This report presents the findings of a number of separate strands of work, which collectively seek to answer the following questions: (i) are the proposed capacity enhancements justified by current and projected demand; (ii) what is the current performance of the ports, in spatial and operating efficiency, relative to regional and matched peers globally,; (iii) which ports are likely to become regional hubs, and which are destined to become subregional or feeder ports; (iv) is the current balance between maritime capacity enhancement and the other impediments to port efficiency appropriate in the ESA subregion; and (v) what are the other necessary actions for the main ports4 from an institutional, policy, and operational perspective, to ensure that the ports deliver what is needed to enable local and regional economic development and trade.
... See More + Chapter two provides an overview of the evolution of economic growth and trade in countries in the hinterlands of the ports of interest, and a summary of the overall and transport-specific costs of trade in the ESA region. The chapter then outlines the role of maritime ports in driving growth and trade. Chapter three provides an overview of the 15 ports, summarizing the current operational status, trends, capacity, and recently implemented and ongoing or planned capacity expansion projects. It also provides an overview of the recent growth in volumes handled by the ports, together with regional trends. Chapter four evaluates the recent performance and status of the ESA ports from several perspectives, to the extent possible benchmarking ports against one another and against matched global comparators. The report uses three broad sets of indicators to provide an indication of the relative performance of ESA ports: spatial and operating efficiency; maritime access and connectivity; and technical efficiency. Chapter five reviews the various challenges facing the ports sector in ESA in more detail. Among these are: the changes taking place in global shipping markets, such as the cascading effect; consolidation among shipping lines; gaps in the policy, legal, and institutional frameworks relative to best-practice benchmarks; and poor access and limited inter-modality. Chapter six discusses the prospects of the ESA ports sector going forward. This includes an analysis of the competitive landscape of the ports, and the drivers of port choice from the shippers’ point of view; an aggregate and disaggregate estimate of the increase in volume and hinterland shares for the different ports; and the implications of these trends for investment needs. Finally, chapter seven provides the key conclusions, followed by more specific recommendations for each of the fifteen ports.
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This report focuses on recommendations for the improvement of civil procedure rules and selected trial processes with the aim to increase procedural efficiency and reduce bottlenecks in commercial case processing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
... See More + The following aspects of case processing are analyzed: (i) service of process; (ii) hearings and adjournments; (iii) expert witnesses; (iv) bankruptcy trustees; (v) court fees; (vi) internal court rules; and (vii) use of Case Management System (CMS). The accompanying recommendations are developed in response to the existing legal framework that governs these selected aspects of commercial case processing and rely on existing good examples from Bosnia and Herzegovina courts, the regulatory framework of countries that share the same legal heritage as Bosnia and Herzegovina with a particular focus on European Union and Council of Europe member states, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law, as well as recommendations and opinions of international institutions on judicial efficiency.
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The development objective of the West Africa Regional Fisheries Program in Mauritania, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone Project for Africa is to strengthen governance and management of targeted fisheries and improve handling of landed catch at selected sites.
... See More + The level of restructuring of the project for a (1) Change in Components and Cost, which will result in (2) Change in Results Framework, (3) Reallocation between Disbursement Categories and (4) Change in Disbursement Estimates.
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The Development Objective of the Support New Governance Framework Project for Morocco is to strengthen mechanisms for transparency, accountability and participation on the central and local government level in Morocco.
... See More + The project will achieve the PDO by (i) supporting processes to develop public engagement laws and policies; (ii) improving access to fiscal information and enhancing performance orientation in budget management; and, (iii) strengthening the role and functions of local governments, particularly through fiscal decentralization.The three proposed changes are as follows: (i) Additional financing of USD 999,000; (ii) Extend the closing date by 12 months, from March 31, 2019 to March 31, 2020 to allow implementation of additional activities as well as original activities that will not be completed by original closing date; and (iii) Revise the result framework.
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The development objective of the Central African Backbone SOP5 Project is to contribute to increase the geographical reach and usage of regional broadband infrastructure and to reduce the price of services so that more people in the DRC can access information and communication technology (ICT) services.
... See More + The rationale of the project was based on DRC’s lack of robust fiber optic backbone network at the national level, much needed for providing internet services in all regions of the country and linking it to the neighboring countries. The main component of the project is the deployment of the missing backbone links connecting the country’s most populated economic regions in the western regions (Kinshasa, Matadi, and Moanda) and the eastern and southern regions (Lubumbashi, Tenke, Kalemie, Moma, Minova, Beni, and Minova, Kisangani) of the country. The project also supports the commercialization of the new backbone capacity through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) structure and provides Technical Assistance to strengthen the line ministry (MPTNTIC) and the sector regulator (ARPTC) to improve the governance of the sector.
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Nepal is a low income country with low risk of debt distress. Under the revised IMF/World Bank debt sustainability analysis framework for low income countries, all debt and debt service ratios are projected to remain below relevant indicative threshold values.
... See More + Following a prolonged decline, to 25 percent of GDP in mid-2015, the sum of external and domestic public debt rose to 33.3 percent of GDP in April, 2018. One of the main reasons behind this increase in debt corresponds to higher disbursement of projects and increasing transfers for local governments, under the newly established federalism, stemming from the 2015 Nepalese Constitution. This reform plan includes chapters on: (a) background; (b) legal framework for debt and guarantees’ management; (c) managerial structure; and (d) debt recording, monitoring, payments and reporting.
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