Finance and Development Planning Minister, Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, has called for an increase in the employment of Africans at the World Bank.
Ngafuan made the call when he chaired the 28th Statutory Meeting of the Africa Group 1 Constituency Panel Meeting of the World Bank Group, held on Tuesday, October 22, in Washington DC.
The Panel meeting was called in preparation for the meeting of the Africa Group 1 Constituency comprising 22 African member countries of the World Bank, which was held on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
The Panel which is chaired by Liberia also comprises Zambia, Malawi, Zambique, and Ethiopia.
There is a need for Africans to be given greater opportunities to work with the Bank at all levels, he stressed.
The slow pace of implementation of World Bank projects in member countries as reflected in a low disbursement rate also generated heated discussions during the Panel meeting.
Panel members attributed the problem to a host of factors including delay in legislative ratification of World Bank loan agreements, delay in setting up of project implementation units, challenges of countries in meeting resettlement action plans and counterpart funding obligations.
Minister Ngafuan encouraged the office of the Executive Director of the Constituency to support the sharing of experiences among members of the Constituency whereby countries whose disbursement rates are relatively better than others can share their experiences to enable low disbursing countries to learn lessons from the good performers with the goal of ensuring faster implementation of World Bank projects in member countries of the Constituency.
‘’Let’s find a way of sharing experiences as a constituency”, he urged member states of the Panel.
World Bank Group Executive Director, Floribert Ngarukogave, updated the Panel Members on the implementation of the medium-term strategy, the IDA21 replenishment, human resource matters including the recruitment of the Alternate Executive Director and staffing in the office of the Executive Director, amongst others.
Finance Minister Ngafuan in closing thanked the World Bank and members of the Panel for their level of commitment and service.
He also called on the incoming Executive Director to actively follow up on the concerns and recommendations that emanated from the Panel’s meeting.
The African Group 1 Constituency Panel Meeting is a select team of Governors, including the chairperson and vice chairperson, mandated to steer the constituency affairs for a two-year rational term.
