Tackle African corruption, says World Bank boss
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said today that both African nations and developing countries had a responsibility to tackle corruption that is damaging the continent.
Addressing a conference on African trade issues in Edinburgh as G8 leaders gathered in Scotland, Wolfowitz also said the World Bank had a “uniquely important role to play in Africa.”
“I think there is a real chance now that the poorest countries in Africa can turn the corner, that Africa can become a continent of hope,” he said.
“The responsibility to deal with corruption is not just something for African governments and African people,” he told the conference.
“The developed countries have a huge responsibility as well. They have a responsibility I think to help the poor countries in Africa recover some of the assets that have been taken from them and deposited in banks in developed countries.”
Wolfowitz said there must be a recognition that “every corrupt transaction has two parties to it.”
“We all have a responsibility to try to crack down on both ends of these transactions.”
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has placed helping Africa high on the agenda at the three day meeting of leaders from the Group of Eight industrialised nations.
The African trade conference was scheduled to coincide with the arrival of G8 leaders in Gleneagles.
It was also addressed by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and the head of the World Trade Organisation Supachai Panitchpakdi.
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