Vol 50 No 21 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAFRICA A year after the crash 23rd October 2009 Facing stubbornly high food prices, rising joblessness and investment cutbacks, Africa is lagging behind the economic recovery in Asia A faint self-congratulatory whiff of a 'great depression averted' wafted through the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Istanbul, Turkey, on 4-5 October....
Vol 50 No 21 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND The great World Bank capital chase 23rd October 2009 This year, the World Bank group lent a record US$59 billion, a 54% increase over last year. In Africa, the Bank increased its new commitments by 45% over...
Vol 50 No 20 | WORLD BANK Conditional love 8th October 2009 World Bank President Robert Zoellick is 'confused if not frustrated', according to his officials, by threats from Britain's Minister for International Development, Douglas Alexander, to block fresh capital-raising...
Vol 50 No 9 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Harder cash but warmer words 1st May 2009 As befits an institution that has just been voted a trillion dollar boost to its capital resources, the International Monetary Fund busily dispensed loans and policy advice at its spring meeting on 24-25 April in Washington. It was the International Monetary Fund’s show in Washington. International finance ministers agreed to proposals to reshape the Fund, widen its mission and speed up plans to give...
Vol 50 No 9 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK After the G-20, the money-go-around 1st May 2009 No one agrees about how much the global financial crisis is costing Africa, but all the international financial institutions agree that the continent needs its own fiscal stimulus...
Vol 50 No 8 | SOUTH AFRICAWORLD BANK Integrity in question 17th April 2009 Claims that the World Bank’s Vice-President for Integrity and former head of South Africa’s Scorpions anti-corruption unit, Leonard McCarthy, used his position to pursue political vendettas against African...
Vol 49 No 21 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDAFRICA Africa and the credit crash 17th October 2008 Africa’s economies growing faster on average than all other regions, except Asia, but how will they fare when the global slowdown bites? Africa’s economies will lose momentum as the effects of the global credit crisis work through the international system – but the damage will be less severe than in...
Vol 49 No 9 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Reforms, but not radical 25th April 2008 Africa’s economic growth will continue to outstrip the world’s average economic growth despite the effects of the slowdown in Western economies, according to the IMF The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook downgrades global growth to 3.7% real GDP growth in 2008, while Africa is forecast to grow at 6.5%, pulled up...
Vol 49 No 9 | WORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Crisis brings opportunity 25th April 2008 As Africa is a net grain importer, its people face huge problems from current world food price inflation. African smallholders will suffer if they are net food...
Vol 48 No 22 | ECONOMYWORLD BANKINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND New chiefs now, new policies later 2nd November 2007 For Africa, the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund seem to resemble the shareholders’ meeting of a smallish public company bravely struggling back...