Contacts:
In Washington
Alejandra Viveros (202)-473-4306
Aviveros@worldbank.org In Port-au-Prince Maryse Calixte(509) 510-3797 Mcalixte@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, January 6, 2005 -- The World Bank Group’s Board of Directors today approved a package of $73 million in credits and grants for Haiti and endorsed a Transitional Support Strategy which projects up to $150 million in credit and grant commitments over a two-year period. The package of loans approved today includes an Economic Governance Reform Operation of $61 million and an Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project of $12 million from the International Development Association, the Bank’s concessional window. This assistance includes $36 million available as grants and $37 million as zero-interest credits. “The chief goal of the Bank is to help the Government deliver urgently needed basic services to the Haitian people and strengthen the transparency and credibility of public institutions,” said World Bank President James Wolfensohn. “Given the urgent need to support recovery efforts in the country, we plan to disburse $46 million of this assistance in the next couple of days.” An estimated 76 percent of Haiti’s 8 million people live in poverty and income inequality is among the highest in the world. The two-year strategy aims to restore hope by supporting the provision of basic services and creating jobs, rehabilitating areas devastated by floods in 2004, and working with communities to support local development. The strategy also seeks to restore credibility in Haiti’s public institutions by strengthening economic governance, bolstering efforts to fight corruption, improve transparency, strengthen institutions, and promote inclusion and consensus on development priorities. The Bank’s Transitional Support Strategy was developed in coordination with other donors, in consultation with government and civil society, and on the basis of the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF), the Transitional Government of Haiti’s two-year program supported by donors. The ICF was prepared in 2004 through a joint international effort led by the Government of Haiti with the coordination support of the World Bank, UNDP, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Union. The preparation of the ICF included the participation of 26 bilateral and multilateral agencies, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. In July 2004, donors pledged over $1 billion to support the ICF, including $150 million pledged by the Bank. Clearance of Arrears On January 4, 2005, Haiti settled $52.6 million in overdue service payments to the Bank using its own reserves and a US$12.7 million grant contribution from Canada. This paved the way for the Bank to reinstate the country’s rights to make withdrawals under credit and grant agreements. With the exception of special grant programs, disbursements had been suspended since January 30, 2001, due to the accumulation of overdue payments to the Bank. Economic Governance Reform Operation The $61 million Economic Governance Reform Operation aims to restore credibility in Haiti’s public institutions by increasing transparency and efficiency in the use of public resources and external assistance. In particular, the operation will support reforms in budget management and financial controls, strengthen the public sector’s institutional capacity in human resources management and procurement, and an anti-corruption strategy. In addition the operation will promote economic governance reforms at the sectoral level, including to strengthen a road maintenance fund, key public enterprises and public-private partnerships to increase access to health and education services. Civil society organizations and representatives from the private sector will be involved in monitoring and evaluating Government reforms supported by the operation. The $61 million IDA operation will be financed through a SDR 24.3 million (US$36.5 million) credit and a SDR 16.4 million (US$24.5 million) grant. Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project The $12 million Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project aims to rehabilitate areas of the country that were devastated by floods in 2004, strengthen the country’s capacity to manage disaster risks and respond to emergencies, and reduce vulnerability of local communities while mitigating the effects of future disasters. Some 50 percent of the operation’s financing would be used to help communities identify and reduce risks. A community-driven development approach would be used to implement most activities under this component and ensure local ownership, build local institutions and generate employment. The project is financed through an IDA grant. For more information about the World Bank’s program in Haiti, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/ht For more information on the Interim Cooperation Framework, please click here For additional details about the Economic Governance Reform Operation, please click here For additional details about the Emergency Recovery and Disaster Management Project, please click here |
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