Guyana | World Bank

Guyana/WB: New Country Assistance Strategy for 2009-2012

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:26:24 GMT

Contacts:

In Washington: Alejandro Cedeño (202) 473-3477

Cristina González (202) 473-4634

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2009 – The World Bank’s Board of Directors endorsed today the new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Guyana between 2009 and 2012 to support the country’s development agenda.

“Guyana has made significant progress in laying the foundations for macroeconomic stability and higher pro-poor growth. The CAS continues this partnership and supports the country in areas where the Bank's support could strategically complement other donors’ areas of engagement.” emphasized Yvonne Tsikata, the World Bank’s Country Director for the Caribbean.

The Bank’s program of lending, technical assistance and analytical work supports the Government’s objective of accelerating and sustaining growth, and was developed in collaboration with the Government. It benefited from consultations with civil society, the private sector and other development partners. The two main strategic areas of support identified in the CAS are:

Strengthening environmental resilience and sustainability: the Bank will support the Government’s efforts and leadership in this area by helping to establish pilot forest areas that are protected and sustainably managed by local communities, and helping to strengthen the Government’s ability to reduce exposure to natural disasters and global climate risk.

Improving education quality and social safety nets: The Bank will help Guyana improve the quality of education through reform of teacher training and better service delivery, and help strengthen the capacity of Government to deliver an enhanced social protection program.

The Bank’s Executive Directors commended Guyana for its macroeconomic performance over the past decade and recognized the progress made in improving fiscal discipline. They emphasized the importance of accelerated broad-based and shared growth in order to mitigate the development challenges of high poverty and inequality. They also underlined the importance of Guyana’s economic diversification through private sector development, and stressed the need to have the International Finance Corporation, the arm of the World Bank Group that supports the private sector, actively involved in the country.

For more information on the World Bank’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/lac

Caribbean Policy Makers Meet in Jamaica to Discuss Regional Trade Integration

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:05:10 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington:
Alejandro Cedeño (202) 473-3477
acedeno@worldbank.org
Patricia da Camara (202) 473-4019
pdacamara@worldbank.org

KINGSTON, Jamaica, February 17, 2009 - Representatives of 13 Caribbean countries met in Jamaica today to discuss the study: Accelerating Trade Integration in the Caribbean: Policy Options for Sustained Growth, Job Creation, and Poverty Reduction and to adopt a concrete action plan for its implementation in the region.

The report was produced jointly by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the World Bank, with the participation of key regional stakeholders such as CARICOM, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) and the governments of the region. It outlines important policy options critical for improving growth and competitiveness in the region, for which concrete actions supported by governments and development partners should be adopted.

“This study comes against the background of sustained efforts to consolidate regional integration under the umbrella of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy,” said Jamaican Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kenneth Baugh during his opening remarks. “The Economic Partnership Agreement has been signed, but this is not the end. There remains a huge gap between signing and implementation,” he added.

“We need a regional trade strategy, and the OAS, the World Bank and other development partners are here to assist you,” highlighted OAS Executive Director Ambassador Alfonso Quiñonez at the opening ceremony.

During this time of global financial turmoil, trade is more crucial than ever. The current global environment is particularly challenging due to: (i) the current global recession--to sustain growth, countries need to break into new markets, increase efficiency and lower costs of trading; and (ii) preferential access for traditional products is being eroded--the region needs to reposition itself to be a dynamic exporter of services to key markets.

Through the recently signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the imminent expiration of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Agreement (CBTPA), the region is in the process of redefining relations with its main trading partners. This offers a unique opportunity for the Caribbean to use the relevant provisions of the EPA framework to reinforce competitiveness and lower trading costs. This involves accelerating the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market Economy and seizing the new trade opportunities in services exports.

OAS Trade and Tourism Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton and World Bank Caribbean Director Yvonne Tsikata are moderating the two-day policy discussions, which aim at the adoption of an action plan and identifying next steps towards its implementation.

Consultations on the Bank Web Site

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:37:38 GMT

Dear reader,

A few years ago, the World Bank’s Web site was noted as a leader among development organizations’ websites. As technology has rapidly advanced and user expectations evolved, our Web site too needs to change and adapt.

You come to our Web site because you are looking for the latest information on development. Our project information, data and research assist you in tackling your challenges or keeping up on the Bank’s activities.

Now we’re catching up. We are revamping our Web site and expanding our online capabilities to better satisfy our business needs and meet audience demands.

We’re examining all aspects of the site—content, technology, business needs and audience demands—to figure out what needs to stay, be improved or be removed.

This is a complex undertaking. We are currently gathering information to determine requirements for our future site.

Through our open online consultation, we are looking for comments from anyone who wishes to discuss their information needs and any difficulties they encounter with the site. The online consultation period ends on December 31, 2008.

All feedback we receive will inform the future design and functionality of the Web site by informing Bank management on audience needs.

Our ultimate goal is to make the Web site better support the institution’s mission of fighting global poverty and helping countries develop.

Your feedback will bring us closer to this goal.

Thank you,

Angie Gentile
Managing Editor, www.worldbank.org

Guyana: Poverty Reduction and Public Management Operation

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:59:32 GMT

Last Updated: Sept 2008

Links:
- What is IDA?
- Our Work in Guyana

More on Guyana:
- Borrowing History
- Data & Statistics
- Research
- Contact Us

At the beginning of the 2000s, Guyana’s economy had stagnated, exacerbated by a difficult security situation and political tensions between the two major political parties deeply divided along racial lines. This weakened investor confidence and accelerated Guyana’s brain drain.

To address the nation’s problems, the Government of Guyana committed to reorienting its economic and social policies towards poverty reduction. In 2001, a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) was approved that prioritized the need to improve transparency and public sector accountability, expand access to basic services, support private-sector growth, and protect Guyana’s environmental assets. Lessons from the first Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) in 2002 indicated that Guyana lacked the capacity to implement a PRSC every year and that reform should be simplified and focused. The volatility of the political situation and the need for a flexible instrument led to the Poverty Reduction and Public Management Operation (PRPMO). PRPMO focused on four main areas: better linking of public spending to poverty priorities and more effective investments; improving transparency and efficiency in public resource use; enhancing the Government’s ability to monitor and evaluate its poverty reduction efforts; and improving environmental management and regulations in the key sectors of sugar, mining, and forestry.

In a difficult economic and political context, the Guyana Poverty Reduction and Public Management Operation helped the Government put in place reforms that strengthened economic governance, increased the transparency and efficiency of public investments, improved poverty monitoring and introduced environmental protections in the areas of forestry, sugar, and mining.

PRPMO was disbursed after the Government implemented key reforms, for which there was strong ownership and broad-based consensus, including:
- Improved programming of public investments. A five-year rolling public investment program was adopted as part of the yearly budgetary process. A methodology for selecting and ranking projects was put in place to prioritize investments in the 2006 and 2007 national budgets in line with PRS objectives.
- More transparent and efficient public financial management and procurement. An assessment by the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Union found that management of public finances in Guyana improved considerably in the last five years, in part as a result of the PRPMO. New laws and regulations were enacted to address systemic financial management weaknesses and close loopholes. A new Audit Act was enacted giving the Auditor General legal powers to carry out effective and independent audits. The Lottery Fund was audited. In public procurement, regulations and standard bidding documents were introduced for use by national and regional tender boards. PRPMO supported the launching of the first phase of the fiduciary oversight strengthening program.
- Better monitoring and evaluation enabled the Statistics Bureau to publish the 2002 census data, carry out the 2007 Household Budget Survey, and prepare a poverty report to orient a new Poverty Reduction Strategy.
- Stronger environmental regulations. The Government adopted an Environmental Management Plan for the new sugar mill and sugarcane fields being developed. The 2007 Guyana Forestry Commission Bill empowered the Guyana Forestry Commission to oversee sustainable forest development practices. A strategic environmental assessment of the mining sector was completed to guide future legislation.

The Bank contributed to the analytical basis for the PRPMO policy reforms, including preparation of a Development Policy Review, a Public Expenditure Review, a Country Financial Accountability Assessment, a Country Procurement Assessment Report, and two poverty and social impact analyses of the bauxite and sugar sectors. The Bank provided grant resources for technical assistance, including a PHRD grant, to prepare the fiduciary oversight report and standard procurement bidding documents, as well as train public officials in procurement, monitoring, and evaluation.

The preparation of the PRPMO benefited from a consultative process that included a broad range of stakeholders, such as the opposition parties, which helped create strong ownership of, and commitment to, the reforms proposed in the program. A difficult political consensus was achieved on key policy issues. For example, the Government consulted with and found common ground with opposition parties to define an action plan for the fiduciary oversight reforms, which the Parliament subsequently unanimously approved. A single-tranche operation better reflected Government capacity and was timed to the speed of the Government’s implementation performance. This focus on deepening a narrower reform agenda was consistent with country realities.

Strong donor coordination generated agreement on the reform agenda and created consistent policies between key donors in Guyana, including the World Bank, the IDB, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, Canada, Britain, and the United States. Technical assistance was critical. Complementary capacity building helped agencies across Government better design and monitor reforms.

Global food and fuel crisis will increase malnourished by 44 million

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:30:00 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington :Carl Hanlon 202-473-8087; chanlon@worldbank.org;
Philip Hay 202-473-1796
phay@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 8, 2008 – High food and fuel prices will increase the number of malnourished people around the world in 2008 by 44 million to reach a total of 967 million, a report from the World Bank says.

While food and fuel price increases may have moderated in recent months, prices remain much higher than previous years and show few signs of declining significantly, according to the report entitled “Rising food and fuel prices: addressing the risks to future generations”. Poor families around the world are being pushed to the brink of survival, causing irreparable damage to the health of millions of children. As families cut back on spending, there are also grave risks for the educational performance of poor children.

“While people in the developed world are focused on the financial crisis, many forget that a human crisis is rapidly unfolding in developing countries. It is pushing poor people to the brink of survival,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. “The financial crisis will only make it more difficult for developing countries to protect their most vulnerable people from the impact of rising food and fuel costs.”

The report, due to be presented on Sunday to the Development Committee at the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, says the food and fuel crisis could have long term effects on poor people and countries. Malnourished children cannot develop into healthy adults and become productive members of society who can contribute to the growth needed to lift themselves and their country out of poverty.

The report says priority should be given to a series of targeted measures. These include:

Making existing targeted cash (or near cash) transfer programs more generous;
Getting nutrition to infants and pregnant women;
expanding so-called ”in-kind” food distribution programs including school feeding and the distribution of fortified calorically dense food;
using fee waivers, lifeline-pricing and other forms of targeted subsidies for poor users/consumers; and
introducing additional measures to prevent children from dropping out of school, such as fee waivers, subsidies for school inputs, or cash transfers.

The report also argues that allocating the necessary amount of budget to finance an expansion of safety net programs may require pruning less-priority spending in other areas. But it notes that well-designed safety net programs do not have to be prohibitively expensive to be effective. Some of the most successful programs in the world cost well under 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Moreover, investing in safety net programs now will give governments new tools to address not just the current crisis, but future ones as well.

In May, the World Bank launched a $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to help poor countries cope with the food crisis. Since then, around US$850 million has been committed to finance seeds, plantings, and feeding programs. In April, Zoellick called for a New Deal for Global Food Policy that included short, medium and long-term measures to provide immediate help to poor people and farmers while increasing food production.

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For more information on the Bank's work in nutrition, please visit: www.worldbank.org/nutrition

and for more on social safety nets, click here: www.worldbank.org/safetynets

New report on economic growth offers lessons on achieving sustained, high economic growth

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:11:32 GMT

Contacts:

In Washington:

Maya Brahmam at +1-202-473-6231 or email at mbrahmam@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2008 – The World Bank Group welcomes a new report by the independent Commission on Growth and Development, a global panel of eminent experts, which reveals important lessons from countries that have achieved high, long-term economic growth. The experts say the lessons learned could help policy makers in developing countries as they seek to set their countries on a steady growth path.

The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development says integration into the world economy, maintaining high rates of savings and investment, and committed, capable governments are among the key features of countries that have sustained growth rates above 7 percent for 25 uninterrupted years since World War II.

"This report underscores to the development community that one size doesn’t fit all." said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. I am especially pleased that it draws on input from first class practitioners and leaders who have hands-on pragmatic and practical experience of making inclusive development a success. This will help enrich the thinking and practice of the World Bank Group as well as others in the development field.” “

High, long-lasting growth is not easily achieved, but the report by some of the world’s top policy-makers and thinkers, believes it can be reproduced in developing countries, giving them a chance to reduce poverty and improve opportunity and quality of life for their citizens.

“We are acutely aware that there are no silver bullets to create long-running, inclusive growth, and that no single paradigm exists,” says Commission Vice Chair Danny Leipziger, who is also Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management at the World Bank. “While seeking to identify those key elements that can lead to long running and inclusive growth, the report is clear that policy makers will need to customize and experiment with polices rather than follow any rigid set of guidelines.”

Commission Chairman Michael Spence said: " What makes the report so unique is that it was prepared by policymakers, many from developing countries, who have been in the trenches themselves and have learned what works and why. It is these commissioners who are now providing their insights to the next generation of policymakers on ways to improve growth prospects and the quality of life in the poor parts of the globe."

Spence is one of two Nobel Laureates on the 21-member commission comprising leaders from business, government and academia. The Commissioners come from 18 countries that include a broad mix of developing, emerging and developed economies, as well as small island states and populous, large countries.

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To download full report click here:

http://www.growthcommission.org/

World Bank Broadens Transport Agenda

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Contacts
In Washington:
Roger Morier (202) 473 5675, rmorier@worldbank.org
Anna Piasecka (202) 458 7027, apiasecka@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2008 – The World Bank Group today launched a new transport business strategy for 2008-2012 that will help partner countries establish the governance, strategies, policies and services to deliver transport for development in a way that is economically, financially, environmentally and socially sustainable.

Called Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development, the business strategy strengthens the alignment of the transport sector approach with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2000. At the same time, it widens the directions and deepens the routes that will be taken to meet the evolving development agenda. It gives more attention to emerging trends, such as trade globalization, urbanization of populations; rising concerns about climate change, the increase in traffic congestion; and the recognition of access as a key to both economic opportunity and good governance.

“In striving to achieve its development objectives—and foremost to eradicate poverty—the World Bank Group is mobilizing the transport sector to the fullest possible extent,” said Katherine Sierra, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development. ”To that end, the transport business strategy aligns Bank Group instruments along a few key strategic directions that will pave the way to truly sustainable development, one where transport plays a crucial role.”

“In a world with rising levels of greenhouse gases, poor road safety, and the too-frequent spread of communicable diseases along international routes, transport must be looked at anew. A coherent way forward requires innovative thinking and cooperation among sectors to optimize the role of transport without jeopardizing personal and commercial mobility.”

The Bank Group consulted widely in preparing its new business strategy, seeking contributions from over 75 transport development partners, governments, professional institutions, civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors, and putting an early draft on its external website for four months to elicit public comments.

Safe Transport
Acknowledging the importance of transport for achieving public health outcomes within the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy stresses the need to mitigate the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to address safety in all transport modes, especially road transport. It also addresses the safety issue in air transport which, although globally much safer, still shows a safety record significantly affecting growth and investment prospects in some regions, in particular Sub-Saharan Africa. Transport and supply-chain security has also become a major issue in ensuring fair access of developing country exports to developed markets, and needs to be addressed as a new global public good.

“Road crashes kill an estimated 1.2 million people a year and injure 50 million more, disproportionately affecting the poor,” said Anthony Bliss, Lead Road Safety Specialist, Program Coordinator for the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility. “We are placing special emphasis on road safety, extending our support to include not only road safety components embedded in road infrastructure projects, but also larger stand-alone projects to formulate national policies and strategies that would improve road safety across the board. We will also pursue cross-sectoral approaches, such as including pre-hospital components in road programs and road safety components in health programs.”

Clean Transport
Urban air pollution, 90 percent of it generated by motor vehicles, kills an estimated 800,000 people each year. Transport now produces approximately 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Reflecting the contribution of transport to the wider environmental aims of the Millennium Development Goals, the strategy encompasses the transport-energy-environment nexus, from the energy consumption to the emissions and climate change impact perspectives. Going forward, the World Bank Group will be working to help restrain transport energy consumption. It will be assessing and controlling transport projects emissions, favoring shifts to low carbon modes.

“We are setting guidelines for environmentally effective transport planning and decision making,” said Jamal Saghir, Director, Energy, Transport and Water Department and Chair of the Transport Sector Board. “We are seeking ways to mitigate the effects of transport on the climate—and the effects of climate change on transport asset. We intend to build climate change issues into transport project appraisals where appropriate.”

Affordable Transport
An estimated 1 billion people in low-income countries lack access to an all-weather road. Affordable transport can enhance mobility and inclusion. It can promote social, economic, and political integration, by keeping a country together despite geographic disparities, by overcoming potential disputes over access to resources, and by defusing the seeds of conflict that sometimes arise from feelings of isolation.

Marc Juhel, Sector Manager for Transport stressed the fact that affordability concerns not only the rural and urban poor, but also the whole freight economy, aiming at improving competitiveness to foster stronger economic growth:

“The strategy stresses the need for better knowledge and control of transport costs, for both passengers and freight, on domestic and regional, urban and rural settings. The implementation of an effective urban transport strategy, reaching out to the growing urban poor population, is a key element of this approach. On the freight side, the cooperative work on trade and transport facilitation—in particular on customs and transit issues—will be strengthened.”

World Bank contribution to transport over previous decade
Since the Bank’s 1996 transport strategy, Sustainable Transport, was endorsed by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, the Bank Group has committed around US$42 billion for more than 530 dedicated transport operations and transport components in over 500 non-transport specific projects in more than 100 client countries. Lending in fiscal year 2007 (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007) reached over US$5 billion, amounting to 20 percent of World Bank Group new annual commitments.

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View the transport business strategy—Safe, Clean, and Affordable… Transport for Development at: http://www.worldbank.org/transport

World Bank Group President Appoints Vice President of Institutional Integrity

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington: Carl Hanlon (202) 473 8087
chanlon@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. May 5, 2008 – World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick has named South African Leonard McCarthy to head the Bank’s Department of Institutional Integrity (INT). McCarthy has earned international recognition for investigations and prosecutions of individuals engaged in corruption as head of South Africa’s Directorate of Special Operations.

“Leonard McCarthy is recognized worldwide for his integrity, independence, and effectiveness in fighting corruption and strengthening good governance,” says Zoellick. “This is the first time that the Department of Institutional Integrity will be headed at the level of Vice President, and McCarthy brings to the post stature, skill, and tested experience. This post is critical for our work, reputation, and fiduciary duty. I am confident that he will bring effective leadership to our highest obligation to protect the Bank’s assets and hold people, businesses, and governments responsible if they steal from the poor.”

McCarthy’s work with South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority has included investigating and prosecuting high profile cases of financial crime, organized crime, and high-level corruption. He has worked closely with African governments and law enforcement officials across the globe to expose and prosecute transnational financial crime. McCarthy was formerly a Director of Public Prosecutions appointed by President Nelson Mandela.

An experienced trial lawyer, he has held numerous positions in government, including Investigating Director in the Office for Serious Economic Offenses, Deputy Attorney General in Cape Province and Senior Public Prosecutor. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of South Africa in Cape Town.

Following talks with the South African government, President Mbeki has agreed to release McCarthy from service, to take up the position at the World Bank on June 30, 2008.

“I am honored to receive this appointment and to be joining the World Bank, I believe strongly in its vision, said McCarthy. “President Zoellick has made clear to me the strong emphasis he places on INT’s role, its need for strong, highly skilled people who will both pursue investigations and integrate anti-corruption work into Bank projects across the world. I am committed to delivering results and building on INT’s work to strengthen financial due diligence and ensure that precious development resources benefit people who need them most.”

McCarthy was selected from a list of candidates assessed by an internal search committee with the addition of former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who led a review of INT last year. In his report Volcker called for greater attention to protect against corruption in designing and implementing Bank programs.

Mr. Volcker has welcomed the fact that: “the Bank is now implementing the recommendations of the Panel he chaired, importantly including elevating the head of INT to the level of vice president.”

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World Bank Marks World Press Freedom Day with Study on Broadcasting and Development

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:30:00 GMT

Contact:

In Washington: Christopher Neal, (202) 473-2049

Cneal1@worldbank.org

MAPUTO, May 2, 2008—The World Bank marked World Press Freedom Day by launching a study outlining conditions under which radio, television and online broadcasting can fulfil a vital role in development by making governments accountable, and giving voice to the world’s poor.

“Huge numbers of people, including those who can’t read, have access to broadcast media,” said Kreszentia Duer, of the World Bank Institute (WBI), who presented the study, Broadcasting, Voice and Accountability, at a conference here on freedom of expression hosted by UNESCO. “In countries with strong oral traditions, community broadcasting can enable people to share information and raise issues with a large audience, and hold government officials to account. This makes broadcasting a powerful tool for enhancing governance and promoting development.”

The 400-page study, subtitled A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law and Regulation, is the result of five years of research by six media experts, including Ms. Duer, Steve Buckley, president of the World Association of Community Broadcasters; Toby Mendel, ARTICLE 19, Global Campaign for Free Expression; Seán Ó Siochrú, founder of the Campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society; Monroe E. Price, of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; and Marc Raboy, of Canada’s McGill University.

The study reviews broadcasting practices and regulations around the world, and identifies those which produce an “enabling environment” for broadcasting that is free, independent and pluralistic. These characteristics are essential, the report says, for broadcasting to perform an effective role in giving people voice, and ensuring government accountability.

Drawing from their research, the authors propose standards on freedom of expression, access to information, use and misuses of defamation law, content rules and limits to free speech, and the regulation of journalists. The study also offers guidelines on best practice for broadcast regulators, as well as the respective roles of public service, community non-profit, and commercial private sector broadcasters, all of which, it argues, should be present in a healthy media environment.

Co-author Steve Buckley notes that increased movement towards democracy in developing countries opens the way to build broadcasting that serves the public interest.

“Countries that are opening their economies, democratizing, and decentralizing public service delivery are looking for guidance on how to involve citizens in decisions that affect them,” he said. “Broadcasting, enabled by the right regulation and conditions, can empower groups through bottom-up participation.”

The book cites countries that have developed systems to enhance the quality and diversity of media content, while fully respecting freedom of expression, and identifies ways in which government regulation can expand access to broadcast media. Community broadcasting, for example, can be encouraged through special licensing arrangements that guarantee fair and equitable access to radio frequencies and financial support.

“This book focuses on useful proactive approaches to setting up, sustaining, and governing broadcasting systems across the world,” said Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, UNESCO Chair in Communication for Southern Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. “It’s based on sound scholarship and provides practical advice for policymakers, media scholars and broadcasters alike.”

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For more information, please visit:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/0,,contentMDK:21747844~pagePK:209023~piPK:207535~theSitePK:213799,00.html

To order: http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=8100893

World Bank President Calls for Plan to Fight Hunger in Pre-Spring Meetings Address

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:53:10 GMT

April 2, 2008—In a speech today, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick called for a "new deal" to combat world hunger and malnutrition through a combination of emergency aid and long-term efforts to boost agricultural productivity in developing countries.

The "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is part of a suite of initiatives Zoellick outlined to advance development in the face of skyrocketing food and oil prices. He also called for a global trade deal to be agreed as soon as possible, detailed an initiative to help countries manage their wealth earned from high energy and mineral prices in a more inclusive way, and encouraged sovereign wealth funds to create a "One Percent Solution" for equity investment in Africa.

Agricultural Assistance

The World Bank will nearly double agricultural assistance to US$800 million in Africa. Zoellick also urged wealthy nations to help the UN’s World Food Program meet some $500 million in emergency food needs.

"The United States, the European Union, Japan and other OECD countries must act now to fill this gap – or many more people will suffer and starve," Zoellick said in an address sponsored by the Center for Global Development in Washington.

Zoellick said the "New Deal for a Global Food Policy" is needed to combat the "forgotten" Millennium Development Goal of overcoming malnutrition. Only about a tenth of the resources directed at HIV/AIDS goes to fight malnutrition, which causes 3.5 million deaths a year in children under 5 and has long-lasting impacts on health and achievement.

"Hunger and malnutrition are a cause, not just a result, of poverty," said Zoellick.

The World Bank estimates 33 countries face social unrest because of soaring food and energy prices.

The New Deal requires a shift from traditional food aid to a broader concept of food and nutrition assistance, such as cash or vouchers that can help build local food markets and farm production,.and create a "Green Revolution" for Sub-Saharan Africa, said Zoellick.

"This New Deal should focus not only on hunger and nutrition, access to food and its supply, but also the interconnections with energy, yields, climate change, investment, the marginalization of women and others, and economic resiliency and growth," said Zoellick.

"Food policy needs to gain the attention of the highest political levels, because no one country or group can meet these interconnected challenges."

Zoellick said the World Bank Group can help by:

Backing emergency measures that support the poor while encouraging incentives to produce and harvest food
Offering access to technology and science to boost yields
Helping countries counter weather-related risks, such as drought
Facilitating land-titling, local currency financing, working capital, distribution and logistics, and support for services on which farmers rely

"Income gains in agriculture have three times the power in overcoming poverty than increases in other sectors, and 75 percent of the world’s poor are rural, with most involved in farming," said Zoellick.

Trade Also Key to Lower Food Prices

Zoellick said the time was "now or never" to break the impasse in global trade talks. A "fairer and more open trading system" would encourage developing country farmers to expand production, he said.

"The poor need lower food prices now. But the world’s agricultural trading system is stuck in the past. If ever there was a time to cut distorting agricultural subsidies and open markets for food imports, it must be now."

An accord would give developing countries, big and small, more opportunities to become more productive and lower prices through trade. It would also infuse confidence in an economic system stressed by financial anxiety, he said.

However, "powerful voices across the political spectrum, including in my own country, are calling for, rationalizing, protectionism," Zoellick said. "This economic isolationism signals a defeatism that will reap the losses, not the gains, of globalization."

The trade talks are also a "critical test" for striking a global deal on climate change. "If negotiators of 150 economies cannot manage the political tradeoffs of the Doha Round to reap the clear benefits, it does not auger well for bringing developed and developing countries together on a new accord for climate change."

Sovereign Wealth Funds

Zoellick also outlined a plan to encourage emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil to invest about US$30 billion in African nations through government-sponsored wealth funds.

Such sovereign wealth funds currently hold about US$3 trillion in assets. They have come under scrutiny recently because of investments outside their own countries. Zoellick noted they need transparency and should be guided by best practices to avoid politicization, but "where some see sovereign funds as a source of concern, we see opportunity," said Zoellick.

The World Bank’s "One Percent Solution" involves creating the equity investment platforms and benchmarks to attract these investors, and allocating 1 percent of the assets to African growth, development and opportunity.

"This one percent could be the start of something much bigger, across more types of funds and countries, because the investment of wealth into equity for development offers opportunity, not something to fear."

Extractive Industries Initiative

Zoellick announced a new approach to help ensure that high energy and commodity prices translate into improvements in the lives of the poor.

The EITI++ builds on the transparency and good governance concepts of the existing multi-stakeholder Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). EITI publicizes and verifies company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. But many governments are emphasizing that transparent revenue reporting, while important, is not enough. The World Bank is therefore working with developing countries and other partners to frame a "comprehensive approach to supplement the original project."

EITI++ will include providing technical assistance to countries on the awarding of contracts, monitoring operations, collecting taxes, improving resource extraction and economic decisions, better managing price volatility, and investing revenues effectively in sustainable development.

An EITI++ approach will be launched in Guinea. "The successful development of Guinea’s rich resources can strengthen sustainable development for the entire region," Zoellick said.

"The EITI++ can advance inclusive and sustainable globalization by broadening the beneficiaries of resource development."

World Bank Appoints New Country Directors for Central America and the Caribbean

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:47:22 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington: Gabriela Aguilar (202) 473-6768
gaguilar2@worldbank.org
Stevan Jackson (202) 458-5054
sjackson@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, October 31, 2007 – Pamela Cox, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, announced today the appointment of two new country directors for the region to head the units of Central America —Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica—and the Caribbean.

“The new Country Directors were selected through the World Bank wide competitive managerial selection process. They will work closely with partner countries to provide innovative solutions that respond to their specific development challenges,” said Ms. Cox. Country Directors are in charge of the World Bank local programs.

The new Country Director for Central America is Laura Frigenti, an Italian national. Ms. Frigenti joined the Bank in 1994 as a consultant in the Population and Human Development Division of the Eastern Africa Department. Since then, she has held several positions, the most recent one being Sector Manager for Human Development responsible for Eastern and Central Africa. Ms. Frigenti also has experience in Latin America. Her new position will be effective on January 1st, 2008.

Yvonne Tsikata was appointed as Country Director for the Caribbean (Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, OECS Member States, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago). Ms. Tsikata, a Ghanaian national, joined the Bank in August 1991 as a Young Professional. Her most recent assignment in the organization was Sector Manager in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management in the Africa Region. Ms. Tsikata’s appointment will be effective on November 1st, 2007.

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For more information on the World Bank’s work in Latin America and the Caribbean, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/lac

World Bank Calls for Agricultural Renewal to Reduce Rural Poverty in Transforming Economies

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Contacts:
In Washington: Merrell Tuck (202)473-9516
Mobile: (202) 415-1775
mtuckprimdahl@worldbank.org
Radio/TV: Nazanine AtabakI (202) 458-1450
Natabaki@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON, DC, October 19, 2007 – The latest World Development Report says greater investment in agriculture in transforming economies, most of which are in Asia, is vital to the welfare of 600 million rural poor people living in those countries.

Titled ‘Agriculture for Development’, the report warns that the international goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 will not be reached unless neglect and underinvestment in the agricultural and rural sectors over the past 20 years is reversed.

“Rural poverty accounts for an extraordinary 82 percent of total poverty in transforming countries,” said Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President. “A greater focus on agriculture is essential when considering population pressures, declining farm sizes, water scarcity and environmental contamination, and the need to develop lagging high poverty areas.”

In transforming economies such as China, India and Morocco, agriculture contributed an average 7 percent to growth in GDP between 1995 and 2003, though the sector accounts for about 13 percent of the economy and employs just over half the labor force. The report recommends that in these countries, where 2.2 billion people live in the countryside, the agricultural agenda should focus on reducing the disparity between rural and urban incomes and raising the incomes of the rural poor.

According to the WDR, for the poorest people, GDP growth originating in agriculture is about four times as effective in reducing poverty as GDP growth originating outside the sector.

“Agricultural growth has been highly successful in reducing rural poverty in East Asia over the past 15 years,” said Francois Bourguignon, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics. “The challenge is to sustain and expand agriculture’s unique poverty-reducing power, especially in South Asia where the number of rural poor people is still rising and will likely exceed the number of urban poor for at least another 30 years.”

The report says agriculture can provide pathways out of poverty for millions of rural poor who would otherwise be left behind in transforming economies. It says one way out is through a high-value agricultural revolution. Incentives to diversify into high-value horticulture, poultry, fish and dairy products could be provided via pricing reforms and an overhaul of subsidy supports for cereals.

For its part, the World Bank is committed to increasing its support for agriculture and rural development, following a decline in lending in the 1980s and 1990s. In FY07 commitments reached $3.1 billion, marking an increase for the fourth straight year.

Detailed Findings:

According to the report, the livelihoods of subsistence farmers can be improved by increasing the productivity of staple crops in lagging regions, a move that would require major investments in soil and water management and in agricultural research. It also calls for an improved investment climate for agribusiness.

“Rapidly transforming economies must move from the green revolution to focus on new high-value agriculture—with fast-growing urban incomes and demand for high-value products in cities becoming the drivers of agricultural growth and poverty reduction,” said Alain de Janvry, Co-Team Leader on the report. “Globally, countries must deliver a level playing field for trade, while farmer organizations and other local groups need more say in setting policies.”

The report also says that a major priority for transforming economies should be to reduce the environmental footprint of intensive agriculture, especially in agrochemical and animal waste production. Given concerns over water scarcity in transforming economies, the report calls for reform of institutions dealing with irrigation and the removal of water and electricity subsidies.

For the poorest of the poor in rural areas, the report advocates improving the investment climate for rural nonfarm business and job schemes in rural areas. Job programs could entail building rural roads, planting trees in denuded areas, and working to de-silt canals and ponds.

The 2008 WDR uses a typology of countries based on the contribution of agriculture to overall growth, 1990-2005 and the share of rural poor in the total number of poor (2002 US$2-a-day level). In agriculture-based countries (mostly Africa), agriculture contributes asignificant(>20%) share of overall growth. In transforming countries (mostly in Asia), nonagricultural sectors dominate growth but a great majority of the poor are in rural areas. In urbanized countries (mostly in Latin America and Europe and Central Asia), the largest number of poor people are in urban areas, although poverty rates are often highest in rural areas.

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Access the report and related materials at: http://www.worldbank.org/wdr2008

World Bank Calls for Renewed Emphasis on Agriculture for Development

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:15:00 GMT

	Multimedia

Contacts:
In Washington: Merrell Tuck (202) 473-9516
Mobile: (202) 415-1775
mtuckprimdahl@worldbank.org
Radio/TV: Nazanine AtabakI (202) 458-1450
Natabaki@worldbank.org

WASHINGTON , DC , October 19, 2007 – The latest World Development Report calls for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries and warns that the sector must be placed at the center of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realized.

Titled 'Agriculture for Development', the reportsays the agricultural and rural sectors have suffered from neglect and underinvestment over the past 20 years. While 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, a mere 4 percent of official development assistance goes to agriculture in developing countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a region heavily reliant on agriculture for overall growth, public spending for farming is also only 4 percent of total government spending and the sector is still taxed at relatively high levels.

The World Bank Group is advocating a new ‘agriculture for development’ agenda. According to the WDR, for the poorest people, GDP growth originating in agriculture is about four times more effective in reducing poverty than GDP growth originating outside the sector.

“A dynamic ‘agriculture for development’ agenda can benefit the estimated 900 million rural people in the developing world who live on less than $1 a day, most of whom are engaged in agriculture,” said Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President. “We need to give agriculture more prominence across the board. At the global level, countries must deliver on vital reforms such as cutting distorting subsidies and opening markets, while civil society groups, especially farmer organizations, need more say in setting the agricultural agenda.”

According to the report, agriculture can offer pathways out of poverty if efforts are made to increase productivity in the staple foods sector; connect smallholders to rapidly expanding high-value horticulture, poultry, aquaculture, as well as dairy markets; and generate jobs in the rural nonfarm economy.

“Agricultural growth has been highly successful in reducing rural poverty in East Asia over the past 15 years,” said Francois Bourguignon, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Development Economics. “The challenge is to sustain and expand agriculture’s unique poverty-reducing power, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia where the number of rural poor people is still rising and will continue to exceed the number of urban poor for at least another 30 years.”

For its part, the Bank intends to continue increasing its support for agriculture and rural development, following a decline in lending in the 1980s and 1990s. Commitments in FY07 reached $3.1 billion, marking an increase for the fourth straight year.

DETAILED FINDINGS

The report also warns global food supplies are under pressure from expanding demand for food, feed, and biofuels; the rising price of energy; and increasing land and water scarcity; as well as the effects of climate change. This in turn is contributing to uncertainty about future food prices.

Agriculture consumes 85 percent of the world’s utilized water and the sector contributes to deforestation, land degradation, and pollution. The report recommends measures to achieve more sustainable production systems and outlines incentives to protect the environment.

The report says in agriculture-based countries—home to 417 million rural people, 170 million of whom live on less than $1 a day—the agricultural sector is essential to overall growth, poverty reduction, and food security. Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the sector employs 65 percent of the labor force and generates 32 percent of GDP growth.

For Sub-Saharan Africa’s development, the report highlights issues to be urgently confronted: too little public spending on agriculture; donor support for emergency food aid with insufficient attention to income-raising investments; rich-country trade barriers and subsidies for key commodities such as cotton and oilseeds; and the under-recognized potential of millions of women who play a dominant role in farming.

In transforming countries such as China, India, and Morocco, agriculture contributes on average only 7 percent to GDP growth, but lagging rural incomes are a major source of political tensions. Dynamism in the rural and agricultural sectors is needed to narrow the rural-urban income gap and reduce rural poverty for 600 million poor while avoiding falling into subsidy and protection traps that will stymie growth and tax poor consumers.

In urbanized countries, mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, agriculture contributes just 5 percent of GDP growth on average. However, rural areas are still home to 45 percent of the poor, and agribusiness and food services account for as much as one third of GDP. The broad goal is to link smallholders to modern food markets and provide remunerative jobs in rural areas.

The report says rich countries need to reform policies which harm the poor. For example, it is vital that the United States reduces cotton subsidies which depress prices for African smallholders. In the emerging area of biofuels, the problem is both restrictive tariffs and heavy subsidies in rich countries, which drive up food prices and limit export opportunities for efficient developing country producers. The report also asserts that industrialized countries that were the major contributors to global warming urgently need to do more to help poor farmers adapt their production systems to climate change.

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Access the report and related material at: www.worldbank.org/wdr2008

Journalists are encouraged to use this url in their reports.

Guyana: The Conservancy Adaptation Project

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:07:06 GMT

WASHINGTON, October 11, 2007 - The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IDA GRANT: $3.8 million grant

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Conservancy Adaptation Project aims at strengthening the government’s and donor understanding of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) system and coastal drainage patterns through the integration of advanced mapping and engineering analysis. The project also aims at implementing infrastructure investments to improve drainage performance, to strengthen the institutional capacity for managing water and floodwater levels, and to guide interventions to reduce Guyana’s vulnerability to floods.

For more information please call Stevan Jackson (202) 458 5054 or email: sjackson@worldbank.org

World Bank Approves $3.8 Million to Protect Vulnerable Land in Guyana

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:45:57 GMT

Contact:

Stevan Jackson, (202) 458 5054

sjackson@worldbank.org

Washington, October 11, 2007—The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved a $3.8 million grant to support governmental efforts to reduce the vulnerability from catastrophic flooding of Guyana’s low-lying coastal areas, currently threatened by a rise in sea level resulting from global climate change.

The new grant is provided by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Special Climate Change Fund and supported by the International Development Association (IDA), a concessional lending arm which supports the world poorest countries.

"Reducing Guyana’s vulnerability to floods is critical to maintaining the economic stability of the country," said Caroline Anstey, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. "The consequences of climate change in Caribbean nations like Guyana will impose a heavy burden on the economies of the region, in particular on the poor. It is for this reason that climate change is central to the Bank’s agenda in the region.”

The Conservancy Adaptation Project aims at strengthening government and donor understanding of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) system and coastal drainage patterns through the integration of advanced mapping and engineering analysis. The project also aims at implementing infrastructure investments to improve drainage performance, to strengthen the institutional capacity for managing water and floodwater levels, and to guide interventions to reduce Guyana’s vulnerability to floods.

Among the specific activities to be completed by 2010, the project will develop a ground surface elevation model for predicting surface water flow patterns to produce an engineering foundation critical for flood control management. The project will also identify at least 10 key drainage systems for follow-on intervention and support specific construction works designed to increase the drainage relief capacity of the EDWC to the Demerara River by 35 percent.

According to the 2005 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Guyana’s total losses resulting from the heavy rains of January 2005 amounted to US$465 million, or 59 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the most densely populated area in the country, 71 percent of residents were affected, while 20 percent of those in neighboring regions were impacted. In lowland areas, flood waters persisted for over a month and the death toll reached 34, mostly attributed to waterborne disease.

The Bank currently has a total of 3 projects in Guyana, for US$ 25.1 million total net commitments.

The news of this important grant comes two weeks after the Executive Board of Directors of the World Bank Group (WBG) took another crucial step with the decision to contribute a record sum of US$3.5 billion of its own income to grants and credits for the world’s poorest countries while completing the 15^th replenishment of the International Development Agency (IDA), the World Bank agency that supports the poorest countries.

This contribution is more than double the US$1.5 billion pledged by the WBG for IDA 14 in 2005. In Latin America, recipient countries include Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua.

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For more information on the Bank’s work in Guyana, please visit: www.worldbank.org/gy

An Inclusive & Sustainable Globalization

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:30:20 GMT

Slideshow: The Vision of the World Bank Group

As Prepared for Delivery

Robert B. Zoellick

President of the World Bank Group

The National Press Club, Washington D.C.

October 10, 2007

Having now served as President of the World Bank Group for 100 days, I wanted to share my initial impressions and ideas for strategic directions.

I greatly appreciate the encouragement and support I have received from many quarters. I sense that people around the world – in developing and developed countries – recognize both the need for and potential of this unique creation. The World Bank Group is one of the great multilateral institutions established after World War II. Sixty years later, it must adapt to vastly different circumstances in a new era of globalization.

The staff of the World Bank Group has helped me learn, shown me our vital work in the field, and offered fresh ideas as we set a course for the future. The Board is offering experienced guidance as we strive to turn good intentions and analysis into productive actions.

The Face of the World Bank Group

Yet the real face of the World Bank Group is not the one usually seen in Washington, or in the drawing rooms of the capitals of our major shareholders.

When I visited Yen Bai Province in the northern mountains of Vietnam this August, I met a woman who now has electricity to help grind rice, pump water, power fans, and light her one room household so her children can study at night – because the World Bank financed a Vietnamese electrification project. Electricity now eases the chores of over 90 percent of rural households in Vietnam. As in other societies, rural electrification most of all empowers the women who bear the brunt of daily farm labor.

In Honduras, the World Bank is helping save Pico Bonito National Park through the Bio Carbon Fund, which supports farmers who are shifting from cutting the native Redondo trees to selling their seeds and replanting saplings. As one farmer said, “We still have our trees and I can still make money, even more than I did before. We even take care of the wild seedlings.”

In Nigeria, the International Finance Corporation, our private sector arm, helped a single mother in the village of Ovoko to obtain a microfinance loan to become a village phone operator. Villagers used to have to travel a day to make a phone call. Now this entrepreneur helps her neighbors connect to the broader world, while earning money to pay for her children’s school fees and medication for her own HIV/AIDs treatments.

Given the opportunity, people everywhere want to build a better life for themselves and their children. That impulse, if given a chance, can contribute to a healthy and prosperous global society.

An Inclusive & Sustainable Globalization: The Needs

We live in an age of globalization. Yet its contours are uncertain. Since the end of the Cold War, the number of people in the world market economy has increased from about one billion to four or five -- vastly increasing the productive labor force, building new manufacturing and service centers throughout the developing world, boosting demand for energy and commodities, and creating vast possibilities for increased consumption. New pools of savings are adding to global capital flows that are drawn to investment opportunities offered by both emerging markets and transforming developed economies. The transfer of skills, technologies, information, and applied practical knowledge is rushing ahead.

The global flow of trade has more than doubled since 1990. More open economies lower the cost of goods and services. More countries are relying on export-led growth. While the purchases from developed economies remain important, new trade patterns reflect regional and global supply chains and increasing “south-south” trade. Nearly 300 million people have escaped extreme poverty.

Yet many remain on the fringes and some are falling further behind. They can be counted as countries, as regions and groups within countries, or as individuals. Their exclusion has many causes – including conflicts, poor governance and corruption, discrimination, lack of basic human needs, disease, the absence of infrastructure, weak economic management and incentives, lack of property rights and rule of law, and even geography and weather.

We can also see the environmental challenge of this extraordinary surge of growth, with rivers that run black, skies that block the sun, and threats to health and climate.

Globalization offers incredible opportunities. Yet exclusion, grinding poverty, and environmental damage create dangers. The ones that suffer most are those who have the least to start with – indigenous peoples, women in developing countries, the rural poor, Africans, and their children.

It is the vision of the World Bank Group to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable globalization – to overcome poverty, enhance growth with care for the environment, and create individual opportunity and hope.

In 2000, the countries of the United Nations established eight Millennium Development Goals —ambitious targets to halve poverty, fight hunger and disease, and deliver basic services to the poor by 2015. These goals, our goals, are posted by the main entrance of our headquarters building, reminding us everyday of what we come to work to accomplish.

These aims of sound social development need to be combined with the requirements for sustainable growth, driven by the private sector, within a supportive framework of public policies.

Consider some of the needs.

Every year, malaria strikes some 500 million people worldwide. Yet we could get close to overcoming this leading killer of African children. It would take an investment of approximately $3 billion a year over the next few years to provide every household vulnerable to malaria with treated bed nets, medicines, and modest amounts of indoor insecticide.

The International Energy Agency estimates that developing countries will need about $170 billion of investment in the power sector each year over the next decade just to keep up with electricity needs, with an extra $30 billion per year to transition to a low carbon energy mix.

An additional $30 billion per year is needed to achieve the Millennium Goal of supplying safe water to 1.5 billion people and sanitation to the 2 billion people who lack these most basic necessities, also improving gender equality in poor countries.

There is need for another $130 billion a year to meet the transportation infrastructure requirements of growing developing countries, including an estimated $10 billion a year for maritime container terminals to accommodate opportunities in trade.

And to provide primary education for some 80 million out-of-school children, another Millennium Goal, low-income countries will require about $7 billion per year.

How the World Bank Group Can Help

Meeting these needs is not, of course, just a question of money. Nor is it the role of the World Bank Group to finance the investments by itself.

It is the purpose of the Bank Group to assist countries to help themselves by catalyzing the capital and policies through a mix of ideas and experience, development of private market opportunities, and support for good governance and anti-corruption – spurred by our financial resources.

It is the purpose of the Bank Group to advance ideas about international projects and agreements on trade, finance, health, poverty, education, and climate change so that they can benefit all, especially the poor seeking new opportunities.

We should be expanding the frontiers of thinking about policy and markets, pioneering new possibilities, not just recycling the passably proven with a modest financial advantage.

I have been stressing the idea of the World Bank Group to make a point. We are a single institution, operating through specialized affiliates, as is the case for many large financial firms. We must strengthen our interaction and effectiveness as a Group.

Our Group has four principal parts. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is our public finance arm, providing loans based on market prices, risk management, and other financial services, combined with deep development experience. The International Development Association (IDA) is an aid conduit that provides interest-free loans and grants to the 81 poorest countries, as well as significant debt relief. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is our private sector arm, making equity investments, loans, and guarantees, while offering advisory services in developing countries. And the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) supplies political risk insurance. Operating together, we can leverage these tools to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

All of these components share a body of expert learning and experience covering a host of development disciplines. Delivering, expanding, and testing this knowledge – in tandem with financing or separately – is the most important part of our work.

First Steps

Over the past two months, working closely with our Board, the management of the World Bank Group has begun to take actions to move forward. In doing so, we are also strengthening the synergies among these companion entities.

This year, we are replenishing funds for IDA, the Group’s principal financing tool for the poorest countries, and for Africa in particular. This is the 15^th IDA replenishment; each new refunding covers the next three years.

We have been discussing with about 40 donor countries, along with borrowers, how to set priorities, strengthen policies, and improve our effectiveness with IDA countries. The generosity of donors is fundamental to the success of this replenishment, and we have been encouraged by their support for an ambitious result.

I wanted all donors to know—in concrete terms—that the World Bank Group will “put its money where its mouth is” when it comes time to boosting IDA.

So I am delighted to announce that our Board has concurred that the Bank Group should be leading the way by seeking to contribute $3.5 billion of its own resources to IDA 15. This is more than double the $1.5 billion we pledged to IDA 14 in 2005. With this stronger hand, we will challenge donor countries to commit to an ambitious increase in numbers to help the poorest, especially in Africa and South and East Asia. South Africa has already set a good standard by pledging a 30 percent boost in its IDA funding. Now we need the G-8 and other developed countries to translate their words from Summit declarations into serious numbers, too.

Our IDA contribution depends, of course, on the annual income of the IBRD and IFC, as distributed by their Boards each year, but we believe this stretch goal is possible. We urge others to stretch, too.

Second, we are committed to a stronger growth strategy for IFC. IFC is well-capitalized and is bolstering its private sector investments in IDA countries, low-middle income countries, and needy regions and sectors in middle income countries.

Third, we will deepen the cooperation between IDA and IFC to boost the private sector in these economies. Last year, 37 percent of IFC’s investments were in IDA countries, and we will increase that figure. IFC is also launching new infrastructure and microequity funds for IDA countries. Furthermore, IDA and IFC can co-invest to support public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects, especially in the energy, transportation, water, agricultural, and microfinancing sectors. These projects can support the integration of regional markets, which is especially vital for smaller and land-locked states in Africa.

Fourth, even though IBRD is very well-capitalized, our loan business has been shrinking. Today, about 70 percent of the poor live in India, China, and the middle income countries served by IBRD. These countries have asked us to remain engaged in their search for how best to meet their diverse needs. So the IBRD should be growing, not contracting. Of course, as I will discuss, our services to middle income countries must continue to expand far beyond lending. Yet our pricing patchwork, reflecting adjustments made in 1998, confused our clients. IBRD loans -- combined with customized, cutting-edge policy expertise -- remain valuable. Our mix of lending and knowledge services is especially important to help countries with their social development and the expansion of energy and infrastructure in an environmentally sound fashion.

Therefore, in order to better meet the great needs of emerging market countries, I asked our Board to simplify and cut our prices so we could expand our lending to support development and growth. I am pleased that the Board has agreed, clarifying our fees and reducing rates back to the pre-Asian crisis level. This step can help us catalyze the expansion of our services. But we have more to do. We must also address the non-financial costs of doing business. We aim to be faster, better, and cheaper.

These steps are just a start. They point the way, through concrete milestones, towards an expanding horizon.

An Inclusive & Sustainable Globalization: A Multilateral Approach

Globalization must not leave the “bottom billion” behind. This assertion is based on more than respect for the worth of our fellow men and women, and beyond an appreciation that any of us might have been born in similar circumstances. Inclusive globalization is also a matter of self-interest. Poverty breeds instability, disease, and devastation of common resources and the environment. Poverty can lead to broken societies that can become breeding grounds of those bent on destruction and to migrations that risk lives.

Globalization also has brought uneven benefits to the billions in middle income countries who have started to climb the ladder of development since the end of the Cold War. In many lands, social tensions are weakening political cohesion. The middle income countries are home to 60 percent of the world’s forests and 40 percent of global emissions of CO₂ from fossil fuels. Together with developed countries that produce most emissions, these nations will be key to crafting a global approach to climate change. These middle income countries need to continue to grow, to offer inclusive development, and to adopt environmental policies for sustainable prosperity.

The greater influence of developing countries presents another question: What will their place be in this evolving global system? This is not only a question of how large developing countries will interact with developed countries, but also with the poorest and smaller states of the world. It would be ironic indeed for the Bank Group to withdraw from work with middle income countries at a time that governments are recognizing the need to integrate these countries more effectively in diplomacy and political-security institutions: Why not integrate them as partners in the institutions of the multilateral economy, too?

Two years ago, I suggested that China build on its success by becoming a “responsible stakeholder” in the international system. This is, of course, a challenge for others, too, if we are to achieve an inclusive and sustainable globalization. And with responsibility, there should be greater voice and representation. We need to advance the agenda to strengthen the participation of developing countries throughout the Bank Group’s work and workforce.

Developed countries are also facing the opportunities and strains of globalization. People are anxious about the rate of change, even as many in younger generations adapt with amazing flexibility.

The common sense of publics in developed countries leads them to recognize there is no successful recourse to isolation. Common decency – as well as self-interest – drives them to recognize the interdependence, even as they debate how best to pursue it.

In comparison to the scale of these global challenges, the World Bank Group is a modest institution. Yet along with its multilateral partners – the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the IMF, the WTO, and regional development banks – the World Bank Group needs to play an important role in advancing an inclusive and sustainable globalization. The multilateral institutions have been buffeted and battered. They need to combine deliberations with effective results. They must overcome internal weaknesses and build on their strengths. Together, we must show that multilateralism can work much more effectively—not just in conference halls and communiqués—but in villages and teeming cities, for those most in need.

Inclusive and sustainable globalization needs to be fostered by global institutions. The World Bank Group has significant financial resources; an experienced, knowledgeable, and dedicated staff; convening power; people in more than 100 countries; and 185 member states. When at its best, the Bank Group can mobilize other resources – public and private, financial and human – to generate demonstration effects and multiplier effects. When successful, the World Bank Group is a catalyst for market dynamism that seizes the opportunities of globalization, inclusively and sustainably.

Six Strategic Themes

What, then, should be the strategic directions the World Bank Group should pursue?

Today, I will briefly highlight six strategic themes in support of the goal of an inclusive and sustainable globalization. In a week, we will have the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the IMF. On that occasion, I hope to discuss these six themes in greater detail with the Governors of the Bank, as well as with the broader community of interested parties, including civil society organizations, businesses, and foundations.

First, the World Bank Group faces the challenge of helping to overcome poverty and spur sustainable growth in the poorest countries, especially in Africa. IDA is our core financing instrument for the 81 poorest countries.

In these countries, we need to focus intensively with our partners on achieving the Millennium Development Goals. These basic needs will set the foundation for the future.

Yet the message I received when I traveled in Africa in June and Asia in August was that social development objectives are necessary but not sufficient. The good news is that 17 African countries, home to 36 percent of the population, achieved average annual growth of 5.5 percent from 1995 to 2005. These countries want assistance to build infrastructure for higher growth – especially energy and physical facilities that can support regional integration. They also want us to help develop local financial markets, including for microfinance, that can mobilize African savings for Africa’s growth.

African leaders see great potential to expand agriculture, increasingly through productivity growth. The World Bank Group’s forthcoming World Development Report will highlight that GDP growth from agriculture benefits the poorest four times more than growth in other sectors. We need a 21^st Century Green Revolution designed for the special and diverse needs of Africa, sparked by greater investments in technological research and dissemination, sustainable land management, agricultural supply chains, irrigation, rural microcredit, and policies that strengthen market opportunities while assisting with rural vulnerabilities and insecurities. More countries need to open their markets to farm exports, too.

Another 8 African countries, home to some 29 percent of the population, have averaged growth of 7.4 percent from 1995 to 2005 due to their oil resources. For these states and some IDA countries in other regions, the priority development challenge is encouraging good governance and anti-corruption policies, along with an expansion of local public sector capacity, to ensure that resource revenues build a sustainable future for all citizens.

Second, we need to address the special problems of states coming out of conflict or seeking to avoid the breakdown of the state.

When the visionaries at Bretton Woods conceived of the IBRD over 60 years ago, the “R” stood for the reconstruction of Europe and Japan. Today, the “R” points us toward the challenge of reconstruction in states harmed by modern conflicts.

Paul Collier writes in his book The Bottom Billion that 73 percent of that billion live in countries that have endured civil wars. Sadly, these conflicts not only lead to extraordinary suffering for the people directly involved, but the spillover effects drag down their neighbors too.

Frankly, our understanding of how to deal with these devastating cases is modest at best. I suspect we will need a more integrated approach involving security, political frameworks, rebuilding local capacity with quick support, reintegration of refugees, and more flexible development assistance. The Bank Group’s constructive work in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Mozambique shows what is possible. IDA’s adaptability and quick disbursements have proven vital in post-conflict environments, and we are working with donors to increase our effectiveness.

Today, we are at work in Southern Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Angola, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Pacific island states, Afghanistan, and Haiti, among others, often through trust funds established by donors and in concert with the UN. If there is an effective peace accord in Darfur, backed by a strong UN-AU security force, the World Bank Group would want to help.

Third, the World Bank Group needs a more differentiated business model for the middle income countries. These states continue to face major development challenges. Critical social services and infrastructure remain underfunded. In many cases, rapid economic growth has failed to provide opportunities for the poor. Environmental problems are acute. And there remains a continuing potential for volatility in the flow of capital to these countries – like those we witnessed through the 1980s and 1990s.

Recognizing these challenges, our middle income members want the World Bank Group to remain engaged with them through a competitive menu of “development solutions.” But this engagement needs to reflect major improvements in their financial position and institutional capacity over the past decade. They want IBRD, for example, to provide much more flexible and better-priced banking services, with less red tape and shorter turn-around times. They are looking to IFC to help develop private sector solutions for undeveloped markets and even social needs. And they are holding us to ever-higher standards of quality, consistency, and cost-effectiveness in our advisory services. In short, they want performance, and that is what we intend to give them.

For some middle income countries, our services will be increasingly in the areas of risk management and the application of global know-how to local needs. We can offer credit enhancements, hedging, and neutral expertise that will help build the capacity for asset management. We can encourage local securities markets by helping construct local currency bond funds and indices. We can finance in local currencies to help combine our lending with the management of currency risk. To encourage inclusive growth within countries, we can work with subnational authorities. We are now developing contingent financial instruments to assist with emergency liquidity needs during financial shocks, as well as insurance market facilities to broaden availability and lower the cost of coverage for natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Some of these activities may lead us to explore how best to provide services and knowledge for fees, offering our client countries a choice of delivery with or without financing.

Fourth, the World Bank Group will need to play a more active role in fostering regional and global public goods that transcend national boundaries and benefit multiple countries and citizens. It is our calling to ensure that this agenda is linked to the aims of development.

The World Bank Group has already demonstrated its potential to assist in countering communicable diseases through our work on HIV/AIDS, malaria, avian influenza, and vaccine development. We are in the midst of reexamining ways to strengthen the nexus between aid and trade, including through IFC’s innovative trade finance project, focused principally on Africa, which within two years has already backed almost $2 billion of trade.

We are working with our Board to significantly step up our assistance to the international efforts to address climate change. At our upcoming Annual Meetings and at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali this December, I hope to outline a portfolio of ways the World Bank Group can help integrate the needs of development and low carbon growth. We need to focus particularly on the interests of developing countries, so that we can meet the challenge of climate change without slowing the growth that will help overcome poverty.

Our work on regional and global public goods will require close cooperation with other agencies that have specialized expertise, such as WHO, UNEP, UNODC, and the WTO. We also must determine the Bank Group’s comparative advantage to best focus our resources through selective, differentiated approaches. Given our specialization in working on development at the national level, our most important operating challenge will be to support countries as they determine how best to integrate public goods policies—and regional and global opportunities—into national programs. These opportunities should draw on private sector entrepreneurs and energies, too.

Fifth, one of the most notable challenges of our time is how to support those seeking to advance development and opportunities in the Arab World. In the past, these lands have been at the center of trade and learning, suggesting the potential if they can move beyond strife and barriers to growth and social development. Without broad-based growth, these countries will struggle with social tensions and a large number of young people who cannot find jobs. The UN’s Arab Human Development reports offer powerful self-assessments.

When I served as the U.S. Trade Representative, I worked closely with leaders from the Maghreb to the Gulf who were opening economies and societies. Some had plenty of energy resources and capital but little economic diversity and ability to create jobs. Others were seeking to improve schools, strengthen the adoption of technology, and expand employment through business deregulation and trade. A number were deepening productive ties with Asia, through cross-investments, trade, and the growth of service centers.

Our recent “Doing Business 2008” report shows there is progress. Egypt tops the list of economies reforming regulations to make it easier to do business. Saudi Arabia eliminated layers of bureaucracy that had made it one of the toughest places to start a business and also did away with minimum capital requirements.

These are encouraging developments, but there is much more that can be done. An inclusive globalization must deliver benefits for all the people in these states. As Arab governments seek to provide social services effectively to all their peoples, we can offer comparative experience. We can assist in creating hospitable environments for business – whether local or foreign. For some, we may be able to finance development projects, operate donor trust funds, or spur the expansion of private sector services through the IFC. Today, we are helping provide basic social services and support for good governance and private sector growth in the Palestinian territories, which could provide the economic foundation for hope if the parties choose the path of peace.

Finally, while the World Bank Group has some of the attributes of a financial and development business, its calling is much broader. It is a unique and special institution of knowledge and learning. It collects and supplies valuable data. Yet this is not a university – rather it is a “brain trust” of applied experience that will help us to address the five other strategic themes.

Such a capability requires special recognition and sustenance. Yet we also must keep challenging ourselves by asking: what does it take to achieve inclusive and sustained development and growth?

This challenge requires humility – and intellectual honesty. Many development schemes and dreams have failed. This is not a reason to quit trying. It is cause to focus continually and rigorously on results and on the assessment of effectiveness. This is the best way to earn the confidence and support of our shareholders, stakeholders, and development clients and partners.

These six strategic themes offer a direction – to be discussed, refined, and improved. To bring these ideas to fruition, we need to understand the particular needs of our clients. We welcome the counsel and guidance of our shareholders. There is a great need – and a compelling opportunity – for the World Bank Group at this point in history.

Internal Challenges: Good Governance & Anti-Corruption

To be successful, the World Bank Group must also squarely face its own internal challenges. We need to use our capital more effectively and focus more on client service. We should strengthen our ties with civil society organizations and NGOs so we can learn from them. Reflecting the new “architecture of aid,” we need to work more effectively with national aid programs, funds focused on particular projects such as diseases, foundations, NGOs in the field, and private businesses interested in development challenges.

We need to assist staff with better professional development and improve mobility within the organization. We need stronger human resources policies to support our field staff as we encourage greater decentralization. And we need greater voice and representation on our Board and diversity in our workforce.

As a recent report of an experienced panel led by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker underscored, we also have work to do in strengthening our approach to dealing with governance and corruption. The panel gave us an extensive set of recommendations to consider to bolster the work of our internal investigators and make sure their product is put to best use. We are following up promptly, welcoming the views of others, discussing ideas with our Board, and moving toward operational improvements.

My experience has been that the people at the World Bank Group recognize how critical the Governance and Anti-Corruption agenda is. They are proud of the development mission they serve, want to uphold the integrity of their institution, and know corruption steals most from the poor and powerless. We will do better together.

The World Bank Group can also offer leadership by integrating good governance and rule of law policies in the development agenda. Just last month, we joined with the UN to launch a Stolen Assets Recovery—or StAR—Initiative to get developed and developing countries to work together to recover the financial plunder of corruption. Our successful “Doing Business” report makes clear that poor regulatory and licensing policies not only stifle entrepreneurs, but also create opportunities for graft.

Conclusion: Two Voices

Today, I have offered a sense of direction for the World Bank Group. To really understand what we are about, let me close with the voices of two others.

Deramma is a woman who belongs to a village self-help group in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. She is one of more than 8 million women who, with the support of the World Bank, established self-help groups to pool resources. This most basic of intermediation and support services has increased incomes for close to 90 percent of rural households – that’s approximately 40 million people. Deramma told us, “It used to be a hand-to-mouth existence. But now we are self-reliant, and can educate our children. We now have the confidence that we can climb out of poverty.”

Dinalva Moura, a mother of three, has been part of Brazil’s Bolsa Familia program, which offers small sums of money to parents of 11 million families who keep their children in school and take them to regular health checks. The Bank Group offered financial and technical assistance to support the Brazilian Government’s impressive initiative. Dinalva told us, “The Bolsa Familia helps me buy food—sometimes even fruit for the children. And they don’t skip school, because they know the money depends on their going.”

These are the voices that tell you the story of our day-to-day efforts to create new possibilities for the poor. And these are the voices that echo the compelling need for a dynamic World Bank Group that will connect them to other people, to ideas, and to opportunities. This is what inclusive, sustainable globalization is all about.

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Zoellick: Globalization Must Benefit the World’s Poor

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:18:21 GMT

Photos



Slideshow: The Vision of the World Bank Group

Contacts :
In Washington: Amy L. Stilwell (202) 458-4906
astilwell@worldbank.org
Geetanjali Chopra (202) 473-0243
gchopra@worldbank.org
Broadcast Inquiries: Camille Funnell, (202) 458 – 9369
cfunnell@worldbank.org

Washington, October 10, 2007--World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said, “It is the vision of the World Bank Group to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable globalization – to overcome poverty, enhance growth with care for the environment, and create individual opportunity and hope.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, marking his first 100 days as President of the World Bank Group, Zoellick explained that, “Globalization offers incredible opportunities. Yet exclusion, grinding poverty, and environmental damage create dangers. The ones that suffer most are those who have the least to start with – indigenous peoples, women in developing countries, the rural poor, Africans, and their children.”

In discussing how the World Bank Group can support developing countries, Zoellick pointed out: "It is the purpose of the World Bank Group to assist countries to help themselves by catalyzing the capital and policies through a mix of ideas and experience, development of private market opportunities, and support for good governance and anti-corruption -- spurred by our financial resources.”

“It is the purpose of the Bank Group to advance ideas about international projects and agreements on trade, finance, health, poverty, education, and climate change so that they can benefit all, especially the poor seeking new opportunities.”

“Inclusive globalization is also a matter of self-interest. Poverty breeds instability, disease and devastation of common resources and the environment,” he said.

Zoellick said the Bank Group should be expanding the frontiers of thinking about policy and markets and pioneering new possibilities.

In laying out his vision for the World Bank Group, Mr. Zoellick suggested six strategic themes:

Helping to overcome poverty and spur sustainable growth in the poorest countries, especially in Africa.
Addressing the special challenges of states coming out of conflict.
Developing a competitive menu of “development solutions” for middle income countries, involving customized services as well as finance.
Playing a more active role with regional and global “public goods” on issues crossing national borders, including climate change, HIV/Aids, malaria, and aid for trade.
Supporting those advancing development and opportunity in the Arab world.
Fostering a “knowledge and learning” agenda across the World Bank Group to support its role as a “brain trust” of applied experience.

Zoellick said the Bank was also strengthening its work with countries on good governance and anticorruption, the foundation to improving development.

To help the poorest countries, Zoellick announced the World Bank Group was leading the way by pledging $3.5 billion of its own resources to the International Development Association (IDA), which provides grants and interest free loans for the 81 poorest countries. This is more than double the $1.5 billion the Bank Group pledged to the prior IDA replenishment in 2005.

Zoellick challenged the world's developed countries to follow the Bank’s lead and increase their support for the world's poorest people, especially in Africa and South and East Asia.

“I wanted all donors to know—in concrete terms—that the World Bank Group will ‘put its money where its mouth is’ when it comes time to boosting IDA,” he says. “Now we need the G-8 and other developed countries to translate their words from Summit declarations into serious numbers, too.”

As an integral player in the multilateral economic system, the Bank Group had an important role to play in advancing an inclusive and sustainable globalization, according to Zoellick.

“Together, we must show that multilateralism can work much more effectively—not just in conference halls and communiqués—but in villages and teeming cities, for those most in need.”

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To view the remarks as prepared, please visit: http://go.worldbank.org/RTLWZ0QEC0