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World Bank announces $1 billion pledge to East Africa
by Joseph Earnest May 22, 2013
Newscast Media WASHINGTON—The quickest way to enslave a people or a nation is to keep them in debt. World Bank has pledged $1 billion to the Great Lakes region of Africa, but it is obvious the money will come with strings attached. Something's got to give. The countries that accept these monies will have to give up something, at some point--be it natural resources, land or reduced prices on agricultural exports.
Libya's Gaddafi was removed from power because his country was debt-free and he would not accept any money from the IMF or World Bank. Hosni Mubarak has been critical of Egypt's Mohammed Morsi for accepting a loan from the IMF/World bank.
It is not known, how much this kind of money actually gets to the people who really need it, as opposed to benefiting a handful of the ruling elite at the top of the food chain.
World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, who is traveling with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on a three-day trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda, said that a secure and developed Great Lakes region was vital to Africa’s efforts to dramatically reduce extreme poverty and create prosperity for millions who have had little economic opportunity.
"We made extraordinary efforts to secure an additional $1 billion in funding because we believe this can be a major contributor to a lasting peace in the Great Lakes region," Kim said. "This funding will help revitalize economic development, create jobs, and improve the lives of people who have suffered for far too long. Now the leaders of the Great Lakes region, by restarting economic activity and improving livelihoods in border areas, can boost confidence, build economies, and give new opportunities for millions of people."
The World Bank’s proposed additional funding includes roughly $100 million for supporting agriculture and rural livelihoods for internally displaced people and refugees in the region; $340 million to support the 80 megawatt Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project for Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania; $150 million for the rehabilitation of the Ruzizi I and II hydroelectric projects and financing for Ruzizi III, supplying electricity for Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC; $165 million toward building roads in DRC's North and South Kivu and Province Orientale; $180 million for improving infrastructure and border management along the Rwanda-DRC border; and additional millions of dollars for public health laboratories, fisheries, and trade facilitation programs among others.
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