Africa seeks to lay foundation for growth A better future for Africa

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Listening and dialogue increasingly define IMF relations with African countries and civil society.

The IMF has been actively seeking out the opinions of African heads of state, public officials, business and labor representatives, and civil society and has been translating this advice into streamlined conditionality and stronger national ownership of reform programs (see page 19).

For example, the pursuit of national ownership has been central to the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) process, which has just undergone a thorough review (see page 7). And the IMF and the World Bank are working hard to make the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative a success-to provide deeper, broader, and faster debt relief to eligible countries and to strengthenPage 2 the links between debt relief, poverty reduction, and social policies (see page 5). There is also greater recognition that good economic advice cannot be separated from an understanding of national political processes and the social dimension of development.

Increasingly, the IMF sees that progress in African countries can show the way forward.Notably,African leaders themselves have designed and will carry out the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a plan to revive the continent and end its marginalization.

Under NEPAD,African countries have committed themselves to encouraging peace, democracy, and good governance; designing and implementing action plans to develop the key pro-poor sectors of health care, education, infrastructure, and agriculture; achieving economic integration at the regional and global levels by building a strong private sector and fostering a climate conducive to domestic and foreign investment; and developing more productive partnerships with Africa's bilateral and multilateral development partners.

The IMF is committed to supporting NEPAD wholeheartedly. Recognizing that the biggest obstacle encountered by African economies striving for sustainable growth often is not lack of political will but lack of capacity, the IMF will set up Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centers (AFRITACs) in Abidjan and Dar es Salaam as part of its commitment. Through the AFRITACs, IMF resident experts and short-term specialists will help West and East African countries build local capacity for economic and financial management.

Working closely with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and donors, the IMF...