News

DAR ES SALAAM, May 21, 2013 – Tanzania and its East African neighbors could boost their annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by up to US$1.8 billion and US$ 830 million respectively by taking measures to... Show More + improve the efficiency of the Port of Dar es Salaam, according to the latest Tanzania Economic Update published by the World Bank.So far, Tanzania and six neighboring countries have missed this opportunity, notes the new report titled, ‘Opening the Gates: How the Port of Dar es Salaam Can Transform Tanzania,’ authored by Jacques Morisset, the Bank’s lead economist for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.With its strategic location, the Dar es Salaam Port is the gateway for 90 percent of Tanzania’s trade, clearing US$15 billion of merchandise annually (a sum equivalent to 60 per cent of Tanzania’s GDP in 2012). In addition, the port provides vital access to Tanzania’s six landlocked neighbors: Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Eastern DRC.  In 2012, the total global welfare loss Show Less -

The National Statistical Office of Mongolia (NSO) has been conducting the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) since 1966. It merged the HIES and the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS)... Show More + in July, 2007 under the title of Household Socio-Economic Survey (HSES), and has been conducting this HSES survey since then. The HSES selects a total of 11,232 households in Mongolia on a sampling basis annually, collects and studies indicators with respect to age, race, education, employment of household members as well as indicators related to household income and consumption expenditure.  The NSO has been actively cooperating with the World Bank towards strengthening the capacity of the statistical staff, improving the methodology used to estimate living standards and poverty of the population, defining the methodology that can realistically demonstrate changes in the livelihood of the Mongolian population, and jointly estimating their outcomes.  Under this framework, we a Show Less -

Kuala Lumpur, May 20, 2013 – Officials from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia working on higher education reform will exchange experiences with Malaysian counterparts at a 4-day workshop beginning today, supported... Show More + by the World Bank and the British Council Malaysia. The event is part of the Bank’s ongoing effort to encourage countries across regions to learn from each other to find innovative solutions.“The final goals of higher education are much the same across countries,” said Annette Dixon, Country Director for the World Bank in Malaysia. “We hope our support to bring policy-makers, members of academia and advocates from Malaysia, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia together will enable them to learn from each other and explore new ideas that will help improve the quality of higher education in their countries.”Malaysia acted early to take on many key reforms in its higher education system including the establishment of the Quality Assurance System in the 1990s. Algeria, Morocco and Tunsia wil Show Less -

KINSHASA, May 20, 2013—Along the Nlandu road to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital city Kinshasa, small businesses are springing up and local entrepreneurs are thriving. This is because Nlandu... Show More + road is newly renovated.“The occupancy rate in our hotel, which was almost zero before the renovation of avenue Nlandu, is now 80 percent,” says Adrien, a hotel manager along the main road. “Most of our guests come from other communities and they are the ones who are most surprised by the quality of the road.”The Nlandu road, along with several other arterial roads leading into Kinshasa, was rebuilt as part of the World Bank-financed Emergency Urban and Social Rehabilitation Project or PURUS. The US$180 million project included the rehabilitation of 40 kilometers of road in Kinshasa, 30 of which are completed and the last ten kilometers will be completed by the end of May. Thanks to the rehabilitation of the urban roads, the project will benefit two million people, giving them better acce Show Less -

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2013 - World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make an historic joint visit to Africa’s Great Lakes region from May 22nd –... Show More + 24th in support of a recent landmark peace agreement and to push for economic development in one of the world’s most troubled regions.Kim and Mr. Ban will travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from May 22nd – 23rd; Rwanda from May 23rd – 24th; and Uganda on May 24th.The visit will draw attention to the plight of fragile and conflict-affected countries struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals and will highlight the commitment of the two international organizations to jointly tackle global conflict and poverty.The trip also follows a groundbreaking agreement -- the “Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region” – that was signed in February by 11 African nations to end conflict in DRC and bring peace to the Great Lak Show Less -

Thank you, Minister Chitoiu, for your leadership in championing this project and speeding its preparation. Your experience as a former head of National Agency of Fiscal Administration gives you excellent... Show More + insights into why the project is needed and the potential that National Agency of Fiscal Administration has to achieve significant transformation.Your support will continue to be needed during implementation to assure that all stakeholders, including the social houses, the private sector, and the staff of National Agency of Fiscal Administration, remain supportive of the project and feel that their concerns are heard.For the Ministry of Finance, the project offers a prospect of reducing tax evasion and increasing the resources that are available for improving the quality public services. The Government of Romania is targeting 3 percent of GDP increase in revenue over five years.By modernizing National Agency of Fiscal Administration's operations --  including more efficient use of Show Less -

Lebanon - Social Promotion and Protection ProjectIBRD Loan: $30.0 millionTerms: Maturity = 24.5 years; Grace = 5.5 yearsProject ID: P124761Project Description: The objective of the project is... Show More + to increase access to social development services at the community level, improve the coverage and targeting of the National Poverty Targeting Program, and strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Social Affairs at the central level and the Social Development Centers at the local level. Show Less -

Looking Forward to Cheaper Faster Internet from July NUKU’ALOFA, 17th May 2013 - Today Tonga’s National ICT Day showcased the advent of high-speed internet in July, under the first phase of the Pacific... Show More + Regional Connectivity Project supported by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).Scheduled to be commissioned in July, an 826km underwater fiber optic cable linking Tonga to Fiji will help increase broadband internet access and affordability for Tonga’s population of 100,000 people.“Tonga currently has some of the cheapest telephone costs in the world but some of the highest internet costs”, said the Hon. Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakano. “Cheaper price and more accessible internet will maximize the power and versatility of communications technology, to accelerate development and improve the lives of the Tongan community.” “High speed internet is coming and this promises significant benefits for social and economic development, and new job opportunities for the Tongan pe Show Less -

Newly signed Grant Agreement supports the National Statistical System in Lao PDR to improve access, quality and reliability of macroeconomic and poverty statisticsVientiane, May 17, 2013 – The Vice Minister... Show More + of Finance of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, H.E. Santiphab Phomvihane and the World Bank Country Manager for Lao PDR Keiko Miwa, signed today grant agreement in the amount of US$8 million to further support the Government’s efforts in strengthening National Statistical System and improving production, availability and use of quality statistics.“The ceremony today reaffirms the commitment and cooperation between the Government of Lao PDR and the World Bank in supporting the Government priorities as outlined in its National Socio-Economic Development Plan. This grant will contribute to modernizing and streamlining  the National Statistical System  to  ensure that it is well equipped in terms of human resource, essential tools and infrastructure to effectively produc Show Less -

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2013 – A US$5 million grant will improve efficiency, transparency and accountability of public finance management systems and institutions in Yemen and respond to popular demands... Show More + for government that address the needs of citizens. Discontent with government unaccountability has been a major theme of popular uprisings in the Arab world, echoed too in Yemen’s “Change Square” and in protests elsewhere in the country. To meet public expectations of greater transparency and stronger accountability, the new Government of Yemen is taking initial steps to put in place systems that reveal the workings of public spending and show where the money goes. “What Yemeni citizens want to see is their government spending the public’s money on services that deliver health, education, roads, social protection and all the other elements that will make up a better quality of life,” said Wael Zakout, World Bank Yemen Country Manager. “The Ministry of Finance has showed real commitment Show Less -