African countries endorse nomination of Okonjo-Iweala for top World Bank job
Washington, 23 Mar – (ANA) - Three African countries have endorsed the nomination of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as candidate for the president of the World Bank. The US is yet to name its candidate, but former White House adviser Larry Summers has been mentioned. The US has always held the position since the World Bank was founded in 1944 but there is pressure for the next head to be from a developing nation. The deadline for nominations to replace Robert Zoellick is 18:00 Washington time (22:00 GMT) today. US development economist Jeffrey Sachs has been nominated by smaller developing countries, such as Bhutan, East Timor, Haiti, Kenya, Guatemala and Chile, but he acknowledges that he does not have President Obama's support. Former Colombian finance minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, now looks unlikely to be nominated after Colombia's current finance minister, Juan Carlos Echeverry, said on Thursday that the country was instead focusing on a bid for the presidency of the International Labour Organization.
Mr Ocampo had agreed to stand and had the backing of Brazil, but also needed Colombia's support. In a joint statement, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa pledged their support to Ms Okonjo-Iweala. "The endorsement is in line with the belief that the appointment of the leadership of the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, should be merit-based, open and transparent," the statement said. Speaking at a news conference, Ms Okonjo-Iweala said: "I consider the World Bank a very important institution for the world, and particularly for developing countries deserving of the best leadership, so I look forward to a contest of very strong candidates. "And am I confident? Absolutely."
Other names in the running to be the official US candidate include Indra Nooyi, the Indian-born head of Pepsi, and Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations. With the US holding the most votes at the World Bank, which has 187 members, the vote on the next president should be a formality.
Calls to end 'monopoly' (ANA)
FA/ANA/23 March 2012----------