The promise of BRICS was that it would usher in a new approach to development. But after meeting annually for the last nine years there’s no sign that the old order has been challenged.
The middle class concept in Africa has remained vague and limited to number crunching. The minimum threshold for entering it in monetary terms was critically vulnerable to a setback into poverty.
Grassroots protesters are questioning the logic of export-led ‘growth’ and renewed fiscal austerity pushed through the ‘Africa rising’ narrative. They want policies that meet their basic needs.
The international conference for the economic recovery of Mali resulted in promises of substantial aid, but the areas targeted fail to address the country’s real needs.
As the African Development Bank Group changes leadership, Africa’s multilateral financier must chart a new course, including raising the contribution and voice of Africans in the institution.