After meeting with sub-Saharan African leaders earlier this year, Horst Kohler, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, mentioned that the prospects for rapid growth, which he argued was indispensable for reducing poverty, will and I quote: "depend on the ability of those countries to unlock the creative energies of their people.
African leaders," he said, "know that there is no alternative to integration into the global economy. This approach requires investment in human capital and infrastructure as well as the right economic policies and institutions. It requires, especially, an economic climate that encourages private sector investment."