Expand Oil, Mining Sector Transparency-Zoellick

“Higher commodity prices have created opportunities to expand global efforts to encourage more transparency in oil and mining sectors in developing countries, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Thursday.  

Addressing the African Union (AU) Summit in the Ethiopian capital, Zoellick said the World Bank[‘s]…help could range from ensuring that governments get the best deal in negotiating contract or concession agreements to assisting with better public expenditure management.   It was the first time a World Bank president has addressed the African Union. 

The World Bank chief, whose stopover at the summit is part of a four-nation tour of Africa, said expanding the initiative would also help countries make better decisions on saving and spending of natural resources.  

Zoellick said it was also important that the development of natural resources be done in an environmentally friendly manner that benefits the local population. He said the Bank would host discussions on plans to expand the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in February.  The poverty-fighting institution believes that more disclosure of oil and mining deals and their profits will promote stability and contrirbute to a country’s development and poverty reduction.” [Reuters/Factiva]

Meanwhile in related Zoellick news, The Inquirer reports that “Discussions have taken place in Monrovia between President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Zoellick. Wednesday's talks, according to an Executive Mansion release, focused on progress and prospects of World Bank programs in the country.  

The two Executives … called for the mobilization of more donor support for the country's Infrastructure Fund, intended to mobilize resources for the construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, electricity and the country's Ports. … 

Later during a Press Roundtable at the Foreign Ministry, the World Bank President said he was deeply impressed over the level of work being done in the country, but cautioned that there still remain a lot of challenges. …” [The Inquirer (Liberia) and The Analyst (Liberia)/Factiva]  

Bangladesh's Donors Propose $4 Billion Post-Cyclone Plan

“A group of donors has proposed a $4 billion recovery program for Bangladesh three months after the … deadly cyclone, officials said on Friday. … Officials said the 11 donors, including the UN and USAID, handed a report to Bangladesh's interim …government on Thursday suggesting the proposed rehabilitation be implemented in three phases.  

The report - received by the government's External Resources Division - put the cost of damage to houses by cyclone Sidr at $800 million, agricultural losses at $440 million and damage to the transport sector at $140 million. It proposed $1.51 billion in 2008-2012, $1.39 billion in 2013-2017 and $1.09 billion in 2018-2022 for risk identification, disaster preparedness and mitigation programs. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua notes that “…The 70-member mission led by the World Bank … started the assessment on January 11 following the government's appeal for assistance for rehabilitation in the Sidr- affected South-West region of the country. The mission visited the affected areas, talked to people on the damage caused by the … cyclone, discussed with officials of different ministries and prepared a 400-page draft assessment report which was presented to the government Thursday. …” [Xinhua/Factiva]

Meanwhile AP reports that “The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other aid agencies will give Bangladesh $190 million in loans and grants to assist in recovery from a devastating cyclone last year, the Manila-based bank said Friday. A loan of $120 million will be provided by the ADB, along with $60 million from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]

Bulgaria, Romania Outlook Positive In 2008-09, But Risk Of Economic Slowdown, Higher Inflation Remains - World Bank

“The economic outlook for Romania and Bulgaria, part of the EU8+2 group of countries, in 2008 and 2009 is generally positive but there remains substantial risk to economic growth and of higher inflation, according to the World Bank's latest EU 8+2 Regular Economic Report.  

‘In 2008-2009, the region will take further, albeit shorter steps on its long road to catching-up to the EU-15,’ Ron Hood, World Bank's Lead Economist said from Warsaw in a joint video conference between the Bank's Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian offices on Thursday. …  

The external imbalances may come down in line with slower GDP growth expected in the Baltic States in 2008, but in Romania and Bulgaria there is little prospect of a turnaround in the near future. …” [SeeNews (Bulgaria)/Factiva]

TASR notes that “…The GDP growth in the observed countries reached its peak last year, while it is estimated it will slow down slightly in the next two years. …

Overheating or a significant decrease in economic output doesn't concern Slovakia, however. While the new EU members are expected by the World Bank to continue growing by five percent a year, Slovakia should overtake them with a 6-percent economic growth annually. …” [TASR (Slovakia)/Factiva]

SITA adds that “According to the World Bank Economist Anton Marcincin, Slovakia has been to a large extent fulfilling what is expected of it with regard to adoption of the common European currency.

He reacted thus to Wednesday’s European Commission report, which suggested that Slovakia tighten its fiscal policy so that it is able to face inflation pressures in the future. According to Marcincin, Slovakia is showing one of the highest rates of economic growth and is keeping inflation under control. …” [SITA (Slovakia)/Factiva]

Commentary: Fighting Graft A Global Public Good

In a commentary published in daily The Jakarta Post, World Bank Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala writes: “The high development cost of corruption is something almost everyone agrees on today. It takes a disproportionate toll on the poor…

Every $100 million of stolen assets restituted to a developing country could fund full immunization for 4 million children, or approximately 250 thousand water connections for households, or 50-100 million Artemisinin based treatments for malaria.  

Now that there is widespread recognition of the development impact of corruption, the fundamental question has become: How do we go about solving this problem? Good governance is a global public good that requires collective action. The landmark UN Convention against Corruption is the single most important international agreement reflecting this idea. … 

Developing countries might have a long way to go in improving transparency, accountability, and good governance. However, progress made by these countries will be deemed insufficient, as long as the international financial architecture provides a risk-free alternative for the concealment of stolen funds. …  

There can be no free-riding in the fight against corruption. …Governance and anticorruption and development are a single agenda. It is the agenda based on the public being served by government. The international community needs to do everything possible to help countries to fight poor behavior by building strong institutions. But this effort must be matched by actions in developed country financial centers to make bad behavior easier to detect and easier to rectify. …

The Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption should call on the global community to work aggressively and in global partnership to achieve the full promise of the Convention. The World Bank needs to play its part in this global collective effort.  

The institution is an ally through its governance and anti-corruption action plan that looks to stamp out corruption and through the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative to help developing countries in recovering stolen assets. President Zoellick has made the fight against corruption a central plank of his tenure.” [The Jakarta Post (Indonesia)/Factiva]

Commentary: Thailand In Forefront Of Race For Better Health

In a commentary published in Thailand’s daily Bangkok Post, World Bank Human Development Network Vice President, Joy Phumaphi writes: “For millions of the world's poorest people, ill-health and disease too often go hand in hand with grinding poverty and blunted national aspirations. In looking for solutions to this troubling state of global health, we can learn a great deal from Thailand. …  

At the Prince Mahidol Awards Conference in Bangkok this week, we have heard yet again that weak health systems are a significant roadblock to improving the health of people in developing countries. Thailand, by contrast, has focused on strengthening its health system and this has allowed the nation to cope with and contain other epidemics of global significance such as avian influenza and Sars. This is a clear case of how a stronger national healthcare system can not only protect the people of Thailand, but the greater worldwide community as well. …  

If we are serious about fighting poverty, improving the perilous health of millions of the world's poorest people must be a top priority of the global development community. What can we do? We need to strengthen health systems across the board; we need to focus on verifiable results; and we all need to work together better. …

In practical terms, strengthening health systems means putting together the right chain of events that, for example, gets life-saving drugs and health workers to mothers and their newborns where they are needed most. …Focus on results - without results, health system strengthening has no meaning. Without health system strengthening, there will be no results.  

One promising approach to strengthening health systems is ‘results-based financing.’ In fact, using this approach, the World Bank is working with Mozambique, Rwanda and other African countries to help them lower their numbers of child deaths and improve their maternal health. This innovative approach links aid directly to verifiable results.  

Health systems, however, don't function in isolation; they need to show their worth and their value to people at the household level, at the local community and national levels. It is important to have systems that not only show results but respond to demand.  

We need to work together better. …In fact, there is widespread recognition that the Millennium Development Goals of maternal and child survival will not be achieved without significantly improved performance and coordination by all stakeholders within countries and internationally. And we all have to learn from each other's successes and failures. This is key to moving forward faster. … ” [Bangkok Post (Thailand)/Factiva]

Also in this Edition: Briefly Noted

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete won the rotating Africa Union chairmanship on Thursday, succeeding Ghana's John Kufuor. [Reuters/Factiva]

Nigeria's House of Representatives Thursday decided to investigate how the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo spent about $10 billion on the power sector. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The Central Bank of Rwanda has launched its own securities exchange in the Kigali. Initially it will deal in corporate and treasury bonds, but the Bank says it will include other products such as shares as the operation develops. [BBC News (UK)]

Seychelles' economic growth was more than 5 percent in 2007 but may ease in 2008 due partly to high fuel prices, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement. [Reuters/Factiva]

The World Bank has donated $20 million to Haiti for help in financing a program to monitor emergencies in the country. A press release from the organization noted that the resources of the operation will go towards the rehabilitation of areas affected by the tropical storm Noel last year. [EFE/Factiva]

Mexican Department of Education and the World Bank signed an agreement for Nuevo Leon participate in an international study on educational efficiency, the results of which will be essential in defining new strategies. [Agencia Mexicana de Noticias, NOTIMEX/Factiva]

Peru's economy would plunge into a recession and inflation would spike if production at mines were shut down, mining companies said on Thursday as they try to win support for new mining projects. [Reuters/Factiva]

The Philippine economy grew at an annual rate of 7.3 per cent last year, recording its biggest expansion in 31 years thanks to stronger consumer and government spending. But yesterday's GDP data came as the country's central bank cut its main lending rate by 25 basis points to pre-empt the expected drag on the economy of a slowdown in the US. [The Financial Times (UK)]

Japan said Friday it will host an international conference next Tuesday and Wednesday in Tokyo on reconstructing Afghanistan. Issues such as narcotics measures and improving security in the country are expected highlights of the conference agenda. [Kyodo News (Japan)/Factiva]

Two more Western reports say that international efforts are failing to make Afghanistan a stable state. The Atlantic Council says that NATO is not winning in Afghanistan and Oxfam warns that the country faces a humanitarian disaster. [BBC News (UK)]

The developed world should help poor countries brace for global warming by assisting them in taking steps like restoring coastal forests and training health care workers, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman Rajendra Pachauri said. [Reuters/Factiva]

Climate change will cause severe crop losses in Africa and Asia within the next 20 years unless farming practices are changed, a study released Thursday has found. Those crop losses could lead to food shortages and a loss of livelihood among the world's poorest people, the authors warned. [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga told a news conference on Friday that he has no plans to set up a government investment fund, or sovereign wealth fund, to manage foreign reserves, given risks of generating losses by managing foreign reserves aggressively. [Reuters/Factiva]

Countries pushing for a new global trade pact should pay more attention to the risks and rewards of encouraging cross-border telecommunications, banking and other service businesses, officials said on Thursday.     [Reuters/Factiva]