IRIN – Madagascar’s unresolved political crisis is causing havoc in its education system after steep cuts increased the island state’s inability to meet schoolchildren’s basic needs, bringing a spike in child labour.

A World Bank report published on 1 February, noted that Madagascar’s leader, Andry Rajoelina – who ousted President Marc Ravalomanana from power in March 2009 with the backing of the army in a move widely condemned as a coup – slashed the budget allocation for public services by an estimated US$200 million in one of the world’s poorest countries.

“The crisis, at both a political and economic level, is accelerating the erosion of essential services in the whole social sector, and the impact on children is severe,” Bruno Maes, Madagascar representative for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) told IRIN.

“We are seeing a minimum 20 [percent to] 30 percent decrease in the education budget; as a result, funds and materials are not reaching schools. The second impact of the crisis is an increased vulnerability of already poor families, which means that more children are having to work,” he said.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88111

IRIN – A raft of fuel price hikes that will affect agricultural production costs as well as consumer pockets is expected to drive food price inflation in Zambia, where about two-thirds of the population live on US$1 or less a day.

The government has announced an immediate petrol price rise of 15 percent, soon after a 10 percent excise duty on diesel came into effect on 1 January 2010.

According to a World Bank study citing average prices when the oil crisis peaked in 2008, the landlocked country had the highest fuel prices in southern Africa.

With the new hike, petrol in the capital, Lusaka, will cost about US$1.53, an increase of US$0.50, while diesel – primarily used in the mining and agricultural sectors – will now cost about US$1.20 a litre.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87865

World Bank – The World Bank approved today Cape Verde’s Fifth Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC-V), a US$15 million IDA credit aimed to support the Government in its efforts to develop policies and institutions aimed at developing a dynamic private sector to be the engine of sustainable growth and poverty reduction, reinforcing the competitive advantage of the country’s service sector. 

“This operation is the fruit of the strong partnership between Cape Verde and the Bank, and is representative of the Bank’s firm commitment to support the Government’s efforts to promote growth and poverty reduction, especially in the context of the challenges presented by the global crisis,” said Habib Fetini, Country Director for Cape Verde.

Read more – http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22422333~menuPK:258658~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258644,00.html

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $1.3 billion crisis response window for the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries.  The establishment of the pilot Crisis Response Window for the remainder of the IDA15 period (January 2010-June 2011) responds to recent requests by the G-20 and the Development Committee for the Bank to explore the benefits of a new crisis response mechanism to protect low-income countries from crises.  At the recent IDA15 mid-term review, donor and partner country representatives strongly supported the proposal.

Read more – http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22414315~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

AfDB - Executive directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group approved near to USD 441 million in three loans for the implementation of projects in Botswana, Nigeria and Cape Verde, at their regular weekly session on Wednesday, 28 October 2009, in Tunis.

Botswana

Under the approvals, Botswana will receive €153 million (USD 225 million) to finance the Morupule B Power Project, which involves the construction of a 600 MW (4 x 150 MW) coal-fired power plant and associated transmission infrastructure. The project, to be co-financed by the World Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Standard Bank Consortium (ICBC-SB), is designed to achieve energy generation self-sufficiency in the wake of rapidly declining electricity imports to support economic growth and reduce poverty.

Read more – http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/botswana-nigeria-and-cape-verde-secure-usd-441-million-for-energy-and-poverty-reduction-projects-5263/

World Bank – The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a grant in the amount of SDR 16 million (US$25 million equivalent) to the Republic of Burundi to help finance a Third Economic Reform Support Grant (ERSG III).

ERSG III is the second grant in a programmatic series of two annual operations designed to assist the Government of Burundi in implementing policies and institutional reforms to promote growth and achieve sustainable reductions in poverty. It proposes to continue to support efforts aimed at reforming public finance management and improving fiscal transparency and accountability. It will also help support reforms in the business legal and institutional environment in order to foster private sector-led growth, as well as reforms in the coffee and domestic petroleum sectors.

Read more – http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22372150~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Today the Executive Board of Directors of the World Bank Group has announced its endorsement of the $215 million, ten-year Central African Backbone Program (CAB Program). This program will support the countries of the Central African region in developing their high-speed telecommunications backbone infrastructure to increase the availability of high-speed Internet and reduce end-user prices. The CAB Program will also help countries harmonize the laws and regulations that govern the ICT sector to increase private sector investment and improve competition.  

Three countries – Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) – are participating in the initial $26.2 million phase of the Program.  A further eight countries are also eligible to participate in the Program—Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, and Sudan.  

The CAB Program is being supported through a partnership between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The program also aims to leverage an additional US$98 million from the private sector.  In conjunction with the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), the African Union Commission (AUC) will play an important role in facilitating inter-governmental cooperation and policy harmonization. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will also assist governments in structuring Public Private Partnerships under the program.

Read more – http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22340869~menuPK:34463~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html

The World Bank is pursuing an ambitious program of reform to enable the institution to become more efficient and effective while also gaining more legitimacy among the developing countries that it serves, World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said.

In a speech at the start of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Istanbul, Turkey, Zoellick said the World Bank’s reforms would focus on improving development effectiveness, promoting accountability and good governance, and continuing to increase cost efficiency. 

“To serve the changing global economy, the world needs agile, nimble, competent, and accountable institutions,” Zoellick told the meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group. “The World Bank Group will improve its legitimacy, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, and further expand its cooperation with the UN, the IMF, the other Multilateral Development Banks, donors, civil society, and foundations which have become increasingly important development actors.” 

Zoellick noted that when the World Bank was established in 1944, the world was different from today. The institution was formed by 44 countries whereas its membership today stood at 186. The developing countries of today were mostly still colonies. This system had long passed and the political economy of the 21st century demanded a changed order that reflected the growing role of developing countries. They were now a source of potential economic growth that could lead to a more balanced world economy.

Read more – http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22340534~menuPK:258658~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258644,00.html

Sunday, Istanbul, 5 October 2009 – Japan and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have committed a grant of USD 1,000,000 to the African Training and Management Services Project (ATMS) from the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA). In a ceremony organized on the side of the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Istanbul, a grant agreement was signed today by AfDB Private Sector Operations Director, Mr. Tim Turner and ATMS Chairman Mr. J. Berteling.

The technical assistance contribution from FAPA will be used to sponsor Small and Medium Enterprises in Africa through capacity building services to grow and succeed, and to create employment opportunities. Specifically, FAPA funds will be applied through the ATMS Foundation to provide interim-management / placement services and in-situ training to SMEs to address management skills shortcomings. These services are provided by AMSCO (African Management Services Company), the executing agent of the ATMS project, which carries out the operational part of the ATMS project.

The ATMS project is an ongoing unique collaboration between the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), each with a specific role in the project. The ATMS Project is structured as a UNDP Regional Project, while the IFC acts as the Executing Agency and AfDB as the Regional Cooperating Agency, supported by the African governments. The project consists of two interrelated components: AMSCO BV and the ATMS Foundation.

Read more – http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/japan-and-afdb-commit-usd-1-million-technical-assistance-grant-for-sme-capacity-building-in-africa-5156/

Zimbabwe’s economy is set to grow by 3.7 percent this year, ending nearly a decade of dramatic decline, the World Bank said Friday.

“The economy appears to be on the right foot,” World Bank economist Rogers Dhliwayo told reporters.

World Bank estimates put growth this year at 3.7 percent, just shy of the finance ministry’s forecast of 4.0 percent growth.

After years of world-record hyperinflation, Dhliwayo said prices declined by 10.3 percent between January and May, following government’s decision to abandon the local currency.

Prices have risen slightly since June, due mainly to higher oil prices and to the strengthening of the rand against the dollar, which has made imports from South Africa more expensive, he said.

Business surveys showed that companies were slowly stepping up their operations, which should lead to job growth, he added. UN estimates last year put unemployment at 94 percent.

The World Bank released the estimates as it announced a grant of seven million dollars to help 300,000 poor Zimbabwean farmers buy maize seed for the upcoming planting season.

The aid will target farmers who did not grow enough food to support their families last year, said David Rohrback, senior agricultural economist at the Bank.

Zimbabwe last year produced about 1.2 million tonnes of maize, but requires 1.8 million tonnes to feed its population, the Bank said.

The country was once a food exporter, but farming has been decimated over the last decade following President Robert Mugabe’s chaotic and violent land reforms, which saw blacks resettled on white-owned farms in a bid to address colonial-era inequities.

But the new farmers often lacked experience and government support, while the reforms were tinged with political violence, undermining the agricultural-based economy.

Report from HAT News / AFP