By zainab.joaque@awokonewspaper.sl
Freetown, SIERRA LEONE – In a roundtable discussion, Finance Minister Sheku A.F. Bangura highlighted the significant challenges posed by rising debt levels on the growth and development of Low-Income Countries (LICs). The depletion of resources necessary for investment in sectors that drive growth has become a pressing issue.
Speaking in Abuja, Nigeria, Minister Bangura, joined by West and Central African Region Ministers of Finance, emphasized the critical impact of debt repayment on LICs. He noted that many countries are compelled to allocate the support they receive towards servicing debt obligations to financial institutions.
Addressing the need for collaboration and support, the Minister discussed how engaging with the International Development Association’s (IDA) new financing and policy package, IDA-21, can address the grand development priorities in the region. He underlined the World Bank’s pivotal role in providing knowledge, convening power, and resources to support economic transformation in West and Central Africa.
Minister Bangura advocated for increased budget support from the World Bank, creating fiscal space for governments to deliver on their development programs, especially during macroeconomic challenges and crises. He urged the World Bank to actively involve countries in reform efforts.
Nigerian Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, emphasized the benefits of additional concessional financing from the World Bank, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing macroeconomic challenges. Edun stressed the importance of maintaining a committed partnership between African leaders and the World Bank to enhance the lives of citizens on the continent.
Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director for Operations, reassured the institution’s commitment to translating ambition into reality by supporting countries in areas like expanding electricity access, addressing food security, and promoting the digital economy. She highlighted the Bank’s increased funding to Africa from $10 billion in 2010 to $28 billion in 2024.
Bjerde also outlined the World Bank’s commitment to raising resources for IDA-21 and building stronger partnerships, especially in mobilizing private sector participation. She emphasized the use of specialized windows to support conflict prevention and regional integration.
During the roundtable, participants stressed the importance of human capital development, job creation, macroeconomic improvement, revenue mobilization, infrastructure investment, and financing through the private sector.
Vice President of Western and Central Africa, World Bank, and Co-Chair of the event, Ousmane Diagana, highlighted the evolution process of the Bank, emphasizing the vital role of African countries’ ideas in achieving the listed priorities. Diagana announced a follow-up meeting on February 26, 2024, to discuss the next steps in the process. IDA-21 is expected to run from July 2025 to June 2028, with the final replenishment package announcement scheduled for December 2024.
The Abuja roundtable was part of ongoing discussions among African governments, including the Heads of States meeting, the IDA-20 launch summit, and the World Bank and IMF Governors meeting on financing economic development in Africa. Ministers of Finance and World Bank representatives also engaged in a closed-door meeting with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to discuss cross-cutting issues of development and concessional financing for West and Central Africa. ZIJ/14/2/2024