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Finance ministers discuss plans for Africa’s first continental bank

Finance ministers discuss plans for Africa’s first continental bank
Written by Fridah Zinyama and Florence Bupe
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 7:51:57 PM

AFRICAN Union (AU) commissioner for economic affairs Maxwell Mkwezalamba
has revealed that consultations for the establishment of a continental investment bank had already been carried out.

Last week, ministers of Finance from African countries met in Addis Ababa to discuss the possibility of setting up a continental investment bank and a stock exchange meant to foster broad-based development on the continent.

According to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) newsletter, the ministers drawn from the African Union were considering proposals for the establishment of the African investment bank and the African stock exchange.

And Mkwezalamba revealed that consultations had been carried out for the setting up of the bank to be based in Tripoli, Libya.

The bank would focus on financing programmes that were regional and continental in nature.

Once established, the institution would finance private sector initiatives that were active in more than one country.

The African Union is anticipating wooing investment capital for the African investment bank from contributions by Africans in the diaspora as well as contributions from co-operating partners and the private sector on the continent.

During the meeting, the ministers of Finance also discussed the continent’s response to the global financial crisis by reviewing the various initiatives that the individual countries and regions had planned or started implementing.

Labels: AU, BANKING, MAXWELL MKWEZALAMBA, PANAFRICANISM

posted by MrK @ 7:53 PM