As the world keeps a silent but close watch to hear who will be taking the reins at the World Bank as the next President, the developmental clock deafeningly ticks.
Surely the World Bank aspires to maintain its well-earned respect and esteem; it desires to be acknowledged as an institution that makes a difference in the lives of ordinary people; it aims to be perceived as a vital source of financial, developmental and technical assistance to developing countries. Well, its role should be viewed by the needy to be impactful. Therefore, its services should be perceived to be meeting the needs of developing countries. Its service-delivery should be acknowledged as impactful and relevant to the dynamic yet unchanged needs of the developing communities. The World Bank should aim for global applause and this can only be possible if it is recognized as an entity that enriches socio-economic development where it is most needed.
In order to achieve all the above, developing countries should play a leading role on establishing the challenges that they face; developing countries should play a leading role on crafting practical strategic plans that lead to a greater and positive result; developing world should play a leading role on monitoring and measuring effectiveness.
I mean who understands best the problems and challenges that face developing countries if not the product of a developing country? The Venda language puts it simply: “Tshi re na phepho a tshi sumbedzwi mulilo” which means the person who feels the cold will not be led to a fire.
The Bank’s mission is “to reduce poverty and support development”. So, does it not go without saying that the communities who are experiencing poverty and seeking development should have a superior say on how poverty can be reduced and development supported, no?
Does not common-sense dictate that the individuals who are experiencing poverty yet equally suitably qualified, highly-skilled and vastly-experienced in the field of developmental finance lead this process of reducing poverty and supporting development? Should individuals who live rather than those who have worked in developing countries not be the ones who can truly and meaningfully contribute to poverty reduction? One such individual is Dr Prof Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who says “It is not good enough to say you know about poverty, you have to live it.”
This Harvard graduate whose top-two priorities include job creation and human capital investment is a globally renowned Nigerian economist best known for her impactful role as Finance Minister of Nigeria and for her work at the World Bank, including several years as one of its Managing Directors between October 2007and July 2011. She also briefly held the position of Foreign Minister of Nigeria in 2006. Prior to her ministerial career in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala was vice-president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group. She left it in 2003 after she was appointed to President Obasanjo’s cabinet as Finance Minister on 15 July 2003. In 2007, Okonjo-Iweala was considered as a possible replacement for former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, and she is currently one of the three candidates that have been formally nominated as potential replacements for World Bank President Robert Zoellick when he steps down in June 2012.
Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College, is the American candidate nominate by President Barack Obama (who has African blood running in his veins). Yes, Dr. Kim has worked in Africa, Asia and the Americas and he is a developmental health specialist – but he is an American and surely his heart and interests is in America, not in the developing world!
Jose Antonio Ocampo, a Colombian economist, is the third candidate for the presidency. Honestly, I know little about him.
The World Bank is not a bank per ser, it is a development finance institution (dfi) and all over the world there is a current debate on whether dfi’s are as impactful as we would like to believe or not. What a global mega break-through this will be should the eloquent Professor win: the first female, the first black, the first African! Of course, I am not so sure if the World Bank is ready for such a victorious and transformative move, what I am almost sure of is…the world waits no more for such moves – the world demands shifts of this nature!
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