Developing countries including Ghana risk losing credibility – World Bank President

World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has warned that developing countries including Ghana stand the risk of losing credibility if they keep competing with the private sector in developing businesses and creating wealth for the economy.

Governments must prioritize projects and create enabling environments for the private sector to flourish because global economies are built because of partnerships between governments and the private sector, he added.

“We have got to stop fighting each other for the low-hanging fruit projects. This is what is happening right now. if there is some project that looks like it could be commercially viable, meaning it could be financed by the private sector, all the development agencies run after it and fight over it and try to get their money in the door so they can get their money outside the door”.

He argued that the public sector creates more jobs and better institutions, and provides financing and investments in a more synergistic way, hence governments should desist from crippling them.

He made these remarks at the just-ended 2017 World Bank/IMF Spring meetings in Washington DC in response to a question as to whether monies advanced to developing countries such as Ghana by the Bank are used for purposes intended.