The Rt Hon Raila Odinga, is the African Union (AU) High Representative for Infrastructure Development, a post that was created in October 2018 by the African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki.
The High Representative is tasked with working to support the efforts of the AU Commission’s relevant Departments and those of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), within the framework of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which was endorsed by the Assembly of the Union in January 2012.
The mandate includes mobilizing further political support from Member States and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and facilitating greater ownership, synergy and coherence, by all concerned infrastructure stakeholders on the continent.
He supports the AU Commission and AUDA-NEPAD initiatives, to encourage increased commitment from development partners.
In the discharge of his mandate, and building on the work and leadership of the PIDA Presidential Infrastructure Champions Initiative (PICI), the High Representative pays particular attention to innovative partnerships with the private sector, to establish African infrastructure as a competitive and investable asset class.
The Rt Hon Raila Odinga has served as the Prime Minister of Kenya, Minister of Energy, Minister of Roads, Public Works, and Housing, MP for Langata and is a businessman and an author.