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World Bank pledges
support for African post-conflict recovery countries
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, Aug 12, Ghanadot - The World Bank supports efforts by
countries emerging from conflict in Africa to foster good
governance and transparency in the natural resources sector that
has often been used to fueled violence.
World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said this during his
first visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Pledging World Bank support to demobilization and reintegration
programs similar to the one that has helped hundreds of
thousands of ex-combatants reintegrate to civilian life in
countries of the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Zoellick urged
African leaders to do everything to curb the illicit trade in
precious metals. The trade funds militia groups and fuels the
steady flow in illicit small arms and light weapons that often
trigger a relapse into conflict.
“Post-conflict countries face a big risk of falling back into
conflict and so we must do everything we can to stop the
exploitation of resources becoming a cause of violence,”
Zoellick said. “My visit helped me better understand the
development challenges of the Democratic Republic of Congo and
was intended to reaffirm World Bank support for the country’s
efforts to consolidate peace, and transition quickly from
emergency assistance to sustainable development,” he added.
During the visit, the first lap in a tour of three African
countries, Zoellick held talks with Congolese President Joseph
Kabila, the country’s Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito, and key
cabinet members whose ministerial departments work directly on
World Bank-funded development projects.
During his meetings with President Kabila and Prime Minister
Muzito, the World Bank president encouraged the government to
sustain efforts to achieve debt forgiveness by reaching the
completion point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative in March 2010. This would lighten the burden of debt
servicing and create the fiscal space that could help DR Congo
fund crucial social and economic development programs, notably
infrastructure investments.
Commending the government of DR Congo for adopting a Governance
Contract in 2007, Zoellick encouraged the country to stay the
course of the difficult but rewarding reforms needed to achieve
good governance objectives. He notably pointed to the need for
the government to complete the ongoing review of mining
contracts in a way that safeguards the country’s aim of
increasing revenue as well as that of investors, making the
sector more attractive to private investors.
Zoellick also held discussions with diplomats, representatives
of the donor community, the private sector and civil society. “I
learned a lot from my discussions with them and got a chance to
hear, first hand, what we need to do to ensure improved donor
coordination as we work together to promote the social and
economic development of this country,” said Zoellick.
Zoellick visited the Inga hydropower plant in Bas Congo and
promised World Bank support to work with other donors, the
private sector, the government and other stakeholders to
rehabilitate existing infrastructure as well as tap the
under-utilized potential of energy sources such as Inga.
The World Bank President also stressed that large-scale energy
projects, such as Inga, should not overshadow the importance of
small-scale projects, which serve the most vulnerable Africans.
Small-scale energy projects can contribute to the prevention of
some of the 10 million premature deaths of women and children
that are likely by 2030 if nothing is done to limit the health
impact of smoke from wood fires used for cooking. He also noted
the need to adopt environmentally-sound schemes that must
protect biodiversity and fisheries when energy projects are
built on a river such as the Congo, which is the second richest
river in the world for fish.
While in Goma, Zoellick noted that a World Bank-funded project
is helping young girls and women who were victims of sexual
violence heal from the scars as they attempt to resume a normal
life. “Peace is crucial for the reconstruction of this country,
and particularly for the reconstruction of this province,” he
said. “Sexual violence cannot be tolerated, must be denounced
and punished, and every effort must be made to restore the
dignity of young women who have suffered sexual violence,”
Zoellick said.
Zoellick, who left DR Congo over its land border from Goma into
Rubavu in neighboring Rwanda for the second lap of his
three-nation African tour, was accompanied on his trip by the
World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli
Ezekwesili, the director of operations for the Africa Region,
Colin Bruce, and the Country Director of the World Bank for
Congo Republic and DR Congo, Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly. He
will go onto to Uganda from Rwanda for the third and final lap
of his tour.
Ghanadot
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