Cape Verde’s candidate to the African Development Bank presidency has been promoting institutional reform as key to addressing the continent’s myriad development challenges. And she seems keen on starting with the multilateral institution.
In her vision for the bank, Cristina Duarte acknowledged the different challenges and opportunities confronting AfDB today. The institution has boosted its infrastructure lending, and grown its private sector operations — both are part of the bank’s strategic focus and are included in almost all candidates’ priorities.
But having sat at AfDB’s board of governors, she was made aware of how bank processes have slowed project delivery on the ground, or how revenue has stagnated amid rising costs brought about by the bank’s decentralization process.
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
