After the setting up of an agency to take over the continental mandate, the former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga ended his term as the African Union special envoy for infrastructure development.
On October 20, 2018, Mr Odinga was appointed High Representative for Infrastructure in Africa under the leadership of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The African Union wants to speed up the integration of the continent through infrastructure in order to promote economic growth and sustainable development.
With full mandate to implement the continental agenda on infrastructure, the transformation of the Nepad AgencyNepad Agency to African Union Development Agency-Nepad has been completed, according to a statement by AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Excellency has been invaluable in this journey. Allow me to express my deep gratitude for accepting to serve in this position during the transition period, which has now come to a happy conclusion, said Mr Mahamat.
In 2018, Odinga was appointed to the position of AU Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative and to build on the work and leadership of the AU Presidential Infrastructure Champion InitiativeAU Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative. He had two offices - one in Nairobi and the other in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where the AU is headquartered.
Before his AU appointment, Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta had ended their political differences after the 2017 elections, through the famous March 9, 2018 handshake that saw the two work closely.