A successor to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) outgoing president Dr Donald Kaberuka would be elected in May, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced on Wednesday.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) governors endorsed Zondo Sakala to stand for presidency when the bank’s governors meet to elect a new president on May 28.

The decision of who would succeed Kaberuka would be made during the Bank’s annual meeting, scheduled to take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from May 25 to 29.

Zimbabwean-born Sakala was previously AfDB VP for country and regional programmes and policies.

“We are of the view that the [time] is now for SADC to lead the AfDB and we have a candidate who is made to fit the Bank's agenda in support of the transformation of African economies,” Nene said.

Rwanda national Kaberuka was elected in 2005 and re-elected for a final five-year term in 2010.

“With 31 years’ experience at the AfDB, Sakala has good knowledge of Africa’s development issues. [His] mission is to sustain and enhance the transformation of the AfDB and Africa,” Nene commented, adding that Sakala’s priorities would be to close the infrastructure gap on the continent, deal with the challenges of rapid urbanisation, promote intra-Africa trade and regional integration and transform rural economies.

Further, Sakala planned to collaborate with the African Union and regional organisations to identify key drivers to address fragility and conflicts, while enhancing the development of a “credible [and] resilient” African private sector by promoting an enabling environment, effective institutions and mechanisms to finance small and medium-sized enterprises and provide robust support for public–private partnerships.