African caucus hails aspiring IMF chief's focus on Africa

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WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (AFP): The African governors to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) welcomed Friday a commitment by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the European Union's candidate to head the IMf, to focus on Africa.
In a statement released by the IMF on behalf of the African caucus, Mozambique's finance minister, Manuel Chang, gave a positive reading to an informal meeting earlier this week between Strauss-Kahn and the African governors.
He said they discussed the challenges the IMF faces in helping the world's poorest continent improve economic growth and fight poverty.
"The African governors appreciated Strauss-Kahn's frankness and openness in responding to the various issues raised," Chang said.
"They welcomed his commitment to put Africa at the center stage of the reform process, to have regular consultations with them at the highest level, and to take into consideration their concerns should he be selected as managing director of the Fund. They wished him well in his candidature."
Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, is on a world tour seeking support for his bid to succeed IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato, who announced in late June he was resigning in late October, nearly two years before his term ends.
He met informally Monday and Tuesday with the African governors of the IMF and the World Bank, in Mozambique's capital Maputo, as they held a regular meeting to discuss the two sister institutions and Africa.
The Frenchman, a leading Socialist and the sole candidate for the IMF post to date, has also visited the United States and Brazil in a tour that includes visits to China, India, Japan, South Korea, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In an unwritten agreement, Europe selects the head of the IMF and the United States the head of the World Bank, an arrangement which has angered developing countries who have called for open competition for the posts.
The Washington-based IMF launched on July 12 its search for a successor to Rato and is accepting nominations from any of its 185 members through August 31. It said the successful candidate would be chosen according to merit, without regard to nationality.
Three Frenchmen have held the managing director's job for more than 30 of the IMF's 61 years, and Frenchmen also currently head the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the European Central Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.