Andoh Obed Mensah, the newly appointed Country Manager for the African Development Bank Group in Sierra Leone, began his duties on March 22 by presenting his Letters of Credence to Francess Piagie Alghali, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Deputy Minister Alghali welcomed Mensah and reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s strong and long-standing partnership with the African Development Bank Group. She emphasised the Bank’s important role in advancing national priorities, drawing attention to interventions in a variety of critical sectors, including agriculture, transportation, energy, and water and sanitation. Alghali stated that the Bank’s programmes are closely aligned with the priorities outlined in Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan and expressed confidence that Mensah’s appointment would strengthen cooperation and accelerate the delivery of development results. Sierra Leone’s principal development partner is the African Development Bank Group, which has 89 approved operations and $1.36 billion in aggregate commitments. The African Development Fund (AfDF), the Bank Group’s concessional lending window, accounts for the majority of these commitments, with $769 million. Other components of the Bank’s support for Sierra Leone include $42.6 million from the public sector window, $33 million in non-sovereign investments to stimulate private sector activity, and $549.9 million raised through trust funds and other Bank-administered financing instruments. Sierra Leone’s bank-supported projects span a wide range of sectors, including water and sanitation, agriculture, energy, transport, governance, health, and education. These interventions have yielded measurable results, including improved access to clean water and urban resilience in Freetown, increased food security and more resilient agricultural value chains across the country, expanded rural electrification efforts, support for public finance management reforms, and improved regional connectivity through investments in Mano River Union transport corridors.
Mensah expressed gratitude for the warm reception and reaffirmed the Bank Group’s commitment to Sierra Leone’s development trajectory. “It is an honour to serve as Country Manager for Sierra Leone, a country with significant economic potential,” he said, pledging the Bank’s commitment to deepen policy dialogue, accelerate project implementation, and promote private sector development to drive inclusive growth. Under Mensah’s leadership, the African Development Bank Group intends to work closely with the Government of Sierra Leone, development partners, and national stakeholders to maximise the impact of its operations and secure long-term development outcomes that benefit communities across the country.
