Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again
by Paul Wolfowitz, World Bank President
Washington, DC, September 8, 2005
We hear often about an Africa that is ravaged by poverty, disease and conflict. News headlines and footage transmit images of starving women and children in Niger. They report on violence and suffering in Sudans Darfur region. They cite alarming statistics about the human toll of HIV/AIDS and malaria.
I was particularly moved by personal stories of Africans living with HIV/AIDS. In their own words, they share with us the pain of discovering they have the virus, their fear of leaving their children behind and their hope for surviving with treatment. They allow us to see – if only for a moment – the real human tragedy behind the numbers.
But there is another part of the story that we hear about all too rarely. To borrow the words “whatever you thought, think again”. There is another face to Africa. One of hope, ambition and achievement.
I was struck by the optimism in Jared Diamonds essay about the future of Africa, with its rich geography and history. It is an optimism I share and which was reinforced for me by a visit to four African countries in June in my first weeks as president of the World Bank.
I met with heads of states, government officials, NGOs, women activists, students – and I saw first-hand how they are taking ownership of their countries future. I came back with the conviction that Africa can become a continent of hope.
Africa in Transition
Today, Africa stands at a crossroads. Its current history speaks of poverty and suffering, but its future holds opportunities. To seize these opportunities, there are many challenges that must be overcome first.
Let me first illustrate the sheer magnitude of the challenges. Africa has the largest share of poor people in the world. In the last twenty-five years, the number of Africans living on one US dollar a day has nearly doubled from 164 million to 314 million. Economic growth during this period averaged about 3 percent.
This is far short of what is needed to reduce poverty. Without faster progress, the number of poor people is expected to rise to 340 million in the next ten years.
Five years ago, world leaders set clear targets to reduce poverty by half and improve economic and social conditions in developing countries.
Both rich and poor countries pledged to do their part in achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Rich countries promised debt relief and an increase in aid in exchange for policies and governance that use aid effectively in poor countries.
For Africa, the MDGs pose a daunting task. To keep the number of poor from rising alone, it will need to achieve a growth rate of 5 percent. To meet the target of halving poverty by 2015, growth will have to accelerate to 7 percent. This is nearly double the regions growth rate today.
Given the enormous scale of this challenge, we need to come to terms with what we can and cannot achieve with the MDGs. We know today that many countries will not meet the MDGs on the schedule hoped for. We also know there are many countries that are on track to meet some of these goals.
We need to focus our efforts where it can make a difference. And in those cases where meeting the MDGs will take longer, we must set realistic intermediate goals, rather than abandon the effort entirely.
Two days ago, our Board discussed an Africa Action Plan to help African countries accelerate growth and achieve tangible results in fighting poverty. The plan sets forth 25 specific initiatives to be led by African countries during the next three years. It also sets clear financing commitments for free primary education in 15 countries as well as roads, power and infrastructure.
But economic growth must go hand-in-hand with growth of institutional and governance capacity, if we want sustainable results. And I am pleased to see there is progress on this front. Countries once torn by conflict, like Uganda, Rwanda and Mozambique, have made strides in securing peace, stability and reconciliation – which we know are vital for growth.
A new leadership is emerging in Africa that is increasingly open to change and committed to attacking deep-seated problems of corruption and accountability.
More and more Africans across the continent are casting their votes and holding their leaders accountable – for jobs, education, healthcare and a better future. And their leaders are listening.
The Disease of Corruption
We cannot underestimate the importance of voice and participation in Africas development process.
The evidence is compelling. The experience of countries worldwide show that civil liberties – the respect for citizens voice and equality – are crucial to fighting corruption.
We are seeing that women in particular have an important role to play. Statistics show that in countries where women enjoy more rights, there is less corruption. In countries where more women are in political office and in the job market, there is less corruption.
I wouldd like to say a few words about the disease of corruption. Controlling corruption matters for development. It is in fact one of the points highlighted to the G8 and the world in the Africa report commissioned by Tony Blair: that reforms will have limited impact if corruption is not reduced.
Whether it exists in government, private sector or aid projects, corruption drains resources and discourages investments. It benefits the privileged and deprives the poor. It threatens prospects for a better quality of life and promising future.
So it is gratifying that more attention is being paid to good governance and corruption and a refreshing willingness to address the problem openly. I was encouraged to see it was on the minds of the African ministers I met here in Washington during meetings of World Bank shareholders in the spring. They expressed a strong common concern about the need to address corruption in their countries and stay the course to progress and growth.
At the World Bank, we are working with countries that request our help to strengthen legislation and institutions, so they can take charge of combating corruption.
The burden of fighting corruption, however, cannot be placed on developing countries alone. Rich countries and development organizations alike must play their part in supporting developing countries to step up to this challenge.
What is often overlooked is that there are two parties to every corrupt transaction—and the developed world shares responsibility with the developing world. For every bribe-taker, there is a bribe-giver.
Often, the bribe-givers are individuals or firms from rich countries. Their actions undermine the efforts of poor countries who are fighting corruption and trying to build a future for their children.
Rich countries have a moral responsibility in helping the poor countries reclaim their future.
This includes recovering stolen assets from international bank accounts. I am happy to report that last week only, the governments of Switzerland and Nigeria reached an agreement to return to the Nigerian people almost half a billion dollars embezzled into a Swiss bank account by a former president.
The World Bank will support the Government of Nigeria to ensure these funds will used to serve the needs of the poor.
We know very well that the projects the World Bank finances are themselves vulnerable to corruption – and we are doing something about it. We conduct regular audits and investigate allegations of fraud.
An anticorruption hotline has been set up for firms and individuals – including staff – to report bribes and misuse of funds. And we publicly blacklist firms and individuals that engage in bribery in our projects. In the last fiscal year alone, 350 cases were investigated.
Conclusion
During my visit, Nigerias President Obasanjo told me that Africa is a continent on the move. We all have a stake in helping it move faster, towards progress and achievement.
We live in an interdependent world. The 600 million people on this vast continent have hopes and expectations of moving forward, with the rest of the world. At the World Bank, we made a commitment to turn this hope into reality. Africa is at the top of our development agenda.
In the last ten years, 15 out of 44 countries on the continent have seen their economies grow 6 percent per year – every year. This is a hopeful achievement. It gives us a hint of what can be accomplished, if sound economic policies are put in place and aid is used effectively.
But Africa needs more to do more, if it is to face the great challenges that lie ahead.
Africas transformation will depend on the commitment of the international community and the resolve of its people and leaders. It will also depend on a close partnership that is led by Africa and supported by rich countries and by multilateral institutions.
We are driven today by the urgent need to achieve results and create opportunities for the men, women and youth of Africa – to show the world the face of Africa that is marked with hope and optimism.
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Remarks made at a joint National Geographic / World Bank event held in Washington, DC, on Thursday, September 8, 2005. The event was based around the publication of the Septemer issue of National Geographic magazine entitled Africa: Whatever You Thought, Think Again, as well as the joint launch of a National Geographic/World Bank map called A Global Agenda to End Poverty.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
