World Bank support for DR Congo over period of CAS
19 Dec '07
4 min read
World Bank support for DR Congo over the period of the CAS will be organized to support three of the five pillars of the Government's PRSP: (i) promotion of good governance and peace consolidation; (ii) achievement of sustained and shared or pro-poor economic growth; and (iii) improved implementation of poverty alleviation programs with an emphasis on three social sectors: health, education and HIV/AIDS.
“One key objective of the Country Assistance Strategy is to help the government make a significant difference in the living conditions of Congolese by ensuring that they begin to reap the peace dividend through improved access to better quality social services but also equitable access to the fruits of economic growth,” said Jean-Michel Happi, the World Bank Country Manager for DR Congo, also the Bank's Task Co-Team Leader for the CAS.
The Board highlighted the importance of a deeper Bank engagement in forestry and mining, as well as regional infrastructure development and also underlined the need for Government to stay the course with governance and transparency reforms, notably with respect to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
It welcomed the intentions of the Bank Group, together with other Development Partners, to step up their financial and technical support for these efforts and agreed that the strategy should remain flexible, as in all countries undergoing such rapid transformation.
The Board welcomed the Bank's ongoing and planned joint analytical work and co-financing with other development partners in the context of the Common Country Assistance Framework, jointly developed with 17 development partners active in DRC.
The Board encouraged the IFC and MIGA to scale up their presence in DR Congo, given the country's enormous potential and the benefits of the already substantial flows of foreign direct investments (FDI) to the country, noting that DR Congo's successful turnaround will bring tremendous benefits to the sub-region.
Finally, the Bank Board welcomed the strong expression of external support to DR Congo at the Consultative Group meeting at the end of November 2007 in Paris, France. It invited the Bank to continue to facilitate donor coordination and harmonization, and urged the Government to take the lead in this process.
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