South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki called yesterday for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to be more representative and accountable.

Both organisations had to become more representative in their membership and leadership structures to better serve the new world economy, he told an annual gathering of the International Monetary Conference in Cape Town.

"The distribution of voting shares in the Fund and Bank need to be reformed to reflect the more plural economic world we live in now as well as to prepare for the changes to come," he said.

Enhanced legitimacy would come about through better representation and accountability, Mbeki said.

This would also involve reform of the procedures by which heads of the IMF and World Bank are chosen. "The recent resignation of Paul Wolfowitz from his position as head of the World Bank has reopened the debate about that process," said Mbeki.

"Future appointments should be made using an open and transparent selection process with candidates not restricted by nationality."

According to an unwritten rule, the US chooses the president of the World Bank.

European states however designate the head of the International Monetary Fund, the other institution born out of the 1944 Bretton Woods agreements.

A number of political leaders including Chilean President Michelle Bachelet have criticised the practice.

Bachelet last week criticised the decision by US president George W Bush to nominate former top diplomat and US trade chief Robert Zoellick to replace Wolfowitz as "grotesque".

The World Bank's 24-member executive board must now confirm Zoellick's appointment.