Congratulations to President Obama for hosting the Africa
Leaders Summit. The summit is historic, measured not only by the number
of African leaders it assembles but also by the depth and breadth of the
issues it brings to the table.
Similar summits have been hosted by China, Europe, India,
and Japan, sparking competition for Africa’s raw materials as well as
for trade and investment opportunities.
Such summits signify a paradigm shift, from an
aid-centred “donor-recipient” mindset to a partnership that is grounded
in common interests and mutual respect.
The shift in paradigm is driven mainly by the
growing economy in Africa. With the change in Africa’s economy has come a
shift in the world’s opinion of the continent.
This is best reflected in the seismic shift in the editorial opinion of the Economist
magazine whose cover page metamorphosed from “Africa the Hopeless
Continent” in 2000 to “Africa Rising” in 2011 and “Africa Aspiring” in
2013.
The magazine noted: “African lives have already
greatly improved over the past decade [and] the next 10 years will be
even better”. It is not only Africa’s economy that is growing — so is
its population. This spells “Big Market.”
The growing appetite for Africa’s raw materials
fuelled by China’s and India’s hyper growth has further enhanced the
continent’s importance in the global economic calculus.
One important issue that should be discussed at the
Summit is the need to give Africa voice in global economic forums. For
example, the Group of Twenty (G-20) has only one country from Africa
(South Africa).
In contrast South America is represented by three
countries and Asia by five. At its core, the G-20 is a platform for
global economic cooperation. An Africa Summit, whether it is hosted by
the US, Europe, or Asia, cannot talk about Africa being an integral part
of the world economy while keeping it on the periphery of the global
economic governance structure.
The Summit should, therefore, call upon the G-20 to
invite Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, as a full-fledged member to
increase Africa’s voice in its ranks.
Accountability
Another important issue is increasing Africa’s
voice in the World Bank. This has structural and cultural dimensions.
The structural dimension signifies the Bank’s governance arrangement
that has denied Africa voice in the institution’s boardroom.
The top 10 African economies, with 2.5 trillion
total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in international dollars (I$) and 542
million population, are allotted 2.4 per cent voting rights on the
World Bank’s Board.
I$ accounts for differences in the purchasing power
of currencies. In contrast, Italy with I$2 trillion GDP and 60 million
population wields more voting power. Nigeria with 170 million
population and I$1 trillion GDP has 0.65 per cent voting right.
By comparison, Switzerland with 8 million people
and I$434 billion GDP has 1.63 per cent voting rights. The Bank’s
governance architecture reflects the outdated donor-recipient mindset
rather than the new global economic order.
The cultural dimension deals with an institutional racism that
has excluded Africans in the World Bank’s day-to-day management and
administration.
Since 1978, the US Congressional Black Caucus has
persistently requested the World Bank to eradicate the dehumanising
culture of racism that has taken roots behind the veil of the Bank’s
immunity from legal accountability.
Similarly, in 1979, members of the African Board of
Governors first raised the issue of “systemic racial discrimination”
during the World Bank’s Annual Meeting in Belgrade. They, too, have
persisted in raising this issue on a regular basis, all but to no avail.
The last time members of the African Board of
Governors raised the exclusion of Africans in the Bank’s management was
during the 2014 Annual Meeting in Washington. This resulted in
confrontation with President Kim who stormed out of the meeting, leaving
behind African Governors of the Bank shocked and angry. He later sent a
letter of apology and promised to hire more African managers.
In February 2014, prominent American Civil Rights
Organisations, including the Rainbow PUSH Coalition of which I am the
Founder and President, formed a coalition for the sole purpose of
putting an end to the systemic racial injustice.
The Coalition submitted four specific proposals to
the World Bank President. Unfortunately, the President showed no
interest in curing the systemic ills, promising instead to deal with the
most visible symptoms such as the absence of Black managers.
He would not even allow Blacks access to justice
outside of the Bank’s handmaiden Tribunal that the Bank’s own
confidential reports have found time and again unfit to adjudicate
racial discrimination claims.
During the month of July representatives of over
500 faith-based organisations signed a petition supporting the
Coalition’s four proposals and demanding that the US government bring to
bear its financial leverage to catalyse fundamental reforms.
As Justice for Blacks (a group consisting of
current and former Black staff) noted, apart from infringing on the
human rights of Africans, institutionalised racism in the World Bank
denies African countries the contributions of their citizens in the
Bank’s policy decisions that determine the destiny of their people.
It would be unthinkable for the African presidents
to ignore this issue. The Washington Summit is the right platform, as
the convener himself is an American descendent of Africa.
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