From Nairobi to Accra, leaders of countries facing debt strains and public wrath over rising food and fuel prices have turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a last-ditch lender, but say they have little input in the policymaking that determines their fate.

This week, a year after announcing the move in Marrakesh, Morocco, the IMF will add another African seat to its 25-member board, an action proponents hope will address the concerns of African leaders who campaigned for the additional seat.

Experts say the board is the most influential organ of the IMF as it runs the daily business on behalf of the board of governors, which meets only once a year. Not everyone thinks the decision goes far enough.

The Washington-based IMF — lender of last resort to debt-strained nations — typically demands a slate of reforms before doling out cash to governments from Kenya to Senegal grappling with heavy debt and soaring repayment costs.

Leaders from the developing world complain rich nations, such as the US, have a disproportionate say in how the IMF operates, given that it is their citizens — not those in the developed world — affected by its decisions.