The World Bank is reopening an office in Sudan after a 10-year absence, a sign of the international communitys desire to help a new power-sharing government with its reconstruction effort after decades of civil war, reports the World Bank press review Wednesday.
Ishac Diwan, the World Bank country director for Sudan, said that the global development body was preparing an assessment of Sudans rebuilding needs for an April meeting of donor countries in Norway.
The assessment would precede a World Bank plan to manage foreign donations for Sudan from two trust funds – one for the north and one for the south, Diwan said.
He added donors will be cautious to fully back Sudan until the government works to resolve the Darfur crisis, which has displaced tens of thousands of people and threatened widespread starvation.
– What is needed is a political commitment of all the key players and it is quite clear it is going to take good news on Darfur to secure this commitment, he said, adding: – It is a very delicate time.
Diwan said Sudan should be eligible for debt relief under a global program for the worlds neediest countries. Such debt forgiveness would require Sudan to show economic discipline, something the Khartoum government already has done.
Foreign direct investment increased to 645 million US dollar in the first half of 2003 compared with 230 million in the same period in 2002, IMF statistics show.
However, despite such strong economic growth in the north, Diwan said Sudan had widespread poverty with annual per capita income in some of its worst-affected regions below 100 dollar a person, compared to a national average of over 600 dollar.
The need to spread the wealth and rebuild the south and other war affected areas shows how much Sudan will have to depend on foreign help, he said.
Giving half the oil wealth to the south means “the north cannot afford in the short-term to push a lot of resources to areas affected by the war,” Diwan said.
If oil production goes up and the country realizes a peace dividend from reduced military spending – currently about 30 percent to 40 percent of the budget – the government might be able to assume a bigger role in reconstruction, he said, “but in the short-to medium-term there is a need for large international support.”
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
