AFRICAN POWERS BACK OKONJO IWEALA FOR WORLD BANK PRESIDENCY

African powers Angola, Nigeria and South Africa on Friday endorsed the nomination of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a respected economist and diplomat, as a candidate to take over the World Bank.
The United States faces an unprecedented challenge to its grip on the World Bank presidency, with emerging economies poised to nominate at least one candidate on Friday to set up the first contested bid for the top job at the global development lender, Reuters reports.

“The endorsement is in line with the belief that the appointment of the leadership of the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, should be merit-based, open and transparent,” the three said in a statement in Pretoria.
South Africa chairs one of the three African seats on the 25-member World Bank board, and earlier this week sources said Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy was being proposed after consultations between South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan.
The joint endorsement is a rare bit of unity among the three countries often at loggerheads as they battle for dominance on the continent.
“She has eminent academic qualifications and would be, I think, a candidate of choice not only on the African continent but well beyond as well,” South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told a media briefing on Friday.
The three countries will lobby other African states to endorse her, Gordhan added.
The United States has yet to name a candidate. But it still has up till 10p.m GMT to do so. While the Obama administration has said it would nominate someone, its choice remains shrouded in mystery.
Washington has held the presidency since the bank’s founding after World War Two, while a European has always led its sister organisation, the International Monetary Fund.
Okonjo-Iweala’s chances became brighter on Thursday after Colombia said it was more interested in getting the top job at the International Labour Organisation than the World Bank presidency.
Colombian Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said his predecessor, Jose Antonio Ocampo, would not receive supprot from the government for the World Bank bid, especially as his country was already holding the chair of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank.
“The candidacy of (Colombia’s Vice President) Angelino Garzon for the president of the International Labour Organisation has a high probability of success,” Echeverry told reporters.
“The Colombian government has to concentrate exclusively on a candidate that has possibilities of success, and so we should concentrate on the candidacy of the vice president,” he added.
The Inter-American Development Bank is currently led by Luis Alberto Moreno, who is Colombian.
Brazil had indicated it would like to nominate Ocampo but this is not feasible without the support of his home government.
Brazil, which chairs a constituency of Latin American countries including Colombia on the World Bank Board, cannot nominate Ocampo without Colombia’s backing.-PUNCH