Contacts:
in Washington:
Aby Toure
202 473 8302
akonate@worldbank.org in Rwanda:
Rogers Kahiyura
(250) 591 300
rkahiyura@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, November 10, 2005 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved an International Development Association (IDA) grant of US$55 million to assist the government of Rwanda with the implementation of its reform program. The Second Poverty Reduction Support Grant (PRSG II) will help create a strong basis for private sector-led economic growth, driven by agricultural transformation, promotion of exports, and a deepening of reform in the financial sector. It will focus on the education, health, water, and energy sectors while strengthening governance and transparency through further improvements to the fiduciary framework. It will also help empower local communities. The Private Sector Development, Agricultural Transformation, and Growth component of the project will address productivity constraints and focus on increasing input use to expand agricultural production for both domestic and export markets. The Government’s objective is to improve the competitiveness of traditional exports and increase the value added as well as address high transport costs imposed in part by the landlocked nature of the country. The Human Development component of the project, which focuses on education and health, will support the government of Rwanda as it continues efforts to ensure universal primary education for all, increase the proportion of poor students and female students in post-primary education, and improve the quality of education services. “Through this project, Rwanda is expected to continue take advantage of a stable macroeconomic environment to improve the investment climate, including shortening the number of days needed to open a business in the country and to increase the ratio of exports to gross domestic product ratio,” said Agnes Soucat the World Bank Task Team Leader of the project. At project completion, Rwanda should see a marked increase in the number of children attending or completing primary school and seen a significant drop in the number of under-five mortality and the spread of communicable diseases. The Second Poverty Reduction Support Grant will further the development of more efficient management of existing water supply systems through private operators, help the country to continue to improve donor coordination in the sector, and focus on the approval and implementation of a new water law. The project will also strengthen reforms and build capacity in the energy sector. The government of Rwanda has made good progress in strengthening management of public finances. PRSG II will reinforce the linkages between national strategic planning and resource allocation through annual budgets. It will help address weaknesses in the financial accounting and auditing systems and increase capacity of budget agencies to prepare adequate financial information. | 
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