Paul Wolfowitz, the new head of the World Bank, said Sunday he was returning from a week-long trip to Africa to urge the Bush administration to help fund a big aid push for the continent, saying he regarded it as being on the move and full of real partners with whom the west could work, reports the World Bank press review Monday.
Wolfowitz said he would prepare proposals for the Gleneagles summit of the G8 and described the British governments support for Africa as “almost a gift from heaven.”
He said: – I have seen more reasons for Africa to become a continent of hope, adding that he had been struck by the “can do” mentality of its leaders and people. Wolfowitzs proposals include using extra aid to combat problems identified on his visit, such as malaria, poor infrastructure, inadequate lending for small and medium-sized businesses, and better cross-border cooperation.
Hinting that the World Bank may play an important coordinating role in dispersing extra aid, he said:
– One of the challenges we need to address in the World Bank is that if someone puts together a big fund for Africa, and asks us to administer it, how would we do so? Do we have the right structures? I think we can do it but it is going to take some work to produce it.
Wolfowitz is especially keen to see better coordination of aid programs, with governments on the ground taking a bigger role in deciding how the money is spent. Too many officials in Africa, he said, were bound up in red tape from the west.
Meanwhile, there is no sign of Bush supporting an increase in assistance to Africa, and Washington essentially believes it is doing enough, although it wants to speed up delivery of aid. Asked if he would use his contacts with the White House to push for more African aid, Wolfowitz replied:
– I would like to see everybody do more. I am not here to defend the Bush administration, I do not work for it anymore. I intend to work not only with the administration but with Congress on both sides, with the Democrats and the Republicans, to develop more political will to increase foreign assistance. I have believed for a long time it is a good investment.
Wolfowitz said increased aid would not be enough, even if used well and accountably, and African countries needed help to sell their produce overseas.
– What is promising now is that Africans and African leaders seem to recognize their responsibility about corruption, to develop institutions that will ensure transparency and accountability, so that assistance can be used well, he said adding:
– Even with all that, you have to remember that developing countries, especially countries like Rwanda, need more opportunities to sell their products in international markets. That means developed countries have to act together to reduce agricultural subsidies and open markets.
Wolfowitz said he was struck by how African communities managed despite poverty. He said there had been “enormous progress” in treating HIV/AIDS, but acknowledged that “there is obviously some argument in (South Africa) at the government level of the nature of the problem.”
The online edition of the BBC meanwhile writes that Paul Wolfowitz has earned plenty of goodwill in his first weeks in charge of the World Bank. However, it is on the World Banks approach to the many obstacles facing Africas economic development and not the images of the past week that Wolfowitz will be judged.
In that respect, experts say they are cautiously optimistic that Wolfowitz has grasped the scale of issues facing Africa and will fight for change on key issues. Wolfowitz surprised some observers by explicitly criticizing farming subsidies in developed countries – including the United States – which he said were hurting African producers.
The Chicago Tribune notes that Wolfowitz has won praise throughout the visit for his willingness to listen rather than dictate, and his plaudits for Africas changing political landscape, which may now make aid to the continent more effective.
Asked about the banks history of questionable loans on the continent – many to former dictators who appropriated the cash for themselves, leaving their countries deep in debt – Wolfowitz said “obviously we are dealing with quite a bit of lending that probably should not have been done at all.”
Paulo Gomes, one of only two African executive directors on the World Bank’s board representing African countries, said he was impressed by the way that Wolfowitz conducted talks with leaders and interacted with people in villages.
– We wanted to see first who was the man, we thought it was quite unfair to take the Wolfowitz from the Iraq war … but we are pleased to see he will be a multilateralist and not a unilateralist, he said adding:
– We have discovered someone different and it will be up to our countries now to put on the table what we want and the way we would like to address our problems and I think we will find a good listener in Paul Wolfowitz.
The Time further notes that this is not the Paul Wolfowitz the world is used to seeing. Wolfowitz suddenly finds himself on the front line of another war: the global battle against poverty.
And so it was not entirely surprising that on a four-country swing through Africa last week, Wolfowitz spent most of his time listening rather than talking.
– What impressed me the most is something I was hoping to find, which is the remarkable human material here, Wolfowitz said during a break in his schedule in Rwanda. – It is a real willingness to take advantage of opportunities and to work hard. And it is an intelligence and frankly a warmth, which is always a nice thing to work with.
The Financial Times writes Saturday that Wolfowitz spent his first trip to Africa sending out all the right messages.
In Rwanda, the controversial former US deputy defense secretary spoke of the responsibility the world bore for failing to prevent the 1994 genocide, met HIV/AIDS victims, hugged children and expressed the hope he felt for Africa.
In Burkina Faso he addressed the need for rich nations to reduce agricultural subsidies and in Nigeria he praised the G8 debt relief agreement.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
