IMF wants Africa to be part of crisis solution

The final statement of the conference organised by the International Monetary Fund in Tanzania called for aid commitments towards Africa to be honoured and plead for Africa to be part of the solution to the global financial crisis.Africa must be part of the solution to the global financial crisis, leaders said Wednesday at the close of a two-day meeting organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Tanzania.In a final joint statement, the conference also called for aid commitments towards Africa to be honoured, warning that urgent action was needed to avert losing a decade of economic gains on the continent."Africa must be a part of the solution to the global economic crisis facing Africa and the world, and Africa must be fully represented in the evolving global architecture," the statement said. The document was signed by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete whose country hosted the conference and former UN chief Kofi Annan, who chairs the Africa Progress Panel. After assessing the impact on Africa of the global economic downturn -- which Strauss-Kahn described Tuesday as a "Great Recession" -- the conference's 300 participants on Wednesday attempted to find reasons for hope. Several key speakers argued now was the best time for private investment in Africa and pointed out that while rich countries were in recession, Africa was still experiencing economic growth, albeit slower than forecast a year ago. "Africa offers the highest return on investment in the world," said Mo Ibrahim, a pioneer of the continent's mobile phone industry and the founder of a prize rewarding good governance.