Somalia, WB take stock of development progress as country nears HIPC completion point
Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - The World Bank Country team, in collaboration with Somalia’s Ministry of Finance, has hosted the Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) over two days with fruitful discussions between the Bank and government officials, including the project implementation units (PIUs).
In a statement on Thursday, the WB said the meeting came at an opportune time as the country moves toward the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Completion Point.
Objectives of the CPPR were to assess challenges to project implementation and how to find ways to accelerate implementation of impactful development projects to deliver critical services to the Somali people.
The hybrid event took place at The Hangar of Mogadishu airport, and was attended by, among others, Somalia Minister of Finance Dr. Elmi Nur; Minister for Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Mohamud Abdirahman Sheikh Farah (Beene Beene); Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Bihi Egeh; Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Jamal Takhal Abbas, and Ali Haji Adan, Minister for Health & Social Care.
According to the WB statement, they all appreciated the progress made and noted that the meeting was an excellent opportunity to reflect on ongoing programmes and build on successes leading to the upcoming Country Partnership Framework.
“We are grateful to the Bank, which is an important supporter of our national development,” said Dr. Elmi Nur, Minister of Finance for Somalia.
“We are on track to further enhance the operational impacts of all projects and will use the lessons learned over time to improve current and future programs.”
Over the next few months, the World Bank will be working closely with the government and the International Monetary Fund to support Somalia reach the HIPC completion point which, once achieved, will be a major milestone for Somalia that will help open up new financing opportunities for the country.
“We have come a long way together and important development results have been achieved,” said Keith Hansen, World Bank Country Director for Somalia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, in his online address to the participants.
“And we need to continue working together to ensure a speedy implementation.”
The continued prudent implementation of the existing World Bank portfolio will help create a track record with other financiers and new donor partners to use country systems.
The PIUs working on Bank projects also shared the lessons learned and had candid deliberations on improving processes to strengthen proper procurement, financial management, and implementation of environmental and social safeguards.
The meeting came up with an action plan outlining clear and time-bound recommendations to be implemented.
“It is heartening to note that the country portfolio is performing well with no outstanding issues,” said Kristina Svensson, World Bank Country Manager for Somalia.
“We are eager to ensure this remains so, especially since there have been many lessons learned from the last ten years of Bank programs in Somalia. We believe that the action plan agreed upon will address the challenges effectively.”
-0- PANA AR/RA 30March2023
