Former PM Raila Odinga visits Nepad offices in first engagement as a special African Union envoy

Opposition and NASA leader Raila Odinga in Mavoko, Athi River, on 1 October 2018. [Photo, File]

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga visited offices of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) in his first engagement as a special African Union envoy.

Raila visited the Nepad offices in Midrand, South Africa, where he met secretariat staff and its chief executive officer Ibrahim Mayaki.

“We had a very lively discussion regarding the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, focusing on the missing links along the Trans National Highway corridors, the continental high speed Rail programme as well as open skies to allow for easier trade and transportation,” he said in a brief statement.

Raila told his hosts, a week after he was appointed AU’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa, that he looked forward to working with the team. 

His spokesman Dennis Onyango said the Opposition leader is in South Africa for a public talk on transformative education slated for today.

“This was just to know the Nepad office and meet the team. He has been briefed here in Kenya, yesterday’s was just a courtesy call at the secretariat, which will be the center of coordinating the activities he will be engaged in,” Onyango said.

Infrastructure conference

One of the issues the former Prime Minister discussed with Nepad officials was the planned continental infrastructure conference to be held early next year at a venue to be agreed on later.

As High Representative for Infrastructure, Raila will work to support and strengthen the efforts of the commission’s relevant departments and those of the Nepad, within the framework of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa which was endorsed by the Assembly of the Union in January 2012.

His mandate includes mobilising political support and development assistance from member states and regional blocs, as well as facilitating greater ownership by all stakeholders on the continent.

He will also support Nepad’s initiatives to encourage increased commitment from development partners.

Raila will focus on the continental high-speed train, which is one of the flagship projects of the first 10-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063.

He will also interact with the current champions of related African Union and Nepad Agency initiatives and seek their guidance to ensure the required synergy.