Det kan nok være, at Verdensbanken vil sætte ind med manér i Centralafrika – udviklingspakken indeholder alt fra mere elkraft-støtte, bedre veje og ophjælpning af landbruget til sundhed, jobs og lettelser i grænsehandelen – banken kalder regionen afgørende for Afrika.
KINSHASA, May 22, 2013: On the first day of an historic joint United Nations/World Bank Group mission to the Great Lakes region, the World Bank Group announced one billion US dollar (5,45 milliarder DKR) in proposed new funding to help 11 countries in the region.
The aid shall provide better health and education services, generate more cross-border trade, and fund hydroelectricity projects in support of the Great Lakes peace agreement that was signed by the countries in February.
World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, who is traveling with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on a three-day trip to the DR Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, said that a secure and developed Great Lakes region was vital to Africa’s efforts to dramatically reduce extreme poverty and create prosperity for millions who have had little economic opportunity.
“We made extraordinary efforts to secure an additional 1 billion dollar in funding because we believe this can be a major contributor to a lasting peace in the Great Lakes region,” Kim said, adding:
“This funding will help revitalize economic development, create jobs, and improve the lives of people who have suffered for far too long. Now the leaders of the Great Lakes region, by restarting economic activity and improving livelihoods in border areas, can boost confidence, build economies, and give new opportunities for millions of people.”
To overordnede prioriteter for udvikling
Kim said the new regional pledge, in zero-interest (rentefri) financing from the International Development Association or IDA, will support two major regional development priorities:
1) Recovery of livelihoods to reduce the vulnerability of people living in the Great Lakes whose communities have suffered greatly during conflict in the region; and
2) revitalizing and expanding cross-border economic activity to spur greater opportunity and integration in the areas of agriculture, energy, transport and regional trade.
The World Bank’s proposed additional funding includes
* roughly 100 million dollar for supporting agriculture and rural livelihoods for displaced people (fordrevne) and refugees in the region;
* 340 million to support the 80 megawatt Rusumo Falls hydroelectric project for Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania;
* 150 million for the rehabilitation of the Ruzizi I and II hydroelectric projects and financing for Ruzizi III, supplying electricity for Rwanda, Burundi, and DR Congo;
* 165 million toward building roads in DR Congo’s North and South Kivu and Province Orientale;
*180 million for improving infrastructure and border management along the Rwanda-DR Congo border; and
* additional millions of dollars for public health laboratories, fisheries, and trade facilitation programs among others.
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http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2013/05/22/world-bank-announces-us-1-billion-pledge-to-africa-great-lakes-region-targeting-energy-roads-agriculture-cross-border-trade-health-jobs
Begynd fra: “While other parts of sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing high growth…”
