Gov’t signs for $154m World Bank grant

The Ministry of Finance and Planning and the World Bank on Tuesday signed two different projects totalling $154 million.

They are public financial management reform and enhancing local government and community resilience projects.

Speaking after the signing ceremony at the World Bank Headquarters in Juba, Finance Minister Agak Achuil Lual confirmed that they have signed two projects with a total amount of $154 million in grants.

He said the first project is public financial management and is an institutional strengthening project that amounts to $34 million.

The second project is enhancing community resilience and local government, which costs $120 million.

“This grant we just signed with the World Bank are projects that are going to be implemented here in the country, and the money is going for the projects and not for the support of the government,” Agak said.

“This is a very great achievement and we thank the World Bank for granting us the projects. We hope we will manage it well and many projects will come to South Sudan,” he added.

Meanwhile, the World Bank Country Director for South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea Ousmane Dione, said the project on public financial management will support the government of South Sudan in building the institutions and the system related to public financial management, in terms of managing the resources and budgeting.

He said all the modalities would be put in place with the support of the World Bank.

Dion stated that the projects were designed to increase the credibility and accountability of the South Sudanese government’s resource management.

He said the second project that deals with enhancing community resilience would support all communities across the country in how they develop sub-projects related to their resilience.

“The grants are from the international development association of the World Bank in support of the efforts of the government of South Sudan in addressing better and good governance in terms of putting institutions in place but also responding to the needs of the people across South Sudan,” Dione stressed.

“We believe that by providing this support which builds the institution, building the system and responding to the needs of the people, we can also contribute to the dividend of peace, which is fundamentally important for the stability and property of South Sudan,” he added.

Dione hinted that the World Bank was committed to working with all the development partners to support South Sudan to achieve a lasting peace that supports development in the country.