Contacts In Washington : Beldina Auma (1+202) 458-7307 baumaowuor@worldbank.org In Nairobi : Peter Warutere (254-20) 322 6444
pwarutere@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, March 23, 2007—The World Bank has approved US$20.5 million to help modernize Kenya’s national statistical system so that it produces timely, high quality and relevant economic, poverty, governance and other development data. “Generating accurate and reliable statistical information, and making it readily available is essential for transparency and accountability in policy making, especially as Kenya seeks to raise its growth level to 10 percent per year and achieve a more equitable distribution of income,” says Colin Bruce, the Country Director for Kenya. During the 1970s, business enterprises and many researchers made use of Kenya ’s statistical resources to do pioneering research on development issues and to guide policy making. The National Statistical System Project will help Kenya to continue rebuilding that system which fell into disrepair, particularly during the late 1980s and the 1990s. “We, in the private sector, know from our experience the critical role of quality and timely statistics in facilitating well-informed public debate as well as providing objective information that the private sector needs for making business decisions,” says Jacqueline Mugo, Executive Director of the Federation of Kenya Employers. “We are pleased that the project will also provide a firm foundation for information sharing with the business community, and among users and producers of official statistics,” she adds. Such data also serves as a basis for monitoring the quality of public service delivery and its practical impact in improving peoples’ lives. According to Simon Bland, Head of the United Kingdom ’s Department for International Development (DFID) office in Kenya , “This new initiative can make a real difference by putting the figures into the hands of people who can use them to help tackle Kenya ’s poverty and inequality. With that in mind, DFID is very pleased to be jointly funding this project with the World Bank.” The project will provide resources to strengthen the collection of data on gender, children and youth issues, and on persons with disability. The data will also improve the ability of the Government and the public to monitor statistics on justice, crime and probation as well as other key components of governance programs. In approving the credit, the World Bank Board underlined the importance of quality and widely shared information in strengthening governance and increasing the opportunities for the poor to participate more actively in economic activities. In this connection, the Board noted the Government’s plans for increasing public access to information through the proposed Freedom of Information legislation and through significant investments in countrywide information, communications and telecommunications networks. The Board also noted the special measures included in the project design to ensure that funds are used for the intended purposes. The credit is provided on standard International Development Association (IDA) terms, with a commitment fee of 0.35 percent and a service charge of 0.75 percent over a 40 year period of maturity which includes a 10-year grace period. ### For more information, please visit the World Bank Kenya external website www.worldbank.org/ke For more information on the World Bank’s work in sub-Saharan Africa visit www.worldbank.org/afr |
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