On April 29 in Nairobi, Kenya, 19 African leaders and 32 finance ministers met to discuss ambitious economic reforms for accelerating the continent’s development. The summit, co-hosted by the government of Kenya and the World Bank, comes at a pivotal moment for Africa: the continent is poised to make a leap forward in development. 

After being hard hit by the recent polycrisis, Africa is bouncing back. The continent will soon have the world’s largest workforce. By 2050, one in four people will be African—and the continent will be home to a third of the world’s youth. With the youngest population, rapidly growing cities, abundant natural resources, and strong entrepreneurial spirit, Africa stands ready to achieve its potential. 

This requires investment, and there is no partner more trusted than the International Development Association (IDA), the world’s largest global solidarity fund for the poor. IDA has been a committed partner in Africa’s development for decades, fueling progress through grants and highly concessional loans, supporting strategic investments in building a skilled and healthy workforce, and nurturing job-generating industries. Of the 75 countries it supports, 39 are in Africa, with more than 70 percent of its resources flowing to the continent. 

Recognizing that IDA is at the heart of Africa’s transformation, the summit witnessed the forging of a powerful coalition of leaders, global youth, the private sector, and civil society who are calling for more donor funding ahead of IDA’s next replenishment (IDA21). The coalition expressed its commitment to a strong, inclusive, and sustainable recovery, in partnership with IDA: “Our people and we, the leaders of Africa, are impatient for change and we want to transform the continent at this moment of tremendous opportunities,” said Dr. William Ruto, President of Kenya. “IDA has been and must remain a dependable development partner for Africa, and we urge stronger donor contributions to IDA21 so that together we can drive transformational impact not only for a better Africa, but also for a better world.”

IDA’s country-driven model has tangible results that make a real impact. In the most recent IDA20 cycle, each $1.00 of donor contributions enabled $3.50 of impact. As a result of IDA support, between 2012 and 2023, 1.18 billion people around the world received essential health services, 117 million people gained access to improved water services, and 92 million people obtained new or improved electricity services.

IDA21—the 21st replenishment round since 1960—will work to improve lives with a particular focus on women and youth, increasing prosperity, combating climate change and preserving biodiversity, building resilient societies, accelerating digitalization, creating jobs, and building the infrastructure needed to support and sustain economic growth. These are priorities with particular relevance in Africa, where about 462 million people live in extreme poverty.

In a show of unity, leaders from a range of sectors at the summit joined the call for ambitious transformation in Africa, with a particular focus on supporting the continent’s young people. Sellah Bogonko, CEO of Jacob’s Ladder, who represents a cross-section of African youth, said “True leadership is not just about those in position but each one of us doing the impossible, every day, in our own little way. We young people are not merely asking what you can do for us. We are available to co-create solutions together with you—our elected leaders—with support from IDA.”

Ndidi Nwuneli, President of the ONE Campaign, said “IDA21 must be different. It must be transformative. This means that we must collectively work to make sure IDA21 is robust and ambitious and is delivered with transparency and accountability for Africa’s citizens, ensuring that we build stable and resilient economies for the future.”

Following the summit, the leaders published a communique setting out their firm commitment to strengthening governance, unlocking private sector potential and creating jobs, mobilizing domestic resources, delivering on climate change goals, prioritizing increased energy and digital access, and enhancing resilience to climate change and conflict.

World Bank President Ajay Banga reaffirmed the Bank’s support for the continent’s development and called for stronger commitments from the global donor community: “We are united by a shared vision for the future of Africa—a continent rich in diversity, culture, and potential, thanks to its young people and natural resources. These are the ingredients that can power our future. IDA has been a steadfast partner in Africa’s development journey, and this summit symbolizes our collective commitment to accelerating progress. This will require more from IDA, more from the World Bank Group, more from governments, and more from the private sector.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.

IMF staff and the Malian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on emergency financing through the Exogenous Shock Window of the IMF’s Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). IMF staff also completes the 2024 Article IV mission; Mali’s economy has been hit by multiple exogenous shocks recently, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Red Sea shipping blockade, and a regional funding squeeze. These shocks contributed to a rise in import costs for essential goods like food, fertilizers, and materials needed to support displaced populations; Consequently, these challenges have strained the state budget, elevated the cost of living, and heightened food insecurity, estimated to affect 24 percent of the population, up from 15 percent a year ago.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Wenjie Chen, visited Bamako from April 21 to 26, 2024, following high-level discussions with the Malian authorities in Washington D.C. during the Spring Meetings from April 15 to 17, 2024. Discussions focused on the economic outlook, macroeconomic policies and possible responses to the urgent balance of payments (BOP) needs, including the provision of IMF financing through the Exogenous Shock Window of the Rapid Credit Facility.

At the end of the visit, Ms. Chen issued the following statement:

“I am pleased to announce that the IMF team has reached staff-level agreement with Mali on emergency financing through the Exogenous Shock Window of the IMF’s Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). Upon approval by IMF Management and Executive Board, Mali would receive about $US 120 million (or about 0.6 percent of GDP).

“Policy discussions to address Mali’s immediate and urgent BOP gap arising from exogenous shocks centered on the government’s emergency response plan. The potential IMF financial assistance would support the provisions of food and targeted cash transfers to those facing acute food insecurity in central and northern regions. The disbursement would also cover expenditures on education, shelter, non-food items, and access to clean water, health and sanitation facilities.

“The IMF team also held discussions on Mali’s economic outlook and policies as part of the 2024 Article IV consultation. We estimate that Mali’s economy grew by 4.4 percent in 2023, showing resilience amid challenging circumstances and following multiple shocks in recent years. While higher gold and cotton prices boosted exports, heightened security concerns and frequent power outages have weighed negatively on growth. Headline inflation dropped to 2.1 percent in 2023 from 9.7 percent in 2022, but food costs remained elevated and contributed to rising food insecurity.

“The government’s fiscal deficit—estimated at 3.9 percent of GDP in 2023—largely reflects security spending, public wages, and the interest bill. Together, these consume over three quarters of fiscal revenues and risk crowding out growth-friendly spending on the social safety net and investment. The continued absence of external budget support, combined with tighter financing conditions across the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), has increased borrowing costs and created a funding squeeze. Mali’s resource mobilization on the regional financial market was below expectations in 2023.

“The near-term outlook is uncertain and subject to substantial downside risks. Real GDP growth is projected to slow to 3.8 percent in 2024, reflecting severe electricity outages, negative effects of the MINUSMA exit on the service sector, lower projected gold production and uncertainty surrounding election delay and the ECOWAS exit, but is projected to increase to 4.4 percent in 2025. Significant downside risks include a continuation of power outages, security concerns, growing financial stability risks amid escalating government financing needs, volatile international commodity prices, tight global financial conditions, and climate vulnerabilities.

“Securing a stable and cost-effective electricity supply is Mali’s number one priority. Converging towards the 3-percent fiscal deficit ceiling of the WAEMU is also important amid tight financing conditions and high borrowing costs. To protect fiscal sustainability, improving domestic revenue mobilization is crucial. Broadening the tax base, reducing costly tax exemptions, and strengthening the revenue and customs administration could all contribute to raising receipts. It is also important to curb increases in the public sector wage bill and address fiscal weaknesses in SOEs on the expenditure side. The mission also emphasized the importance of protecting public investment to maintain medium-term growth prospects, and effective debt management, for debt sustainability.

“In addition, reducing policy uncertainty will help unlock Mali’s medium-term growth potential by creating a more predictable and stable investment climate. Along with strengthening governance and fighting corruption, this will be key to rebuilding confidence and attracting both domestic and foreign investors. Policies to address the effects of climate change also remain important in the long term.  

“The mission thanks the authorities and other counterparts for their close collaboration and productive discussions.”

The team met with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Alousséni Sanou, the National Director of the BCEAO for Mali, Mr. Barema Bocoum, Directors and staff of the main ministries and government agencies, development partners, and the private sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Observation Mission for the parliamentary and regional elections in Togo has expressed her satisfaction with the smooth organisation of the double election following the opening of polling stations on Monday 29 April 2024.

The former Gambian Vice-President, Mrs Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, expressed her satisfaction after visiting several polling stations in Lomé, the Togolese capital, this morning. The polling stations were in the high schools of Ablogame, Agoe, Tokoin, 2 Fevrier, Kodjoviakope and Adidogome.

She praised the timely opening (7 a.m.) of most of the polling stations she visited, despite a slight delay in some of them. She also noted the peaceful and disciplined conduct of electoral procedures, the availability of electoral materials and the presence of polling station officials, political party delegates and election officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mrs Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang was accompanied by the ECOWAS Permanent Representative in Togo, Bacar Banjai Barros, the representative of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Honourable Edwin Melvin Snowe Junior, the Acting Head of the Electoral Assistance Division of the ECOWAS Commission, Serigne Mamadou Ka, the Communications Officer of the ECOWAS Commission, Liberor Doscof Aho, and the Security Officer, Colonel Claude Djehoungo.

At the end of their tour of the polling stations, Mrs Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang and her team visited the ECOWAS Situation Room of the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission, which had been set up in a local hotel for this dual parliamentary and regional election.

In this room, a team led by Chinedu Chinedu Chukuemeka, Senior Programme Officer of the Network of Electoral Management Bodies in West Africa (RESAO), is in constant contact with the ECOWAS Observers deployed in the Greater Lomé Autonomous District and in the country’s five (5) regions: Maritime, Plateau, Central, Kara and Savane. Its mission is to monitor the progress of the double ballot in real-time, i.e. through a technical system set up to keep detailed track of voting operations on the ground.

Some 4.2 million Togolese are expected to go to the polls in over 14,000 polling stations to elect their new Members of Parliament and Regional Advisors.

Note that ECOWAS has deployed an Election Observation Mission of forty (40) Observers to Togo to monitor the country’s parliamentary and regional elections. This mission falls within the framework of the provisions of Article 12 of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and constitutes support from the regional organisation to its Member States for the conduct of their elections.

The mission is made up of Ambassadors from Member States accredited to ECOWAS; representatives of the ECOWAS Court of Justice and Parliament; Civil Society Organisations; media professionals and election observation specialists from the West African region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from Emir of the State of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

The two leaders discussed the latest developments in joint efforts to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, exchange hostages and detainees and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid and relief in sufficient and adequate quantities into the sector.

They confirmed their commitment to continuing joint efforts and to engaging with the various parties to end the war, protect the region from the ramifications of the expansion of the conflict and restore security and stability in the region.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.