WASHINGTON, 24 April: The Executive Board (bestyrelsen) of the World Bank Group (WBG) Tuesday discussed the new Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania (JAST) which includes planned support to Tanzania from the 35 members of the Tanzania Development Partners Group (DPG) – among them Denmark – over the financial years 2007-08 to 2009-10.
The JAST includes projected disbursements (udbetalinger) of over 2 billion US dollar (11 milliarder DKR) per year to Tanzania from across the DPG, with new lending commitments from the International Development Association (IDA) of 640 million dollar in 2007 (IDA er Verdensbankens bløde udlånsvindue med særligt favorable lån til de fattigste lande, red.)
IDAs financial support will be channeled, among others, through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Credit-5 (190 million dollar) and the Zanzibar Basic Education (42 million dollar), both of which were also approved Tuesday.
The Joint Assistance Strategy for Tanzania – developed jointly with all 35 members of the DPG – includes
– the Government-led national medium-term framework to improve donor collaboration in support of Tanzanias development and poverty reduction goals,
– a joint country analysis and
– DPG planned support and aid effectiveness commitments to Tanzania over the 4 remaining years of MKUKUTA (den såkaldte PRSP-plan for at reducere fattigdom og fremme økonomisk vækst, som på swahili kaldes MKUKUTA, red.).
The final section of the JAST lays out the specific support that each agency will provide to the country.
In the case of the World Bank Group, the final section describes the its strategic approach and proposed program over the financial year 2007-10 period, including ongoing and planned advice, analytic work and financing. The new strategy includes more than of 2,3 billion dollar in IDA lending over the period.
– The joint development of a single strategy supporting Tanzanias MKUKUTA represents a significant step for Government leadership and harmonization of the donor partners group, says Allister Moon, Lead Economist for Tanzania.
World Bank Group support to Tanzania will focus on the three clusters of MKUKUTA:
Cluster I: Growth of the Economy and Reduction of Income Poverty.
WBG (World Bank Group) support will focus on improving prospects for growth, especially in terms of the investment climate, through better informed choices and better financed programs in agriculture, forestry, environment, and mining; reduced infrastructure bottlenecks, notably in transport and energy; a stronger focus on improving labour force skills; deepening reforms in the financial sector and enabling environment for private sector activities; and increased regional integration.
Cluster II: Improvement of Quality of Life and Social Well-being.
WBGs strategic focus will be to strengthen health financing and human resources, and technical, tertiary and secondary education, improve capacity at local government level to deliver services, together with improved monitoring and reporting; and support social protection with a focus on analysis and advice on how to better manage social risk and reach the vulnerable members of the community.
Cluster III: Governance and Accountability.
WBG strategy will help improve governance at national, district and village levels, through both supply- and demand-side assistance; and promote greater use of country systems, and more effective use and strengthening of domestic capacity and accountability, notably in key governance institutions, e.g. accounting, auditing, financial management, procurement, and social safeguards.
– By maintaining a broad engagement across sectors, the World Bank is well placed to support Tanzania as it implements one of the largest and most complex programs in Africa, experimenting with new approaches on results, alignment and harmonization untested elsewhere, says Judy OConnor, Country Director for Tanzania and Uganda.
– This strategy has been built on the experiences and knowledge gained over the previous years, recognizing thata focus on results is critical and usually requires a multi-sectoral approach; that partnerships are important for making the best use of resources and comparative advantages, reducing transaction costs for government, and building the capacity to deliver results, and that analytics and advice are key to providing a solid foundation for informed policy decisions and investments, noted she.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
