The Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, revealed in an interview on Thursday October 5 that Africa will soon be given a third seat on the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), so that the continent has a “stronger voice” within the institution.
“I have good news for Africa! We’re getting ready to have a third representative for sub-Saharan Africa on the Executive Board”, she asserted during her visit to Abidjan, wherefrom she flew to Morocco for the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank (WB), which begin on Monday in Marrakech.
“Discussions are ongoing about how the continent should get along and how this should be done, but what matters is that it means a stronger voice for Africa,” she added.
Earlier this year, the World Bank also announced the creation of a third seat for African countries on its Board of Directors, a decision which should be validated at the annual meetings. These announcements confirm the trend towards a rebalancing of the weight of developing countries within the Bretton-Woods institutions. At present, since countries are shareholders, their participation is in proportion to their GDP, giving greater power to the United States and the EU.
Citing a growth forecast of “just over 3%” for sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, Mrs Georgieva nevertheless said she expected “better prospects in 2024”. And while the IMF has continued its exceptional support since the Covid crisis, notably through “zero-interest loans”, Mrs Georgieva asserted that she was going to Marrakech to ask “more” of governments and also of the private sector, which is eagerly awaited for its contribution in emerging countries.