The World Bank Spring Meetings brought a fresh pledge to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. It’s a big leap from the bank’s previous pledge, but with hundreds of millions still lacking energy, it’s a welcome move to dismantle barriers to development.
Also in today’s edition: World Bank chief Ajay Banga talks reforms, and African finance ministers tackle debt.
This is a preview of Newswire
Sign up to this newsletter for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development, in your inbox daily.
Upcoming event: On April 23, ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Devex will be hosting a digital event to explore a more layered story about the current state of the world and the media’s role in our understanding of global dynamics. Save your spot now.
Lightbulb moment
Embarking on a monumental mission, the World Bank unveiled a grand vision at its Spring Meetings this week: illuminating the lives of 250 million Africans with accessible electricity by 2030. The African Development Bank plans to provide energy to another 50 million people.
Of course, there are plenty of questions about how this ambitious task will be implemented and paid for — it’s a fairly big jump from World Bank President Ajay Banga’s previous promise to invest $5 billion and connect 100 million people on the continent by the decade's close.
With a resolute focus on sustainability, the plan is that all new power generation will harness renewable energy sources and the bank will help nations reliant on fossil fuels to transition to greener energy, bank officials said during a press briefing this week.
Nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live without electricity, writes Sophie Edwards for Devex, so if this goal were achieved, it would go a long way toward bridging the gap to Sustainable Development Goal 7 – universal access to modern energy by 2030. Still, that’s a big if.
The power landscape in Africa suffers from the twin problems of exorbitant costs and erratic supply, which in turn throws up formidable barriers — hindering access to vital services such as health care and education, stifling productivity, and impeding digital inclusivity.
African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, who also spoke during the session, said: “No economy can grow in the dark. No economy can industrialize in the dark. No economy can be competitive in the dark.”
Read: World Bank, AfDB aim to bring electricity to 300 million Africans
+ Want to get smart about the conversations around World Bank reforms and the Spring Meetings in 20 minutes? Join Devex Senior Reporter Adva Saldinger as she talks to a variety of stakeholders for a special series of podcasts this week. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or search “Devex” in your favorite podcast app, and stay tuned for more episodes.
The two-thirds strategy
Banga wants you to know that the work he’s doing to fix the 80-year-old institution’s “plumbing” is starting to show results. When he walked into the job 10 months ago, he was greeted with donor pressure to stretch the bank’s balance sheets and make its operations more efficient.
“I want people to know the work we’re doing and not just be cynical about it. There is real work going on, and there is real change,” Banga said this week. Okay, so what has changed?
For starters, Banga said that since he took over, the time it takes for a World Bank project to get approved by the board has been reduced from 19 to 16 months. His goal is to get it to 12 months by the middle of next year — and then think about whether that’s the right timeline.
He also wants to make the bank easier for its client countries to navigate. Starting in 20 countries, Banga is designating one person as a country head who can represent the entire World Bank Group, rather than forcing partners to approach each institution separately. Banga said he’s splitting the positions among officials of the International Finance Corporation, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Development Association.
“So this is not a takeover of any kind,” he said.
Asked what the staff reception to his reforms has been like so far, Banga said he keeps in mind a rule of thumb that informs his changemaking philosophy: One-third of your employees will be happy, one-third will “wish you would die,” and one-third will be on the fence. The goal is to win over that final third, he said.
“You don’t want to destroy their sense of pride in what they’ve achieved. You want to point them toward a new challenge and a new direction in the future,” he said.
ICYMI: Everything you need to know about the World Bank's reform plans (Pro)
+ Not yet a Devex Pro member? Access all our exclusive reporting and analyses, invite-only events, and the world’s largest global development job board by starting a 15-day free trial today.
A debt with destiny
Bright and early yesterday morning, finance ministers from Egypt to Rwanda gathered at the African Union Mission in Washington, D.C., a charming brick building in the Georgetown neighborhood — and a micro version of Addis Ababa’s lofty African Union headquarters.
The topic on the table was debt, specifically the hundreds of billions in debt currently owed by Africa. Sixty percent of that debt is just interest, says Hannah Ryder from consultancy Development Reimagined.
“The current system is not a system that works in African interests, because we are at this point, majority borrowers,” Ryder told a panel on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings. “African interests require simpler and faster forms of debt relief.”
Multiple solutions were brought to the table, not just by Ryder, but the minister of finance from Egypt and Mauritania’s economic adviser. Highlighted was the need for strong domestic financial institutions, reforms across international global financial systems, and enhanced debt-for-development swaps. Rwanda’s Uzziel Ndagijimana was also asked to air his thoughts, given the financial progress made in his small East African nation.
“In my view, we have to fight on two fronts: the global front and the domestic front,” he said. “As we address the current crisis, [we must ensure that] we build resilience for future shocks.”
But still, some members of the audience — including two from the Zambian Parliament — asked how to shift the conversation, and how to leverage the continent’s natural resources instead of focusing on reforming financial systems, Devex reporter Elissa Miolene tells me.
“We have so many resources — we have everything that the world needs,” one of the officials stated. “Do you honestly think we should be talking about debt?”
Related readings:
• Can African countries overcome the cycle of debt?
• Opinion: G-7 meeting is opportunity to prioritize African debt relief
• Why low-income nations are ‘cracking’ under debt pressure
Content warning
Social media can be dodgy at the best of times — so why, a new report is asking, did the United Kingdom’s development finance arm take an $8 million stake in the fund behind an Indian site hosting videos of women being abused, selling sexual services, and glorifying Hamas’ attacks on Israel?
British International Investment has been raked over the coals — first for breaking its own rules by failing to make “an appropriate investment for UK aid,” and then for funding a cosmetic surgery clinic, dating sites, and a debt collection firm in India.
Even worse, financing the social media site came just two months after BII assured parliament that it only backs projects to alleviate poverty or secure a greener economy — raising questions about the truthfulness of that testimony, writes my colleague Rob Merrick.
“The reputational risk to BII of investing in such social media sites is substantial, because of their potential for use for pornography, abuse and hate speech,” says the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, the U.K. watchdog.
Read: UK aid funded India social media site behind ‘abuse of women’ videos
+ Catch up on our coverage of the U.K. aid sector.
In other news
The United Nations urgently requested $2.8 billion to aid 3 million Palestinians, emphasizing the need for comprehensive support in Gaza, including food, sanitation, water, and health care. [AP News]
New long-acting injections and pills are offering promising alternatives for HIV treatment, potentially transforming the landscape of managing the virus in hard-to-reach populations. [The New York Times]
A Caribbean ambassador called for urgent global action for a new international tribunal to pursue reparations for transatlantic slavery and its enduring impacts in today's society. [Reuters]
Sign up to Newswire for an inside look at the biggest stories in global development.
About the author
Helen Murphy
Helen is an award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development in the Americas. Based in Colombia, she previously covered war, politics, financial markets, and general news for Reuters, where she headed the bureau, and for Bloomberg in Colombia and Argentina, where she witnessed the financial meltdown. She started her career in London as a reporter for Euromoney Publications before moving to Hong Kong to work for a daily newspaper.
