By Jimoh Babatunde

The President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has described the Kenya’s highest honour, Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart, CGH, conferred on him by President William Samoei Ruto as historic recognition.

In his acceptance speech, Adesina said: “I am greatly humbled by your incredible kindness! What a great honour! What a rare privilege! What a historic recognition!”

Receiving the award, Adesina said “This is an honour that I will cherish for life. It will be a constant reminder that the country I love so much, Kenya, loves me back, appreciates and celebrates my leadership at the African Development Bank, and values and honours the incredible contributions of the Bank to its development. I accept this honour with great humility.”

Dr Adesina becomes the 20th recipient of the honour that was established in 1967 and first awarded to Kenya’s founding father and former President, H.E. Jomo Kenyatta. Others include globally renowned leaders such as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Kenya’s subsequent Presidents Daniel arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uhuru Kenyatta and Dr Ruto.

Adesina spoke about Kenya’s special place in the history of the Bank which was established in 1964. Since then, the Bank has financed a total of 167 projects, with financial commitment of $7.8 billion.

He said the Bank’s current portfolio in Kenya consists of 45 projects worth $4.09 billion, which include the Last-Mile Connectivity electricity project, which has helped to increase the number of Kenyans connected to the national electricity grid from 2.42 million households in 2014 to 9.7 million households in 2024.

The expansion of the Thika-Nairobi Highway, which has drastically reduced travel time from 2-3 hours to just 30-45 minutes between the two destinations.

Adesina disclosed that the Bank is providing $634 million for the Kenya Town’s Sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation project that includes 314.92 million Euros for the construction of the Thwake Multipurpose Water Dam, to be completed by July 2026.

He said the project will provide water to about 1.3 million people in Kitui and Makueni counties, as well as the Konza Techno-City in Machakos County.



https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/03/adesina-confers-with-kenyas-highest-national-honour/