18 July 2006
World Bank Chief Says African Development Remains Top Priority
"Good government policy" essential, Wolfowitz tells Sullivan Summit
Abuja, Nigeria -- "Don't blame the people for development failure," said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who added that Africa remains his first development priority and stressed that government policy is an important component to successful economic development.
In a keynote address July 18 to the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII in Abuja, Wolfowitz said, "People everywhere have talents, have energy. Most of all, almost everyone wants their children to have a better life and wants their children to escape poverty if they are living in poverty. That seems to me virtually universal.
"What is not universal is good government policy. That makes an enormous difference," he said.
Citing South Korea as an example, Wolfowitz said that country is now "one of the world's great success stories." He recalled that in 1965, when he was working on the U.S. foreign aid budget as a government employee, "you could read articles about South Korea … that said it was a hopeless basket-case ... and riddled with corruption."
Looking at South Korea now, he told the delegates, one can see that "government policy makes all the difference."
"Bad policy gets in the way of the private sector. Good policy gives the private sector, private businessmen, and private individuals the opportunity to realize the fruits of their own energy, their own creativity, their own intelligence, and in doing so, to create jobs and opportunity for other people."
Wolfowitz said sub-Saharan Africa stands in sharp contrast economically to much of the rest of the developing world.
"The last two decades in many parts of the world have been one of the most extraordinary success stories in human history in overcoming poverty." Citing World Bank statistics, Wolfowitz said some 500 million people have escaped extreme poverty, with about 300 million of those people living in China and the rest residing in other successful economies in East Asia, India and in some parts of Latin America.
"The sad part is [that] sub-Saharan Africa, so far, stands in sharp contrast. During those same 20 years," he recalled, "the number of people in extreme poverty in this part of the world doubled from 150 million to 300 million. Every other person in the sub-continent lives on less than a dollar a day," a situation he called both "stunning and disturbing." That, he said, is in spite of some $300 billion in foreign assistance to the continent annually.
It is not just low income that afflicts the region, he said, but also the plague of HIV/AIDS and malaria. One million children die of malaria each year in Africa, which means around 3,000 children a day, he added. Wolfowitz reminded his audience that there was a time that malaria existed also in Washington and foreign diplomats serving there once received hardship pay for the assignment. But malaria, a preventable disease, long has been eradicated in Washington, he said, and "it can be eradicated in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Wolfowitz said early in his tenure as World Bank president he met with the African governors of the bank. "What was stunning to me was one presentation after another, thoughtful, focused, to the point … centering [on] the common theme of the need to improve governance, the need to fight corruption."
The World Bank president praised anti-corruption efforts that have returned millions of dollars to public coffers. "Things have changed in Africa. They have changed dramatically," Wolfowitz said.
Wolfowitz said he chose to make Africa the destination of his first overseas trip as World Bank president. He visited Nigeria, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and South Africa. "I saw enormous energy and drive and people willing to work hard, even in the most difficult conditions."
WOLFOWITZ CITES POSITIVE GROWTH RATES
Wolfowitz mentioned that there are some 15 African countries that in the last 10 years have had sustained positive growth rates of 4 percent or more. Two of the best performers in that group -- Mozambique and Rwanda -- range between 8 percent and 10 percent economic growth annually, he said. He reminded that both countries are recovering from recent political disasters: Rwanda experienced a horrendous genocide, which claimed almost 1 million lives, and Mozambique endured a long and bloody civil war. "But with good leadership and the energy of the people, those countries have been growing," Wolfowitz said.
Citing another economic success story -- Tanzania -- he said good economic growth has a positive impact on the whole society. School enrollment in Tanzania has gone from 65 percent just a few years ago to more than 90 percent today. Similar results can be found in Mozambique, Ghana and Uganda, he added.
In addition, he said, just five years ago, there were 16 wars across Africa. Now there are six -- which are still too many -- but now 10 additional countries are enjoying peace, he said.
Wolfowitz cited a Gallup Poll of 2005 that found that Africans were the most optimistic people in the world, with 57 percent expecting this year to be better than last.
In his view, there are good reasons for this optimism: an increasingly accountable political and democratic leadership on the continent; an informed citizenry that is becoming more demanding; and the dynamism of the African private sector as well as significant increases in international support.
Wolfowitz said there are several key efforts that must continue to achieve lasting economic growth and development: an improvement of the business environment and infrastructure; continuation of reforms now under way; a further opening of trade; and the provision of more post-conflict support.
Wolfowitz said the World Bank again is concentrating on infrastructure projects. The bank’s investment in this category, he said, has increased from $600 million to $1.5 billion in the past fiscal year and will likely reach $2.4 billion in the coming fiscal year.
The Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit in Abuja runs through July 20 and has as its theme: "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities; Building Partnerships for Success." (See related article.)
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
