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BRICS New Development Bank to do things differently: S. African official

Xinhua, March 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

A senior South African official said on Friday that the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) will conduct business differently than the traditional funders.

Vuyelwa Vumendlini-Schalk, Chief Director of Global and Emerging Markets in the National Treasury, said this while addressing academics and members of the diplomatic corps in Johannesburg.

"The NDB will do things differently in various ways. The main focus of the bank will be to fund infrastructural projects in BRICS countries and cross border projects. The bank will also speed the execution of projects without compromising quality," said Vumendlini-Schalk, adding that the bank will also assist in all stages to the completion of projects.

She said the NDB will speed the funding of projects to a maximum of six months from its inception to the funding, while under the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank and IMF), a country could take up to three years.

The official also said unlike the traditional funders, the NDB will be environmentally friendly and consult the civil society and other stalk holders.

"The bank will be for the sustainable development that is renewable energy, among others," she added.

The bank is launched by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, collectively known as BRICS countries.

The bank, headquartered in Chinese metropolis Shanghai, intends to supplement the existing international financial system in a healthy way and explore innovations in governance models.

Cyril Prinsloo, senior researcher with South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), said the NDB was necessitated by the frustration of the global South with the Bretton Woods institutions.

He said their failure to reform with powers centred in some countries like the U.S. and Japan forced the BRICS to moot an alternative source of funding.

"The NDB has shown a strong will to work with existing banks rather than working against them. With a slowdown in growth of most BRICS countries except India, the countries will use the bank to drive growth." Enditem