World Bank giving US$55m to Haiti

THE WORLD BANK announced that it will disburse US$55 million to Haiti, which will help the Caribbean nation address some of its most urgent financing needs as it strives to recover in the wake of the January 12 earthquake that killed more than 230 000 people and caused widespread destruction mainly in the capital of Port-au-Prince.The disbursement will take place once the government finalises the legal documents for the grants, which were signed in the Haitian capital Tuesday last week.The US$55 million provided to Haiti includes a US$30 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), approved by the board of directors on August 5, with an additional co-financing of US$25 million from the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF), managed by the Bank and to which Brazil, Norway, Australia, Colombia and Estonia have contributed.The World Bank is taking quick and decisive steps to ensure that resources are delivered to Haiti, where the needs are still great, said World Bank vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Pamela Cox.Making funds available so the Haitian government can pay for key short-term reconstruction expenditures is important, but to step up reconstruction, donors need to deliver as soon as possible on the pledges they made in New York earlier this year. The funds will help Haiti meet urgent financing needs for reconstruction, which have been exacerbated by revenue shortfalls following the earthquake.Damages and losses caused by the earthquake are estimated at nearly US$8 billion by the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) carried out in February.The destruction of the Tax Directorate and the impact of the earthquake on economic activities have caused a 20 per cent drop in projected revenue for fiscal year 2009-2010. The IDA and HRF grants provide resources to finance essential expenditures in the last quarter of 2010 in the context of the Action Plan for National Recovery and Development, presented by government to the international community in March. In addition, these grants will help the government maintain and strengthen the economic governance reforms started before the earthquake and will support government’s post-earthquake programme for enhancing transparency and accountability.This is particularly important in view of the increased flow of funds to Haiti for supporting reconstruction. (AB)