BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo – Liberia’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, along with fellow Governors of African Development Bank (AfDB) Constituency 15, has called for sustained development financing, stronger institutional support, and increased representation of member countries within the Bank’s workforce during a high-level engagement with AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 2026 African Development Bank Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, which brought together thousands of policymakers, development partners, financial experts, and government officials from across Africa and beyond to discuss strategies for financing the continent’s development agenda.
Leading the Constituency 15 delegation in his capacity as Chair, Minister Ngafuan thanked the African Development Bank for what he described as its longstanding partnership and critical support to member countries, including Liberia, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Ghana.
According to him, the Bank has played an important role in supporting macroeconomic stabilization efforts, domestic resource mobilization, infrastructure development, agricultural transformation, energy expansion, and crisis-response initiatives across the constituency.
The Liberian Finance Minister used the occasion to highlight Liberia’s recent macroeconomic performance, pointing to an estimated economic growth rate of approximately 5.1 percent, improved domestic revenue generation, and declining inflation as signs of growing economic resilience.
Ngafuan also praised the Bank’s support for Liberia’s national development priorities, including budget support operations, efforts aimed at enhancing revenue collection in the mining sector, and strategic infrastructure investments.
Among the projects highlighted was the long-discussed Zwedru-Fish Town-Harper road corridor, which is expected to significantly improve transportation, trade, and economic connectivity across southeastern Liberia.
The Finance Minister noted that while Liberia’s economic outlook continues to improve, external shocks linked to ongoing geopolitical tensions and instability in the Middle East remain a concern for developing economies that are heavily dependent on imports and vulnerable to fluctuations in global commodity prices.
He therefore urged the African Development Bank to maintain strong support for member countries as they navigate emerging global economic uncertainties.
Beyond development financing, Ngafuan also raised concerns regarding the level of representation of Constituency 15 countries within the African Development Bank’s workforce.
He emphasized the importance of ensuring that qualified professionals from Liberia and other constituency member states are afforded greater opportunities within the institution, arguing that broader representation would strengthen participation in the Bank’s operations and decision-making processes.
Also participating in the meeting were Gambian Finance Minister Seedy Keita, Sierra Leone’s Alternate AfDB Governor Alimamy Bangura, and Sudan’s Alternate AfDB Governor Badreldien Ahmed.
Responding to the delegation, AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah expressed appreciation for what he described as a candid assessment of the economic situation, development priorities, and portfolio performance of countries within Constituency 15.
Dr. Tah thanked the delegation for its support of his strategic vision for the Bank, including the Four Cardinal Priorities and the proposed New African Financial Architecture for Development (NAFAD), an initiative aimed at mobilizing larger-scale financing to accelerate development across the continent.
The AfDB President acknowledged concerns regarding staffing and representation within the institution and assured the delegation that the issue had been noted.
According to him, once the Bank’s revised organizational structure receives approval from its Board, management will review staffing matters, including representation and deployment across various departments and operational units.
The Brazzaville meetings were the first Annual Meetings held under Dr. Tah’s presidency and focused heavily on mobilizing large-scale resources for Africa’s development amid increasing global economic fragmentation and financial pressures. The gathering concluded with strong support from Governors for reforms aimed at strengthening Africa’s financial architecture and expanding development financing across the continent.
For Liberia, the engagement represented another opportunity to deepen cooperation with one of its most important multilateral development partners while advancing discussions on infrastructure financing, economic resilience, regional integration, and institutional representation within the Bank.
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