Background A new operational strategy for the World Bank Group's support to CAR has been recently endorsed by the board of the World Bank Group and will cover the period July 2009 to June 2012. Entitled Country Partnership Strategy (pdf 4.22 MB) , the overall goal is to empower citizens and institutions so they can promote growth and benefit more broadly from it. The strategy reflects a collaborative approach between the World Bank Group, Government, and development partners to support the country’s development. The Country Partnership Strategy draws upon the Country Re-Engagement Note of mid-2004 (CRN) which marked the re-establishment of the World Bank Group’s relationship with CAR, following a period of suspension, and the subsequent Interim Strategy Note (JISN) for FY2007-2008. This country partnership strategy (CPS) was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group (WBG) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), and for the first time, integrates the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) into the partnership. The CPS provides support to poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) pillars two (governance) and three (diversification), with limited WBG support to PRSP pillar four (human development). Analytical and advisory work by the two institutions will target priority sectors and topics where information gaps hamper sound policy making and appropriate donor responses.. The CPS sends a clear message that, following its protracted absence, the international community is ready to sustain support to CAR's efforts to achieve sustainable development results. The CPS is selective based upon CAR's priority needs, the comparative advantages of both banks, and harmonization/coordination with other donors. Coordination is particularly critical with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other partners with specific mandates in the areas of peace and security. The CPS also optimizes the joint response through increased WBG presence on the ground. Country Partnership Strategy (FY09-FY12)
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Interim Strategy Note (FY2007-2008)
Country Re-engagement Note (2004)Â
Regional Integration Strategy for Central Africa
Maximize Opportunities for Regional Integration Regional integration provides better opportunities to emerge from the crises and development challenges facing countries in the region. These include a decline in foreign investments as a result of the international financial crisis; the food crisis; the isolation of economies with markets too small to prosper in the current context; and the lack of large-scale infrastructure to position the private sector as the primary engine for job creation. Central Africa presents a paradox: despite abundant natural and mineral resources, countries in the region have some of Africa’s worst social indicators, and characterized by their poor business environments. Indeed despite an envious position at the heart of the Gulf of Guinea, the Communauté Economique et Monetaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC) remains the least economically integrated region on the continent. Data compiled by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa reveal that in 2006 trade within CEMAC represented only between 0.5% and 1% of the region’s total exchanges. In contrast, intra-community trade accounted for 5% of exchanges in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), 10% in both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and 15% in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). World Bank Working Hand in Hand with CEMAC Since CAR’s small and landlocked economy is unable to expand its production base without access to a larger regional market and enhanced connectivity, regional integration is a top priority for CAR. The CPS has prioritized regional projects to accelerate the development of CAR’s economic potential. The World Bank is financing several integration-related projects within CEMAC, including the US$215 million Central Africa Backbone project, which will enable the region to access modern facilities provided by new communication technologies. Another large-scale Bank-funded regional project is the CEMAC Regional Transport and Transit Facilitation Project, which aims to create efficient transit corridors between Douala and Bangui on the one hand, and Douala and N’Djamena on the other. Estimated to cost US$680 million, this project, which is vital to the development of the CEMAC region, will receive a contribution of US$201 million from beneficiary states. This commitment is a fundamental step along the path to the development of true regional integration, which is essential for the economies of the zone. CEMAC member states are Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Principe. |
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