Washington, DC — The challenge of Africa is now "front and center," said World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn Tuesday, calling on leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations to give Africa half of their promised new global assistance. The aid increase was pledged during the International Conference on Financing for Development in March in Monterrey, Mexico.
"Hopefully, we can get the increased funding that has been provided by the Europeans and by the Americans -- at least 50 percent -- to go to the African cause because Africa needs it more than any other place."
Wolfensohn was addressing a luncheon hosted by InterAction, an umbrella group of some 160 nongovernmental organizations from around the world who have been meeting in Washington.
"In the [last 10] years in which Africa has been getting its act together, ... we have seen development assistance, in fact, reduced...from US$18bn to US$12bn, from US$35 a head to US$19 a head in this last five-year period.
However, more than increased foreign assistance is needed, the World Bank president said. Wolfensohn called on the G8 leaders who will be meeting in Kananaskis, Canada June 26-27 to "take action" on several fronts:
* Adopt liberal rules of origins, such as those contained within the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), to facilitate African exports.
* Offer assistance to small and medium-sized companies to enable them to meet Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) product standards.
* Allow increased competition on maritine and air transport routes to and from Africa. "Bank research has found that collusive practices among shipping lines push up freight rates by up to 25 percent on selected routes."
* Better harmonize donor policies and improve measurement of what works and does not work, and
* End the practice of tying aid to donor exports.
Addressing the luncheon audience, Wolfensohn said: "The Africans can very well say you're asking us to do the things that you think we should do in terms of opening our markets to you, and opening our markets between each other, but what is it that you are doing to help? What is it that you are doing rather than words?"
In prepared remaraks, he took the criticism further. "It is time to end the hypocrisy on trade that says, 'Do as I say, not as I do.'" He added: "Rich countries' escalating tariffs, which peak with processed agricultural products, are stopping Africa's manufacturing in its tracks...confining Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire to export raw unprocessed cocoa beans; confining Uganda and Kenya to export raw coffee beans; confining Mali and Burkina Faso to export raw cotton."
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Subsidies to farmers in rich nations, which total some US$350bn, are seven times as great as all of the aid provided worldwide in the year 2000. In addition, he said, these subsidies are driving down prices of the commodities developing nations depend upon for export earnings. Citing one example, he said eliminating payments to U.S. cotton farmers alone "would increase revenues from cotton by about US$250m in West and Central Africa."
African leaders are saying, "Give us the chance to trade," said Wolfensohn. 'And don't come here and talk to us about cotton subsidies and about agricultural subsidies and increase them as you're talking, if you are being serious about assisting us in terms of an African Renaissance."
"It is now time," says Wolfensohn, "for a public campaign on market access and on subsidies, with NGOs, IFIs (international financial institutions), with the UN and with Africans making the case to the public and to consumers around the world why these policies are wrong and must stop."
