What is the Bank doing to support peace and recovery in Sudan?
The Bank's priority in Sudan is supporting the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended 21 years of fighting between the national government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. Sudan faces the challenge of accelerating the implementation of several delayed provisions of the CPA, including management of the disputed, oil-rich Abyei zone, the demarcation of borders between north and south, and the transparency of oil revenues. Meanwhile, there is a need to build government capacity in South Sudan, and to improve service delivery and livelihoods in marginalized areas. These challenges comes against a backdrop of continued violence in Darfur, which continues to jeopardize the prospects of lasting peace and stability.
What have you done to advance reconstruction in parts of Sudan that are trying to live peaceably?
Prior to the CPA peace deal, the Bank, together with the Government of Sudan, the SPLM and the United Nations, coordinated a Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) which outlines Sudan's needs over a six-year interim period. The finalized document, known as the "Framework for Transition, Reconstruction and Poverty Eradication", was presented at a donors' conference in April 2005 in Oslo (Norway). The Conference raised pledges of approximately $4.5 billion. Of this amount, $2 billion was dedicated to development programs, including $508 million for two newly established Multi-Donor Trust Funds which are administered by the Bank-one to support development efforts of the Government of National Unity (GoNU) and one to support those of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). The first grants for the South came in November, 2005, and the first for the national government were signed in January, 2006. As of February, 2007, the MDTF-S has signed 10 grants and supplemental grants totaling $138 million. GoSS has contributed about US$195 million to these projects. The MDTF-N has signed six grant agreements totaling $89.6 million. GoNU has contributed about US$141.7 million. These range from repairing government building, to working on roads and safe water supply.
Southern Sudan is one of the least developed parts of the world. Are there any visible improvements?
One of the early grants, supported by UNICEF, delivered 40,000 educations kits, and 950,000 textbooks for primary schools. To support the states' administrations, the project provided vehicles, motorcycles, generators and office furniture. Prefabricated office structures, with generators for electricity, have been provided for key government operations. Other critical programs are well underway: one grant is supporting maintenance of 580 kilometers of gravel roads, including de-mining where necessary. Another provides for the quick acquisition of 700,000 mosquito nets, plus drugs and health equipment for treating the ailments that represent the heaviest burden on the population.
IDA lending will be possible only after Sudan settles its arrears. Sudan has arrears of $422 million to IDA, and $1.7 billion to the IMF, part of total external debt of $26 billion in net present value terms. The Multi-Donor Trust Funds are financing development and recovery work. . To support capacity building and policy reform, a US$4.5 million Low-Income Countries under Stress (LICUS) trust-fund grant for Sudan focuses on capacity building and institutional development of fiduciary and aid-management systems both in the North and in the South. The trust fund complements capacity building work in two ongoing Post Conflict Fund grants from the World Bank totaling US$3.0 million.
What has been your relationship with Sudan in the past?
In the 1970s and 1980s, we were an active development partner in Sudan, following a peace accord reached in 1979. We supported all sectors in Sudan, but placed an emphasis on infrastructure and rural development, including a substantial irrigation program to support cotton and grain production between the Blue and White Nile Rivers.
Following a resumption of civil war, international development assistance plummeted, and donors focused on humanitarian relief. Our loan disbursements to the country ceased in 1993. Sudan has been in non-accrual status since January 1994.
