively to significantly reduce poverty. She said there is an urgent need to increase development assistance in order to maximize the gains from this ongoing spurt in economic growth.

Ms Vadera said despite gone half into 2015 Africa is yet to record progress towards achieving also the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). She reminded bilateral donors to honour their commitments and agreements to help Africa meet the MDGs.

The OECD report outlined a drop in aid from a group of 22 richest nations in 2006.

She defended the legitimacy of the AfDB as a conduit for aid from the developed world because it is now "leading from the front" in working towards the development of Africa and its president was successfully "demanding results", a sharp contrast of its situation 20 years ago.

Ms Vadera said the bank's reforms have triggered UK to increase aid. She suggested that the Afrian characteristics of the bank make its success in facilitating growth in Africa a test of the sustainability and self-sufficiency of the development process on the continent.

UK minister said the bank's development strategy was in tandem with the key areas of African development. The bank has rapidly expanded its private sector portfolio to help unleash the continent's entrepreneurial energies, provide the energy and ideas needed to improve infrastructure and lower costs for business.

Vadera could not also swallow her impression on the bank's regional focus.

She said as many challenges lie ahead of Africa, too much work is needed to be done. Ms Vadera asked the bank's managers to maintain the same level of energy, commitment, and accountability they have been displaying.

She urged the board of governors to remain impartial and untainted by national interest so that the bank represent the whole continent instead of a particular group.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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