African leaders urges G20 powers not to forget them
AFP
Nov 16, 2008
As the world's major economic powers sought ways to reverse a looming global recession, African leaders urged them not to forget their impoverished continent as it battles the crisis.
"Africa and other developing regions of the world must be more closely associated with the discussions underway on the reform of the international financial architecture," Burkina Faso President Blaise Campaore said Saturday.
"If the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are to play a bigger role in the governance of international finance, it is fair that developing countries be more involved in the way reform is carried out," he said.
The remarks, by the head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, came as leaders from the world's 20 largest economies met in Washington to tackle flagging growth and prevent new financial upheaval.
At the same time, several African leaders were gathered an ocean away in Strasbourg, northern France for European development day events, but were determined to be involved in any revamp of the world's financial institutions.
"The current crisis confirms the need to build a new financial architecture, involving not only emerging countries, but also Africa," underscored Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure.
France, which holds the European Union's rotating presidency, has done "everything possible" to ensure that African countries other than just South Africa take part in the summit, said French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Madagascar's president, Marc Ravolamanana, played down the continent's under-representation in Washington.
To be "credible" and treated as "responsible partners", he said, "we have to take our future into our own hands and show the world that we, African leaders, are serious, engaged and determined."
He said African states could start to rebuild international confidence by improving governance standards.
However he said that the West must also "honour its promises" in terms of development aid.
Former Senegalese leader Abdou Diouf also expressed concern that Africa was being forgotten, particularly the effects of the food crisis, which sparked riots just a few months ago.
"While everyone is mobilised for a few weeks to try to resolve the financial crisis, rampant poverty continues, and the food situation in Africa and Asia continues to worsen," he said.
Meanwhile the head of the anti-poverty group Action Aid urged the world's 20 largest economies not to remain an exclusive club and open its doors to poor people in places like Africa.
"This is an exclusive club, people behind closed doors, talking about issues. But the people directly affected by the issues are absent," said Action Aid's Noerine Kaleeba.
"They completely shut the doors to listening to the voices that are coming from the ground," she told AFP.
"I am asking the G20 to be inclusive, when they meet to discuss such a critical point like the financial crisis they shouldn't meet as an exclusive club."
