The call for a Marshall Plan to lift Africa out of economic doldrums is a rising tide that may culminate in massive push concerning Africa, the World Bank said here Monday.
The bank said the call probably triggered the commitments made by the G8 (Group of 8) countries to Africa at the Gleneagles Summit in Scotland last year.
However, the bank subtly criticized the G8 countries for their failure to meet the pledge to increase aid to Africa to US$50 billion annually by 2010.
“It is important that when commitments are made, such commitments come through,” the bank’s Vice President for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili, told journalists covering the current African Union summit in Accra, Ghana, Monday.
Ezekwesili expressed the hope that the G8 countries would highlight their decision to make Africa a priority with generous contributions during the 15th replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), through which the bank funds crucial programmes and projects in Africa and other regions.
While the World Bank raises its fund through the international capital markets, IDA is funded by direct contributions by wealthier nations
