African Development Bank to support infrastructures projects in South Sudan
March 1, 2011 (JUBA) – The African Development Bank (ADB) is ready to provide support to the emerging independent state of South Sudan in the development of its various infrastructures, says the bank’s Country & Policies Vice President, Aloysius Ordu.
This came in a meeting on Tuesday in Juba between the visiting Ordu and the Vice President of South Sudan, Riek Machar Teny.
As part of the ADB’s traditional support to fragile states in Africa, Machar also appealed for support to initiatives of peace building and reconciliations among the populations in the region, which he said were traumatised by the 21 years of war, cattle rustling and tribal conflicts.
He also stressed on the importance of prioritising support to agriculture and livestock sectors in the region.
The region’s Vice President said his government has been under pressure, trying to manage what he said were the “very high expectations” of the people of the new state.
“Our people need compensation for the losses in war,” he said, adding that the compensations should be in form of service delivery in health, education, food security, clean water and electrical coverage sectors, among others. The region will not “turn into Dubai overnight”, he acknowledged, but gave assurance that his government would do its best to gradually meet the expectations of the people.
With a mandate to promote economic and social development in Africa, Ordu, also assured that South Sudan can also qualify to become member of the African Development Bank as the 54th country in Africa after its official independence in July 2011.
The Bank’s delegation will further discuss the details of their support with the minister of Finance and Economic Planning, David Deng Athorbei.
ADB is a financial institution of 53 African and 24 non-African countries which promotes economic and social progress in Africa through loans, equity investments and technical assistance. Structurally, the ADB Group includes the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund.
Established in 1964 and headquartered Tunisia, ADB has provided a cumulative US$55 billion in loans and grants in Africa.
(ST)
Lokaku
African Development Bank to support infrastructures projects in South Sudan
ADB and its hoard of Nigerian so-called technocrats are after South Sudan oil. All that is going to happen is having a flood of Nigerian crooks in South Sudan. That will add to the corrupt civil servants Kenya will second to South Sudan. The looting spree will then start. Why don’t we look to countries that really assisted and did not mistreat us in our time of need, like Uganda, Ethiopia Eritrea and Zimbabwe? Besides, these countries have less corrupt civil servants than Kenya or Nigeria.