Georgia: World Bank Approves Second Poverty Reduction Support Operation

Contacts

In Washington: Miriam Van Dyck, (202) 458-2931

mvandyck@worldbank.org;

In Tbilisi: Inga Paichadze, (99532) 91 30 96 / 91 26 59

ipaichadze@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2006 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved today a Poverty Reduction Support Operation (PRSO) for Georgia. It is the second of the three operations envisioned in the country’s program to provide budgetary support in the amount of US$ 20 million.

“There are several primary benefits of this operation. First and foremost, the proposed second PRSO supports further progress with anti-corruption efforts and measures to continue improving governance.  This will improve efficiency and transparency in the use of public resources and in the investment climate, and will deepen the access to, and affordability of, key social services for the poor,” said Rosalinda Quintanilla, Lead Country Economist for Georgia.

The proposed second PRSO would support the objectives and the policies of the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Program by:

i)    strengthening public sector accountability, efficiency, and transparency;

ii)    improving electricity and gas sector services;

iii)   improving the environment for private sector development; 

iv)   improving social protection, education and health care services.

The Poverty Reduction Support Operation (PRSO) program's characteristics are the following:

·     First, to address the governance challenge, the PRSO reflects the two-pronged approach of the Government’s anti-corruption and governance reform program. 

·      Second, to support the Government’s efforts in strengthening implementation capacity, the PRSO has strong links to, and is well supported by, investment operations. 

·      And third, to support the Government’s efforts in strengthening monitoring and evaluation in policy formulation, the proposed PRSO includes triggers and monitorable performance indicators to assess progress and results of the reforms that are an integral part of the Government’s reform program. 

The series of Poverty Reduction Support Operation are a key component of the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Georgia, which was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on 15 September, 2005. The Strategy envisages a program of assistance of about $143 million and covers the period 2006-2009.

Georgia joined the World Bank in 1993. Since then, commitments to the country total approximately US$ 830 million for 40 operations.