BEVERLY HILLS, July 02, (THEWILL) – The bureau of board of governors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has constituted a panel to carry out an independent review of the report of the ethics committee on the allegations by whistleblowers against the president of the bank, Akinwumi Adesina.
A communiqué released by the bureau said that it agreed on the terms of reference for the independent review at its meetings of June 18 and July 1, 2020 and thereafter, selected three persons—Mary Robinson, Hassan B. Jallow and Leonard F. McCarthy—to constitute “a High-Level Panel of Independent Experts to conduct the said review”.
The communiqué, signed by Niale Kaba, Governor for Côte d’Ivoire, noted that the bureau expresses its utmost trust and confidence in the panel’s ability to successfully carry out the assignment and reaffirms its commitment to fully assisting the panel in the process.
The bureau in the communiqué, said the new panel is made up of individuals “with unquestionable experience, high international reputation and professional integrity” and is expected to submit its report to the bureau within a period of two to four weeks maximum.
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Mrs Robinson, who is chair of the panel, is a barrister and a former President of the Republic of Ireland. She was also the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She, among other numerous global and national responsibilities, is the chairperson of the ‘Elders’, a global body of wise persons concerned about the wellbeing of the world.
Mr Jallow is a former attorney general and minister of justice of the Republic of the Gambia as well as a former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Gambia.
In 2003 he was appointed as a judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and later that year as the Prosecutor of the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). On February 5, 2017, Mr Jallow was sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Gambia.
Mr McCarthy is a former director of public prosecutions, a former director for the Office of Serious Economic Offences, and a former head of the Directorate of Special Operations of South Africa.
He served as the Integrity Vice President of the World Bank for nine years. Mr McCarthy is currently the President of LFMcCarthy Associates, Inc., an integrity risk management company based in Washington, D.C, USA.
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