Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs

415 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9389

These briefs report on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region.

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Madagascar - Building Leadership and Management Capacity through the Rapid Results Approach

( 2008-06) Mastri, Lawrence

In 2002 Madagascar's new government under President Mark Ravolamana recognized the urgency of addressing the peoples' high expectations for concrete economic and social improvements. While it rushed to put the economy back on track and improve the quality of life, its vision and strategy for reform was no match for the realities on the ground. By the time the Ravolamanana government assumed power in 2002, GDP had declined by 13 percent, key public services were discontinued, and the poverty rate soared from 69 percent in 2001 to 80 percent. There was widespread joblessness and high inflation. Within the government, there was little capacity for policy planning or monitoring and evaluation in most sectors. Collaboration was weak, with no existing mechanism to allow for a joint ministerial response to problems that cut across sectors. In February 2005, when the government launched its first rapid results pilot, the goal was to mitigate the effects of a significant shortfall in rice production, importation, and distribution. The crisis was solved by a combination of policy-based and technical interventions. Rice production increased significantly in two of the four targeted regions when the rapid results approach (RRA) was applied. In the region of Boeny, production went from 2.5 tons per hectare in 2004 to 4 tons per hectare in 2005, and in the region of Menabe, it increased from 22,000 tons to 37,000 tons.
Mozambique - Municipal Development Project

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-11) Mastri, Lawrence

The project was designed as a long-term capacity building and institutional development project utilizing a pilot funding program, Municipal Grant Fund (MGF), as the first stage of support for municipal infrastructure and services. The original four components included (a) Legal and Institutional Reform; (b) Municipal Capacity Building; (c) Municipal Grants; and (d) Project Management and Technical Assistance. The restructured project development objectives were to assist the Government of Mozambique to operationalize the legal, institutional and fiscal framework for municipal governance; develop a sustainable training and technical assistance system and increase the capacity of municipality officials and personnel; and establish an operating mechanism for providing grants to municipalities through a pilot program in eight cities to finance capital investments for municipal capacity building and infrastructure. Some of the lessons learned are as follows: (a) The design of a project and in particular of a pilot program should be simple and within the capacity of the staff and agencies responsible for its implementation. (b) Team leaders from government and Bank project teams must develop strong working relationships built on effective communication so that both organizations are working toward the same objective.
Tanzania - The Rural and Micro Financial Services Project

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-06) Mohan, P. C.

Findings Info briefs reports on good practice in ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. This issue reports on the Tanzania Rural and Micro Financial Services Project. The project was designed as a Learning and Innovation initiative (2000-2004) with support from an IDA credit of US$2 million. Its objectives were (i) the development of a common policy framework, based on internationally recognized best practices, for rural and microfinance initiatives in the country which would establish an enabling environment for rural and microfinance and increase the quality and returns of subsequent investments by the government agencies and other donors; (ii) increasing the level of knowledge and skills within the industry; and (iii) instituting a program of systematic tracking and analyzing of all related initiatives against a set of common criteria. This info brief gives information on the project impacts as well as lessons learned.
Ghana : The Village Infrastructure Project

(Washington, DC, 2006-09) World Bank

The project, with an IDA credit of US$30 million, and a total of $60 million was implemented by the government between 1998 and 2004. It was jointly financed by KFW $7m; IFAD, $10; GoG $7.1m; District Assemblies $3.0m and beneficiaries $2.9m. Its main objective was to support the government's efforts to reduce poverty and enhance the quality of life of the rural poor through the increased transfer of technical and financial resources for the development of basic village-level infrastructure that could be maintained by the beneficiaries. It also supported the capacity building of District Assemblies to better plan and manage these investments. The project had 4 components: (i) Rural water infrastructure; (ii) Rural transport infrastructure; (iii) Rural post-harvest infrastructure; and (iv) Institutional strengthening.
Uganda : Local Government Development Program

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-07) Mohan, P. C.

The Uganda Local Government Development Program, with a credit equivalent to US$80.9 million, was implemented by the government over the period 2000-2004. The project was designed to scale up an earlier UN Capital Development Fund pilot to 30 districts (out of 56) so that policies and principles could be tested (and costed) on a larger scale and lessons learned used to develop national policy formulation within a sound fiscal framework. It had 4 objectives : (1) Test the feasibility of implementing constitutional and legal mandates with respect to decentralized service provision and devolution of the development budget through the provision of investment funds to the Local Governments; (2) Build the capacity of the Ministry of Local Government, the Local Government Finance Commission Secretariat, and a sub-set of the local governments for improved service delivery, accountability and transparency; (3) Test and institute alternative service delivery mechanisms through the private sector, beneficiary communities and other stakeholders in the Kampala City Council; (4) Monitor and evaluate project implementation for actual experience and good practices for formulating an appropriate strategy, implementation modalities, and phasing for eventual scaling-up, nationally, over time.
Senegal - Sustainable and Participatory Energy

(Washington, DC, 2006-03) World Bank

The Sustainable and Participatory Energy Management project - PROGEDE was implemented by the government between 1997 and 2004. From project preparation to supervision the World Bank worked in close collaboration with Dutch Co-operation (DGIS). At the time of project preparation, forest-based traditional fuels (firewood and charcoal), mainly used for household cooking purposes, represented 53 percent of Senegal's final energy consumption, and 76 percent of charcoal consumption was in the principal urban areas. Over the years, the operation of the charcoal industry had resulted in (i) the gradual loss of forest cover (approximately 30,000 ha per year) and thus of the ecosystem's carbon sequestration capacity and biodiversity; (ii) the degradation of the rural environment (particularly soils); (iii) the impoverishment of the rural areas; (iv) an acceleration of rural exodus; and (v) a massive transfer of wealth from the rural communities to a few urban-based woodfuel traders.
Sierra Leone - Community Reintegration and Rehabilitation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-05) Mohan, P.C.

The objective of the project (Credit of US$25 million from the World Bank over the period 2000-2003) was to support the peace process and expedite the return of stability to Sierra Leone through the support of two initiatives - one that helped reintegrate demobilized combatants into social and economic life and the other that sought to restore basic socioeconomic infrastructure and services in the communities most affected by the war. The successful implementation of the project was also a precondition for any other Bank investment in Sierra Leone.
Benin - Transport Sector Investment Program

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-12) Mohan, P.C.

The objectives of this project (1997-2001) using $40 million of IDA funds were to: (i) safeguard the competitiveness of Benin's transport sector and of its transit corridor through open modal competition; (ii) improve government's capacity for planning, programming and managing transport sector investments; (iii) boost the allocation of resources to infrastructure maintenance; (iv) boost the recovery of user infrastructure charges; (v) expand private sector participation in public works and maximize its impact on the creation of jobs for unskilled labor; (vi) build capacity in sector institutions and optimize human resource utilization; and (vii) protect the environment and improve safety conditions.
Malawi - Lessons Learned From Public Works Programs

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-06) Mohan, P.C.

In designing Public Work programs (PWPs), it is important to clarify whether the objectives are developmental or to deal with short-term shocks. PWPs make a significant contribution to sustained poverty reduction only when carefully designed to include a graduation strategy (e.g., economic activities training, savings and life skills training) or where continuity of employment is viable (e.g., financed through routine maintenance budgets). Programs lasting twelve months or more can allow for asset acquisition, training and higher risk economic activity. In this way, beneficiaries can begin to graduate out of PWP employment. Valuable assets have been created under PWPs, contributing to economic growth (environmental protection, access routes etc.). In Malawi, full cost recovery will not be possible for some time. It is therefore essential that PWPs budget for maintenance of such assets. PWPs are a valuable vehicle for developing capacity and empowering local government bodies in Malawi. Adequate provision must be made however, for local government administrative and supervision costs. PWPs are a means of skills transfer in participating communities. As a result, follow-on programs find residual knowledge and organizational capacity in place.
Mauritania - Enhanced National Capacity in Telecommunications Sector Reforms

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-04) Govindan G. Nair

Mauritania's 1998-2001 telecommunications reforms resemble many World Bank supported reform programs where overcoming capacity constraints can determine success in achieving development outcomes. Overcoming capacity constraints enabled this desert nation of over 2 million largely nomadic inhabitants to attain unanticipated levels of outcomes in three years of telecommunications reforms. New private investment of US$ 100 million in telecommunications was attracted over two years, equivalent to 10 percent of GDP; telephone line access multiplied twenty-fold; 6,000 new telecommunications-related jobs were created in the informal sector in the capital city (Noukachott) alone; and a multisector regulatory agency was established which is now regarded as a model in Africa. From lacking critical skills at the outset of these reforms, Mauritania became a source of lessons for neighboring countries on how to competitively tender utility licenses, effectively regulate utilities in a competitive setting, and privatize a telecommunications operator. Support for this capacity enhancement came from relatively modest external assistance with an estimated cost of slightly over one million dollars (World Bank Group staff time as well as consultancy support).