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STORY OF THE MONTH
World Bank VP Sheila Redzepi Meets with European Parliament Spokesperson for Children’s Rights
Washington DC, February 6, 2019 – World Bank Vice President for External and Corporate Relations Sheila Redzepi met with Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and Spokesperson for Children’s Rights on February 6 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington. Ms. Bildt works closely with MEPs and all relevant committees, including development, to ensure the best interests of children are taken into account in EU internal and external polices.
Ms. Bildt wished to explore opportunities for future collaboration with the World Bank as part of a strategy for future engagement on children’s rights in the European Parliament. Ms. Redzepi spoke about the Human Capital Project and more concrete opportunities for collaboration through the Early Years Action network as well as the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF. Ms. Bildt was particularly keen on the Human Capital Index.
The Human Capital Project | Early Childhood Development | The World Bank in the European Union
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT
Croatia: Consultations on New Country Partnership Framework with Parliamentarians
Zagreb, January 24, 2019 – As part of preparations for its new Country Partnership Framework with the Republic of Croatia for 2019-2023, the World Bank in Croatia has been carrying out countrywide consultations with key stakeholders since September 2018 to hear their diverse views on Croatia’s economic and social challenges and on ways the World Bank Group can help address them most effectively. The final round of consultations was held with Croatian parliamentarians on January 24, 2019. The parliamentarians identified several key development priorities including (i) creation of a favorable business environment and a dynamic labor market to boost private sector growth, and (ii) the importance of modernizing the education system for successful human capital development.
The World Bank in Croatia
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT
Zambia: World Bank Appears Before the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism
Lusaka, January 23, 2019 – The World Bank Zambia office in collaboration with other cooperating partners active in the energy sector in Zambia appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Water Development and Tourism to share their contributions to the energy sector in Zambia.
Country Manager, Ina Ruthenberg informed the Committee that the rural access rate to electricity in Zambia is significantly low at only 4%, despite electricity being a crucial driver in increasing productivity, facilitating access to markets, and improving service delivery such as health care and education. She said the Bank is supporting the government on electricity access initiatives and continues to invest heavily in access across Zambia. Between, 2009 and 2015, the Bank financed the connection of approximately 91,000 households – benefiting almost 500,000 people.
Additionally, World Bank Senior Energy Specialist, Christopher Saunders informed the Committee that the Bank recently approved a new $32 million access project focusing on rural areas. The Electricity Services Access Project will subsidize the connection costs to the grid for 22,000 low-income households and about 1,000 Small Enterprises in rural areas. So far, the project has achieved 6,000 connections in just 4 months. He also informed the committee that the World Bank is supporting Zambia’s ongoing preparation of a National Electrification Program, an ambitious strategy to accelerate electricity access through integrated planning.
Parliamentary Committee Chairperson, Ephraim Belemu, thanked the World Bank for providing useful information that will be used to provide recommendations to government, regarding how it can best manage and improve the energy sector. Engagements such as this have contributed to greater appreciation of the World Bank’s role in Zambia by parliamentarians, as evident by an increased number of enquiries and requests for information received from Parliamentarians, as well as references to World Bank reports during parliamentary debates.
The World Bank in Zambia
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT
Nepal: Knowledge Exchange Program with Nepalese Parliamentarians
Kathmandu, January 17, 2019 – More than 40 Members of Parliament from the Parliamentary Finance Committee and the Parliamentary Secretariat participated in consultations and development policy dialogue as part of a knowledge exchange program with officials from the World Bank.
Country Manager Faris H. Hadad-Zervos introduced the World Bank Group operations in Nepal, its instruments, country partnership framework and areas of development support. This was followed by a synopsis of the Bank’s analysis of the latest macroeconomic and development updates, presented by World Bank Senior Country Economist Kene Ezemenari. Xiaoping Wang and Rabin Shrestha, Senior Energy Specialists from the World Bank then presented the current scenario of the power sector in Nepal.
“The program was a unique opportunity to understand the World Bank Group operations and explore avenues of cooperation and support in the days to come,” said Krishna Prasad Dahal, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, “Extensive sharing of data, information and practical knowledge will help pinpoint the direction of future policies and refine our responsibilities as lawmakers.”
The World Bank in Nepal
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT
Vietnam: Parliamentary Workshop
Hanoi, January 11, 2019 – The Vietnam Women’s Economic Empowerment Project led by the Social Development Practice of the World Bank in collaboration with the Social Protection and Labor Practice organized a workshop for high-level National Assembly committee members to discuss the new labor code through a gender lens. The workshop was co-hosted by the National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee and attended by members of this and other relevant committees.
The workshop aimed to equip MPs with evidence to engage in an informed dialogue on how the new labor code under revision can help level the playing field between men and women so that they have equal access to, and equal benefits from, the labor market, and how the labor code could include incentives that promote the narrowing of existing gender gaps. It was part of ongoing capacity building in the National Assembly to better assess laws through a gender lens as per Vietnam’s Law on Promulgation of Legislative Documents (2015).
The broader project objectives are to share knowledge and strengthen policies and programs that address emerging challenges to women’s economic empowerment. In collaboration with the Social Affairs Department under the National Assembly Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, early project outputs have also involved the development and launch of a first ever comprehensive e-learning course in Vietnamese on why and how to undertake gender assessment of laws, featuring Vietnamese and Bank experts. This project was made possible with funding through the Australia-World Bank Group Strategic Partnership Program.
The World Bank in Vietnam
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGAGEMENT
Macedonia: Country Partnership Framework Consultation with Parliament
Skopje, November 30, 2018 – The World Bank Group team led by Marco Mantovanelli, Country Manager conducted consultations regarding the World Bank Group’s new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Macedonia for the period 2019-2023 in the Macedonian Parliament with President of the Parliament Mr. Talat Xhaferi and Members of the Parliament from several Parliamentary Committees including Finance and Budget; Education; Social Policy; Transport; Communication; Environment, Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy; EU Affairs; Health; and Gender.
Mr. Xhaferi and participating parliamentarians expressed satisfaction that the World Bank reached out to the Parliament to inform about the findings of the recently completed Systematic Country Diagnostic, and to provide feedback on the areas of engagement over the coming years. MPs emphasized the following main areas of engagement: agriculture, education, health, access to finance for micro and small enterprises, and transport. Members of the parliament from all parties reiterated the need to participate in discussions with the government and private sector whenever there are major reforms planned.
The World Bank in Macedonia
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UPCOMING EVENT - April 8-9, 2019
Global Parliamentary Conference
The World Bank, alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and IMF, will host the fifth edition of the Global Parliamentary Conference (GPC) on April 8-9, 2019 at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.
The GPC gathers about 200 legislators from across the globe to discuss today’s most urgent economic and development issues with World Bank and IMF senior management and experts. It offers participants the opportunity not only to learn about key issues, but how they can partner with the Parliamentary Network, the World Bank and the IMF to implement policies and reform for lasting development results at the national and international levels.
This year’s conference will cover themes of disruptive technologies for development, investing in human capital, promoting gender equality, and taking action against climate change.
The second day will also include the first official meeting of the Global Young MP Initiative – a groundbreaking program for MPs under 45 committed to tackling the mounting number of development challenges directly affecting young people, including education, youth employment, and fragility, conflict and violence. More than half of the world population is under thirty, yet according to the IPU they are represented by only 2.2% of parliamentarians worldwide. The Global Young MP Initiative will provide a platform for young parliamentarians to explore proactive and innovative solutions to ensure that young peoples’ voices are heard in policy dialogue.
Register by February 28 here
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PUBLICATION
Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform
The Doing Business report measures regulations that enhance or constrain business activity via quantitative indicators on business regulations and protection of property rights across 190 countries. This year’s edition measures 10 areas on the ease of doing business. It documented a record 314 regulatory reforms in 128 economies from June 2, 2017 to May 1, 2018, with one-third of the reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa. Findings in the report included that increased public-private communication on legislative changes and processes affecting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was positively associated with more reforms and better performance on the Doing Business indicators.
Report | Press Release
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MULTIMEDIA
The World Bank Group's Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience
The accelerating impacts of climate change, and the need to avoid much larger impacts in the future, bring urgency to scaling up action on adaptation and resilience. The World Bank Group (WBG) is making adaptation and resilience a key priority of its 2025 Climate Change Targets that will elevate adaptation to an equal footing with climate mitigation actions.
- Video: From Niger to Kiribati, How We Are Adapting to Climate Change
- Press Release: WBG Announces $50 billion over Five Years for Climate Adaptation and Resilience
- Document: The World Bank Group's Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience
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December 20, 2018
Togo
Togo President Faure Gnassingbe’s Union for the Republic (UNIR) party won 59 ouf of 91 seats in the National Assembly. Its ally, the Union of Change Forces (UFC) won seven seats, and the following four minor opposition parties share 7 seats: Mouvement patriotique pour la démocratie et le développement (2 seats); Nouvel Engagement Togolais (3 seats); Parti démocratique panafricain (1 seat); and Mouvement des républicains centristes (1 seat). The remaining 18 seats were split among independents. For the first time ever, a woman, Ms. Yawa Djigbodi Tsegan (47 years old), was elected as Speaker of Parliament, making her the second-highest ranking figure in the country after the Head of State..
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December 30, 2018
Democratic Republic of Congo
Parties supporting outgoing Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila won a majority in long-delayed legislative elections. More than 15,000 candidates ran in the poll to determine who will control parliament for the next five years. Pro-Kabila parties secured 350 of the 485 seats so far declared, with 128 going to the opposition.
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