Brics bank 'small time'

President Jacob Zuma yesterday made it clear that he wants the much-touted development bank of the Brics bloc - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - headquartered in Africa.

But his remarks came in for some veiled criticism by a top banker. A relaxed Zuma was speaking at the World Economic Forum's Africa summit, in Cape Town, when the head of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, took a swipe at one of his pet projects.

Kaberuka, referring to the $50-billion said to be available to capitalise the Brics bank, said " that's too small".

Leaders of Brics nations have hailed the formation of the bank as one of their biggest successes at their Durban summit in March.

But Kaberuka said the African Development Bank already has about $100-billion of authorised capital at its disposal, echoing many concerns that the new bank would duplicate functions of the World Bank and other development-finance institutions.

Kaberuka, who was a member of a discussion panel that included Zuma, AU Commission chairman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund David Lipton, said he expected "something more ambitious" from the Brics bank.

The African Development Bank is headquartered in Tunis, Tunisia, and was clearly not taken into account when Zuma said: "We need this [Brics] bank to be established here because all other development banks are outside Africa."

Details about the Brics bank have been sketchy since its establishment was announced in March. Zuma yesterday gave few clues as to its future.

He said questions remained about "how do we capacitate [and] capitalise the bank - that is what the finance ministers are now working on".

He hinted that the negotiations might be finalised in time for the next Brics summit, in Brazil next year.

Asked whether he thought the Brics bank would encroach on the activities of the International Monetary Fund and its development "twin" the World Bank, Lipton chose a diplomatic response, saying that he saw the Brics bank as "complementary".