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World Bank head wants delivery
08/07/2005 21:53 - (SA)
Gleneagles, Scotland - World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on Friday hailed the G-8's plan to alleviate poverty in Africa, but insisted success depended on rich nations and African leaders delivering on their commitments.
Wolfowitz also said further progress was needed on fair trade to ensure developing countries could compete.
"It is very important to stress that it is a partnership," he said. "It is not just about spending more money. It is about having African leaders who understand their responsibility to make sure that that money is spent wisely."
Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations pledged that aid to Africa would rise from the current $25bn (R170bn) to around $50bn (R340bn) a year by 2010.
Pledged
The G-8 leaders also pledged to push for a successful outcome at the next round of trade talks in December. They cancelled the debt of 18 of the world's poorest nations, pledged universal access to Aids treatment, committed to a peacekeeping force in Africa and heard African leaders promise to move toward democracies that follow the rule of law.
Wolfowitz described the package as "very big, very important".
He said, however, the increased aid must be coordinated, to ensure it was delivered effectively. He also stressed the importance of fighting corruption on the poverty-stricken continent and improvement of "institutions of governance that provide for accountability and transparency".
Absorb
Wolfowitz was asked whether African nations could absorb a massive increase in international aid.
Wolfowitz said that while HIV and Aids was a compelling problem, issues such as maternal health, nutrition and infrastructure also had to be addressed.
"You have to cover all the positions on the field, even the less glamorous ones," he added.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he was disappointed the G8 final declaration on Africa did not set a date for ending subsidies that hobble poor countries' ability to compete globally.
"That is obviously one place where more work needs to be done," Wolfowitz added.
- AP
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