International Monetary Fund and the World Bank "keep impoverished countries continuously poor and not getting out of debt," Mandla Mandela, South African member of Parliament and former South African President Nelson Mandela's grandson, told Sputnik Africa at the Multipolarity Forum in Moscow.
"Well, all the financial systems, the IMF or even the World Bank have proven to serve the interests of the West. They have ensured that they keep impoverished countries continuously poor and not getting out of debt," he said.
In this regard, Mandela underlined that it is important to "look at alternative means of financial institutions," implying the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB).
"And we are proud in the BRICS family of countries that we have been able to establish a BRICS bank, which gives an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank. And I believe there is much more that can be done in that space in terms of seeing other financial institutions out of a multipolar system image," he highlighted.
This was echoed by the Dr. Philani Mthembu, Executive Director of the Institute for Global Dialogue in Pretoria, South Africa. He told Sputnik Africa in January that the shift towards greater currency diversity, championed by the NDB is projected to affect established institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, and spark discussions on global reform.
Gaza Crisis & Path of Multipolarity
Commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian escalation, Mandela stressed that the conflict in the Middle East once again shows the importance of promoting multipolarity.
"What we are seeing today in the Middle East with the genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, against Palestinians in Gaza and all over occupied Palestine, emphasizes what we are speaking about, moving away from a unipolar system dominated by America, which continues to support Israel, apartheid Israel in whatever extreme that they adopt," he stressed.
Mandela emphasized that "this is the right path that President Putin is advocating for, it is high time that we move to a more multipolar world system."