African leaders gathered at a summit of heads of state to discuss funding for the World Bank's International Development Association and identify priority areas in which rich countries and development partners could focus to boost growth on the continent.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has accused the World Bank of prioritizing loans for "seminars" instead of helping poor African countries remove structural impediments to development.
"Borrowing for what? capacity building. Imagine! Seminars, they call you in a hotel, you eat chapati, mandazi, they say that is capacity building…it should be on the ground not just in seminars. So if you are serious, i need to hear about the low cost funding for manufacturing, not for stories…for manufacturing," he remarked.
He added that the reason Africa is not growing is that the drivers of growth are not funded or "even understood."
"The main reason there is no growth in Africa is that the growth factors are neither funded nor understood; those who want to help Africa should fund our transport systems, electricity, raw material processing, and import substitution," Museveni noted.
"Our populations are increasing, but our economies are stunted. The IDA should tell us why they are funding the modern slavery of Africans, and we should address issues like why Africa is producing what it does not consume and consuming what it does not produce," he added.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who spoke at the event, urged the World Bank to focus on providing concessional loans to free countries from debt.
"Considering the challenges related to present projected debt levels, we strongly believe that IDA should focus more on providing concessional loans such as 50-year credit loans. These facilities will provide more fiscal space for African countries to address competing development needs," she remarked.
The leader noted that the continent continued to face the effects of multiple crises, coupled with significant shortfalls in financing for development and shrinking fiscal space.
She was echoed by the President of Kenya, William Ruto, who noted that African economies face a "deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability." Citing the devastating floods in Kenya and the severe drought in southern African countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, he urged partners to increase their IDA contributions to at least $120 billion.
"This new normal demands our immediate and united action to safeguard our collective future," he noted, calling IDA a "cornerstone of financing for Africa."
World Bank President Ajay Banga said in a media interview on Tuesday that he expects donor countries to respond to a request from African leaders to contribute at least $120 billion at a low interest rate.
This number of contributions would be a record for the IDA, which provides long-term loans to developing countries and operates on a three-year cycle. The last fundraising round in 2021 raised $93 billion.
Established in 1960 as part of the World Bank, the IDA's mission is to combat poverty by providing grants and low-interest loans to support programs that foster economic growth, according to the agency's website.