Some 7,8 billion US dollar (43,7 milliarder DKR) is required to fund an initial post-war recovery and development plan for Sudan, an assessment report prepared by the government, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the World Bank and the UN said.
The emergency reconstruction report, entitled: “Framework for Sustained Peace, Development and Poverty Eradication in Sudan”, was officially launched in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday.
The Sudanese Government and SPLM/A teams has reached a consensus on major development challenges facing their country following 21 years of civil war in the south. The war, which pitted the government against the SPLM/A, officially ended with the signing of a peace agreement between the two sides in Nairobi on 9 January.
– The process started a year ago when the peace was not yet signed, but today, the report has been endorsed and we are working as a team, Yahia Hossein Babiker, the chairman of the Joint Assessment Mission (JAM), whose membership includes the government, UN agencies, the SPLM/A and the World Bank, said.
The newly formed Joint National Transition Team (JNTT), made up of an equal number of representatives from the government and the SPLM/A, is due to present the report to the first Sudan post-war, international donors pledging conference, on 11-12 April in Oslo, Norway.
– There are many challenges that are awaiting us, Nhial Deng Nhial, the SPLM/As co-chair of the JAM said adding: – Both sides should engage more closely to accelerate the implementation of the peace agreement and we hope that the Framework document, as well as the formation of the JNTT, will contribute to that acceleration.
The total needs until 2007 were estimated at 7,8 billion dollar – 4,3 billion for the north and 3,5 billion for the south – although the per capita expenditure in the south would be considerably higher.
The Framework document identified a comprehensive set of needs essential for the consolidation of peace and the facilitation of broad-based human and economic development, including the creation of new institutions, basic health and educational services, productive activities, capacity building and infrastructure development.
The international community would be asked to contribute 2,66 billion of the total funds required.
– Sudan itself will contribute considerably more than the international community towards the pro-poor recovery programme, a statement noted adding: – Precise commitments in this respect are made through the budgets of the forthcoming national government and government of South Sudan.
Prior to the Oslo donor conference, the World Bank is expected to set up two multi-donor trust funds, one for the north and one for the south, through which donations could be made.
– Financial controls and anti-corruption measures are key, as acknowledged by the countrys leadership, and have to be addressed from the outset, Ishac Diwan, World Bank country director for Ethiopia and Sudan, told IRIN on Wednesday.
– With an international financial support operation of this size, it is essential that the funds are handled in an open and transparent manner, he added.
– This is not just a run-of-the-mill appeal document. It is a statement of intent and a political commitment on our part to be fully engaged in the reconstruction of our country, Taj el Sir Mahjoub, the governments JAM Team leader said.
The Framework document identified two phases.
The first, from July 2005 until the end of 2007, focuses on immediate and detailed needs, particularly for the expected massive return of displaced people from inside and outside the country.
During the second phase, from 2008 to mid-2011, major infrastructure programmes will be undertaken, and more long-term needs will be addressed.
– With technical assistance combined with new oil wealth, we expect to catch up rapidly. Our emphasis is on combating poverty and many years of exclusion. The next era will be one of hard work, but also a great deal of enthusiasm, Kosti Manibe, the SPLMs JAM team leader said, noting that southern Sudan lacked good roads, and had only rudimentary health and education facilities.
The plan did not include funds required to meet the costs of peacekeeping, demobilisation, debt reduction or the massive humanitarian requirements for the strife-torn western region of Darfur as outlined in the UN 2005 Work Plan for Sudan, Ishac Diwan noted.
The war between the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government in the south erupted in 1983 when the rebel group took up arms to demand greater autonomy and resources from the northern-based authorities.
An estimated two million people have died as a result of the conflict. Some four million others were displaced and another 600.000 fled to neighbouring countries.
Kilde: FN-bureauet IRINnews
