World Bank support for DR Congo over period of CAS
19 Dec '07
4 min read
The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank Group discussed the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) for the fiscal years 2008-2011.
The Board agreed that, notwithstanding the continued conflict in Eastern Congo, this is an opportune time to move from a post-conflict emergency phase (Transitional Support Strategy) to a strategic, long-term approach (CAS).
The CAS is the World Bank Group's roadmap outlining the key development objectives to be pursued during the current and the next three fiscal years by three arms of the Bank: the Bank's soft lending arm (the International Development Agency, IDA), the Bank's its private sector arm (the International Finance Corporation, IFC) as well as its Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
DR Congo's CAS has benefited from extensive consultations and is fully aligned with the development priorities of the country as outlined in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the Bank's Africa Action Plan. It is derived from the broader Country Assistance Framework (CAF) jointly prepared with 17 other development partners. It also builds on the Transitional Support Strategy and on the recent investigations by the World Bank's Integrity Department (INT) and the Panel Inspection.
Raising the issue of insecurity in the east of the country, the Board encouraged the government to expand the authority of the state across regions and to lead efforts to end violence, notably against women and children.
It urged the government to stay the course with governance and transparency reforms, and encouraged the Bank Group to step up its support for economic governance, public finance management and pro-poor sectors. It urged the IFC and MIGA to scale up their presence in the country, pointing out that DR Congo's turnaround will bring tremendous benefits to the sub-region.
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