Bush is Setting His Sights on Africa

Yesterday I blogged about Paul Wolfowitz' assuming the Presidency of the World Bank [here]. My basic point was that despite heavy criticism, Wolfowitz [and by extension the Bush administration that selected him] was conceding nothing to his critics. In other words, there was no backing away from the Bush agenda.

Wolfowitz further indicated that under him the Bank would be directing much of its attention toward Africa and that its emphasis would be on development, not simply on alleviating poverty [a trend that had begun under his predecessor, James Wolfensohn].

Now comes news that President Bush has agreed to a massive aid package for Africa -- something comparable to the "Marshall Plan" for post-WWII Europe. We remember that Bush had early in his first term pledged 15 billion dollars in aid for combating malaria, AIDS, and other health threats in Africa. Now he seems to be expanding that project.

Reuters reports:

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The United States is willing to look for ways to fund a "Marshall Plan" for Africa even if it opposes Britain's plan for a new lending facility, South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday.

Mbeki, fresh from meeting President Bush in Washington this week, told the World Economic Forum (WEF) Africa summit in Cape Town the U.S. leader was willing to help Africa, and Bush hoped commitments would be made at the G8 summit.

What seems to be happening here is that the World Bank and IMF, in the past, have been so poorly managed that developed nations have been looking for alternatives. One such proposal has been floated by Tony Blair, who is pushing an International Financial Facility [IFF]that would channel approximately 25 billion dollars into African poverty and health programs over the next five years. The US has opposed this initiative because it is to be funded by borrowing against future aid pledges, and also (I suspect) because its focus is on distributing aid, rather than on promoting economic development. I should point out that other G-8 countries have also questioned Blair's initiative and the manner in which it would be funded. France, for instance, wants to fund it with an international tax on jet fuel.

There is also the question of who controls the funds. Previous attempts to channel aid to Africa that have allowed recipient nations to control distribution have been plagued by rampant corruption and inefficiency. The British proposal would address this problem by allowing the "New Partnership for Africa's Development" (NEPAD), an association of African states, to institute peer review of the programs. The Bush administration, and the World Bank under Wolfowitz, insist that the donors, not the recipients, must institute strict accountability, both on
the programs and on the nations who receive the aid. The basic question is whether African kleptocracies can be trusted to police themselves or not. Bush says "No"; Britain and Europe say "Yes." Not surprisingly, African representatives say, "trust us."

All of this will be up for discussion at the G-8 meetings next month in Scotland. There seems to be a genuine desire on the part of developed countries to promote African development, but how that will be operationalized remains up in the air. How will the substantial differences be resolved? Stay tuned....

Read about Bush's proposal here.