Statement of the African National Congress Youth League on the pending visit by Dr. Jim Yong Kim

Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, has taken a decision to make Africa his first official visit outside of the United States since being appointed to his position in July 2012.  Whilst we welcome that the World Bank would recognize the "priority given by the continent's governments to faster economic growth and less poverty", it is our hope that Dr. Jim Yong Kim arrives in South Africa for a mutually beneficial engagement to reduce poverty as per the World Bank's intent.

This must not on the World Bank's terms but on Africa's terms.The World Bank's historical imposition of micro-economic policy and structural adjustments on Africa should be rejected as the only option for Africa's development and renewal.  Interaction with Africa and the World Bank must at all times be guided  by the principles of African ownership and leadership in all proposed interventions as encapsulated in the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

The starting point for a World Bank programme in South Africa should also be an appreciation that South Africa is a developing country grappling with critical challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment; and that without adequate redress and redistribution these structural challenges will remain.

It is the World Bank's own report on Inequality of Opportunities in South Africa that recognizes that "circumstances at birth are important drivers of inequality in South Africa". As such, any engagements that the World Bank would undertake with South Africa, in line with its stated mission of reducing poverty, must move from this accepted paradigm.

The South African economy remains in the hands of a small white minority and no amount of grants, loans or guarantees will change that fact. The critical debate must be how the World Bank, a glaring expression of global capitalism and imperialism,  will assist South Africa ensure that western imperialists return to Africa her mineral wealth for real economic prosperity.

There must be talk too on how to ensure that immediately there is greater beneficiation, within Africa's borders, of all minerals to reduce unemployment and poverty. We trust that when the discussion on the reduction of poverty within Africa arise, the World Bank  will also speak to how foreign powers must support the continent by returning the land they own in South Africa and providing the necessary space for local ownership of land by the indigenous people.

It is our hope therefore that the planned discussions with government and business, with the notable exclusion of civil society, will talk to areas of mutual benefit and any discussions devoid of these pressing realities will once again be superficial and not speaking to the fundamental and structural causes of poverty in Africa as a whole.

Statement issued by the African National Congress Youth League, September 4 2012

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