New World Bank plan for Africa

The World Bank said yesterday that it would change the way it implemented its strategies for the development of Africa.

The bank unveiled a new strategy: "Africa's future and the World Bank's support for it." It has three main objectives: competitiveness and employment, vulnerability and resilience, and governance and public-sector capacity.

In its previous strategies for Africa, the bank priorities were always finance, knowledge and partnerships in that order.

The bank's vice president for Africa, Obiageli Ezekwesili , said the new strategy took into account lessons learned from previous plans .

The three main risks to Africa are a volatile global economy, political violence and conflict, and inadequate resources.