SA President Cyril Ramaphosa
Mauritania’s Dr. Sidi Ould Tah has been elected as President of the African Development Bank polling 68% against his second closest rival Dr Samual Muzele Maimbo of Zambia who managed 18%.
Maimbo was the Southern African Development Community SADC candidate backed by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.
However, South Africa opted to endorse its own citizen in defiance of a collective decision by the regional body.
Apparently, critics have lambasted South Africa for going rogue, undermining the bloc.
SOUTH AFRICA GOES ROGUE AND NOMINATES ITS OWN CITIZEN IN DEFIANCE OF SADC’S NOMINATION FOR THE NEXT AfDB PRESIDENT
By Professor Jonathan Moyo
Today the African Development Bank (AfDB) started its ‘Annual Meetings’ in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, which will run until May 30, 2025, during which the election of the bank’s new president will take place on 29 May 2025.
A controversy which has been brewing up since August 2024 has erupted in Sadc after South Africa opted to endorse its own citizen, Ms. Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, in brazen defiance of a collective decision of the regional body, Sadc, to endorse the candidacy of Dr Samuel Munzele Maimbo from Zambia, based on a competitive process.
Dr Maimbo is also endorsed by Comesa. In effect, South Africa’s decision to go solo is in defiance of two key regional bodies: Sadc and Comesa.
South Africa is once again at it for the umpteenth time, showcasing its “exceptionalism” by which it positions itself as uniquely “superior” or “distinct” from other African nations, often acting unilaterally, or prioritizing its own often questionable interests over regional or continental consensus.
This “exceptionalism” stems from South Africa’s economic dominance, advanced infrastructure, all of it inherited from the apartheid state, which more often than not tends to lead to actions that appear to cause South Africa to recklessly disregard collective African frameworks or decisions.
In the context of Sadc and continental issues, such as the election of the next African Development Bank (AfDB) president set for 29 May 2025, South African exceptionalism manifests when South Africa pursues its own agenda in defiance of regional processes and agreements.
For instance, Sadc, supported by Comesa, conducted an agreed competitive process and collectively endorsed Dr Maimbo as its sole candidate for the AfDB presidency.
However, South Africa decided to push for its own citizen, Ms. Tshabalala, despite this regional consensus, thereby exemplifying exceptionalism.
This move suggests that South Africa believes its candidate or it interests outweigh the collective regional decision, a belief that undermines Sadc’s unity and the credibility of collective African processes.
This behaviour risks straining relations within Sadc and the broader African Union (AU) community, as it may be seen as South Africa leveraging its economic and presumed political clout to override regional or continental agreements meant to foster equitable representation.
Furthermore, the exceptionalism risks perceptions of arrogance, where South Africa acts as if its priorities should supersede those of smaller or less economically powerful nations, which renders regional cooperation or partnership with South Africa, meaningless.
Of course, South Africa might argue that it has a legitimate interest in securing influential positions to advance continental development in its own image, given its significant contributions to the AfDB and African economy.
However, such an attitude should be proportionate, otherwise it erodes trust and hinders the collaborative spirit needed for initiatives like the election of the next AfDB president, where regional blocs aim to present unified fronts to ensure balanced African representation, which aligns with shared goals among Africans.
Balanced African representation is important at the AfDB, a key financial institution for Africa, which operates under the leadership of a president elected by its Board of Governors, comprising representatives from 81 member states.
The current President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, will complete his second term at the end of the ongoing meetings, necessitating the election of his successor.
The election process, governed by Article 36 of the Agreement Establishing the Bank, requires a double majority—50.01% of votes from regional (African) members and 50.01% of total votes, including non-African members who hold approximately 40% of voting rights.
Dr Maimbo, Sadc’s choice for the next AfDB president, is an economist and development finance. He has some 30 years of experience in development, financial markets, resource mobilization, and strategic planning. He is currently Vice President for Budget, Performance Review, and Strategic Planning at the World Bank Group, and has been there since 1 July 2023, based in Washington, D.C.
His remit includes overseeing the World Bank’s annual program budget, including administrative, trust, and reimbursable funds, aligning resources with strategic priorities, financial sustainability, and efficiency targets; and serving as a top advisor to senior management on resource allocation; and leading financial planning and performance reviews for the institution’s multi-year Strategy and Business.
Dr Maimbo is eminently qualified to serve as the next President of the African Development Bank. He would the AfDB, Sadc and Africa proud.
The other candidates for the 29 May election are Mr. Amadou Hott from Senegal, Mr. Sidi Ould Tah from Mauritania, and Mr. Abbas Mahamat Tolli from Chad.
Names of the official list of candidates were published on February 21, 2025 by the AfDB’s Steering Committee, after a rigorous screening of the qualifications of the candidates.
The list of the five candidates reflects a balance of regional representation of some sort, with Southern Africa (Zambia, South Africa), West Africa(Senegal), North Africa (Mauritania), and Central Africa (Chad). With Sadc and Comesa supporting Maimbo, while other candidates may rely on broader African and non-African voter coalitions; the election’s outcome will most likely depend on bloc voting,
Sadc’s selection process for the AfDB presidency candidate began in August 2023, with the regional body’s summit in Luanda, Angola, which adopted a strategy proposed by the Sadc Ministers of Finance and Investment.
The strategy included developing selection and evaluation criteria, and establishing an ‘Independent Technical Committee’, which was approved in February 2024 through a round-robin process among member states
The ‘Independent Technical Committee’ received 11 applications, but only candidates from Sadc member states were considered, resulting in a shortlist of seven candidates whom the Committee evaluated for endorsement by the ordinary, annual Sadc summit.
Ms. Tshabalala’s was among the seven candidates evaluated by the ‘Independent Technical Committee’, she ranked second, with Dr Maimbo being endorsed at the Harare summit.
On August 17, 2024, at its 44th Ordinary Summit in Harare, Sadc comprising 16 countries and holding over 14% of the voting rights in AfDB, endorsed Dr Maimbo as its sole candidate, after a competitive process, aiming to leverage its 14% voting share to influence the election outcome.
In defiance of Sadc’s collective decision based on a competitive process, South Africa which has 5% of the voting rights in AfDB got Ms. Tshabalala to press on with her quest for the bank’s presidency, despite the fact that she had come short in the collectively agreed competitive process.
In the circumstances, Ms. Tshabalala resigned from her then position as Senior Vice President of the AfDB on 1 October 2024, stating, “Following the endorsement of the Cabinet of the Government of South Africa of my candidacy for the position of President of the African Development Bank in 2025, I have taken the decision to resign immediately from the Bank. This decision is in accordance with the Bank’s rules and regulations, to avoid any potential conflict of interest as I pursue my candidacy”.
Ms Tshabalala’s statement made it clear that she was resigning, “Following the endorsement of the Cabinet of the Government of South Africa of my candidacy for the position of President of the African Development Bank in 2025”. In other words, her government got her to resign to compete, despite having lost the nomination to Dr Maimbo. South Africa’s strategy apparently leverages on Ms. Tshabalala’s fairly solid track record, including as AfDB Vice President, and her gender as differentiating factors.
Subsequently, and aware of Sadc’s endorsement and South Africa’s decision to defy Sadc position, Comesa endorsed Dr Maimbo from Zambia, a Comesa member state, as its candidate for the AfDB presidency election scheduled for 29 May 2025; at the 23rd Summit of its Heads of State and Government in Bujumbura, Burundi, on 31 October 2024.
So, the controversy today arises from South Africa’s solo pursuit, in defiance not just of Sadc but also of Comesa, whose membership includes not only a number of Sadc members, but also Egypt; an African powerhouse.
For the sake of a perspective, with South Africa, which has 5% of voting rights in AfDB; while Sadc has about 14%, South Africa’s deviancy leaves it with 9%. This means that with 21 members, and discounting those members that are also in Sadc, Comesa’s voting power is slightly higher than Sadc’s at approximately 17%, given Egypt’s significant share, which is circa 6%.
The lobbying effort ensuing from this underscores South Africa’s strategy to garner votes beyond SADC, leveraging Ms. Tshabalala’s experience and her status as the only female candidate in the race.
Predictably, South Africa’s decision to endorse Ms. Tshabalala has created a rift within Sadc, as it threatens to fragment the votes and disrupt the regional body’s unity by challenging the bloc’s unified approach, based on a competitive process.
This disruption is particularly notable given Sadc’s historical practice of presenting a united front in such elections.
The split could dilute Sadc’s and Comesa’s ability to compete with other regional blocs, such as Ecowas, which are likely to rally behind a West African or other candidate
South Africa’s endorsement of Ms. Tshabalala has significant implications for the voting dynamics. In effect, the presence of two strong Sadc-affiliated candidates — Dr Maimbo and Ms Tshabalala — could split votes from Southern Africa and beyond, potentially benefiting candidates from other regions, such as Senegal, Mauritania, or Chad to the detriment of not only both Dr Maimbo and Ms Tshabalala, but also of Sadc itself.
The controversy underscores the complexity of regional politics in African financial institutions, where national interests often intersect with collective regional goals. As the election approaches, the dynamics of lobbying and vote consolidation are going to be critical.
South Africa’s “exceptionalism” is a clear and present threat to Sadc goals, and to the wider Pan-African structures and processes aligned to the AU.
It should be remembered that Sadc’s primary role is to foster regional cooperation and integration to achieve sustainable development, poverty reduction, and stability in Southern Africa.
In the case of the election of the AfDB president on 29 May 2025, Sadc’s role is to coordinate a unified regional position to enhance Southern Africa’s influence in continental institutions. Through a competitive process, Sadc, with support from Comesa endorsed Dr Maimbo of Zambia as its sole candidate.
This reflects Sadc’s commitment to regional solidarity and equitable representation, ensuring smaller nations like Zambia have a voice in global financial institutions.
South Africa’s decision to independently nominate its own citizen, Ms Tshabalala who did not make it through the competitive process that started in 2023, challenges this regional consensus, and highlights unhealthy tension between negative national interests and Sadc’s role in fostering collective decision-making!
