WASHINGTON, December 15, 2016 — The World Bank approved a $75 million credit to help Côte d’Ivoire strengthen its fiscal management and reforms in the education and energy sectors. The Fiscal Management, Education and Energy Reforms Development Policy Financing (DPF) is the first in a programmatic series of two operations.
The funding is from the International Development Association (IDA)*, the World Bank fund for the poorest countries. The project is closely aligned with the 2016-20 National Development Plan and will help: (i) enhance tax revenue collection and public procurement; (ii) strengthen the efficiency and equity in the education sector; and (iii) improve the performance of the electricity sector and enable private sector participation.
“Côte d’Ivoire’s macroeconomic policy framework for 2016-2019 provides an adequate basis for this operation. The Government has demonstrated its ability to respond to changing circumstances and to meet economic targets while continuing to make tangible progress with its long-term structural reform agenda,” said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso.
This DPF series is designed to address the important and increasing challenges associated with the implementation of the National Development Plan. The rationale for such a programmatic approach is the cascading nature of the reforms supported by the operation that not only need to be consolidated over time but also require significant behavioral changes if they are to produce the expected results. For example, reforms in the education sector and procurement as well as tax mobilization can only become fully effective after a certain period of time.
“There are mutually reinforcing complementarities within the three pillars of this program. Indeed, the creation of additional fiscal space through higher revenue mobilization will help increase and streamline financing of education expenditure. Similarly, improved access to electricity will boost private sector activities and help collect additional revenue,” said Samba Ba, World Bank Task Team Leader of the operation.
The focus is on three of the five strategic pillars in the government’s program: quality of institutions and good governance, accelerating the development of human capital and social well-being, and accelerating the structural transformation of the economy through industrialization.
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 77 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.3 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 112 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $19 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent going to Africa.
