World News, Topic of the Month

Infrastructure in Africa:A sad story that may no longer be

The story of infrastructure in Africa is simply depressing. That may be about to change now but the final push is hanging in the balance of its leaders’ resolve

Addis Standard’s exclusive with:

 v Donald Kaberuka – President of the AfDB

 v Ibrahim Mayaki – CEO of the NEPAD Coordinating and Planning Agency

 v Aboubakari Baba Moussa – AUC Director of Infrastructure & Energy and

 v Jay Ireland –  President & CEO of GE Africa

by Tsedale Lemma

In the midst of the stormy gathering in Addis Ababa of the 18^th AUC summit at the end of January this year, on Monday Jan. 30^th 2012, a sideline meeting of the 54 heads of state and government officially endorsed the launching of an ambitious yet little known initiative called Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a multi-billion dollar initiative that has first surfaced in July 2010 in Kampala, Uganda, on the sidelines, again, of the 16th AU summit.

A year and half later PIDA succeeded to become one of the few common agendas that have brought the 54 African countries into a rare harmony. The lead agenda during January 2012 summit was the election of the next Chairperson, which the leaders have failed to do. It would have been a complete waste of yet another chance for Africa had they have also failed to throw their backing behind PIDA.