WORLD BANK CONTINUES SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY IN ARMENIA
armradio.am
28.11.2007 10:38
The World Bank approved a US$18.5 million Fourth Poverty Reduction
Support Credit (PRSC) for Armenia. The project will support the
implementation of the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Program
(PRSP) by helping to sustain economic growth, providing resources
for the budget, bolstering the fight against illegal logging
and facilitating priority reforms of the government. This fourth
installment will bring total budget support from the Bank to over
$85 million since 2004.
The Bank helps the Armenian Government to reduce costs in
telecommunications and aviation by fighting monopolies, in order
to benefit exporters and businesses generally and to spur job
creation. Some of the funding will be used to build systems that will
enable the public to access full information on companies and their
owners – a vital first step for companies to become more transparent
and attract more foreign and domestic capital for investment and
job creation.
A key objective of the program is to ensure that customs and tax
administrations are reformed in order to reduce corruption, thereby
improving the prospects for investment. The credit is also supporting
adequate monitoring and combating of illegal logging in order to
ensure that Armenia’s forests are protected. The conservation of
Armenia’s forests will help the poor as they will benefit from more
investment opportunities in rural and mountainous areas.
"Looking at the entire four-year program, we are confident the
Government has used these funds wisely," said Saumya Mitra, Lead
Economist for Armenia. "If you look at the deep-seated reforms that
have taken place external observers can see where these funds have
been spent.
They are visible in new education and health policies – rationalizing
schools and using money saved to repair schools and raise teacher
salaries and training standards and modernizing hospitals and focusing
on primary health care. The country now benefits from better quality
and reliability in electricity and public utility services, cheaper
phone calls and more competition in the mobile market, and higher
spending on pensions and poverty benefits. These were all high
priority actions for the Government over the past three years and
the Bank’s technical advice and financing have helped the country to
achieve results."
The credit is provided on concessional terms, with a maturity of 20
years, and a grace period of 10 years.
Since joining the World Bank in 1992, Armenia has benefited from
US$1.1 billion in loans for 49 projects.