The World Bank has reiterated its desire for a shift in its relations with Africa and other clients in order to make its services more effective, its president Robert Zoellick (pictured) said. Mr Zoellick, who has been touring Africa, said he came to the continent to better understand Africa's needs so as to make the bank's assistance more responsive.
His approach seems to indicate a shift from what has been described as the "imposing and arrogant attitude"of multilateral institutions, which use financial aid to impose conditionalities that leave little freedom in the way Africa and other poor countries run their economies.
Speaking to reporters in a video conference on Tuesday, Mr Zoellick said there was a need now for the multilateral lending institution to listen and learn more on what its clients' needs were in order to make its assistance more effective.
"I believe to be effective we need to understand what our clients need, and since 2007 I have been visiting Africa and have tried to align the (World Bank) group's services to sectors that are making the difference in Africa - energy, infrastructure, regional integration, agriculture," he said.
Mr Zoellick's indication of a change of direction on the World Bank's relations with Africa comes hot on heels of increasing criticism from activists that aid programmes from multilateral institutions and wealthy nations have failed to make a difference in Africa, the natural-resource rich continent that still wallows in poverty four decades after many countries became independent.
Critics say the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have been pushing Africa to expand economies based on ever changing "experimental policy templates" that have negated the spirit of free choice and given rise to wobbly artificial economies.
They claim that such policy templates have riveted the continent on short-term organisational approaches to managing African affairs, arguing that what Africa needed were home-grown institutional structures that could freely borrow from working systems without intimidation.
Mr Zoellick further indicated that multilateral institutions should not be held accountable for Africa's development or lack of it since only Africans themselves can bring about their own development.
"The people of African countries can only own their development. No one else outside the countries can bring development to Africa," he told reporters who were filing questions from across the continent.
He added that in order to promote Africa's priorities and benefits, the World Bank started working with both China and African governments to ensure massive Chinese investments benefited the continent.
"When China brings Chinese workers to work in projects in Africa it does not do much good to the continent. Africa people too need jobs and development accrued from such foreign investment," he said.
He vowed to continue working with the World Trade Organisation to ensure agriculture subsidies offered by rich nations are reduced so as not to distort agricultural commodity prices in the world market.
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World Bank has nothing to offer Africa - but denigration, poverty, death.
Good riddance.
Africa has had the World Bank and the IMF for decades - with nothing positive to show for it.
In that time IMF and World Bank and their sponsoring imperial western countries have grown wealthy, very wealthy on usury and fees from "aid", "loans" and "assistance" and especially on plunder of Africa's resources.
O, but the World Bank and IMF have many "reasons" why Africa - the wealthiest continent - becomes poorer by the year despite their tooted "good" efforts. You may have guessed it: They are not one of the 'reasons'. The virulent parasites would not blame themselves for the emaciated host's misfortunes.
Tell us this, World Bank: Does Africa really need World Bank and IMF so as to get poorer? Can't they do it on their own - or are they too incompetent even for that project?
Nothing there by the twin devils named World Bank and IMF.
Cursed ones, Aroint thee!
I DO VERY MUCH CONCORD WITH YOU MY DEAR BROTHER OR SISTER. THESE WESTERN COLONIZERS ARE NOTHING BUT BLOOD THIRSTING PEOPLE AND DESTROYERS TOWARD AFRICA !!!!
As usual, blaming your problems to somebody else.
I would like to know if you are writing fron your African Country, or seating from your A/C-Heated office somewhere in America or Europe.
The only ones to blame are ourselves, whom after good education we turn around and no good deeds done after. I have been in Nigeria for 5 years, and seen how Nigerian abuse their own people; and not long ago after 2 years working in Gabon-Angola, I saw the same situation. JUST DO YOUR PART. A R K Act of Random Kindness at a time, and everything will turn around for good.