BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU
The World Bank has set aside N720billion ($48billion) annually to assist African countries, including Nigeria, to diversify their economies  and also create jobs for the continent’s citizenry.

Making this known from Paris in a video feed yesterday, Obiageli Ezekwesili, the bank’s Vice-President (Africa Region), said Africa could diversify its economic structures in Information and Communications Technology, ICT, tourism, transport, education, skill development and agriculture.

According to her, “the plan will assist countries to diversify their economies and generate jobs, especially for the 7-10 million young people entering the labour market each year.

“It will help to close the gap between infrastructure needs and investments, currently about $48 billion annually, and support efforts to make it easier for business to operate. In addition, the plan will focus on building the skills of workers.”

Growth, she bemoaned, had not been accompanied by job creation for 10million young Africans, adding that there was also a massive infrastructural deficit, and an uneven spread of wealth at the exclusion of African woman from economic activity.

Ezekwesili said the bank would ensure that the citizenry on the African continent were carried along, especially in respect of its thre-prong strategy of competitiveness and employment; vulnerability and resilience and public se ctor capacity.

She said:  “In implementing the strategy, the World Bank Group shall remain fruitfully engaged with citizens as they demand greater participation in the benefits of improved economic performance, deploy our partnerships, knowledge and finance to work with governments, private sector, civil society and other partners and help countries to speed up the attainment of the MDGs, expand economic prosperity and reduce poverty.”

Though she said that the bank had observed that African countries rarely monitored their performance, she noted that countries’ capacity to monitor performance was difficult.

Ezekwesili said the World Bank would continuously consult with the continent in order to draw from national strategy to ensure the bank’s support.

However, she said the level of consultation from the continent was not adequate and wished for an intense consultation from Africa.

She said: “We are excited about Africa’s future. Today’s Africa is exemplified by the many success stories and stronger economic growth being driven by the dynamism of its people and economies.

“We, therefore, used the opportunity of our new African Strategy to listen, learn and define how we could better support the continent’s aspiration as it maintains the momentum of economic reforms over the next decade.

“By working together with the citizens and promoting good governance, the people will be able to view evidence of a World Bank project actually working, rather than being informed by only their governments.”