The findings and recommendations of this report are timely.  They will be the main topic of discussion at this week's spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, and particularly at the meeting of the Development Committee where the finance ministers of our member countries are represented.  We are releasing the report ahead of that meeting.

                       
So again, good morning to you all.  Let me introduce my colleagues.  Immediately to my left is Mr. Zia Qureshi, who is a senior advisor at the World Bank and the lead author of this report.  To his left is my colleague, Mark Plant, who is a senior advisor at the International Monetary Fund.  And to Mark's left is Gobind Nankani, who is our vice president at the World Bank for Africa.  I will ask each of these gentlemen to say very brief remarks, and I stress they will be brief.  We want to have as much time as possible for your questions.  I will ask Zia Qureshi, who is the lead author of the report to begin with a few opening remarks.  Thank you, Zia.

                       
MR. QURESHI:  Thank you, Gerry, for that very useful introduction.  Good morning, and good afternoon to those who we are connected to through video link.  Just some brief remarks on some of the main findings and messages of the report.

                       
The central message of the report is one of urgency and opportunity.  Urgency because there is need for bold and quick action to accelerate progress if the millennium development goals are to be achieved.  Opportunity because the context for concerted action and support of development, and for such action to bear fruit was never better.

                       
While many countries are making impressive progress toward the MDGs, that is the millennium development goals, more in some regions, East and South Asia, for example, than in others, notably, sub-Saharan Africa, the report finds that on current trends most regions and most countries will fail to meet most of the MDGs.  Prospects are gravest with respect to the health-related MDGs.  That is, reduction of child and maternal mortality and the incidence of major diseases such as HIV/AIDS.  Sub-Saharan Africa, the region that is the special focus of this report, as Gerry said, is falling short of all the MDGs.

                       
This is not some arid statistical accounting.  Behind cold statistics on the MDGs are real people, and lack of progress has immediate and tragic consequences.  Every week in the developing world, 200,000 children under five die of preventable disease, a tragedy on the scale of the recent Asian tsunami, that repeats itself every week.  And 10,000 women die giving birth every week.  In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 2 million people will die of AIDS this year, and 115 million children in developing countries are not in school.

                       
Moreover, at stake are not only prospects for hundreds of millions of people to escape poverty, disease, and illiteracy, but also prospects for long-term global security and peace; objectives that are intimately linked to development.

                       
While these facts underscore the case for urgency, the report also presents evidence that developing countries are taking measures by improving their policies and governance, both to better help themselves and to make better use of support provided by development partners.  This is reflected in a very encouraging recent improvement in the growth performance of developing countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa, where a dozen or so countries are experiencing growth accelerations more commonly associated with other regions.

                       
So if the international community can muster the political will to scale up support for development, conditions for such support to be effective are much more propitious today than before.  On their part, developing countries must continue to extend and deepen the reforms they are implementing.

                       
The report calls on all parties to seize the opportunity presented by the increased global attention on development and on Africa this year in the context of the five-year stock-taking of progress on the millennium declaration to build momentum for the MDGs.

                       
How to build momentum.  The report calls for accelerated action on a five-point agenda, and I will briefly touch on those points and my colleagues will elaborate on some of those.

                       
First, scaling up on the basis of country-owned and led development strategies that aim higher.

                       
Two, boosting economic growth as the central growth of the development strategy by improving the environment for private-sector activity, strengthening economic infrastructure and upgrading public sector management and combating corruption.  Sub-Saharan Africa needs to almost double its growth rate from recent levels to around 7 percent in the next 10 years to achieve the poverty reduction MDG.  Infrastructure spending in the region needs to be doubled from 4.7 percent of GDP in recent years to more than 9 percent.

                       
Third, major strengthening of human development services, primary education, basic health care, control of major diseases.  The challenges are great.  To illustrate, sub-Saharan Africa may need to as much as triple its health workforce by 2015.  That is adding 1 million workers in the health sector alone.

                       
Fourth, achieving an ambitious outcome to the Doha Round of international trade negotiations, including in particular a major transformation of agricultural trade policies in developing countries.  Such an outcome could boost the GDP of low income and sub-Saharan countries by at least 1.5 to 2 percent, even when only gains from merchandise trade reform are considered.  Liberalization of trade in services, including the temporary migration of workers, could multiply total gains.

                       
And fifth, doubling of official development assistance over the next five years, together with actions to improve the quality of aid.  And reaching closure into in 2005 on current proposals for additional debt relief for heavily-indebted poor countries that are implementing credible reforms.  A doubling of ODA as official development assistance is eminently affordable.  It represents only about 0.2 percent high income countries’ gross national income, and less than one-tenth of what they devote to military spending.  Reducing poverty and the hopelessness that comes with human deprivation is perhaps the most effective way of promoting long term peace and security, and it also costs less.

                       
This agenda is not altogether new.  it derives from the framework of mutual accountability that developing and developed countries signed on to at Monterrey in 2002.  But implementation has been slow and uneven, and it is time to get serious about implementation.  That's the report's message.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thank you, Zia.  Let me turn immediately to Mark Plant who is senior advisor at the IMF.  Mark?

                       
MR. PLANT:  Thank you, Gerry.  Let me say at the outset that this effort, the global monitoring report, is very much a joint effort of the Fund and the Bank and we at the Fund fully support the five-point agenda that Zia has just outlined.  Given the wide variety of suggestions and analyses available in the report, I'd like to focus on just one aspect that we think is very important.  That's that promoting growth, economic growth, must be at the center of any strategy to achieve the millennium development goals, and raising growth is in fact central to reducing poverty.

                       
There is good news.  Growth is at historical highs in the developing world, particularly in Asia, and on a global level, the income poverty reduction goal is likely to be met.  But as Zia and many others have noted, there's a significant regional variation in growth prospects.  In particular, the divergent experiences in Africa and Asia over the last 15 years are evident to even casual observers.

                       
In Asia, where reforms have nurtured significantly higher economic growth, the reduction in poverty has been dramatic.  In fact East Asia has already achieved the income poverty goal and South Asia is headed clearly in that direction.  By contrast, in most of Africa growth has been low and poverty reduction limited.  Real income per person has been stagnant in Africa since the mid 1970s.  However, since the mid-1990s, growth rates have picked up and are at an eight-year high.  Nonetheless, only seven countries comprising less than one-quarter of the population of sub-Saharan Africa will achieve the income poverty reduction goal on current trends.  Bolder action is in fact needed to increase economic growth so that the income poverty reduction goal and other millennium development goals can be achieved in sub-Saharan Africa.

                       
So what does the GMR suggest?  Our focus is on improving the economic environment for stronger private sector led growth.  There is no blueprint.  There is no formula.  Each country's unique circumstances mean that it must prepare its own strategy, and thus the poverty reduction strategies, these country-led, country-owned strategies are essential.  But there are three priorities I would like to highlight.

                       
First, strengthen the macroeconomic management, especially of budgets.  The goal should be to create more budgetary space for social expenditures, especially health and education.  But this has to be done responsibly so that spending is on high quality projects, recurrent costs fit into future budgets, and domestic budget deficits don't get out of control.  Despite recent increases in the share of expenditure devoted to social services in Africa there is still considerable room for improvement.

                       
Second, countries have to improve the climate for private-sector activity.  What is key here is to remove excessive regulation and strengthen institutions that help frame private activity.  On most of the indicators compiled by the recent Bank's “Doing Business” report, African countries ranked well below other regions.

                       
Third, countries need to improve economic governance.  This includes upgrading public sector management, controlling corruption, and making public sector operations transparent.  In Africa, the challenge is to translate recent improvements in political governance into lasting improvement in the operations of economic institutions, like customs agencies and ministries of finance.  While higher external assistance, ODA, will be a part of any country's development package, the provision of aid in and of itself is not a growth strategy.  It has to be coupled with other actions, particularly in the area of economic growth.

                       
In conclusion, the GMR provides a useful look at the current state of development and a very complex look at the multitude of actions that are required by donors, by institutions supporting development, and by the countries themselves.  The real conclusion is that we all have a lot of work to do.  Thank you.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thank you, Mark.  I'll now turn to Gobind Nankani, who is our vice president for Africa.  Let me just forewarn that out of courtesy to our virtual participants I'll turn immediately after Gobind speaks to Accra, to Dar, and to Addis, and London, and then return to Washington.  So, Accra, if you can be on standby, please.

                       
Gobind?

                       
MR. NANKANI:  Thank you very much, Gerry.

                       
What I thought I would do is make three points with specific reference to sub-Saharan Africa, which is one of the main areas of focus of the GMR.  The first point I would make relates to that of opportunity.  What we are seeing is that while there is an international consensus on the MDGs, there is also in Africa a stronger ownership of the agenda that the MDGs have put forward.  We see this in two ways.

                       
First, the African Union and NEPAD are embracing the development agenda.  Not only are they working on issues of peace and regional integration, but also issues of infrastructure, issues of agricultural development, issues of rural poverty and hunger.

                       
Second, we are in seeing an increasingly wide acceptance of country-driven approaches.  The PRSPs are increasingly focusing on shared growth and are seen by countries as a way of defining their approaches to shared growth.  In particular, in the PRSPs we are seeing country-specific approaches being developed by African countries using tools such as the poverty and social impact analysis.  So overall we have in Africa also an opportunity that complements the international focus on the MDGs.

Secondly, it is true that there are lots of problems that continue to characterize Africa, but we have to remember that Africa is not one country.  It is a diverse group of countries and the performance of many countries in Africa has shown remarkable progress in the last several years.  A few examples:

                       
In the last 10 years at least 16 countries in Africa have grown at a rate of growth of about 5 percent.  Last year, almost all countries showed positive growth.  If we look at examples of poverty reduction, there are many examples.  I'll give the example of Mozambique which between 1996 and 2004 reduced poverty from 67 percent to about 53 percent, at 14 percent reduction in eight years; a remarkable achievement.

We look at exports, they are growing by about 8 percent a year for many African countries, and there are pockets of new success in exports such as cut flowers and vegetables and clothing.

                       
One more example, spending is increasing on health and education.  Our most recent data show that the results are beginning to emerge.  Gross enrollment ratios for primary schools have grown from about 72 percent in 1990 to 95 percent in 2002, a remarkable achievement, including in countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

                       
In all of these areas there is a lot more to be done, but the main point to be made here is there is in fact a foundation for hope, for hopeful realism.

My last point, there is a need to complement these changes in Africa with a bold international effort and a bold one now, and in particular in two areas, aid and trade.  On aid, as the report makes very clear, there's a need for a higher quantity of aid and there's a need for improved quality in delivering that aid.

                       
On the trade side I would like to underscore, in addition to what the report calls for, which is a major acceleration of progress on the Doha Round, in particular on agriculture which will benefit Africa, I would also like to underscore a second point, which is the need for market access to the U.S. and E.U. markets for all African countries, not just for the least developed countries, as a way of generating a growth spurt.  In that process also a recognition of the need for tariff de-escalation and flexible rules of origin.

                       
So let me close by really saying again at the end that there is a great opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa to make real progress towards the MDGs, and there is a need for the international community to act boldly and to do so now.  Thank you.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thank you, all.  Let me just remind everyone of the embargo which is 1:00 p.m. Washington, D.C., Eastern Standard Time.  Let me also ask, could you please identify yourself when you do ask the question?  With that, let me turn to Accra.  Do we have a question from Accra?

                       
QUESTION:  I'm [inaudible] from JOY-FM, a local FM station.  My concern has to do with you said that expenditure towards health and education should increase, and you also noted that in some countries they are doing fairly well in that direction.  You mentioned your statistics had to do with primary education.  But when you take Ghana I think the focus is to push tertiary education to a certain level.  So much support is needed in that sector.  And again, the government is talking about human resource development and I think the focus should be on tertiary education.  But that   sector hardly gets enough support.

                       
So I want to find out, if you are talking about pushing more resources to the educational sector, what is the World Bank's position on supporting tertiary in African countries?  Thank you.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thank you.  Let me turn to Zia Qureshi and perhaps also Gobind Nankani may want to supplement.

QUESTION:  Gerry, why don't we ask the questions from Ghana and then they can take it up from there?  There's another question from Ghana.

MR. RICE:  Okay, you want to handle it that way?  That's fine.  Please go ahead.

                       
QUESTION:  I think so, yes.

                       
QUESTION:  My name is Roland.  I'm a reporter with the local television station TV-3.  You've made mention of tripling of health budgets, that would also be an essential aspect of  development in African countries.  What about the issue of the exodus of medical professionals from Africa, is it not a very big problem and wouldn't it be rhetoric trying to say that we should double health expenditure while we just train for the Western countries to use our personnel?

MR. RICE.  Thank you.  Is there another question from Accra?

                       
QUESTION:  Yes.  My name is Andrew   (?)  with the Business and Financial Times, also here in Ghana, and mine is with Ghana currently now having a GDP growth of about 5.8 percent, and I would like to know if this figure would--with this figure, how do you position Ghana as--I mean, when it comes to economic development, how is Ghana being--when it comes to international--when you compare Ghana to international experience?  And apart from that, I'd like to know how African countries--I mean, the rate at which we borrow from international bodies, I would like to know how you're grading Ghana when it comes to borrowing from international bodies?

Thank you.

                       
QUESTION:  And the final, my name is Charles  (?)  .  I want to know why you don't allow African countries to subsidize their agricultural products but you do and then dump them on us.

                       
QUESTION:  So, Gerry, that will be all from Ghana for now.

                       
MR. RICE:  Okay.  Thanks very much.  I think we had a grouping of issues there on social expenditures, with a particular question about tertiary education, on health budgets, and particular emphasis on the exodus of health workers, and a question about economic growth, Ghana, the comparison with other countries, and Ghana's borrowing position, and then a specific question about subsidization of agricultural products.

                       
Let me ask each of the panelists to pick up on this, perhaps beginning with Zia, and turning to Gobind, and then we'll ask Mark to come in also.

MR. QURESHI:  Thank you, Gerry, and thank you for the very good questions.

                       
First, with respect to primary versus tertiary education, the specific priorities, of course, vary from country to country, and the first point in the five-point agenda that I outlined and that the report outlines is precisely this:  that what needs to be done in individual countries must be determined by countries themselves in the light of their own specific conditions and priorities.  So that's the first point.  How much to allocate in a particular year in a country's budget to primary versus tertiary education would depend on that country's conditions.

                       
But broadly looking across countries, primary education is the foundation for the education system, and a very large number of children of primary school age are not in school and should be.  So that clearly is a priority to establish that foundation.  And as the number of children in primary schools who graduate from primary schools increases, of course, tertiary education--secondary and tertiary education will become increasingly important.  So there is this sort of dynamic aspect as well, that priorities will evolve between these two over time.

                       
With respect to the specific situation of Ghana in relation to this issue, maybe Gobind would have some thoughts to offer.

                        On the question of migration of skilled personnel from developing countries, this is particularly an important issue in health.  There is a very large exodus of nurses and doctors from some African countries which desperately need them to high-income countries, the U.S. included, the U.K., Europe.  And this is a complex issue.  The report in Chapter 3, which deals with human development services, deals with this issue.

                       
There are actions needed at both ends to increase the attractiveness of working within those countries so people don't leave, and if they do leave, to develop some arrangements which provide some kind of compensation.  And I would elaborate briefly on that.

                       
In terms of the first set of measures, bonding arrangements of different kinds are a possibility, so that once the nurses or doctors graduate they are required to work in their countries for a period of time.  In developed countries, one way they can help is that they can--if they are drawing in significant numbers graduates from poor countries to their medical schools, is to help these countries expand and strengthen their training system, their medical schools, so that--since they are benefiting from the output of those schools.  And also some arrangements could be developed whereby if the exporting countries can recoup some of the investment they had made in skilled personnel who emigrated.

                       
So there are some possible measures that can be taken which are touched on in the report, but it's a complex issue, the broader issue of migration.  And there aren't easy solutions, but it is clearly something that needs further analysis and attention.

                     
Ghana, in terms of--maybe you would want to take the growth question on Ghana.  But Ghana's growth record is on average much better compared to the rest of the region and also compared to many countries in other regions.  And if it continues to post growth rates, average growth rates of recent years, it stands a very good chance of meeting the poverty reduction MDGs.

                       
Finally, the point about subsidies, again, in some respects, this issue needs to be addressed in relation to what is being subsidized.  If it is a public good, of course, there's a clear role for subsidies.  But subsidizing productive activities which are not of a public good nature, that's a different matter.  And we tend to take the position that that is not the first best approach in no countries, neither in developing countries nor in developed countries.  The report is very clear in terms of the position it takes with respect to agricultural subsidies in rich countries, that they should be eliminated.

                       
I'll stop here.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thanks, Zia.

Gobind or Mark, would you like to add?  I think Zia covered all four points, but you may want to add just--

                       
MR. NANKANI:  Let me make three quick points.

                       
First, on tertiary education, we definitely see tertiary education in the Africa Region as a very important sector for potential Bank support.  We currently have a number of projects in various countries, including countries like Rwanda and Mozambique, where we are financing higher education.  And certainly within the context of a broad country-driven education strategy, we see tertiary education as playing an important role.

                       
Secondly, on Ghana's growth, I think the average of about 5 percent over the last 20 years is a very, very respectable rate of growth, but that is not to say that it can't be higher.  I think Ghana, with the resource and human base that it has, should be comparing itself to a country like Malaysia, which in the last 20 or 30 years has grown at a rate much faster, and I think that's something that Ghana might aspire to, trying to get its rate up to 7 percent or so.

                       
Finally, on the agricultural product subsidy, I think again it's very important for every country to develop its strategy for development, agriculture included, and to recognize that it has to adapt to an international environment.  Our view, as Zia said, on subsidies in general is to discourage subsidies, in particular because they sometimes encourage countries into areas where they don't have a comparative advantage and also have tremendous fiscal costs.

                       
But I think it's important to do a detailed analysis of the agricultural sector in a country like Ghana and ask what the implications are of the international environment, taking account of comparative advantage and fiscal issues.

                       
Thank you.

                       
MR. RICE:  Thank you, Gobind.

                       
I'll turn to Mark, and then we'll move to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Mark, would you like to add something?

                       
MR. PLANT:  Thank you, Gerry.  Let me just say a word on borrowing.

                       
I think Ghana is a good example of the difficult choices countries face as they try to move toward the Millennium Development Goals.  Clearly, resources are limited because of limited production, but the needs are very great.  And so the country--countries tend to look toward borrowing as a solution to fulfill these very great needs.  But sometimes borrowing can, in fact, outpace the capacity of the country to repay.  Ghana has benefited from the debt reduction under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, the HIPC Initiative, and right now it's in a sustainable position where it can afford to borrow some more.  But the Fund and the Bank are working with Ghana to ensure that borrowing is at a pace that will not result in another debt problem along the way.

                       
The Fund doesn't rank countries in terms of their ability to access private capital markets or their ability to get borrowing from official creditors.  But, in fact, what we see right now is Ghana is in a good position to move forward if it does so prudently.

                       
Thank you.

MR. RICE:  Thank you very much.

                       
Can we turn to Dar es Salaam, please?  And after that we'll go to London.  Dar, are you there?  Do you have a question?

QUESTION:  We have a few questions from here, and those who will ask them will also introduce themselves as they do.  I will start on my left.

                       
QUESTIONER:  Thank you.  My name is Bona  (?)   .  I'm a writer for the Daily News here in Dar es Salaam.  I think, first of all, let me say that the enthusiasm that led to the MDGs in 2000 is rather--we're now seeing a rather gloomy picture and that probably--I mean, Africa might need another hundred years, going at the pace at which it's going now, to achieve the MDGs, which would be tragic.

                       
I must also apologize for the short notice because I think due to the embargo and all that, we haven't had much time to go through the report.  But briefly I don't see anywhere where it mentions or it says why Africa is falling short or far short of achieving the Millennium Goals.  The reasons for falling far short of achieving the goals were not given.  But then we have just been given an agenda for accelerating gains, and when I was going through this five-point agenda, some of the issues seemed to be conflicting.

                       
For instance, you say that you want--number one, you want to ensure that development efforts are country-owned.  Well, in Africa right now, or even in some parts and quarters of Africa, there's concern that a lot of these strategies are actually--there's too much interference in strategies for scaling up on poverty.  So whether that is going to be a U-turn or not, I'm not quite sure.  But, I mean, the aspect of external interference could be probably one of the reasons why you are not achieving the Millennium Goals.

                       
But, again, you see, Africa is also becoming a total consumer of concepts and ideas.  For instance, the Bank talks about good governance, but sections of the views here that instead of talking about good governance, maybe we should be talking about good leadership.  I mean, these are two different parameters altogether.  I mean, good governance and leadership are two different things.  And--

                       
MR. RICE:  Dar, could I just interrupt there?  It's important--

                       
QUESTIONER:  And one is to improve the environment--

                       
MR. RICE:  Hello?

                       
QUESTIONER:  --for private sector-led economic growth.

                       
MR. RICE:  Hello, Dar?

                       
QUESTIONER:  I mean, this is very good.  I mean, stated broadly it's very good.  But this is not the same as saying it's going to amount to capital accumulation, because who is going to lead this growth of the private sector?  I mean, while you have massive poverty, and then you want to have a private sector-led economy, I mean definitely this is not going to be by the indigenous or is not even going to be internal, but probably is going to be external led again.

                       
MR. RICE:  Dar?

                       
QUESTIONER:  I'm sure I don't have a lot of time, but I'll go very quickly--

                       
MR. RICE:  It's already too long.

                       
We have a lot of other places to go.

                       
QUESTIONER:  Okay.  Then I'll talk briefly--

                       
MR. RICE:  No, it's already too long.

QUESTIONER:  --barriers, trade barriers.  It's already too long, fine.

MR. RICE:  Yes, thank you very much, Dar.  Those are all interesting questions.  We have many places to go this morning, so I would ask you all to ask one question and keep it fairly brief.  And I'm going to impose that same restriction on the respondents here to keep it brief.  But we have many places to go.  Thank you very much.

                       
Please continue, Dar.

QUESTIONER:  I have a question.  I'm seeking some clarification from you.  What do you mean by "dismantle barriers to trade"?  It frightens me.  To destroy--I would rather use the word "control" not "destroy" the barriers, because your country is a dumping ground of foreign goods and you can't develop.

                       
MR. RICE:  Is there another question from Dar?

                       
QUESTIONER:  My name is Joseph Katami (ph), a media consultant.  I wanted to--I have two questions.  My first question is:  There has been a proposal from the British government to the IMF and World Bank to drop conditionality.  I would like to know what's the direction to that proposal.

Second, in Tanzania, there has been significant growth in the economy, but it's not yet trickling down to our poorer people.  The disparity between poor in the rural and the urban is widening up.  What are the proposals to rectify the situation?

MR. RICE:  One final question.

QUESTIONER:  My name is  (?)   .  My question is:  There is high emphasis on enrollment of students in primary schools, but the unemployment of youth and supporting the initiatives is not well addressed by your Bank.  I just want to know the position of your Bank to support initiatives of youth so that to absorb the youth in employment.

                       
MR. RICE:  Good.  Thank you very much, Dar.  Those are all very good questions.

Let me ask Gobind Nankani, who is our Vice President for Africa, to pick up on the group of questions around the apparently gloomy picture for Africa, why is Africa falling short.  Gobind might also pick up on the question that was asked about growth.

I will ask then Zia Qureshi to pick up on the agenda question--is it conflicting, issues of external interference, and also perhaps the conditionality point.  And perhaps Mark might pick up for us on the trade barriers issue.

                       
Gobind, could you begin for us, please?

                       
MR. NANKANI:  Thank you, Gerry.  I think when we look at the agenda for the MDGs, we do find that some countries in Africa are making progress on some of these items, and there are chances that a few countries will, in fact, be able to meet the MDGs.  But the overall sense is, of course, that without a major effort, most countries in Africa will not meet the MDGs.  I'd like to stress two points that underlie this.

                       
First, I think when we look around the world, there is no experience in which poverty reduction of a sustained kind has not been accompanied by sustained growth and growth of a shared kind.  So I want to emphasize the issue of shared growth as an important determinant of Africa's ability to meet the MDGs.  And when we look at the recent past, while some countries have begun to improve their growth performance, when you look at the last 20 or 30 years, the growth performance of Africa has been much, much less impressive relative to other regions.  So I think this is an important focus for the future, growth, particularly shared growth.

The other point I want to make about private sector-led development, I think there's also no example of any country in which the private sector has led growth where the indigenous or domestic or national private sector hasn't played a very important role.  And I think in any program to improve growth in Africa, we will have to recognize the importance of a domestic African private sector in that.

On the question of growth and its trickling down, I think it's very important to recognize that agriculture has to play a very important role in many African countries, including in Tanzania.  There's a role for irrigation.  There's a role perhaps for the outgrower system, which will bring more of the rural farmers into the modern economy, and a role for improving technology in agriculture.  So I would stress the importance of agricultural reforms and programs to help improve the trickle-down aspect of growth.

                       
Thank you.