The World Bank CMU in the Central African Republic and ECRGE jointly organized a parliamentary workshop hosted at the National Assembly, aimed to present the Bank's portfolio in CAR and to discuss how to deepen parliamentary engagement in the country. In attendance were 55 MPs, totaling a third of the Parliament - including the President of the National Assembly Abdoul Karim Meckassoua and the Chair of the Finance Committee Martin Ziguélé - a testament to the strong commitment of Parliament to deepen its dialogue with the World Bank and its eagerness to build institutional capacity. “We are grateful for this important engagement with elected representatives of a fragile country”, said the President of the National Assembly Hon. Meckassoua. Following a presentation by Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Resident Representative and Ibrahim Sangare, Economist on the economic outlook of the country, the workshop also featured specialized sessions: Nayé Bathily, Lead of Parliamentary Engagement presented the World Bank’s stakeholder engagement. Robert Moïdokana, Minister, Technical Secretary, National EITI-CAR Coordinator focused on the role of parliamentarians in ensuring good governance of natural resources, looking at the example of the extractive industries. Abdelmajid Aluiz, Expert, Public Finance offered a session on public financial management to improve the oversight functions of parliamentarians. MPs proposed the creation of a parliamentary economic mission to provide feedback on World Bank projects. In doing so, MPs aim to increase their constituent’s understanding and local ownership of World Bank projects.
