STORY: African leaders call for increased concessional funding from World Bank's IDA
SHOOTING TIME: April 29, 2024
DATELINE: April 30, 2024
LENGTH: 00:05:43
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the summit
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
3. various of guests
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, Ghanaian President
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMIA SULUHU, Tanzanian President
6. various of the summit

STORYLINE:

African leaders on Monday began a two-day summit in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, by calling for increased concessional funding from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA).

The leaders called for a tripling of the financing capacity of the IDA, which supports low-income countries with grants and long-term low-interest loans for development, to 279 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.

"Our proposal and request entail a vision for Africa-driven socio-economic development, executed with transparency and inclusiveness, and our case is straightforward: Significant capital injection into IDA is crucial," Kenyan President William Ruto said during the IDA21 Africa Heads of State Summit.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President
"Now more than ever, long-term concessional financing is vital. As many Africans and other developing nations face severe debt crisis, this financial strain hampers our efforts to combat climate change, transition to low carbon economy and adequately fund essential sectors like education, health and social protection. We have frequently discussed the financial challenges that restrict our economic capabilities and reduce our investment in resilience and growth. High interest rates lead to unsustainable sovereign debt complicated refinance and destabilize our currencies."

Ruto noted that additional funding for the IDA, which currently supports 75 nations, 39 of them in Africa, would not only be a relief for many African and other developing nations facing severe debt crises but also make available the much-needed resources to unlock Africa's vast resources.

The Kenyan leader acknowledged the impactful demand-driven programs of the IDA, coupled with concessional loans lasting 40 to 50 years, empowering borrowing nations to pursue sustainable, long-term development strategies.

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said mobilizing finance and investment is central to Africa's development needs and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, Ghanaian President
"More than half of African countries are debt distressed. Ghana is currently going through the restructuring of the debts under the G20 common framework which we all know is a slow process and needs to be stepped up. At the same time, we are suffering from the increasing effects of climate change and the devastation caused by COVID-19. The intersection between climate and debt makes imperative the need to reform the global financial architecture in a way that delivers more resources to our countries to help address the current poly crisis affecting our development and that of future generations."

The summit, hosted by Kenya and the World Bank Group, will identify key priorities for financing in Africa and champion an ambitious financing replenishment of IDA resources as the current replenishment cycle is known -- that would support transformational development objectives for the African region.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu said the IDA should concentrate on giving concessional loans to enhance Africa's development financing.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SAMIA SULUHU, Tanzanian President
"We believe that it should be a collective effort to highlight both the impactful success stories of IDA and the potential that IDA still has. Indeed, IDA has great potential to help its recipients to leverage resources from other partners."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said increasing the IDA's financial capacity will significantly enhance Africa's ability to address its complex challenges. "While the IDA's existing support must be commended, the sheer scale of challenges many African countries face necessitates a renewed approach," he said.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni noted that affordable financing for the development of infrastructure such as railways, electricity, and investment in irrigation will go a long way in spurring rapid economic growth in Africa.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera added that Malawi welcomes the replenishment of the IDA as a vehicle for economic transformation.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said a larger replenishment of the IDA will help his government achieve its national objectives of reducing poverty and creating opportunities in Somalia and Africa. "The IDA is a major lifeline that the country is relying on to enable its ambitious national transformation agenda in this hopeful post-debt relief period," he said.

The event brought together presidents of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Comoros, Mauritania, Central African Republic, Madagascar and Somalia. Also present were the prime ministers of Ethiopia, Guinea, and Algeria as well as President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)