Official Bank Sites Related Information July 14, 2006—World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz says he’s heading to the G8 summit of the world’s richest countries this weekend, bearing a renewed sense of the potential of Africa and the “courage and dignity and determination of African people to build a better future for their children and their grandchildren.” However Wolfowitz says he’ll be telling the leaders of the G8, who are meeting this weekend in St Petersburg, that Africa could benefit from increased aid specifically to improve education and address the “crying need for infrastructure” across the region. “I can tell the leaders I will be meeting with in St Petersburg that I have seen African countries that work. I've seen a country here in Tanzania that could do more with more assistance," he told reporters in Tanzania. At the same time, the Bank President renewed his call for a successful outcome to the Doha round of trade talks- saying one of the big disappointments this past year has been the failure to reach agreement on bringing down barriers to trade. “There are 1.2 billion people in the world living in less than $1 a day and roughly as many additional living on less than $2 a day. Those people are not represented in the trade talks, but they are affected enormously by the outcome.” “And I just think it’s wrong and it should be corrected that we have a situation where $260 billion roughly from taxpayers and consumers in rich countries goes to subsidizing agriculture at the expense of trade opportunities that are lost to countries like Tanzania.” Wolfowitz says a year after the G8 summit agreed last July to double aid to Africa, and deliver debt relief, there are signs of progress, but more needs to be done. “I think we’ve made a lot of progress in the last 12 months, most notably we did get the multi-lateral debt relief initiative completed. That’s some $37 billion of debt now for developing countries which is going to be cancelled. $2.8 billion of that is for Tanzania.” The Bank President cited infrastructure as a key issue for Africa. “There’s a crying need for infrastructure on the sub-continent, and particularly for regional infrastructure to help deal with the patchwork of boundaries and countries needing access to the ports of other countries. I think a lot more could be done on a regional basis if we had more resources. “ And while applauding moves by the United Kingdom for increased spending on education, Wolfowitz made it clear he believed Africa could benefit from even more money devoted to education of its children. “I think we’ve seen in Tanzania what that can do and what countries can do if they’re assured a sustainable level of support to expand their educational enrolments. By the way, that is an investment which just pays enormous dividends for a very long time. And conversely, if you leave a generation that’s uneducated or even illiterate, it’s a burden that society bears for a very long time.” |
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