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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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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Access to finance is an essential component of economic development and job creation. A host of studies have shown a positive correlation between financial development and economic growth.
... See More + Access to finance is also critical for larger corporations and conglomerates, which, given their size, performance, and assets, typically meet funding requirements through capital markets and other sources. Credit reporting systems are less relevant for these businesses, as lenders to these large entities rely on a variety of other sources of information when making credit-related decisions. This Guide focuses therefore more on the credit needs of individuals and of the micro, small, and medium businesses that stand to benefit most from the development of credit reporting systems. The report is arranged as follows: Chapter 1 introduces key concepts in credit reporting; Chapter 2 introduces the different types of credit reporting service providers (CRSPs) that collect information on borrowers’ credit histories from creditors and available public sources; Chapter 3 covers the evolution of the credit reporting industry to today, including key trends now emerging and external trends affecting its development; Chapter 4 outlines the legal and regulatory framework options for credit reporting systems; Chapter 5 summarizes the World Bank Group’s fifteen plus years of experience in developing credit bureaus and credit registries around the world; Chapter 6 presents an overview of the value-added services typically offered by established credit bureaus through the repurposing of algorithms and data and the products and services offered by commercial credit reporting companies; and Chapter 7 rounds out the theoretical discussions and practical guidelines with nine case studies of recent developments in credit reporting spanning the globe.
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This report assesses Pakistan’s corporate governance policy framework. It highlights recent improvements in corporate governance regulation, makes policy recommendations, and provides investors with a benchmark against which to measure corporate governance in Pakistan.
... See More + The report focuses on the governance of large and listed companies, but includes a special section on the governance of public sector companies. The report highlights that corporate governance framework for listed companies has improved in recent years as the government has enhanced the legal and policy framework, and key institutions have grown in sophistication and maturity. Much more can be done to address corporate governance in Public Sector Companies. The findings of the Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) are based on the Detailed Country Assessment (DCA) of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, which is summarized in the tables at the end of each section. According to the World Bank methodology used to assess compliance with the 72 OECD Principles, 20 Principles were fully implemented, 33 were broadly implemented, 16 principles were partially implemented, and three were not applicable. A comparison with the 2005 Corporate Governance ROSC shows the level of improvement in the corporate governance framework; in 2005 out of a total of 32 applicable principles, only 4 were fully implemented, 17 were broadly implemented, 10 were partially implemented and 1 was reported as not implemented. The report (and this summary) is organized into five sections: The commitment of the public and private sectors to reform; Shareholder rights; Disclosure and transparency; Boards of directors and Public sector companies.
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The objective of the State Education Program Investment Project for Nigeria is to support: (a) need-based teacher deployment; (b) school-level management and accountability; and (c) measurement of student learning in selected States.
... See More + This will contribute to, and complement, the programs and priorities of participating States in addressing education access, quality and efficiency issues, through their own funding, financing from UBEC and other government agencies, as well as other development partners. The project development objective and implementation progress are rated satisfactory and moderately satisfactory respectively. All the other project ratings are satisfactory and moderately satisfactory. The rational of the change is for reallocation of the sum of $1.9 million being unutilized project preparatory fund to category 3, part 2.2 of the technical assistance component of the federal project support unit. Based on its present funding constraint, this is to provide additional finance for project coordination and outstanding project activities.
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