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World Bank woos Africans in the Diaspora
ON the invitation of Nigeria and other member-states of the African Union (AU), the World Bank will be holding an open house meeting with the continent's professionals and potential investors who are based in the United States (U.S.) and Europe on ways they can contribute to the development of their countries.
The open house is seen as the launching of a dialogue between the Diaspora and the World Bank Group "on identifying areas of Diaspora interest, and understanding the capacity development needs of the Diaspora."
Observers say the open house is another evidence that the World Bank Group is increasing its focus on Africa, especially with the new President Robert Zoellick, who has identified Africa as a priority of the bank.
The initiative is also linked, according to sources to the injection of notable African figures at the helm of affairs in the bank, including Nigeria's former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili, both of whom belong to the group of Africans in the Diaspora.
"Mobilising the African Diaspora for Development" as the programme is known was established in response to requests from African governments and the AU and the World Bank plans to use the idea to add value to current relationships between Nigerians abroad and other Africans with their home countries.
Several Nigerian professionals are expected to participate in the meeting fixed for November 29. Already, a drive is on to invite as many Nigerians here and e-mail invitations and on-line registration on the World Bank website are in progress.
Sources added that the issue of capacity-building would come up at the meeting, including how best Nigeria and other African governments can afford to pay meaningful salaries to U.S. and Europe Diasporans who are willing to offer their expertise for their governments back home.
Besides, it is also believed that African Diaspora can return not only to their countries, but to any country on the continent needing their services and are willing to pay. The possibility of a dollar-denominated salary funded by African governments and international donors to help facilitate the return of African experts to the continent may also feature prominently in the talks.
African governments are beginning to differ with western donor agencies who give grants, and soft loans with the condition that foreign consultants be involved and paid substantial chunk of the funds being loaned or granted. A return of African experts in the Diaspora to take the place of some of those foreign consultants in the Diaspora could reasonably take care of such dispensation, African sources here said.
In deed, the World Bank said one of the aims of the initiative "is to facilitate improved communication and working relationships among African governments, donor agencies, and Diaspora professionals to build stronger, more responsive and capable African public and private service institutions."
According to the World Bank, "we feel we can use this initiative to add strong value to on-going Diaspora activities because the World Bank is a major development partner of Africa and has widespread coordinating and convening capability, as well as financing and fund management expertise."
Furthermore, the World Bank added that it recognised "the important role the African Diaspora can play in strengthening the bank's existing technical assistance work in Africa."
The November 29 meeting would also enable African professionals in the Diaspora to "learn more about the Bank's operations, portfolio in Africa, procurement policies and opportunities for contribution."
The World Bank is currently in an invitation drive to get as many African professionals in the U.S. and Canada to attend the meeting in Washington DC, while a similar one would be announced later for African professionals in Europe.
Participants would also learn about, and explore World Bank programmes and tools such as the e-Development Marketplace, Institutional Development Fund (IDF), e-consult, the Junior Professionals Programme for Africans, as well as guidelines, procedures and fiduciary responsibilities when the Bank Group's funds are utilised.
At the level of the African Union, Africans in the Diaspora has been identified as the sixth African region-after the West, East, North, South and Central African regional groupings of the continent and this also explains why the AU asked the World Bank to establish such an initiative like this.
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