By Goodluck Ikiebe
Participants in the 2024 African Caucus Meeting have called on the IMF and World Bank Group to support member countries, guided by principles of balance and even-handedness and consistent with their own policies.
These considerations are all the more important at a time when countries are being assailed by adverse exogenous shocks and facing immense financing needs.
Nigeria, under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Finance, led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, led by Governor Olayemi Cardoso, hosted the 2024 African Caucus Meeting of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) in Abuja, from August 1 – 3, 2024.
The three-day event, declared open by Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima on behalf of the President, attracted Ministers and Governors of Central Banks from 50 African Countries and other distinguished Panelists from beyond, including the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mrs Amina Mohammed; Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Keabetswe Mene; the Rt. Hon. Lord Paul Boateng of the UK House of Lords, members of Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council, as well as country delegates from across Africa and beyond, including representatives from the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs).
The theme for the 2024 Caucus Meeting, “Facilitating Intra-African Trade: Catalyst for Sustainable Development in Africa” identified major drivers for growth and development across the continent.
The meeting recognized the importance of intra-African trade in unlocking production, investments, and jobs in Africa. It also took cognizance that African countries continue to trade with the rest of the world more than among themselves.
The meeting agreed that addressing both tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-African trade, including fragmented payment ecosystems, poor energy access, lack of infrastructure, inconsistent regulatory frameworks, and divergent cross-border procedures, was critical to bolstering Africa’s share of global trade and stimulating sustainable and inclusive growth in the continent.
The meeting also underscored the point that trade could stimulate economic growth by creating opportunities for increased production, investment and job creation.
It provides access to larger markets, new technologies, and capital. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to promote trade among African countries by reducing trade barriers, harmonising regulations, and facilitating the movement of goods and services within the continent.
The Governors underlined four- key pathways to boosting intra-Africa trade, namely. These are
strengthening pan African payment ecosystem,
enhancing energy access, affordability, and connectivity;
leveraging partnerships with MDBs, and
reforming global financial architecture.
The gathering took place amid a synchronised global economic slowdown, with global GDP growth decelerating due to monetary tightening in developing countries and disruptions in global supply chains, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, including the Ukraine and Palestinian crises.
These factors further strain development prospects despite Africa’s remarkable resilience, evidenced by its GDP growth, intra-African trade remains relatively low, accounting for only about 14.4% of total African exports.
The Caucus reiterated the call of Heads of State to donor countries for an ambitious and robust IDA21 replenishment at a $120 billion target to combat persistent and emerging challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, energy deficit, and fragility.
The outcomes of this 2024 African Caucus deliberations will be summarized in a Memorandum to be delivered to the Heads of the BWIs, in October 2024, during the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the WBG, in Washington, USA.
The African Caucus was established in 1963 to strengthen the voice of African Governors to the issues of mutual interest for Africa. Membership of the Caucus is open to all African countries that are members of the African Union (AU). Currently, all 54 African countries are members of the IMF and WBG.
The countries were represented by their respective Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Central Bank or by other officials designated as such by the governments. They are called African Governors for the IMF and the WBG.
During Caucus Meetings, African Governors usually build consensus on the key challenges affecting the continent that require the BWIs’ attention and communicate the same in a Memorandum to the Heads of the BWIs at the Annual Meetings. Once delivered, the leadership of the BWIs responds by outlining how their respective institutions plan to address these challenges, including ongoing efforts in this direction. The first, such as Memorandum, dates back to September 11, 1964.
The Chairmanship of the African Caucus is rotational on an annual basis. The Caucus meets twice a year. The first meeting is held in the host country of the Chairperson of the Caucus, generally between the last week of July and the first week of August. The second meeting takes place in October at the venue of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and WBG. The Offices of the Executive Directors (EDs) representing the host country on the IMF and WBG Boards serve jointly as secretariat for the African Caucus. Administrative support for the 2024 Caucus Meetings is therefore provided by the Offices of Executive Director Africa Group 3 at the World Bank Group (WBG) and Office of the Executive Director African English at the IMF, where Ayanda Dlodlo and Willie Nukunyanda represent Nigeria at the WBG and IMF, respectively.
