By Lesley Wroughton and George Obulutsa DAR ES SALAAM, March 11 (Reuters) - African nations and the IMF agreed on Wednesday to a new partnership and called on industrial countries to keep their promises of increased aid despite the global financial crisis. "It is time for the IMF to adapt to this new era," International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said at the end of a two-day conference on the IMF's role in Africa and the impact of the financial crisis. He said developed countries could no longer tell others how to run their economies. "It is totally unfair that African countries and other low-income countries which had nothing to do with the causes of the crisis are now hard hit," he said. "It is certainly time for advanced economies to be less arrogant. The way leaders of advanced economies address leaders of the rest of the world has to change and it is in the process of changing," he added. The call for increased aid comes ahead of a G20 meeting of developed and developing countries on April 2 in London. Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete said he and other African leaders would meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown before the G20 summit to convey concerns that advanced countries are not keeping promises from 2005 of increased aid at a time when the crisis threatens to destroy economies in Africa. "If there is going to be a message to the G20, it is keep the promise," Kikwete said. VOTING REFORM In a joint declaration, African finance leaders and the IMF called for action to safeguard more than a decade of economic progress. Growth in Africa is expected to halve to 3 percent this year as revenues are slashed by falling exports and lower commodity prices. Strauss-Kahn said there was not a risk of a strong recession in Africa. The declaration also urged the international community to increase the IMF's arsenal so that it can help poor countries. African leaders pledged to continue to strengthen their economic policies and ensure good governance by tackling corruption and creating an environment for private-sector business to flourish. It also called on the IMF to increase support for Africa with more financing, greater flexibility, and reforms to IMF voting power to give developing countries a greater say in decision-making at the institution. The IMF hopes to turn the page on a strained relationship with Africa, where many considered its policy advice and conditions as hurting, not helping, their countries. The meeting also brought out frustration among African ministers over the failure of advanced economies to regulate banks and prevent the reckless lending that led to the crisis. "If an African country would have been the cause of the crisis, the IMF would have been at you like a tonne of bricks," South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said. Irish anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof said the IMF should "push beyond what is normally expected" on behalf of Africa at the G20 to ensure aid was forthcoming. "Why don't Africans with one voice -- which is highly unusual -- say 'where is the money? Where is it now?' If the money isn't there you walk out of the room. Believe you me, they need you" for your resources, he said. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
Yemeni Jews demonstrate outside the Cabinet office in Sanaa March 10, 2009 demanding the resumption of government financial and food aid to Jewish families living in the capital city. Yemen has ...
