World Bank graft fight stirs debate on Africa aid

From 1975 to 1997, donors including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank pumped billions of dollars into the former Zaire, to little effect.

By the time the late Congolese dictator was ousted from power, his legacy of institutionalised theft had helped bring Africa's potentially most wealthy nation to its knees.

While no African leader since has matched Mobutu's rapacious extravagance, corruption still clouds the continent, impoverishing its people and hamstringing development efforts.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has put fighting the problem at the heart of the Washington-based lender's activities since taking the helm last year, halting lending to projects in Kenya and Chad, among other countries around the world.

But his drive to stamp out the abuse of funding by officials who siphon off the cash for personal gain has raised hackles among Western donors such as Britain, France and Italy, who fear his campaign could slow lending and punish the poor.

Despite the criticism, finance ministers backed a new World Bank anti-graft strategy at a meeting in Singapore Monday.

But there is a growing number of Africans who say foreign aid, regardless of whether it is tied to good governance, does more harm than good. They argue it weakens trade, supports corruption and discourages a spirit of self-reliance.

"We want Africans to build their economic strength through creativity and talent, aid throws all that out of the window," said James Shikwati, director of the Inter-Region Economic Network (IREN Kenya), focusing on development policies.

"To solve corruption we need Africans to be agitated. When the fight is done by someone else, Kenyans, Africans, don't think it's part of their system."