Bayo Omolola Baltimore, MD
Does the New World Bank Mean Business?
The new World Bank President, Paul Wolfowitz, has made a
statement that gives Africa hope. If his statement is anything to go
by, if it is not " mere sweet political talk," Africans in Africa and
people of African descents all over the world should expect
an unprecedented degree of development on the continent that
colonialism, neo-colonialism, slavery, foreign intervention,
exploitation by powerful countries, and so on and so forth, have
reduced to an object that is always decorated or described with the
words such as "backward, underdeveloped, war-torn." As good and
promising as President Wolfowitz's statement is, there are many
questions that the new president needs to answer. For example,
Africans and people of Africa descent would like to have his response
to the following questions, as his response to each question will
show how serious he is about helping Africa to make progress and be
on the path of development like other continents of the world.
1. What are his specific development plans for Africa?
2. How does he intend to carry out each plan?
3. How long will each plan take to bear fruit?
4. What does he intend to do about the debt that African countries owe?
5. What specific economic measures does he plan for Africa to
transform the continent to a level that the world will be proud of?
6. How much does he plan for the development of African?
7. What new things does he intend to introduce in the administration
of the World Bank?
8. What is his plan toward leading Africa to the acquisition of
technological skills which can help the continent to make any
meaningful development that marches the world standard today?
9. Will he stand against any external pressure that will divert his
attention from helping African countries?
10. How does intend to carry Africans and people of Africa descent along?
11 How soon will he embark on his plan for Africa?