THE Department of Finance (DOF) has urged his fellow governors at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to empower the multilateral agency’s president, Masatsugu Asakawa, with more discretion in undertaking measures to address the health emergency associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In a letter to his fellow ADB governors, DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez said providing Asakawa with some leeway “within reasonable limits” in handling the institution’s budget and approving crisis-related initiatives will go “a long way in ensuring that timely and decisive action is taken by the bank in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout that will follow.”
“Now more than ever, we, the Board of Governors of the ADB, should do our part to support the ADB management in ensuring that its avowed functions are carried out with utmost efficiency and effectiveness,” Dominguez said in his emailed letter sent to the other 67 governors of the bank.
“I therefore call on my fellow governors to empower our trusted ADB president and the bank’s management to work alongside the governments of developing member-economies in dealing with the crisis in a highly responsive manner,” he added.
A copy of the letter was also furnished to Asakawa.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. A certain degree of discretion ought to be provided to the president on administrative matters, such as allocating the bank’s budget and authority to approve crisis-related programs and projects, within reasonable limits,” Dominguez said.
Amidst and after this crisis, Dominguez said the ADB needs to “stand taller” among the other development institutions.
“This will require us, the Board of Governors of the ADB, to take bold action to realize that vision,” he said.
As societies adopt, and adapt to, radical steps needed to defeat COVID-19, Dominguez said the ADB’s array of decisive measures carried out since early February under Asakawa proves that strong leadership translated into actions can “spell a difference in the lives of many.”
“Amongst international financial institutions, the ADB is at the forefront of decisive measures to help defeat COVID-19,” Dominguez said.
