President says a new financial order will help the world overcome poverty and climate change.
President William Ruto has made bold proposals on global financial reforms to increase financial flows for development and climate action during a session with President Emmanuel Macron, IMF Managing Director Christalina Georgieva, and World Bank President Ajay Banga.
Continuing his bullish take on the West and the Breton Wood institutions in Europe, Ruto insisted that the West’s relationship with Africa must shift.
The President was speaking during a round table meeting during the Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris, France, where he called for a re-engineering of the engagement between the West and the international financial institutions to make them more responsive to the needs of Africa.
He said Africa could no longer be seen as just a continent that needs help but as a partner, adding that the globe cannot continue talking normally when things are not going forward.
At one point, there was a back-and-forth exchange between Ruto and President Macron as the president insisted things had to be done differently.
President Ruto said the new financial order would help the world overcome poverty and climate change, noting that the financial architecture must be of equals.
He explained that the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund should neither control the resources.
“Africa does not want anything for free. But we need a new global financial model where power is not in the hands of a few.” He said such a move would ensure that “we all have fair access to resources”. President Ruto said the globe cannot continue talking normally when things are not going forward.
Among others, Ruto called for the deployment of a proposed $500b per year in new lending to refinance maturing official debt into new long-term loans of 50-year maturity and a 10 – 20 year grace period. He also called for establishing a new multilateral climate action financing mechanism, financed from global carbon taxes on fossil fuel, aviation, and marine transport financial transactions to finance decarbonization, adaptation, and nature protection and regeneration.
Echoing President Ruto’s call for a review of the global financial system, President Macron noted that a bold and targeted approach could transform the world. Macron said it is time debt sustainability was integrated with climate vulnerability.
“We need a diverse but inclusive discussion on climate change to fix the game. No one should be left behind, not even China,” explained Macron. “It should be done with speed and urgency.”
An estimated 50 Heads of State, along with international institutions and civil society representatives, are attending the Summit to develop a new global financial system so that vulnerable countries can be better equipped to combat poverty and climate change.
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