Samia in Ghana to receive infrastructure development award
Tuesday May 24 2022
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu (centre) arrives in Accra, Ghana, on May 23, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY | IKULU, TANZANIA
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan will this week receive a key infrastructure award during her maiden tour of Ghana in western Africa.
The Tanzanian leader arrived in Accra on Monday evening ahead of dialogue sessions organised as part of Annual meetings of the African Development Bank, which are being held in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, this week.
She is this year's recipient of the Africa Road Builders–Babacar Ndiaye Trophy, an annual prize sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and organised by Acturoutes—an information platform on infrastructure and roads in Africa, as well as the Media for Infrastructure and Finance in Africa (MIFA)—a network of African journalists specialising in road infrastructure.
Samia was named the 2022 winner of the Africa Road Builders–Babacar Ndiaye Trophy in April.
According to AfDB, the prize is awarded to leading figures in Africa who have demonstrated their commitment to the development of transport infrastructure on the continent.
This is President Samia’s first official trip to West Africa since she was sworn in as president in March last year following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli.
Her trip also comes as the continent discusses technology to boost energy investments and deal with the continual crisis of food shortage, and the president is also expected to pitch energy opportunities during discussions on energy. The Bank’s theme this year is on climate change and renewable energy.
On Tuesday morning, President Samia participated in a session on opportunities and challenges facing African countries, including the growing impact of climate change and rising cost of food after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is Africa's biggest source of grain.
The Bank has said the continent will need to grow at least 38 million tonnes of wheat, rice, maize and soybeans to plug the deficit.
And it also needs to continue investing in renewable energy, as well as natural gas to improve reliability of power in Africa.
Tanzania and Mozambique are some of the sites in eastern and southern Africa where the Bank has pledged to support natural gas projects.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi is also attending the AfDB meetings.