Browsing: World Bank

The World Bank approved two grants worth $160 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to help Burundi improve essential services through solar power and local development in rural and remote areas.

Solar Energy in Local Communities (SOLEIL) will get $100 million in subsidies which aims to increase access to energy in Burundi by almost 100 per cent by electrifying schools, businesses, families and centres of the less privileged communities in the country.

More than 91,000 households, 4,000 SMEs, 400 health centres and 500 schools will have access to electricity all du to solar energy. 400 schools and 300,000 households will also have ecological fireplaces.

The remaining $60 million from the IDA will go to Integrated Community Development. The project will improve access to basic services and economic opportunities and nutrition for the less privileged populations in the country, including refugees. The project will also allow the creation of 1,000 …

The World Bank said that Uganda should work on the processes for the Final Investment Decision (FID) by the oil and gas firms, saying further delay will undermine the country’s economic outlook.

Delays in oil exports beyond 2024 could lead to liquidity pressures in the country warns that the released 14th Economic Update, a bi-annual publication by the World Bank.

“Subsequent delays in oil exports beyond 2023/24 could result in liquidity pressures, given the current heavy borrowing for oil sector related infrastructure that is relying on an enhanced repayment, capacity from oil exports, and especially if more non-concessional borrowing occurs,” the report cautions in its Economic outlook and risks.

Presenting the findings at an event held in Kampala, Mr Richard Walker, a senior economist with the World Bank, said that the recent termination of the Tullow deal has increased uncertainty for oil sector-related investments in the country.

Also Read: Uganda

Nigeria has just become the leading nation with the largest economy in Africa, after South Africa recent economic slump, when its economy contracted and sliding into a second recession in two years.

South Africa and Nigeria make up almost half of sub-Saharan Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

While South Africa statistics office highlighted bad news for the nation, suffering from power crisis, Nigeria statistician showed a rather positive performance of the economy, which grew at about 2.55 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019.

This growth was the highest quarterly performance since the 2016 recession. It is argued that Nigeria’s economic growth was anchored on its oil exports with production levels remaining stable throughout 2019.

The South African economy shrank by 1.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019, this followed a contraction of 0.8 per cent, which points to the fact that—the second-largest economy in Africa floated …

Africa’s close development partner, World Bank—on Thursday took a serious initiative to restore its relations with Somalia, after being dull for almost 30 years

According to the statement from World Bank Group, the bank’s Board of Executive Directors moved toward normalizing its relations with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).

World Bank anticipates that the restoration will open up opportunities for Somalia to access concessional financing from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and to work closely with all arms of the World Bank Group to attract investment that will support the country’s stability and development.

The restoration could revitalize Somalia’s economic sphere, as the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth weakened in 2017 due to the severe drought. Although Somalia averted widespread famine in 2017, the drought led to large-scale food insecurity, affecting more than six million people.

In that context, World Bank Vice President for Africa …

Uganda’s growth in the economy has not been fast enough to create enough jobs with higher earnings for one of the world’s fastest-growing workforces.

In Uganda, the World Bank reports that agriculture has remained an earnest tool for most of the youth.

According to the Bank, youth unemployment is growing with each year, 400,000 youth entering the labour market and competing for only 80,000 formal jobs. In Uganda, 75 per cent of the workforce and 55 per cent of youth are engaged in the agriculture sector.

Young Ugandans need faster economic growth combined with a faster economic pace of economic transformation to create higher productive jobs for the future economy, says a world bank report researched and authored by Dino Merotto.

According to the report, Uganda is the world’s youngest country with a median age of just 15.9. From 2010 – 2015 the country also has one of the world’s …

World Bank’s (WB) research on development economics which is focused on identifying successful development polices, has captured various significant insights in the world of development economics, and payment of health and education providers was in it, thus—there are crucial things to rethink to enhance the delivery of quality services.

According to the bank’s research, service providers—schoolteachers and health workers, in particular, are influenced by the payment incentives which dictate high-quality services. But how much they are paid also matters.

Taking the youngest continent in the globe into the context, Africa, of which its average real ages increased by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2017, supported by labour productivity gains, stand to benefit from revised payment schedules, as described by the bank.

Three ways service providers are paid

Fee-for-service is the first schedule of payment, that health workers and schoolteachers tend to get paid on, according to the specific services …

A three-day regional conference on debt management in sub-Saharan African convened in Uganda this week is expected to conclude into signing a paper to be presented at several forums.

The forums will include the next World Bank spring meeting to highlight governments’ discomfort with some conditions tied to loans.

Uganda’s Ministry of Finance acting director for debt and cash policy management, Maris Wanyera, said the conference will be attended by delegates from 16 countries, under the theme “sustainable public debt management and a strengthened economic growth”

She also said that in light of the ongoing borrowing frenzy by African countries to finance their development agenda, the conference is long overdue.

“The idea is to come up with a strategy; a voice we can use while negotiating some of these loans. Debt [borrowing] is not bad at all, as long as we borrow for the right purposes and negotiate well, but …

Uganda received 4,758 metric tons of rice for distribution to refugees and socially vulnerable people including those in communities hosting refugees.

Japan’s Ambassador to Uganda, H.E Kazuaki Kameda handed over the donation.

The donation was also topped up with the contribution of $640,000 in cash to meet associated costs like transportation, handling and storage.

‘Japan grants aid for the foods assistance program’ made possible for the food donation. A grant of about Ush 12 billion was given to the Ugandan government in 2017.

While addressing the media at the World Food Program warehouse in Nalukolongo, Ambassador Kameda said, “I’m happy to note that using this grant assistance, 4,758 metric tons of rice have been procured for the improvement of nutrition of at least 350,000 refugees and 150,000 host community members.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) and the office of the Prime minister will distribute the donated rice to the refugee …

The World Bank said Uganda’s 7 per cent projected growth rate under the National Development Plan (NDP) III, given the current economic fundamentals is too ambitious.

National Development Plan (NDP) III, is a government-working document for at least the next five years. It will start this year in the 2020/21 financial year.

Speaking during a media briefing in Kampala about the country’s economic outlook, the World Bank senior economist, Mr Richard Walker, said the government’s capital spending continues to fall, dropping to about 8 per cent in the last two financial years.

Also Read: Uganda need to Expand Social Protection Programs World bank

Which he said has constrained Uganda’s fiscal policy which is characterised by low tax revenue to GDP ratio.
“Capital spending continues to fall short of expectations, diminishing the expected return from public investments. 5.3 per cent capital spending versing budget allocation of 6.4 per cent. This inability …

Uganda’s GDP grew faster than initially predicted in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, but the growth is still not fast enough for the government’s lower-middle-income status and poverty reduction ambitions.

The World Bank said that data estimates released in 2019 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics show that real GDP increased at an annual rate of 6.5% in 2018-2019, higher than its previous estimate of 6.2%.

According to the bank, the expansion maintains the rebound in economic activity recorded over the last two years. It was “driven by strong levels of domestic consumption and sustained levels of public and private investment.”

In its 14th Uganda Economic Update report, the World Bank said that the Net foreign direct investment inflows rose to 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2018-19 from 3 per cent the previous year.

Also Read: One stop border to boost Uganda, South Sudan trade

“The construction sector continues to …