Finance officials from 50 African countries have called on the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help African countries in the areas of infrastructure development, assist them to address their debt arrears and gain full access to debt relief.
After two days of meetings in Khartoum, Sudan, the African Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, issued a Declaration calling on the World Bank Group to partner with other donors to establish a Single Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility for Africa to support large-scale transformational infrastructure projects.
They urged the IMF to make sustained efforts to encourage remaining countries to expeditiously submit their pledges on the gold sales windfall distribution to enhance the Fund’s concessional resources under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT).
The Declaration of the 2013 African Caucus, which met in Khartoum on 21-22 August, also called on the World Bank to the World Bank Group to step up assistance to national and regional institutions to undertake more capital market deepening programmes to unleash private financing for transformation projects, along the lines of ongoing International Finance Corporation’s initiatives in Africa.
It further urged the WB to exercise flexibility by exploring modalities for expanding International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lending to International Development Association (IDA) countries, for the purpose of structuring large-scale transformational projects with regional impact.
It urged the WB to offer the guarantees and leverages needed to attract private sector investments and foster active public-private partnerships (PPPs), increase IFC’s resources under its Special Initiative for Infrastructure and its ”Infra Venture” programme in Africa.
The declaration stressed the need to increase financial resources and mobilize additional contributions to support the development of infrastructure including energy, water and sanitation and agriculture development through the entire value chain.
It urged the IMF to ensure that no Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT)-eligible country is worse off by taking the necessary steps to raise additional resources, including through bilateral contributions and continued non-reimbursement to the General Resources Account (GRA) of administrative expenses of the PRGT.
