LUSAKA, March 29, 2012 -- Dr. Guy Scott, vice president of Zambia, launched the first consultative meeting in preparation for the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). More than 100 representatives from various stakeholder organizations, government, civil society, the private sector and youths gathered at the government complex to witness the official launch of the preparation of the new CPS, which will begin in 2013. The current Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) comes to an end in December 2012.
“We in new government are also looking at this Country Partnership Strategy as testimony to a number of positive changes the World Bank has gone through,” Scott said to the crowd. “Whereas in the past we would have been arguing on prescriptive, readymade, multi-choice answers to our country’s challenges, today we have gathered together like this from different viewpoints to come with solutions that will make the needed difference to our people’s lives. This is definitely not the World Bank we used to know.”
Scott also urged delegates to look more to homegrown solutions in the making of the World Bank’s upcoming CPS.
The CPS presents the World Bank Group’s business plan, which provides a road map and strategic framework for the Bank’s lending and non-lending activities for the next four years in Zambia. It will be derived from Zambia’s own development plan and consultations with stakeholders.
Speaking on behalf of the CSOs at the same function, Father Leonard Chiti of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), commended the World Bank for undertaking a wide consultative process to ensure that the CPS will truly reflect the people of Zambia’s aspirations. He urged the Bank to help the new government to focus on the high level of poverty in rural areas.
Kundavi Kaderesan , the World Bank country director for Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, told the delegates to be frank in their submissions in order to help make a CPS which will be very relevant to the government and people’s aspirations of inclusive growth.
“It is important to make full use of the new knowledge Bank of today which is a very different institution from the past and can bring a range of services to help promote inclusive growth and development in Zambia,” she said.
