South Sudan to benefit from IDA19 windows funds
The Minister of Finance and Planning, Agak Achuil Lual, has said the World Bank has granted South Sudan the right to the IDA19 funds.
Agak held a meeting with the World Bank Regional Director, Ousmane Dione, in which they discussed a wide range of issues, including cooperation with the World Bank, strengthening the technical capacity of public sector employees, supporting macroeconomic reforms, and the IDA19 windows to access crisis response funds.
Agak said they also discussed how the World Bank could support the private sector to achieve sustainable economic development in the country.
“I had the pleasure of meeting the World Bank Regional Director, Mr Ousmane Dione, to touch base on areas of cooperation between the Bank and South Sudan,” he said.
The minister said the country was eligible for the IDA19 funds because it hosts “hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries.
“South Sudan is now hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring countries and therefore qualifies to access the IDA19 Window for Host Communities and Refugee Resources (WHR). I assured the delegation of the leadership’s commitment to transparency, fiscal sustainability, and good governance, ” Agak said.
“The Regional Manager also requested that the bank become a member of the Oversight Committee working on PFMRS, which we shall definitely consider, as the bank will bring in knowledge and expertise that will enhance the OC’s work.”
He said Ousmane informed him about a multi-donor conference to be conducted in April and promised a government commitment to the World Bank.
Sustained economy
Last week, Agak promised the Troika ambassadors a sustained economy through the integration of public financial management reforms (PFM).
“I reassured the ambassadors of the commitment of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his government to continue with the reform process,” said Agak.
“We also touched on the issuance of sovereign guarantees, of which I informed the ambassadors of the leadership’s commitment to not backtrack on proper debt sustainability frameworks, as well as the avoidance of non-concessionary oil.”
He appealed to the development partners to support the government to lessen the negative impacts of floods and COVID-19 by providing humanitarian aid.
“South Sudan is experiencing unprecedented challenges in the New Year, worsened by flooding that has destroyed sources of livelihoods across the country. Food insecurity and humanitarian situations are likely to worsen, ” Agak noted.
“The leadership has taken note of these and is trying to put mechanisms in place to mitigate the impacts, but we call for close collaboration with our development partners to consolidate and coordinate our efforts in providing assistance to those in need.”
In November 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) donated $52 million to South Sudan through its “Rapid Credit Facility Initiative,” to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the civilian population.
The IMF team urged the government to prioritise non-oil revenue to fund government operations instead of reliance on oil revenue.
