Overseas development assistance or aid flows to Africa are not matching the progress that African countries have made in terms of governance over the past three years, Gobind Nankani, the World Bank’s regional vice-president for Africa, told a media briefing in Johannesburg on Friday.
“Aid flows have essentially been flat in euro terms over the past few years, whereas the performances of most African countries have improved. This is very distressing, as it seems that there is no reward for an improvement in performance.
“Our internal analysis shows that African countries can easily absorb a 60% rise in aid flows. What seems to be happening is that increased commitments on the part of donors have as yet not been turned into increased aid receipts,” Nankani said.
Aid flows to Africa in 2002 were €16-billion (R126-billion), which eased to €15-billion (R118-billion) in 2003. Data for 2004 is not yet available.
The World Bank’s own aid to Africa has increased from $2-billion R12-million) in 2001 to $4,2-billion (R25-billion) in 2003 and an estimated $4,4-billion (R26-billion) in 2004. Private capital flows to Africa tripled in 2004 to $9,2-billion (R55-billion).
Nankani said the CPAI indicator, which is a summary indicator of a country’s performance, will be published this year, so countries and donors can see how the environment has changed in a transparent manner.
Nankani is optimistic about prospects for 2005 for Africa as the United Kingdom, which chairs the G8 summit in June and has the presidency of the European Union in the second half of the year, has made Africa and climate change its two main objectives this year.
The Strategic Partnership with Africa met in Johannesburg on Wednesday and Thursday, and about 100 delegates representing 40 governments and organisations met behind closed doors to discuss issues critical to reducing poverty and accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.
A meeting in September will review the progress in achieving these goals over the past five years. — I-Net Bridge