Sub-Saharan Africa will have a "stronger voice" at the International Monetary Fund following its acquisition of a third seat on the global lender's executive board, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva has said.
Georgieva delivered the news ahead of next week's IMF and World Bank meetings in Marrakesh, Morocco, the first gathering on the continent since 1973.
The IMF executive board, which is chaired by Georgieva, is responsible for conducting the Washington-based institution's day-to-day business and currently has 24 directors.
The United States, as the world's biggest economy, has the largest share of votes, followed by economic powers Japan, China and western Europe, ahead of other regions and developing nations.
Africa’s own board
"I have some good news for Africa. We are advancing a preparation to have a third representative of sub-Saharan Africa in our executive board," Georgieva said at a press conference in Ivory Coast, on Thursday.
"Ultimately, what it will mean is (a) stronger voice for Africa," the IMF's managing director added.
The World Bank has also announced that it will create a third seat for African nations on its own board, a decision to be made official at the October 9-15 meetings in Marrakesh.
The IMF and World Bank will tackle institutional reform in Morocco as they face growing calls to better address debt and climate change in developing countries.
Brighter prospect
Georgieva said growth in sub-Sahara African decelerated this year to three percent.
"The impact of the war (in Ukraine) was devastating, especially coming on top of Covid. Countries with limited fiscal capacity were particularly severely impacted," she said. "We expect some brighter prospect for sub-Saharan Africa in 2024."
While the IMF has continued to provide special assistance since the Covid pandemic broke out, including through zero-interest loans, she said she would ask nations and the private sector to "do more" to help developing countries.
'Lost decade'
But the World Bank warned in a report on Wednesday that sub-Saharan Africa's economic outlook "remains bleak".
The institution warned that the region could face "a lost decade of growth", pointing to "rising instability", with "increased incidences of attempts to destabilise governments by unconstitutional or violent means in recent years".
The Sahel region in particular has been the scene for more than a decade of insurgency that has fuelled military takeovers in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Despite the coups, Georgieva defended the IMF's decision to maintain aid to those countries due to "humanitarian concerns".
"We have a responsibility to make sure there is minimum financial capacity because the regimes are not there sufficiently for their people,” she said. “It's not an excuse for us to forget about the men, women children who need us."
