Contacts: Washington: Aby Toure (202) 473 8302 akonate@worldbank.org Lomé: Nenonene (228) 223 3300 snenonene@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, May 29, 2008 – On May 29, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved an Interim Strategy Note (ISN) and an Economic Recovery and Governance Grant (ERGG) for the Republic of Togo. The Interim Strategy Note outlines the framework for World Bank assistance to Togo over the period May 2008 to June 2010, and enables the institution to reengage with Togo and to respond to the new opportunities for the country’s economic recovery. The projects, programs, and studies proposed in the context of the ISN are aimed at supporting the implementation of the three main pillars of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) adopted by the Togolese Government in March 2008, namely: (i) improving economic governance and transparency; (ii) promoting economic recovery and sustainable development; and (iii) addressing urgent social needs. In the area of governance and transparency, the Strategy provides for the following: - An Economic Recovery and Governance Grant (ERGG) for a total of approximately US$175 million. This grant, which was also approved on May 29 by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors and became effective on May 30, facilitated the clearance by the Republic of Togo of its arrears to the World Bank and provided it with immediate budgetary support. This operation will also provide assistance with government reforms in the areas of governance and transparency. It is supplemented by a LICUS [low-income countries under stress] trust fund grant for US$1.6 million (already approved), which provides technical and financial assistance to: (i) strengthen the economic governance of public enterprises operating in the cotton and phosphates sectors; (ii) undertake strategic reviews of the coffee, cocoa, and energy sectors and of the Autonomous Port of Lomé; and (iii) strengthen the public procurement system. - Two operations to support development policies in the amount of US$12 million each are projected for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, and will help the Government with the preparation and implementation of additional governance reforms, including greater dissemination of information on budget execution, procurement, and public enterprises. A technical assistance project on financial sector reform and governance planned for 2009 (US$10 million) will then provide assistance to Togo with the restructuring and recovery of the banking sector, social security, and microfinance, through the financing of strategic audits and technical assistance as well as with the improvement of public finance management. - A review of the Government’s public expenditure management as well as its financial management, which is currently underway, will be completed in 2009 and will permit the Togolese authorities to prepare the medium-term program for public financial management reforms, in conjunction with the main development partners. - Activities aimed at statistical capacity building in the country, which have already started, are also covered in the ISN. In order to support economic recovery and sustainable development, the Interim Strategy Note provides for grants to finance the rehabilitation of the main infrastructure and to restore the production capacity of the phosphates, cotton, banking, port, and services sectors. More specifically: (i) a US$1.5 million grant (already approved) to rehabilitate priority urban infrastructure will be supplemented by an emergency rehabilitation infrastructure project (US$10 million, slated for 2009), which will also entail investment in the energy sector. A study on potential growth sources is also planned for 2009, and will assess the opportunities and constraints in the agricultural sectors, particularly with respect to the diversification of agricultural exports and the promotion of livestock rearing and aquaculture. This study will assist with the preparation of a project to support sectors with growth potential, which is planned for 2010. In 2010 also, Togo is expected to participate in the regional Abidjan-Lagos Transport and Transit Facilitation Project. Lastly, in order to tackle urgent social needs, the Interim Strategy Note included a Community Development Project (US$17.2 million). This project is already under preparation and its implementation will begin before end-2008. This project will continue activities in progress that are being financed by the LICUS trust fund in the context of the Poverty Reduction Emergency Program. In the view of Evelyn Anna Kennedy, the Operations Analysis at the World Bank who prepared the Strategy Note: “The Strategy Note that has just been approved responds to the needs of the Togolese Government as set forth in the I-PRSP and allows us to have a clearer picture of the actions to be taken in the next two years. It is our hope that at the end of this two-year period, we will be in a position to submit a full strategy, along with other programs and projects that will bolster all the actions that we are currently taking with a view to the economic recovery of Togo.” Christina Wood, the Senior Economist who prepared the Economic Recovery and Governance Grant (ERGG) stated the following: “The Economic Recovery and Governance Grant is a core operation under the first ISN pillar, to support the Government’s efforts to recover from a long period of instability and suspension of aid. It has facilitated the clearance of Togo’s arrears to IDA, which is a prerequisite for resumption of regular IDA support. The grant’s budget support component marks the beginning of a targeted program of Bank support for the Government of Togo’s economic and governance reform efforts.”
| 
RSS