Citizens of African countries have been asked to hold their governments to account, and demand effective governance.

Speaking at a press briefing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the ongoing African Economic Conference, Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa, Chief Economist and Acting Vice President of the African Development Bank, (AfDB) told  journalists that populations of African countries would have to hold their governments to account and demand infrastructural development.

He said infrastructural development in Africa consists of about 60 per cent of the Bank’s total investment in the continent, because the Bank views infrastructural development as key to economic growth in Africa.

He said while the AfDB would continue to invest in the continent’s economic development, the Bank he said “cannot go beyond its moral authority’ in relating to African governments and therefore, it is necessary for their citizens to ask for effective government, which he considers “necessary”.

The theme of the 9^th edition of the conference scheduled for November 1 to 3, 2014, is “Knowledge and Innovation for Africa's Transformation”.