The World Bank Group’s (WBG) Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Seychelles coversthe period, FY12-FY15. The CPS was extended by one year to FY16 at the Country PartnershipStrategy Progress Report (CPSPR) in FY15.
... See More + This Review covers both the CPS and CPSPRperiod, FY12-16.WBG’s support for Seychelles was in line with the country’s draft Seychelles Medium-Term National Development Strategy 2013–17 (MTNDS), later approved in 2015, which presented the vision and goals for the country. The core aim of the MTNDS was to reduce Seychelles’vulnerability and to provide the basis for long term sustainable development. Specifically, theobjective of the MTNDS was to reduce vulnerability, increase resilience, and provide the basis fora sustainable development. The WBG supported the government in reducing vulnerability andbuilding long-term sustainability with a program centered on two pillars: (i) increasingcompetitiveness and employment and (ii) reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience, and onecross-cutting foundation, governance and public-sector capacity. The CPS built on the previousInterim Strategy and aimed to deepen and broaden structural reforms via programmatic supportusing Development Policy Lending (DPL) operations, complemented with Analytical and AdvisoryServices (ASA), including technical assistance and reimbursable advisory services (RAS).The IEG concurs with key lessons in the CLR: (i) development policy operations can be mobilized quickly and achieve strong results when complemented by sound analysis and technical assistance but it requires commitment and ownership, (ii) deeper understanding and assessment of political economy would help explain the successes and failures of specific reform efforts and identify factors that might otherwise be missed, and (iii) well-designed and updated results framework prove useful for Bank and Government monitoring of program implementation and results.
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When oil prices started rising in 2010, the Malagasy government introduced fuel subsidies to keep energy prices low. When global oil prices fell in 2015, fuel subsidies were removed.
... See More + The government is now focused on sustaining effective energy subsidy reform. ESMAP-funded technical assistance supported timely advisory services to the government related to the removal of fuel subsidies and for restructuring fuel pricing, development of a strategy to communicate the rationale and approach for revised pricing of fuels, and consultations with key stakeholders on mitigating measures.
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The development objective of the Tuz Gölü Underground Natural Gas Storage Facility Capacity Expansion Project for Turkey is to increase security of gas supply and support gas trading in Turkey by expanding gas storage capacity.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) organic wastes will be carried to the waste collection point or transfer stations of the municipalities or determined waste points at the project’s construction areas in daily basis; (ii) hazardous wastes, waste oils, waste vegetable oils and medical wastes will be disposed by the contracted and licensed disposal companies; (iii) trainings should be provided by the project to introduce the cultures and social habits of the region to the foreign workers and to prevent possible conflicts between local people and workers; (iv) dust emissions should be reduced through the regular watering of roads, especially unpaved ones; (v) trainings should be provided for Project workers including traffic rules, speed limits and possible risks for communities; (vi) avoiding the resettlement or removing of the people who live there as much as possible. If it is not avoidable, providing moving assistance or additional supports to ensure that they are not encountered difficulties in sustaining their lives; (vii) providing livelihood restoration assistance in the form of; provision of machinery and equipment for improving farming, provision of skills training, employment opportunities etc.; (viii) alternative pasture lands should be shown or accessibility of pasture lands should be ensured by leaving gaps during the construction of pipelines; (ix) replacement of irrigated farming land should be offered of equivalent productive value in the area and vicinity of the land being expropriated; (x) all wastes will be temporarily stored at the working areas and removed to the determined waste collection points daily; (xi) health and safety awareness trainings will be provided to workers periodically throughout their employment and world-wide accepted safety rules will be followed to prevent possible accidents or risks.
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Gross domestic product (GDP)1 growth is expected to have fallen sharply in 2017 to a projected -1.8 percent from 5.3 percent the year before. This contraction is driven by a reversal of trend in government spending.
... See More + In the last six months, the political impasse has worsened, with the President declaring a ‘serious institutional crisis’ and dissolving Parliament in January 2018. The current government has not been able to pass its rectification budget for 2017 nor a budget for 2018 to date. The resulting tight budget envelope has led to a sharp reduction in government expenditure of some 24 percent year-on-year, especially felt in the last three months of the year. With government expenditure making up about 75 percent of GDP, weakening expenditure has had a significant downwards impact on growth in 2017. Offshore petroleum production has continued to gradually decline over 2017 as existing fields are steadily depleted, while coffee exports were lower in 2017 due to poor weather conditions. International arrivals by air continued to grow, suggesting that the international visitor market has held up. Private consumption has been more robust in 2017, but investment, both public and private, has declined and foreign direct investment (FDI) has dried up. There remains an urgent long-term agenda of development in Timor-Leste which a new government program could focus on. Key priority reform areas include addressing the multi-sectoral challenge of severe malnutrition, improving systems of public service delivery, supporting a broadening and diversification of the economy, and putting environmental and fiscal management back on a sustainable path. Existing fiscal reserves provide a golden opportunity to achieve these reforms, but only if they are utilized to support a transition to a long-term sustainable economic and fiscal model.
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Gross domestic product (GDP)1 growth is expected to have fallen sharply in 2017 to a projected -1.8 percent from 5.3 percent the year before. This contraction is driven by a reversal of trend in government spending.
... See More + In the last six months, the political impasse has worsened, with the President declaring a ‘serious institutional crisis’ and dissolving Parliament in January 2018. The current government has not been able to pass its rectification budget for 2017 nor a budget for 2018 to date. The resulting tight budget envelope has led to a sharp reduction in government expenditure of some 24 percent year-on-year, especially felt in the last three months of the year. With government expenditure making up about 75 percent of GDP, weakening expenditure has had a significant downwards impact on growth in 2017. Offshore petroleum production has continued to gradually decline over 2017 as existing fields are steadily depleted, while coffee exports were lower in 2017 due to poor weather conditions. International arrivals by air continued to grow, suggesting that the international visitor market has held up. Private consumption has been more robust in 2017, but investment, both public and private, has declined and foreign direct investment (FDI) has dried up. There remains an urgent long-term agenda of development in Timor-Leste which a new government program could focus on. Key priority reform areas include addressing the multi-sectoral challenge of severe malnutrition, improving systems of public service delivery, supporting a broadening and diversification of the economy, and putting environmental and fiscal management back on a sustainable path. Existing fiscal reserves provide a golden opportunity to achieve these reforms, but only if they are utilized to support a transition to a long-term sustainable economic and fiscal model.
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