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South Africa and Africa pushing for more World Bank, IMF reform
Nigeria Finance Minister., Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. PHOTO/File
South Africa’s finance minister, appearing braced for disappointment when the World Bank chooses a new leader later Monday, said he’ll push for more international financial institution reforms.
Pravin Gordhan spoke to reporters in Johannesburg hours before the World Bank’s executive board is expected to vote on its president. The two candidates are Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, supported by South Africa and other African and developing countries, and Dartmouth University President Jim Yong Kim, who was nominated by the U.S.
A third candidate, former Colombian Minister of Finance Jose Antonio Ocampo, withdrew Friday and threw his support to Okonjo-Iweala.
Kim is expected to get the bank’s presidency, which has always gone to an American. Its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, has always been led by a European. Developing nations say the choices should be based on merit, not geography, as part of broader reforms to make the institutions more representative and democratic.
South Africa holds one of the three African seats on the 25-member World Bank board.
Gordhan said some progress has been made, pointing out that any country was able to nominate a candidate for World Bank president this year.
“It’s no longer in the smoke-filled rooms of Europe and the United States that the spoils are shared,” he said of the nomination process. But he indicated he was concerned that “established powers” would determine the final choice.
