ABSTRACT
Without a doubt, the two external institutions with the greatest influence on Africa's development during this period are the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). They have channelled more money to Africa, organized more projects and exercised more direct guidance over African governments than any other foreign agents. The World Bank's and the IMF's main instruments have been development projects, structural adjustment programmes and, more recently, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). The rhetoric on national ownership of PRSPs conflicted, however, with ongoing conditionality and with the Bank's and the Fund's design and management of the PRSP process. In fact, debt relief was slow in coming, as many countries failed to fulfil required conditions. Africa's economic future depends on agriculture and industry, but African governments would be well advised not to depend on the Bank or the Fund for strategies in these areas.
