IMF, World Bank hold first meetings in Africa in 50 years

The IMF and World Bank gather in Morocco for their first annual meetings on African soil in 50 years, under pressure to reform to better aid poor nations blighted by debt and climate change.

The southern Moroccan city of Marrakesh was supposed to host it in 2021, but the gathering was postponed twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A powerful earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people in the region south of Marrakesh last month threatened to derail the event again, but the government decided it could go ahead.

The IMF and World Bank last held their meetings in Africa in 1973, when Kenya hosted the event, and some nations were still under colonial rule.

Half a century later, the continent faces various challenges ranging from conflict to a series of military coups to unrelenting poverty to natural disasters.

“A prosperous world economy in the 21st century requires a prosperous Africa,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Abidjan last week.
In a symbolic move, the IMF and World Bank are poised to give Africa a third seat on their executive boards, which Georgieva said would give the continent a “stronger voice.”

But the thorniest issues revolve around money.

The main contributors do not favor a capital increase as it would force them to put up more funds and give more significant influence to emerging powers such as China and India.

The World Bank, however, is expected to confirm plans to boost lending by $50 billion over the next decade through balance sheet changes.

Activists plan to march in Marrakesh to urge Washington-based institutions to take bold steps against climate change and debt.