The World Bank has launched a new plan of support for Africa that stresses more on partnerships rather than financial handouts. The new Africa strategy, according to the bank, is what opinion leaders on the continent themselves believe is needed to bring about the kind of transformation that allowed the Asian economies to take off some thirty years ago. It says there will be less talk of pursuing economic stability and sound fundamentals to competitiveness and employment, vulnerability and resilience and governance and public sector capacity. Country Director, Ishac Diwan told Joy Business “this approach is different in that it doesn’t derive – as in the past - from some set of ideologies [or] modules developed abroad and applied across the world.” He said the new strategy is more pragmatic and recognizes that while some things may have worked in the past, some did not. Mr Diwan said the bank will now focus on making local systems work rather seek to impose foreign policies as it has often done. He however cautioned the new strategy will not be a big bang. “It is a gradual transformation,” he added. Source: Joy Business/Ghana