…Tah, Hott buck trend
When the moment came for all five contenders vying for the African Development Bank’s top job to appear before Africa’s business and policy elite, only two candidates showed up.
Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah and Senegal’s Amadou Hott were ready to take the podium on May 13 at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan before the organisers canceled what was billed “The Great Debate” after three candidates declined to partake.
Tah and Hott were ready to face the continent’s most influential business leaders, field hard questions, and lay bare their visions for the future of Africa’s premier multilateral lender.
But their three rivals- Swazi Tshabalala of South Africa, Samuel Maimbo of Zambia, and Mahamat Abbas Tolli of Chad- declined to participate.
In a continent where visibility is often substituted with behind-the-scenes politicking, the absence was conspicuous. And in the world of development finance, where credibility is currency, it may prove costly.
“There was a debate at the Brookings Institution, but this was a chance to lay a marker about their candidacy where it mattered more—on African soil—but only two contenders showed up,” a government official from one of the West African countries in attendance at the CEO Forum in Abidjan said. “It was about who was ready to be held accountable.”
A Missed Moment of Scrutiny
Organisers of the debate billed the event as a pivotal test of leadership: a rare, public debate where candidates would be questioned not by diplomats or donors, but by African CEOs, central bankers, and civil society actors.
The intended format—an open forum with real-time questions and no teleprompters—demanded clarity, confidence, and a willingness to confront scrutiny from the continent itself.
Aides to Tshabalala, Maimbo, and Tolli offered a range of explanations—from concerns about language translation to the need for format clarity.
But analysts were quick to point out the uncomfortable contrast: all three candidates had spoken just days earlier at a similar debate hosted by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
In other words, they didn’t skip the spotlight—just the African one.
The Optics of Absence
The symbolism was hard to ignore. At a time when Africa is demanding stronger continental agency in global decision-making, three candidates chose to sit out a debate held on African soil, in front of an African audience.
“It was an unforced error,” said an AfDB executive on condition of anonymity. “This was the only pan-African platform where the next president could be judged not just by credentials, but by their real mettle.”
In a contest as political as it is technocratic, showing up matters. Particularly when the job at stake isn’t merely to run a bank, but to project the economic vision of a continent entering a new phase of post-pandemic recovery and green industrial ambition.
The AfDB presidency is no ordinary role. It comes with outsized influence on how Africa accesses capital, shapes climate finance, and asserts itself in multilateral arenas dominated by richer economies.
The next president will preside over decisions on capital mobilization, currency risk management, and trade zone integration across 54 countries and more than 1.4 billion people.
In that context, Tah and Hott’s willingness to face questions head-on may have given them a crucial edge—not only in perception, but potentially at the ballot box.
AfDB elections are determined by a weighted vote split between African member states and non-African shareholders such as the U.S., Japan, and France. While diplomatic lobbying remains paramount, political signaling increasingly matters.
Showing up in Abidjan was a litmus test, according to one official from Afreximbank who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“It wasn’t just about policy. It was about posture. Who has the stature and resilience to handle pressure? Who will make Africa the center of their agenda?”
That question may now linger for those who opted out. Their silence has left room for speculation—about whether they feared the format, the questions, or the lack of control.
In an era where institutions like the AfDB must advocate not just for concessional finance but for political legitimacy, presence is no longer optional. Visibility is power. And engagement is strategy.
The Battle Ahead
The race is far from over. Tshabalala brings deep institutional knowledge from within the Bank. Maimbo has a reputation for innovation from his time at the World Bank. Tolli, the current central bank governor of CEMAC, enjoys regional backing.
But what Abidjan made clear is that the campaign is no longer just about what candidates plan to do. It’s about where they are willing to show up—and who they are willing to face.
Tah and Hott understood that.
And in doing so, they may have done more than answer questions. They may have changed the race.
