[Let them waste their money. Prediction: The money will be lost and wasted and when it is over – Africa will be poorer than before. You don’t believe me? Wait and see… Leave them… obviously they have not burned themselves enough. Jan]

Washington – The World Bank plans to increase its efforts in Africa to help countries mired in poverty achieve growth rates similar to the continent’s economic stars, the bank’s top official for Africa said on Tuesday.

To show the bank’s commitment to Africa, new World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz will travel there next week on his first foreign trip since taking over on June 1.

The former United States deputy defence secretary will visit Africa’s two major powers – Nigeria and South Africa – and also stop in Rwanda and Burkina Faso.

‘Our sense is that for a significant dent in poverty reduction’
Gobind Nankani, the bank’s vice president for Africa, said in an interview that policies under Wolfowitz would seek an overall growth for African countries that would benefit both the poor and the more successful nations.

With 334 projects and commitments of $16,6-billion, the development bank is the largest provider of development assistance to Africa.

“We see the World Bank as stepping up its efforts in Africa on the lending side but also stepping up its efforts on the analytical side,” Nankani said.

“In particular, our sense is that for a significant dent in poverty reduction, we need to support countries to implement more bold policies for accelerated shared growth.”

The bank’s increased focus on Africa also comes as the world’s wealthiest nations try to agree on a plan to free the continent from a crippling debt burden and poverty.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush met in Washington earlier on Tuesday on an ambitious proposal by Blair to dramatically increase new assistance to Africa and cancel the continent’s debt.

The World Bank’s Nankani, noting the disparity in growth rates among African countries, said the bank’s role in Africa has expanded to help increase African nations’ access to markets and promote more regional integration and private sector development.

In particular, he said the bank planned to increase lending for infrastructure projects such as building roads, improving water and sanitation services, and increasing power production, from the current $1,8-billion a year to $3-billion a year.

Nankani called the increase a first step, noting that infrastructure investment in Africa would have to reach $17-billion a year for African countries to reach growth rates of seven percent a year needed to sharply reduce poverty.

Africa is divided between successful economic performers such as Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, and the many more nations still mired in poverty, Nankani said.

He said some larger countries including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Ethiopia have shown better performances after long periods of instability and economic woes.

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>