WASHINGTON, December 1st , 2016 —The Executive Board of the World Bank Group discussed today a First State Consolidation Development Program (SCDP) for CAR to support the country’s development agenda for the next five years (2016-2021) and approved a $20 million budget support grant for the reestablishment of basic fiscal management and transparency as well as economic recovery.
The SCDP seeks to increase fiscal revenue, improve wage bill management, and increase budget control and transparency, and to support a pro-poor, post-transition reform agenda that reinvigorates drivers of economic growth in critical sectors, including transport, agriculture, forestry, and telecommunications/ICT. The proposed reform areas represent a selective approach to a gradual and scalable reengagement in the current post-conflict environment. It has been designed to target a number of selective, yet asymmetric reforms, which represent achievable and meaningful steps forward, given the stated priorities of the new government, and is fully aligned with the current priorities of the new Government in its post-transition phase.
“Since successful implementation of this ambitious program will require time, assistance, and flexibility, this programmatic series implies a progressive scaling-up of reforms over a two year period. Likewise, the program is being introduced in the context of ongoing DDR and Internally Displaced Person reinsertion programs, which will help to reduce tensions among communities and promote reconciliation.,’’ said Paul Noumba Um, World Bank Country Director for Chad, Mali, Niger, Central African Republic and Guinea.
The SCDP series is proposed as part of a larger Turn-Around Facility, which has been informed by the priorities expressed by the newly-elected President and the recently issued World Bank Policy Notes (June 2016). In order to mitigate challenges which may reemerge during the implementation period, the program has been closely aligned with the priorities expressed by the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPBA).
Jean-Christophe Carret, Country Manager for CAR, added that " While the financing of the budget through the SCDP will contribute to finance all services, including social services, additional technical assistance and investment lending will be provided for the delivery of social services in CAR under other projects included in the IDA*-Funded Turn-Around Facility."
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 77 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change for 2.8 billion people, the majority of whom live on less than $2 a day. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 112 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $18 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent going to Africa
