ABSTRACT
Two decades ago the OAU and the ECA were among the regional institutions that supported the dependency approach that blamed the continent’s underdevelopment on external factors, including the world capitalist system and the massive capital flight and resource haemorrhage from the continent. In contrast, the Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other proponents of neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus insisted that the internal political and economic arrangements in Africa created the disabling environment and slowed the rate of development. Over the
years, as these positions were vigorously debated and each camp accumulated some experience, the gulf between them has narrowed.
