The World Bank Election and Africa's Calls for More Say

By Paul Shalala

Many Africans are crying following the election of President Barack Obama's nominee Jim Yong Kim for World Bank President. That election was an academic exercise because the chief of that bak is always an American since the bank's inception in the 1940s! There is an unwritten rule that America should always have a final say on the selection process! In 1944, US, UK and their allies in World War II met at a place called Bretton Woods in USA were they agreed to form two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction (World Bank) & the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these two were to help rebuild Europe & Japan following the destruction of that great war against Hitler's Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire! So from the outset, these two so-called Bretton Woods institutions are not meant for Africa, they are for America, Europe & Japan. Therefore, the World Bank seems to have been established for other regions, though in the past 70 years the role of this bak has changed from reconstruction to other roles, its management still remains in American hands. Therefore, let's not complain that Africa's candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wasn't selected as the new President of the World Bank, that bank isn't for Africa, its for the west. Even if the well educated Nigerian Finance Minister was to win, she wouldn't favour Africa in the bank's operations because the systems and structures control what the Bank President does. Therefore, Africans should spare their tears for other things, the World Bank has always been led by an American since 1944, the IMF has always been led by a European since 1944, Africa should therefore concentrate on its own development and not these fights for leadership of these multilateral institutions which won't take us any where.