President William Ruto has called for reforms of international financing institutions to ensure that all board of multilateral development banks have an equal say in management.
Advocating for a more inclusive approach, the President emphasised the need to democratise the boards saying the current financial system is unfair, thereby neglecting the interests of developing countries.
“Concessional loans have many benefits: they are long-term and can easily be leveraged by the private sector to enhance those resources,” he said during the Presidential Conversation Session at the Africa CEO Forum 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda.
Ruto argued that reforms would enable underserved countries to advocate for mutually beneficial outcomes, such as the allocation of additional resources for concessional loans. It will also help pull many countries out of debt distress and give them the opportunity to pursue their development goals.
He said there is a need to allocate resources tailored to address the challenges posed by climate change, in order to advance global climate action objectives, noted that the unfortunate reality of having to redirect funds originally designated for social amenities towards climate-related initiatives.
The President said Africa must also prioritise value addition and stop exporting raw materials from the continent to enhance exports as a percentage of GDP.
Corruption, he added, must be dealt with to ensure resources are utilised to benefit all people.
President Ruto said during his State Visit to the US he will advocate for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
He said he will pursue reforms of the African Union to make it fit for purpose and focused on providing a clearer voice for the continent.
The President stated that Africa must move quickly to integrate the continent and implement the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement to enhance intra-African trade.
He said as African states look for trading partners outside, they must leverage trade opportunities within.
“We need to increase intra-African trade from the current 15 percent,” he said.
