Banks urged to save Africa from poverty

Miranda Strydom, Maputo
Financial institutions have the obligation to promote food security and prevent Africa from plunging deeper into poverty. This was the word from the African Development Bank’s annual meeting, which opened in Maputo today.

ADB President Donald Kaberuka says: “If we support our farmers … we may give them the opportunity they've been waiting for to move into viable businesses.”

Most African countries now have little chance of meeting the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty by 2015 because of an upsurge in food prices, crude oil and the global credit crunch. African leaders want international financial institutions to intervene urgently.

Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso says: “… Where there is hunger, there can be no peace.”

At the meeting, Zimbabwe took the opportunity to blame its problems on the West. “We know what we have to do for our people, but we are afraid of our former colonial masters,” says Zimbabwe Finance Minister Samuel Mumngegwi.

Despite the rising oil prices, most African economies are expected to record strong growth rates. The experts say what is needed is an agricultural revolution with heavy investment in infrastructure. But like the European Union and the US, Africa will need to support its farmers financially and substantially increase national budgets for agricultural ministries.