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World Bank chief Wolfowitz completes African tour
New World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz wrapped up a four-nation African tour Saturday, saying new leadership on the troubled continent was creating opportunities for partnerships with wealthy countries to fight poverty and encourage development. "The more I have traveled through Africa in these six days the more I have felt that sense of opportunity and what I can call a 'can do' attitude," he told a news conference after meeting South African President Thabo Mbeki and other government officials.
Wolfowitz said much of the money loaned to Africa in the past had been misspent by corrupt governments, but new leaders were "taking responsibility" for the continent's future. "Africa is on the move," he said. "I feel like it is on the move, and I hope the World Bank can help it move faster." It was Wolfowitz's first trip to Africa since taking the helm of the World Bank earlier this month. The tour came ahead of a meeting of the Group of Eight richest countries in Gleneagles, Scotland next month, at which fighting poverty is high on the agenda.
But many here say that is not enough. A small group of protesters was waiting for Wolfowitz in Johannesburg on Friday, waving signs that read: "New wolf at the war bank." They accused the World Bank of perpetuating poverty through its loans and structural adjustment programs, and they demanded that it cancel all of Africa's debt without conditions. Wolfowitz, the former No. 2 official at the Pentagon and a prime architect of the Iraq war, has said African development must be the bank's top priority. He said Saturday there was recognition in the developed world that grants were often more appropriate than loans for the poorest countries. He also noted the need to speed up the way the bank does business with developing countries, including considering loan applications — a point stressed by South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. Mbeki, who celebrated his 63rd birthday Saturday, thanked Wolfowitz for his commitment, saying they were "of one mind" on the need to focus on the challenges facing the continent. Wolfowitz had two days of meetings with representatives of government, business and civil society on the last leg of his trip to Africa. They included the hour-long meeting with Mbeki, a courtesy call on former President Nelson Mandela and a visit to a home for HIV-infected children in Soweto. An estimated 5.3 million South Africans are infected with the virus that causes AIDS, more than in any other country. Wolfowitz began his tour last weekend in Nigeria, where he said he hoped Africa's most populous nation would soon join the ranks of those who will see their foreign debt burden eased. He also stopped in Burkina Faso, an arid cotton producer that has led calls by poor nations for a cut in subsidies to farmers in richer countries, and in Rwanda, where he said the world should have done more to stop the 1994 genocide.
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