Dominica | World Bank

Status of projects in execution (SOPE) - FY09 : Latin America and the Caribbean region - Dominica

The Status of Projects in Execution (SOPE) report for FY09 provides information on all International Bank and Rural Development (IBRD)/International Development Association (IDA) projects that were active on June 30, 2009. The report is intended to bridge the gap in information available to the public between the project appraisal document, disclosed after the Bank approves a project, and the implementation completion report, disclosed after the project closes. In addition to the project progress description, the FY09 SOPE report contains project level comparisons of disbursement estimates and actual disbursements, and a table showing the loan/credit/grant amount and disbursements to date for all active projects.

Doing business 2010 : Dominica - comparing regulation in 183 economies

Doing Business 2010 is the seventh in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This paper presents the summary Doing Business indicators for Dominica. The paper includes the following headings: introduction and aggregate rankings, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, closing a business, and Doing Business 2010 reform.

Status of projects in execution (SOPE) - FY08 : Latin America and Caribbean region - Dominica

The Status of Projects in Execution (SOPE) report for FY08 provides information on all International Bank and Rural Development (IBRD)/International Development Association (IDA) projects that were active on June 30, 2008. The report is intended to bridge the gap in information available to the public between the project appraisal document, disclosed after the Bank approves a project, and the implementation completion report, disclosed after the project closes. In addition to the project progress description, the FY08 SOPE report contains project level comparisons of disbursement estimates and actual disbursements, and a table showing the loan/credit/grant amount and disbursements to date for all active projects.

Doing business 2009 : country profile for Dominica - comparing regulation in 181 economies

Doing Business 2009 is the sixth in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 181 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time. This paper presents the summary Doing Business indicators for Dominica. The paper includes the following headings: introduction, starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and closing a business.

OECS countries and WB Sign Credits for US$9.1 Million for Regional E-Government Integration and Local Business Environment

2008-12-23T22:00:00.000Z

Contacts

In Washington: Alejandro Cedeño (202) 473-3477

acedeno@worldbank.org

Patricia da Camara (202) 473-4019

pdacamara@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, December 19, 2008 – The World Bank and authorities from the Commonwealth of Dominica, St. Lucia and Grenada signed today four zero-interest credits totaling US$9.1 million to implement an Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) regional e-government integration program and improve Grenada’s business environment efforts through private-sector led growth.

At the signing ceremony, Ambassadors Denis Antoine of Grenada, Michael Louis of St. Lucia, and First Secretary Judith-Ann Rolle of Dominica together with Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Director for the Caribbean, and Mr. Randolph Cato, Director of the Economic Affairs Division of the OECS Secretariat, the entity chosen to implement the regional e-government project, signed the credit agreements and additional legal instruments required to implement the regional project.

"When we speak about e-government in this global environment, we are talking about good governance and effectiveness in the delivery of services to our people" said Ambassador Denis Antoine of Grenada, on behalf of the OECS authorities. “The project must meet the expectations of our people and our vision for a global environment that requires greater use of technology to add value and efficiency to our services" he added.

"This is the first regional e-government project the World Bank has supported worldwide. It demonstrates that many are stronger than one by leveraging the advantages of economies of scale" said Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “The project will help develop the private sector, since an efficient government is good for private investment" .

The OECS E-Government for Regional Integration Program will:

· Coordinate national and regional e-government frameworks, legislation and institutions, as well as operational information and communications technologies (ICT) platforms and standards.

· Improve key e-government structures using web-based systems for service delivery and interconnection in areas such as: public financial management, tax administration, customs and government procurement.

The program will also support the implementation of a regional pilot project in health management information systems and potentially other sectors. Dialogue is ongoing with the other OECS member states towards joining the program.

The three US$2.4 million zero-interest credits from the International Development Association (IDA) are repayable in 35 years, including a 10-year grace period.

The US$1.9 million Grenada Technical Assistance Project financed by the fourth credit will support the modernization of key public sector institutions, such as Customs, and the implementation of an export strategy.

The project seeks to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Customs, improve tax administration, enhance the Government’s support for exports, and modernize investment promotion. In addition, the project will finance the modernization of the Registry for property and companies, including its conversion into an executive agency.

This US$1.9 million IDA credit has a reimbursement period of 35 years with a 10-year grace period.

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For more information on the OECS E-government Project, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P100635

For more information on the Grenada Technical Assistance Project, please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P101322

For more information on the World Bank’s work in the OECS, please visit:

http://www.worldbank.org/oecs

Consultations on the Bank Web Site

2008-12-09T15:37:38.000Z

Dear reader,

A few years ago, the World Bank’s Web site was noted as a leader among development organizations’ websites. As technology has rapidly advanced and user expectations evolved, our Web site too needs to change and adapt.

You come to our Web site because you are looking for the latest information on development. Our project information, data and research assist you in tackling your challenges or keeping up on the Bank’s activities.

Now we’re catching up. We are revamping our Web site and expanding our online capabilities to better satisfy our business needs and meet audience demands.

We’re examining all aspects of the site—content, technology, business needs and audience demands—to figure out what needs to stay, be improved or be removed.

This is a complex undertaking. We are currently gathering information to determine requirements for our future site.

Through our open online consultation, we are looking for comments from anyone who wishes to discuss their information needs and any difficulties they encounter with the site. The online consultation period ends on December 31, 2008.

All feedback we receive will inform the future design and functionality of the Web site by informing Bank management on audience needs.

Our ultimate goal is to make the Web site better support the institution’s mission of fighting global poverty and helping countries develop.

Your feedback will bring us closer to this goal.

Thank you,

Angie Gentile
Managing Editor, www.worldbank.org

Global Food and Fuel Crisis Will Increase Malnourished by 44 Million

2008-10-08T17:30:00.000Z

Contacts:
In Washington :Carl Hanlon 202-473-8087; chanlon@worldbank.org;
Philip Hay 202-473-1796
phay@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 8, 2008 – High food and fuel prices will increase the number of malnourished people around the world in 2008 by 44 million to reach a total of 967 million, a report from the World Bank says.

While food and fuel price increases may have moderated in recent months, prices remain much higher than previous years and show few signs of declining significantly, according to the report entitled “Rising food and fuel prices: addressing the risks to future generations”. Poor families around the world are being pushed to the brink of survival, causing irreparable damage to the health of millions of children. As families cut back on spending, there are also grave risks for the educational performance of poor children.

“While people in the developed world are focused on the financial crisis, many forget that a human crisis is rapidly unfolding in developing countries. It is pushing poor people to the brink of survival,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “The financial crisis will only make it more difficult for developing countries to protect their most vulnerable people from the impact of rising food and fuel costs.”

The report, due to be presented on Sunday to the Development Committee at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, says the food and fuel crisis could have long term effects on poor people and countries. Malnourished children cannot develop into healthy adults and become productive members of society who can contribute to the growth needed to lift themselves and their country out of poverty.

The report says priority should be given to a series of targeted measures. These include:

Making existing targeted cash (or near cash) transfer programs more generous;
Getting nutrition to infants and pregnant women;
expanding so-called ”in-kind” food distribution programs including school feeding and the distribution of fortified calorically dense food;
using fee waivers, lifeline-pricing and other forms of targeted subsidies for poor users/consumers; and
introducing additional measures to prevent children from dropping out of school, such as fee waivers, subsidies for school inputs, or cash transfers.

The report also argues that allocating the necessary amount of budget to finance an expansion of safety net programs may require pruning less-priority spending in other areas. But it notes that well-designed safety net programs do not have to be prohibitively expensive to be effective. Some of the most successful programs in the world cost well under 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Moreover, investing in safety net programs now will give governments new tools to address not just the current crisis, but future ones as well.

In May, the World Bank launched a $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to help poor countries cope with the food crisis. Since then, around US$850 million has been committed to finance seeds, plantings, and feeding programs. In April, Zoellick called for a New Deal for Global Food Policy that included short, medium and long-term measures to provide immediate help to poor people and farmers while increasing food production.

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For more information on the Bank's work in nutrition, please visit: www.worldbank.org/nutrition

and for more on social safety nets, click here: www.worldbank.org/safetynets

OECS: World Bank Approves US$7.2 Million for Regional E-Government Integration Program

2008-05-27T22:26:41.000Z

Contacts:

In Washington: Alejandro Cedeño (202) 473-3477

acedeno@worldbank.org

Patricia da Camara (202) 473-4019

pdacamara@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved three zero-interest credits totaling US$7.2 million for the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia to implement an Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) regional e-government integration program.

"This project reflects the commitment of the OECS countries towards sub-regional cooperation, particularly in the application of new technologies for public sector modernization,” said Yvonne Tsikata, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “By taking advantage of economies of scale, a regionally integrated e-government program can enhance growth by reducing the cost of doing business and improving the efficiency, quality and transparency of public services.”

The OECS E-Government for Regional Integration Program will help harmonize regional e-government frameworks and applications by automating and pooling resources across the region, resulting in time- and cost-savings for governments, businesses and private citizens.

Specifically, the program will support the following activities:

Coordinate national and regional e-government processes, as well as operational information and communications technologies (ICT) platforms and frameworks. This component will expand Public Administration services by helping to connect regional and national policy, strategy, legislation and related legal and regulatory frameworks.

Improve key e-government systems by focusing on web-based front-end systems for service delivery and system interconnection, including:

Public Financial Management to integrate existing budgeting, accounting and reporting systems and develop a web-based public information system to provide easily understandable information on government finances.
Tax Administration to develop an on-line registration and electronic tax filing subsystem to interface with the tax management system.
Customs to create a regional customs information sharing network within the context of the upcoming OECS Economic Union.
Government Procurement to create a regional electronic procurement platform that will initially allow for the online publication of notices and contract awards, while eventually moving to a transactional system for competitive tendering.
Health and Other Social and Productive Sectors to implement a regional pilot project in health management information systems.

The program is open to other OECS countries, including St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The three US$2.4 million zero-interest credits from the International Development Association (IDA) are repayable in 35 years, including a 10-year grace period.

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For more information on this project, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P100635

For more information on the World Bank’s work in the OECS, please visit:

http://www.worldbank.org/oecs

Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia: OECS E-Government for Regional Integration Project

2008-05-27T21:19:31.000Z

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2008- The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IDA Credit Dominica: US$ 2.4 million

TERMS: Maturity = 35 Years; Grace Period = 10 Years

IDA Credit Grenada: US$2.4 million

TERMS: Maturity = 35 Years; Grace Period = 10 Years

IDA Credit St.Lucia: US$2.4 million

TERMS: Maturity = 35 Years; Grace Period = 10 Years

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project aims to harmonize regional e-government frameworks and applications by automating and pooling resources across the region, resulting in time- and cost-savings for governments, businesses and private citizens.

For more information please callPatricia Da Camara at 202-473-4019 or e-mail pdacamara@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit the Projects website.

New report on economic growth offers lessons on achieving sustained, high economic growth

2008-05-21T17:11:32.000Z

Contacts:

In Washington:

Maya Brahmam at +1-202-473-6231 or email at mbrahmam@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008 – The World Bank Group welcomes a new report by the independent Commission on Growth and Development, a global panel of eminent experts, which reveals important lessons from countries that have achieved high, long-term economic growth. The experts say the lessons learned could help policy makers in developing countries as they seek to set their countries on a steady growth path.

The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development says integration into the world economy, maintaining high rates of savings and investment, and committed, capable governments are among the key features of countries that have sustained growth rates above 7 percent for 25 uninterrupted years since World War II.

"This report underscores to the development community that one size doesn’t fit all." said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. I am especially pleased that it draws on input from first class practitioners and leaders who have hands-on pragmatic and practical experience of making inclusive development a success. This will help enrich the thinking and practice of the World Bank Group as well as others in the development field.” “

High, long-lasting growth is not easily achieved, but the report by some of the world’s top policy-makers and thinkers, believes it can be reproduced in developing countries, giving them a chance to reduce poverty and improve opportunity and quality of life for their citizens.

“We are acutely aware that there are no silver bullets to create long-running, inclusive growth, and that no single paradigm exists,” says Commission Vice Chair Danny Leipziger, who is also Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management at the World Bank. “While seeking to identify those key elements that can lead to long running and inclusive growth, the report is clear that policy makers will need to customize and experiment with polices rather than follow any rigid set of guidelines.”

Commission Chairman Michael Spence said: " What makes the report so unique is that it was prepared by policymakers, many from developing countries, who have been in the trenches themselves and have learned what works and why. It is these commissioners who are now providing their insights to the next generation of policymakers on ways to improve growth prospects and the quality of life in the poor parts of the globe."

Spence is one of two Nobel Laureates on the 21-member commission comprising leaders from business, government and academia. The Commissioners come from 18 countries that include a broad mix of developing, emerging and developed economies, as well as small island states and populous, large countries.

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To download full report click here:

http://www.growthcommission.org/

World Bank Broadens Transport Agenda

2008-05-21T17:00:00.000Z

Contacts
In Washington:
Roger Morier (202) 473 5675, rmorier@worldbank.org
Anna Piasecka (202) 458 7027, apiasecka@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2008 – The World Bank Group today launched a new transport business strategy for 2008-2012 that will help partner countries establish the governance, strategies, policies and services to deliver transport for development in a way that is economically, financially, environmentally and socially sustainable.

Called Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development, the business strategy strengthens the alignment of the transport sector approach with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000. At the same time, it widens the directions and deepens the routes that will be taken to meet the evolving development agenda. It gives more attention to emerging trends, such as trade globalization, urbanization of populations; rising concerns about climate change, the increase in traffic congestion; and the recognition of access as a key to both economic opportunity and good governance.

“In striving to achieve its development objectives—and foremost to eradicate poverty—the World Bank Group is mobilizing the transport sector to the fullest possible extent,” said Katherine Sierra, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. ”To that end, the transport business strategy aligns Bank Group instruments along a few key strategic directions that will pave the way to truly sustainable development, one where transport plays a crucial role.”

“In a world with rising levels of greenhouse gases, poor road safety, and the too-frequent spread of communicable diseases along international routes, transport must be looked at anew. A coherent way forward requires innovative thinking and cooperation among sectors to optimize the role of transport without jeopardizing personal and commercial mobility.”

The Bank Group consulted widely in preparing its new business strategy, seeking contributions from over 75 transport development partners, governments, professional institutions, civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors, and putting an early draft on its external website for four months to elicit public comments.

Safe Transport
Acknowledging the importance of transport for achieving public health outcomes within the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy stresses the need to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to address safety in all transport modes, especially road transport. It also addresses the safety issue in air transport which, although globally much safer, still shows a safety record significantly affecting growth and investment prospects in some regions, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa. Transport and supply-chain security has also become a major issue in ensuring fair access of developing country exports to developed markets, and needs to be addressed as a new global public good.

“Road crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people a year and injure 50 million more, disproportionately affecting the poor,” said Anthony Bliss, Lead Road Safety Specialist, Program Coordinator for the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility. “We are placing special emphasis on road safety, extending our support to include not only road safety components embedded in road infrastructure projects, but also larger stand-alone projects to formulate national policies and strategies that would improve road safety across the board. We will also pursue cross-sectoral approaches, such as including pre-hospital components in road programs and road safety components in health programs.”

Clean Transport
Urban air pollution, 90 percent of it generated by motor vehicles, kills an estimated 800,000 people each year. Transport now produces approximately 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reflecting the contribution of transport to the wider environmental aims of the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy encompasses the transport-energy-environment nexus, from the energy consumption to the emissions and climate change impact perspectives. Going forward, the World Bank Group will be working to help restrain transport energy consumption. It will be assessing and controlling transport projects emissions, favoring shifts to low carbon modes.

“We are setting guidelines for environmentally effective transport planning and decision making,” said Jamal Saghir, Director, Energy, Transport and Water Department and Chair of the Transport Sector Board. “We are seeking ways to mitigate the effects of transport on the climate—and the effects of climate change on transport asset. We intend to build climate change issues into transport project appraisals where appropriate.”

Affordable Transport
An estimated 1 billion people in low-income countries lack access to an all-weather road. Affordable transport can enhance mobility and inclusion. It can promote social, economic, and political integration, by keeping a country together despite geographic disparities, by overcoming potential disputes over access to resources, and by defusing the seeds of conflict that sometimes arise from feelings of isolation.

Marc Juhel, Sector Manager for Transport stressed the fact that affordability concerns not only the rural and urban poor, but also the whole freight economy, aiming at improving competitiveness to foster stronger economic growth:

“The strategy stresses the need for better knowledge and control of transport costs, for both passengers and freight, on domestic and regional, urban and rural settings. The implementation of an effective urban transport strategy, reaching out to the growing urban poor population, is a key element of this approach. On the freight side, the cooperative work on trade and transport facilitation—in particular on customs and transit issues—will be strengthened.”

World Bank contribution to transport over previous decade
Since the Bank’s 1996 transport strategy, Sustainable Transport, was endorsed by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, the Bank Group has committed around US$42 billion for more than 530 dedicated transport operations and transport components in over 500 non-transport specific projects in more than 100 client countries. Lending in fiscal year 2007 (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007) reached over US$5 billion, amounting to 20 percent of World Bank Group new annual commitments.

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View the transport business strategy—Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development at: http://www.worldbank.org/transport

World Bank Group President Appoints Vice President of Institutional Integrity

2008-05-05T18:00:00.000Z

Contacts:
In Washington: Carl Hanlon (202) 473 8087
chanlon@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 5, 2008 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick has named South African Leonard McCarthy to head the Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT). McCarthy has earned international recognition for investigations and prosecutions of individuals engaged in corruption as head of South Africa’s Directorate of Special Operations.

“Leonard McCarthy is recognized worldwide for his integrity, independence, and effectiveness in fighting corruption and strengthening good governance,” says Zoellick. “This is the first time that the Department of Institutional Integrity will be headed at the level of Vice President, and McCarthy brings to the post stature, skill, and tested experience. This post is critical for our work, reputation, and fiduciary duty. I am confident that he will bring effective leadership to our highest obligation to protect the Bank’s assets and hold people, businesses, and governments responsible if they steal from the poor.”

McCarthy’s work with South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority has included investigating and prosecuting high profile cases of financial crime, organized crime, and high-level corruption. He has worked closely with African governments and law enforcement officials across the globe to expose and prosecute transnational financial crime. McCarthy was formerly a Director of Public Prosecutions appointed by President Nelson Mandela.

An experienced trial lawyer, he has held numerous positions in government, including Investigating Director in the Office for Serious Economic Offenses, Deputy Attorney General in Cape Province and Senior Public Prosecutor. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of South Africa in Cape Town.

Following talks with the South African government, President Mbeki has agreed to release McCarthy from service, to take up the position at the World Bank on June 30, 2008.

“I am honored to receive this appointment and to be joining the World Bank, I believe strongly in its vision, said McCarthy. “President Zoellick has made clear to me the strong emphasis he places on INT’s role, its need for strong, highly skilled people who will both pursue investigations and integrate anti-corruption work into Bank projects across the world. I am committed to delivering results and building on INT’s work to strengthen financial due diligence and ensure that precious development resources benefit people who need them most.”

McCarthy was selected from a list of candidates assessed by an internal search committee with the addition of former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who led a review of INT last year. In his report Volcker called for greater attention to protect against corruption in designing and implementing Bank programs.

Mr. Volcker has welcomed the fact that: “the Bank is now implementing the recommendations of the Panel he chaired, importantly including elevating the head of INT to the level of vice president.”

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World Bank Marks World Press Freedom Day with Study on Broadcasting and Development

2008-05-02T12:30:00.000Z

Contact:

In Washington: Christopher Neal, (202) 473-2049

Cneal1@worldbank.org

MAPUTO, May 2, 2008—The World Bank marked World Press Freedom Day by launching a study outlining conditions under which radio, television and online broadcasting can fulfil a vital role in development by making governments accountable, and giving voice to the world’s poor.

“Huge numbers of people, including those who can’t read, have access to broadcast media,” said Kreszentia Duer, of the World Bank Institute (WBI), who presented the study, Broadcasting, Voice and Accountability, at a conference here on freedom of expression hosted by UNESCO. “In countries with strong oral traditions, community broadcasting can enable people to share information and raise issues with a large audience, and hold government officials to account. This makes broadcasting a powerful tool for enhancing governance and promoting development.”

The 400-page study, subtitled A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law and Regulation, is the result of five years of research by six media experts, including Ms. Duer, Steve Buckley, president of the World Association of Community Broadcasters; Toby Mendel, ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression; Seán Ó Siochrú, founder of the Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society; Monroe E. Price, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; and Marc Raboy, of Canada’s McGill University.

The study reviews broadcasting practices and regulations around the world, and identifies those which produce an “enabling environment” for broadcasting that is free, independent and pluralistic. These characteristics are essential, the report says, for broadcasting to perform an effective role in giving people voice, and ensuring government accountability.

Drawing from their research, the authors propose standards on freedom of expression, access to information, use and misuses of defamation law, content rules and limits to free speech, and the regulation of journalists. The study also offers guidelines on best practice for broadcast regulators, as well as the respective roles of public service, community non-profit, and commercial private sector broadcasters, all of which, it argues, should be present in a healthy media environment.

Co-author Steve Buckley notes that increased movement towards democracy in developing countries opens the way to build broadcasting that serves the public interest.

“Countries that are opening their economies, democratizing, and decentralizing public service delivery are looking for guidance on how to involve citizens in decisions that affect them,” he said. “Broadcasting, enabled by the right regulation and conditions, can empower groups through bottom-up participation.”

The book cites countries that have developed systems to enhance the quality and diversity of media content, while fully respecting freedom of expression, and identifies ways in which government regulation can expand access to broadcast media. Community broadcasting, for example, can be encouraged through special licensing arrangements that guarantee fair and equitable access to radio frequencies and financial support.

“This book focuses on useful proactive approaches to setting up, sustaining, and governing broadcasting systems across the world,” said Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, UNESCO Chair in Communication for Southern Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. “It’s based on sound scholarship and provides practical advice for policymakers, media scholars and broadcasters alike.”

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For more information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/0,,contentMDK:21747844~pagePK:209023~piPK:207535~theSitePK:213799,00.html

To order: http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=8100893

World Bank President Calls for Plan to Fight Hunger in Pre-Spring Meetings Address

2008-04-02T15:53:10.000Z

April 2, 2008—In a speech today, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick called for a "new deal" to combat world hunger and malnutrition through a combination of emergency aid and long-term efforts to boost agricultural productivity in developing countries.

The "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is part of a suite of initiatives Zoellick outlined to advance development in the face of skyrocketing food and oil prices. He also called for a global trade deal to be agreed as soon as possible, detailed an initiative to help countries manage their wealth earned from high energy and mineral prices in a more inclusive way, and encouraged sovereign wealth funds to create a "One Percent Solution" for equity investment in Africa.

Agricultural Assistance

The World Bank will nearly double agricultural assistance to US$800 million in Africa. Zoellick also urged wealthy nations to help the UN’s World Food Program meet some $500 million in emergency food needs.

"The United States, the European Union, Japan and other OECD countries must act now to fill this gap – or many more people will suffer and starve," Zoellick said in an address sponsored by the Center for Global Development in Washington.

Zoellick said the "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is needed to combat the "forgotten" Millennium Development Goal of overcoming malnutrition. Only about a tenth of the resources directed at HIV/AIDS goes to fight malnutrition, which causes 3.5 million deaths a year in children under 5 and has long-lasting impacts on health and achievement.

"Hunger and malnutrition are a cause, not just a result, of poverty," said Zoellick.

The World Bank estimates 33 countries face social unrest because of soaring food and energy prices.

The New Deal requires a shift from traditional food aid to a broader concept of food and nutrition assistance, such as cash or vouchers that can help build local food markets and farm production,.and create a "Green Revolution" for Sub-Saharan Africa, said Zoellick.

"This New Deal should focus not only on hunger and nutrition, access to food and its supply, but also the interconnections with energy, yields, climate change, investment, the marginalization of women and others, and economic resiliency and growth," said Zoellick.

"Food policy needs to gain the attention of the highest political levels, because no one country or group can meet these interconnected challenges."

Zoellick said the World Bank Group can help by:

Backing emergency measures that support the poor while encouraging incentives to produce and harvest food
Offering access to technology and science to boost yields
Helping countries counter weather-related risks, such as drought
Facilitating land-titling, local currency financing, working capital, distribution and logistics, and support for services on which farmers rely

"Income gains in agriculture have three times the power in overcoming poverty than increases in other sectors, and 75 percent of the world’s poor are rural, with most involved in farming," said Zoellick.

Trade Also Key to Lower Food Prices

Zoellick said the time was "now or never" to break the impasse in global trade talks. A "fairer and more open trading system" would encourage developing country farmers to expand production, he said.

"The poor need lower food prices now. But the world’s agricultural trading system is stuck in the past. If ever there was a time to cut distorting agricultural subsidies and open markets for food imports, it must be now."

An accord would give developing countries, big and small, more opportunities to become more productive and lower prices through trade. It would also infuse confidence in an economic system stressed by financial anxiety, he said.

However, "powerful voices across the political spectrum, including in my own country, are calling for, rationalizing, protectionism," Zoellick said. "This economic isolationism signals a defeatism that will reap the losses, not the gains, of globalization."

The trade talks are also a "critical test" for striking a global deal on climate change. "If negotiators of 150 economies cannot manage the political tradeoffs of the Doha Round to reap the clear benefits, it does not auger well for bringing developed and developing countries together on a new accord for climate change."

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Zoellick also outlined a plan to encourage emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil to invest about US$30 billion in African nations through government-sponsored wealth funds.

Such sovereign wealth funds currently hold about US$3 trillion in assets. They have come under scrutiny recently because of investments outside their own countries. Zoellick noted they need transparency and should be guided by best practices to avoid politicization, but "where some see sovereign funds as a source of concern, we see opportunity," said Zoellick.

The World Bank’s "One Percent Solution" involves creating the equity investment platforms and benchmarks to attract these investors, and allocating 1 percent of the assets to African growth, development and opportunity.

"This one percent could be the start of something much bigger, across more types of funds and countries, because the investment of wealth into equity for development offers opportunity, not something to fear."

Extractive Industries Initiative

Zoellick announced a new approach to help ensure that high energy and commodity prices translate into improvements in the lives of the poor.

The EITI++ builds on the transparency and good governance concepts of the existing multi-stakeholder Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). EITI publicizes and verifies company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. But many governments are emphasizing that transparent revenue reporting, while important, is not enough. The World Bank is therefore working with developing countries and other partners to frame a "comprehensive approach to supplement the original project."

EITI++ will include providing technical assistance to countries on the awarding of contracts, monitoring operations, collecting taxes, improving resource extraction and economic decisions, better managing price volatility, and investing revenues effectively in sustainable development.

An EITI++ approach will be launched in Guinea. "The successful development of Guinea’s rich resources can strengthen sustainable development for the entire region," Zoellick said.

"The EITI++ can advance inclusive and sustainable globalization by broadening the beneficiaries of resource development."

The project Basic Education Reform Project is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Basic Education Reform Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Basic Education Reform Project has the overall objective of accelerating human resource development to ensure that the requisite manpower exists to attain the desired economic transition in Dominica. The project is intended to: 1) strengthen the planning and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports (MOE) to guide and carry out the long-term development of the sector, while enabling it to initiate significant, urgent measures to address system-wide qualitative problems and expansion needs at the secondary level; and 2) serve as a catalyst for a major adjustment process, focused on revision to more reasonable levels of primary and secondary teacher to student ratios, in line with ratios of countries of comparable economic and social development. The project comprises three major components: 1) a strengthening management and planning component; 2) a qualitative improvement of basic education component, which will enhance the quality of teaching and learning; and 3) an expansion and conservation of school places component, which will assist MOE to provide more secondary school places in the most under-served districts to reduce long distance travel and facilitate access to educational opportunities.

The project Power Project (01) is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Power Project (01) is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Power Project which is DOMLEC's 1988-1993 investment program will provide about 4 megawatts (MW) of additional hydro generation capacity. This will largely be accomplished by expanding the existing hdryoplant in Trafalgar and building a new one at Laudat. The project will also include expansion and improvements to the transmission and distribution facilities; the acquisition of equipment, tools and vehicles for operation and maintenance; training and technical assistance; expansion planning studies and a feasibility study for a dispatch center; and, engineering services for project implementation.

The project Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project consists of: (i) rehabilitation on 3 sections of road totalling 36 km; (ii) an intensive pavement patching and drainage restoration program over 320 km of main roads; (iii) procurement of about 22 units of road maintenance equipment; (iv) about 160 man-months of consultancy services to staff a Project Management Unit and provide technical assistance to MCWT for engineering and supervision of rehabilitation works, preparing and executing a four-year road maintenance program, establishing an appropriate cost accounting system, coordinating the works in the road program and training in road maintenance techniques.

The project Structural Adjustment Credit Project is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Structural Adjustment Credit Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Dominica Economic Recovery Support Operation is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Dominica Economic Recovery Support Operation is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The proposed Economic Recovery Support Operation (ERSO) would support the Government's program and reform agenda described in Part III and in the Letter or Development Policy. The main objective of the proposed operation is to support Dominica's efforts to regain fiscal sustainability and to restart growth, while protecting past social gains. In helping to fill the current financing gap, the operation will provide the Government with the needed space to complete the formulation of a medium-term reform program, which is to be embodied in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, and to protect investments in social and human capital. The proposed (ERSO) is a single-tranche structural adjustment credit in the amount of US$3 million equivalent. The operation will support the authorities' efforts to: (a) improve public expenditure management, through reforms in financial and debt management and a restructuring of the public sector investment program; (b) strengthen the financial sector reforms by commercializing the state-owned banks and improving supervision of the credit union sub-sector; and (c) reduce the cost of doing business through reforms in the petroleum, electricity and transport sectors. The operation focuses on the most urgent measures required for fiscal consolidation and a resumption or growth and on areas of the Bank's comparative advantage. The operation's concessional terms will reduce the government's borrowing costs and lengthen debt maturities at the margin. The credit is based on structural reform measures that have been implemented by the Government prior to Board presentation.

The project Dominica Emergency Recovery & Disaster Management Project is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Dominica Emergency Recovery & Disaster Management Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The project Emergency Recovery Project is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Emergency Recovery Project is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

This report combines five emergency recovery programs for five member states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States--Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The development objectives of these five Bank operations are: 1) to help safeguard and maintain the productive capacity of the countries' tourism sectors, notably by securing the industry's emergency needs in the aftermath of the September 11 events; 2) to enhance security at key airport and seaport facilities in line with international standards, with the aim of preventing further acts of terrorism and safeguarding the sub-region's image as a safe tourist destination; and 3) to strengthen the countries' institutional capacity to develop and implement security plans, procedures, and measures as mandated by the international civil aviation and marine transport regulatory agencies. There are two main project components. The first finances one critical import, low sulfur diesel fuel for electricity generation, which is critical to the maintenance of economic activity in the tourism industry by ensuring that the energy-intensive tourism facilities are kept operational during the recovery period. The second component finances the physical and technical resources needed for national port and aviation authorities, as well as individual airports and seaports, to upgrade security arrangements at key facilities and meet international regulations.

The project Growth and Social Protection Technical Assistance Credit is now in the pipeline.

2007-10-25T04:00:00.000Z

The project Growth and Social Protection Technical Assistance Credit is now in the pipeline. To see more information, see the project information in the World Bank project database

The Dominica Growth and Social Protection Technical Assistance Project has the development objective of enhancing the Government's effectiveness to deliver public goods and services by strengthening the institutional capacity of key agencies to facilitate Dominica's private sector competitiveness and productivity and to provide targeted social assistance to reduce poverty. The project has five components that will make this possible. The first is making the public sector more efficient and effective and this will be done by strengthening the reform management unit; strengthening customs; modernization of registry; and strengthening of the fiduciary capacity. The second component is improving the investment climate. This will be achieved by the development and implementation of both a national investment strategy and national action plan. The third component consists of reforming the regulatory framework for the energy sector. This involves the establishment of a national regulatory commission and the drafting of alternative energy legislation. The fourth component is improving social protection which involves three steps: modernize and streamline systems for beneficiary selection and registration; institution strengthening; and a public information campaign. The final component is project management which involves financing the operation of the small project coordinating unit integrated within the establishment, personnel and training department and employing permanent government staff and where necessary contract staff.