Contacts: In Ankara: Tunya Celasin, (90-312) 459-8343 Tcelasin@worldbank.org In Washington: Michael Jones (1-202) 473-2588 mjones2@worldbank.org Ankara, June 19 2008— The World Bank today approved a EURO 255.4 million (equivalent to US$400 million) Second Programmatic Public Sector Development Policy Loan (PPDPL 2) for Turkey. The government’s program supported by World Bank financing under the new loan includes policies and legal and institutional measures to strengthen public governance and service delivery and Turkey’s social security and health insurance framework. The first PPDPL (Euro 403 million) in support of this program was approved in June 2006. Second, the loan supports Turkey’s social security and universal health insurance reform, in particular the newly adopted parametric pension reform, the implementation of reforms to strengthen administrative capacity, and efficiency-increasing and cost-saving measures in the health system to contain pressures in health expenditures while improving health services. The third component of the government’s program supported by the Loan is the sustained implementation of the Public Financial Management and Control (PFMC) Law, which has underpinned critical improvements in the public expenditure management system in Turkey. This includes support for the establishment of strategy development units in all government institutions and the introduction of accrual accounting for the government. Finally, the government’s program supported by World Bank financing under PPDPL2 includes improvements in the administration and governance of the public sector—especially measures to reduce regional disparities, improve public service delivery at the local level, and strengthen the justice system. In the judicial area, the program includes, for example, the establishment of Regional Courts of Appeal and the upgrading of information technology infrastructure for the judiciary. “Turkey continues to make great strides in implementing reforms to provide public services to the Turkish people effectively and efficiently. The World Bank is very pleased to support the Government’s program with this second Public Sector Development Policy Loan,” said Ulrich Zachau, Country Director for Turkey. “I would like to highlight, in particular, the importance of Turkey’s social security and universal health insurance reform, which is among the most far-reaching in the world today. Implementing it fully will bring large benefits for the Turkish people by providing more equitable and sustainable social protection and health insurance, and will be vital for Turkey’s fiscal stability in the long term.” The new World Bank PPDPL2 loan is Euro denominated, fixed-spread loan with a maturity of 22.5 years, including a 12.5 year grace period. -### - For more information about the World Bank’s work in Turkey, visit: http://www.worldbank.org.tr. For more information about this loan, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/projects |
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