• Ruto added that development interests of Africa should be accorded ample financial support to tame the cycle of inequality and exploitation.
• “We must arm Africa with the requisite tools to build resilience and cushion the continent from adverse impacts such as conflicts.”
Image: PCS
President William Ruto has urged the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the International Finance Corporation to sync their plans with the continent's aspirations.
Speaking during his maiden address at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Ethiopia on Saturday, Ruto insisted that the institutions have the power to transform Africa.
"For global development finance to be future-proof, it must align with the aspirations of the continent of the future, as an existential imperative.
"For this to happen, the multilateral development financing sector must attain a significant measure of Africanisation in all aspects. This is my simple and direct message to the World Bank, the IMF and the IFC: Africanise, or perish," he said.
Ruto added that the development interests of Africa should be accorded ample financial support to tame the cycle of inequality and exploitation.
“We must arm Africa with the requisite tools to build resilience and cushion the continent from adverse impacts such as conflicts.”
The President noted that while Africa has been the least contributor to climate change, it continues to bear the brunt of the negative impacts of industrialised carbon emitters.
He said the continent must lead the way in choosing green growth as the critical pathway to a sustainable future.
"In Kenya, we are on an ambitious green growth agenda. More than 40 years ago we embarked on this journey by investing in geothermal power generation. Currently, our grid is 92% renewable, projected to be 100% clean energy by 2030," Ruto said.
"For countries to successfully surmount the global crises of climate emergency, biodiversity loss, pollution and debt distress, and for economies to drive green industrial revolution, more and better financing is indispensable, from both the public and private sectors."
He also said Kenya looks to extend the green agenda to other sectors, such as green manufacturing, sustainable agriculture, green urbanisation and green transportation.