Political economy of the discourse of the World Bank in sub-Saharan Africa
Hibou, B.
Coton et Developpement 30: 8-20
1999
Document Number: 384347
The article is the second part of the text of a lecture. The tenor of the piece is a criticism of the approach of the World Bank, which is characterised as being informed by missionary zeal, but as also failing repeatedly to produce the results intended. The first section describes the inculcation of these approaches in Africa, the contradictions they entail, and the inflexibility of strategy in the face of indicators contrary to expectations. The second section focuses on the socio-political constraints upon, and aspects of, actions which are supposed to be purely economic in focus, as well as the Bank's contradictory attitudes towards the role of the state and public authorities, and the place of privatization, which often benefits elites rather than the mass of the population. The third section describes the ways in which regimes already up and running are reinforced informally by the Bank, often by ignoring formal institutions and mechanisms, and points out the tendency of any measures introduced to be exploited by those in a position to do so, which usually excludes the very poor. The fourth section shows how the Bank's activities and approaches have the effect of undermining public institutions and governments by removing their legitimacy and privatizing their operations, something which NGOs may also contribute to in some cases, as does the growth of militias and private armies. The conclusion stresses the need, in Africa in particular, to restore civil society, capacity-building and good governance as a prerequisite for any viable economic development, and to reduce the scope of institutions like the World Bank to interfere with the sovereign rights of states in setting conditions for loans and finance.