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Tah,
60, was elected by the bank’s board of governors, which includes
finance ministers and central bank governors from its 81
regional and non-regional member countries. He will take over on
Sept. 1 for a five-year term, succeeding Nigeria’s Akinwumi
Adesina, who is stepping down after two terms.
The election took three rounds of voting to decide between the
five candidates in the contest. Tah won with 76.18% of the vote,
ahead of Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo (with 20.26%), who is a
vice-president of the World Bank, and former Senegalese economy
minister Amadou Hott (3.55%).
The vote came during the bank’s annual meetings in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast, where economic headwinds — from debt distress to
climate shocks — have dominated discussions.
Observers see Tah’s leadership as pivotal in steering the
institution through a period of rising pressure on African
economies and tightening global development finance.
As the institution undergoes a leadership transition, the Trump
administration is eliminating key contributions, slashing $555
million in funding. The White House says such a commitment no
longer aligns with the administration’s priorities.
“The AfDB’s role is now more critical than ever,” said Bismark
Rewane, an economist and chief executive of Lagos-based
Financial Derivatives Co. He called for “African resilience" at
a time when “no one is going to pick the chestnut out of the
fire” for African countries.
"Africa has to look more inwards and be innovative in its
thinking to thrive,” Rewane said.
Since 2015, Tah has been managing the Arab Bank for Economic
Development in Africa, based in Khartoum, Sudan.
He has formerly held senior government roles in Mauritania,
including minister of agriculture and minister of economy and
rural development, and was an economic advisor to the president.
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Adebayo reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
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