By Andualem Sisay Gessesse (Marrakech, Morocco) – The newly appointed World bank President Ajay Banga expresses his plant to make the Bank a ‘better bank and Knowledge bank’.
“I believe that the most important thing the Bank can do is not just money bank but to be a knowledge bank. The Knowledge Bank idea is to have the right policies, the right principles, the right principles in place to crate the foundations,” he said.
He made this remark this morning in Marrakech, Morocco on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). He stated that people, prosperity, planet, infrastructure, and digital are the five major focus areas of the Bank, which aims to mobilize some $150 billion over the coming decade from its shareholders.
In relation to debt burden, President Ajay stated that the Bank along with the IMF is trying to bring all lenders in a round table and find solutions for the highly indebted countries whose development is being impacted by debt burden.
In relation to the Banks plan to dedicate half of its funding to the continent, he noted that Africa should manufacture products such as medicines to overcome the current logistics problems, which he described as extrema difficult to move goods within Africa and easy to move to Africa from outside the continent.
he stated that over the last three yours the Bank has extended $12 billion to Chad, Ethiopia, Zambia and Ghana of which $6 billion was grant. …In relation to debt, Zambia got out of debt situation…Since last July Zambia is only getting grant.”
“…We have seen progress in Ghana and a lot of countries as well,” he said indicating the fact that the debt landscape has been changing over the last few years from Paris Club lenders to non-Paris Club lender and commercial lenders.
“…Therefore, making sure that all these come together a roundtable to make sure that the debt is clear, transparent, and numerable,” he said, stressing that once the facts are clear then sitting together and negotiating with the lenders will be the next step for the highly indebted countries.
“I think the issues are country by country get the facts on the table, agree, get the creditors to agree, and move faster…So, we don’t fall in the same trap five years, ten years or twenty years,” he said, indicating for need to put macro and physical frameworks in place.
The World Bank Group consists of five organizations:
1- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
2- The International Development Association: The International Development Association (IDA) provides interest-free loans — called credits — and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
Together, IBRD and IDA make up the World Bank.
3- The International Finance Corporation: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments.
4- The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency: The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created in 1988 to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people’s lives. MIGA fulfills this mandate by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders.
5- The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) provides international facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes.