Is weak governance harming the African Development Bank?

of July 2020, Roland Michelitsch slipped out of his home in Ivory Coast, taking almost nothing with him. He quietly got into an armoured Land Rover and drove to a boatyard where he abandoned the vehicle. And then he disappeared. Mr Michelitsch was not a spy or criminal mastermind. He was a banker of the least glamorous sort—the independent evaluator general of the African Development Bank (f). Yet he had fled the country fearing for his life.The f is the most important African development institution in a region with about 70% of the world’s extremely poor people. The World Bank is far larger, but the f, with its headquarters in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, focuses exclusively on the continent. It has a strong record of spending on things that African governments prioritise. It has assets of about $60bn and before covid-19 committed about $10bn a year in lending, much of it in line with the ambitious goals set by Akinwumi Adesina, its president since 2015. Because of its focus, rich countries have given billions to its concessional fund for the poorest countries. They also, in effect, lend their top-notch credit ratings to the bank, which allows it to borrow cheaply and lend at low rates. At its annual meetings next week, the bank’s governors and board are expected to discuss plans to ask donors for as much as $24bn.