A lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Godfred Bopkin has said that the clearance of the President of the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) of all 16 alleged infractions augurs well for the reputation of the continent.
According to the economist, Africa has been tagged with corruption on the international stage for a long time.
“The integrity violation allegations that were made against the President raises some doubt particularly about his second term bid. So to a large extent… it is good news for Africa not because he is an African, but the fact that he has been cleared of all those allegations. The African continent on the average has been associated with corruption both at the government level and even at the individual/institutional level.”
These comments of the Professor come after a much anticipated report by an Independent Review Panel of the AfDB wholly exonerated the bank’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, of any ethical wrongdoings.
The reason for the heightened expectation of the report was because, the United States of America had casted doubts on a previous report which also exonerated Mr Adesina of all the allegations. That report was put together by two internal organs of the AfDB; the Ethics Committee of the bank’s Board, and the Bureau of the Board of Governors.
The current report by the Independent Review Panel indicated that, it “concurs with the (Ethics) Committee in its findings in respect of all the allegations against the President and finds that they were properly considered and dismissed by the Committee.”
Prof Bopkin has pointed out that, the proven integrity of Mr Adesina will not only make the bank attractive to investors but it will also strengthen the President’s second term bid.
“But to the extent that he has been able to prove his innocence and the fact that not only the ethics committee of the bank {but} the independent committee has cleared him of all these allegations, I think it will bolster investor confidence in the bank. It will cement the pivotal role of the African Development Bank on the continent and I think that it also clears the way, largely, for his second term.”
From the 19th of January this year, when whistleblowers raised infractions about the leadership of Mr Adesina, there has been a consistent escalating and ebbing of concerns about U.S. meddlesomeness in the affairs of the AfDB.
The U.S. and some European countries insisted on a second and more thorough investigations into the allegations.
On May 30, 2020, a “group of AfDB African staff members” criticized Mr Adesina’s management of the bank, accusing him of being rhetorical instead of acting and indicated he had “weakened” the bank.
However, in the midst of this brouhaha, the President of the Brazilian Africa Institute (IBRAF), Prof Joao Bosco Monte let out that,
“We need to see details, but we also need to see concrete reason and the objective that the government of the U.S. is bringing to damage the reputation of Adesina.”
According to him, “When we see countries like the U.S. bringing issues about the leadership of President Adesina, we should understand what specifically are the reasons that the bank is being attacked by the U.S. Government.
He added that,
“My personal opinion is that he is doing a very good job and this is important for the brand and Africa.”
