African Development Bank to Provide Financing Soon to Tunisia, Ivory Coast
The African Development Bank will disburse budget aid to Tunisia next month and is ready to quickly support Ivory Coast to help the countries deal with immediate financing needs in the wake of political turmoil, President Donald Kaberuka said.
The bank plans to make between $400 million and $500 million available to Tunisia and will increase aid to about $1 billion later this year, Kaberuka said in an interview in Washington today. The institution is considering $150 million in immediate support for Ivory Coast, he said.
In Ivory Coast, Former President Laurent Gbagbo was captured and his security forces surrendered this week, ending weeks of post-election conflict. Tunisia has been experiencing political transition after President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in January, triggering a wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world and North Africa over economic hardship and corruption.
Funds "will go to the budget of Tunisia to help with unemployment, youth opportunities, regional inequalities and voice and accountability of the institutions," Kaberuka said. For Ivory Coast, "now that they are back, we're prepared to go in quickly to provide support in all forms."
The bank had stopped disbursements to Ivory Coast as Gbagbo defied world opinion and held onto power after his defeat in a Nov. 28 election to Alassane Ouattara.
Move Headquarters
The ADB's governors, meeting in Washington next week, will discuss whether to move their headquarters back to Ivory Coast from Tunis, said Kaberuka.
"Their wish to return is very strong but you can return only if the basic conditions are there," he said.
The bank is also speaking to authorities in Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak abandoned power after three decades on Feb. 11, to determine its needs and will probably help with its budget as well, Kaberuka said.
The bank is now forecasting growth of about 3.5 percent in North Africa this year, which will drag the continent's expansion to below 5 percent, chief economist Mthuli Ncube said in an interview in Washington yesterday. Ivory Coast's economy is seen contracting 7.3 percent, he said.
Kaberuka said he is concerned that aid to Southern Sudan, which will become independent in July, may not be coordinated well.
An existing multidonor fund has to coordinate different conditions, reporting systems and auditing requirements, Kaberuka said.
"It would be easier if there was one platform," he said after attending a meeting on the topic during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's meetings.
He also said contributors may have to accept the risk that resources may not be well used in the beginning because the country's institutions will be young.
Almost 99 percent of Southern Sudanese voters chose to secede from Sudan and form an independent country in a January referendum.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sandrine Rastello in Washington at srastello@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net
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