DR Congo Seeks Donor Support for its Development Agenda

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its development partners are meeting in Paris, France (29-30 November 2007) to fine-tune plans for their partnership in the reconstruction of DRC and to begin the work of mobilizing the financial resources for the implementation of reforms laid out in the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for the three years 2008-2011.

The Consultative Group (CG) meeting (see Agenda: English and French), as this event is called, is being used by the DRC government to discuss the progress it has made over the last few years, to present its vision going forward and to seek continued funding from donors for the implementation of its program of political and economic stabilization, governance reform, and pro-poor growth.

The Port of Matadi in Bas-Congo Province.

To the extent possible, donors and other development partners attending the CG will pledge financial resources in support of the implementation of various aspects of the development agenda, for which detailed costing is still unavailable.

On Wednesday, 28 November 2007, a private sector forum focusing on investment opportunities in DRC preceded the holding of the CG.

Welcoming participants to the opening session of the CG on Thursday, 29 November 2007, the World Bank’s Country Director for DRC, Judy O’Connor made a strong case for why the World Bank believes the government and people of DRC deserve the support of donors.

She pointed to the adoption of a Governance Contract to combat corruption, disciplined efforts culminating in the attainment in 2003 of the HIPC decision point – when debt relief is revocable – the return since 2003 of economic growth, following a decade of decline, and the posting since then of growth rates in the range of 6 per cent between 2003 and 2006.

“DRC, however, needs to make further progress in other areas of economic management and in policy and institutional reforms to allow development partners to continue support, and allow the International Monetary Fund to conclude negotiations with the authorities on a new Poverty Reduction Growth Facility,” Judy O’Connor warned.

“The list of DRC’s many ‘success stories’ now includes the holding in 2006 of free, fair and democratic elections,” the country’s finance minister, Athanase Kyelu Matendu, told the opening session in his rehearsal of the overall progress achieved by his country so far.

Main chimney tower of the state-owned Gecamines mining company in Katanga Province.

Attaining HIPC Completion Point would also open the way for debt forgiveness under the Paris and London Clubs.

Delegates to the two-day consultations in Paris will also discuss a series of thematic papers covering some of the most important development challenges addressed in the PRSP, including but not limited to governance, decentralization, and public finance management; security sector reform; health and HIV/AIDS; education; energy, water and agriculture; and transport. 

Participants are also developing sector or theme-specific proposals to address specific needs in key sectors such as mining and forestry, for which follow-up sessions, holding back-to-back with the CG, are also being organized on the afternoon of the last day of the consultations.

The Paris CG is considering an MDG-based poverty reduction strategy that seeks donor support and funding, through a transparent process resting on mutual accountability, monitoring and evaluation, as well as predictability of development resources.

The consultative meeting is also paying great attention to the harmonization of donor support and the alignment of any resources from development partners to the government’s development priorities in line with the spirit of the 2005 Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness. A draft declaration on this aspect was tabled by the government of DRC during the opening day.

Groundnut nursery implemented by the Bank-funded Pmurr project in Katanga Province.

The objective is to pull the DRC up to the human development level of the intermediate countries and converge toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Five groups of problems identified by the people during participatory consultations with grassroots communities also integrated in the vision to be implemented over the next 25 years. They are: (i) promoting good governance and consolidating peace through institution building (see Concept Note Armee, the Note on Justice and Note on Police); (ii) consolidating macroeconomic stability and growth; (iii) improving access to social services and reducing vulnerability; (iv) combating HIV/AIDS; and (v) supporting dynamism at community level.

The development agenda being “sold” to donors and other partners at the CG in Paris includes strategic directions and actions envisaged to eradicate poverty by increasing national income through sustained economic growth; reducing income and non-income inequalities through poverty reduction priority interventions; investing in people; and ensuring maximum private sector participation.