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South Africa’s National Treasury endorsed Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, a former senior staffer at the African Development Bank, to become the next head of the pan-African lender.
Tshabalala stepped down from her role as senior vice president of the Abidjan-based AfDB on Tuesday after receiving an endorsement from the South African cabinet for her candidacy to become the next president of the bank. The lender’s current head, Akinwumi Adesina, is scheduled to step down in September 2025.
If appointed, Tshabalala would be the first woman to head the AfDB since its founding six decades ago.
“Ms Tshabalala’s candidacy represents continuity,” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It also represents an opportunity for a capable female leader to take up a key African leadership position. We will be working closely with her to ensure that her campaign is a successful one.”
A banking veteran with three decades of experience in finance, treasury management and capital-market operations, Tshabalala holds a BA in economics from Lawrence University and an MBA from Wake Forest University, according to the AfDB.
In her role as senior vice president, she provided “strategic leadership” on the bank’s finance-related activities.
Other candidates to replace Adesina include Samuel Maimbo, a vice president at the World Bank who’s been endorsed by the Southern African Development Community regional economic bloc, and Amadou Hott, a special envoy to Adesina, who resigned his position at the bank last month.
Candidates have until January 31 to submit their applications to succeed Adesina, while the election of the next president will take place on May 29, 2025, according to the AfDB’s website. – Bloomberg
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