What next steps is the Bank planning for Sudan following the formation of a new Government of National Unity on September 20, 2005?
The Bank is reopening its Country Office in Khartoum, Sudan and a Country Manager, Mr. Asif Faiz was appointed and took up his position in August 2005. In addition, we will open an office in Nairobi and later in Sudan, to oversee the administration of a Multi Donor Trust Fund for Southern Sudan. What have you done to plan post-conflict reconstruction in Sudan?
Prior to the peace deal and together with the Government of Sudan, the SPLM and the United Nations, we 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 which $2.0 billion for development and reconstruction needs. Of the latter, $500 million was pledged towards two Multi-Donor Trust Funds (MDTFs) - one for war-affected and marginalized areas in the North and the other for the South - in keeping with the Wealth-Sharing Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. We have been formally asked to be the Administrator for both Funds and our Board of Executive Directors has given its approval. Does that mean you are resuming funding to Sudan?
Full financial engagement by the World Bank remains contingent on the resolution of arrears to the Bank and other international financial institutions. Sudan cannot currently borrow from the International Development Association (IDA), to which it is in arrears for a total US$354 million. How can you move to resume lending to the National Government of Sudan when it is involved in continuing violence against civilian populations in Darfur and more recently in the eastern regions?
A resumption of lending to Sudan will depend on the resolution of arrears to the World Bank and other international financial institutions (IFIs). For this, a comprehensive arrears clearance plan will be needed, which involves the Paris Club and other bilateral creditors, as well as agreement by the shareholders of the World Bank and IMF. Therefore, the restarting of lending to Sudan will depend on progress on resolving the Darfur crisis. What hope does the Comprehensive Peace Agreement really provide given the crisis in the Darfur?
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January 2005 ended the longest-running civil war in Africa. The Protocols (e.g. Power and Wealth Sharing) underlying the CPA form the basis on which to address the long-term causes of conflict in Sudan. The Agreement also provides a basis for mobilizing the international community to deal with the devastating effects of war, neglect, and massive human dislocation sustained over the last twenty years. The principles underlying the policy commitments reflected in the Joint Assessment Mission Framework can also be extended to resolve the conflicts in other marginalized areas, notably the crisis in the Darfur region. More generally, we will draw on the experience it has gathered working to assist people affected by conflict in other regions elsewhere in the world (Afghanistan, Timor Leste, Kosovo, and Liberia, among others) to help restore livelihoods and rebuild areas of Sudan devastated by 21 years of war, once the necessary security and governance conditions are in place. To do this, we will continue to work with other partners to improve basic service delivery to the poor and war-affected, as well as to strengthen Sudan's capacity to absorb and use increased donor inflows for the benefit of its development. We believe that the signing of the CPA and the formation of a new Government of National Unity are positive steps on the road to peace and development in Sudan. Bringing peace to Sudan can also help Africa make progress on several other regional conflicts. In the short term, what is needed is strong international support and funding to ensure that the political will illustrated by the peace deal translates into a meaningful development dividend in the form of reduction of widespread poverty and misery aggravated by two decades of armed conflict. What are you doing about Sudan's debt?
We are working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral agencies at a technical level on an arrears clearance plan and on the debt relief process regarding Sudan's current external debt (approximately US$26 billion). Sudan is eligible for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, once arrears have been cleared. 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 (making the country ineligible to access additional Bank resources until the arrears are cleared.) At the end of 2003, Sudan's outstanding IDA debt amounted to $1.2 billion. Currently Sudan's arrears stand at $354 million. Updated: September 2005 Â |
RSS