According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, Africa will soon have a third representative on the executive board to “expand the voice” of emerging markets and developing nations.
The IMF chief commented before the IMF and World Bank annual conference, which will take place in Marrakech, Morocco, from October 9–15. This is officially only the second gathering in the continent, following the first one, which took place in Kenya fifty years ago.
According to the IMF website, member countries or groups of countries choose the 24 directors who make up the executive board. The executive board is in charge of managing the organization’s daily operations. The board’s chair is Kristalina Georgieva.
In a video released to her official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kristalina Georgieva said, “The Fund, with its new universal membership, plays a vital role in bringing countries together.”
“This means also expanding the voice of emerging markets and developing countries,” she stated.
According to the IMF’s website, the board of directors often convenes many times per week to conduct business while mostly relying on papers created by IMF management and staff.
“I eagerly anticipate our members’ approval of a third African chair for our executive board. between two and three. So, in our boardroom, the voice of Africa is audible and clear,” Kristalina Georgieva remarked.
The 2023 gathering has drawn a high-profile Egyptian delegation, including Central Bank Governor and IMF governor Hassan Abdalla and Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.
These personalities are participating following an agreement on a USD 3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program with the IMF through 2025/2026.
“Yet, only a USD 347 million tranche has been secured so far, and two crucial loan reviews are still pending. Minister of International Cooperation and Egypt’s Governor to the World Bank, Rania al-Mashat, is also present to engage in loan agreement discussions during these significant Marrakesh meetings,” commented a latest Reuters report.
The debt overhang continues to have a significant impact on the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa, and as of June 2023, 21 countries are either in or at high risk of experiencing an external debt crisis, according to IMF research.
The Fund, which helps stabilize the global monetary system and monitors the world’s currencies, has stated that Africa is more vulnerable than any other region in the world to the effects of global shocks like the conflict in Ukraine and climate change.
In the October 2023 issue of its biannual magazine “Africa Pulse,” which Andrew Dabalen and Cesar Calderon wrote, the World Bank warned that Sub-Saharan Africa faced a “lost decade” of slow growth.
The Bank, which collaborates with developing nations to fight poverty, predicted that Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth rate would drop from 3.6% in 2022 to 2.5% in 2023.
In fact, the World Bank now intends to boost lending by USD 50 billion over the next decade, with the apex global monetary organization’s President Ajay Banga pushing for a capacity increase of up to USD 125 billion through contributions from advanced economies.