BusinessDay... the voice of business: FG fails to access N208 billion World Bank loans – report

FG fails to access N208 billion World Bank loans – report
================================================================================
Anonymous on 07 January, 2008 03:00:00
 
The loans were approved for the country to finance projects that would help
fight poverty and improve the living standard of the people. The projects are in
the areas of infrastructure, human development, power, Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) related community development projects, governance, and public
sector management.
A World Bank report, which was made available to Business Day, showed that the
sum of $857 million has so far been disbursed by the bank to fund 25 on-going
projects in the country.
Although the bank was silent on the reason behind the high unused funds, it was
gathered that the slow pace of some of the projects and government’s
bureaucracy accounted for undisbursed loans.
The loans were provided on International Development Agency (IDA) terms, with a
commitment fee of 0.35 percent and a service charge of 0.75 percent over a
40-year period of maturity, including a 10-year moratorium.
The IDA is the World Bank’s interest-free lending arm for the poorest
countries.
The report listed some of the underperforming projects in the country as
Malaria Control Project, Economic Reform Programme, National Energy Development
Project, National Urban Water Project, and Lagos Metropolitan Development
Project, of which loans amounting to $172.42 million, $107.24 million, $160.44
million, $191.23 million, and $200 million, respectively, were yet to be
accessed.
The bank had approved $180 million in 2007 for the Malaria Control Project,
$140 million in 2005 for the Economic Reform Programme, $172 million in 2006 for
the National Energy Development Project, $200 million in 2006 for the National
Urban Water Project, and $200 million in 2007 for the Lagos Metropolitan
Development Project.
Some of the on-going projects in the country rated satisfactory by the World
Bank are Polio Eradication Project, Health System Development Project II,
Community Based Poverty Reduction Project, Fadama Project II, HIV/AIDS Programme
Development, Transmission Development, and Lagos Urban Transit Project, for
which ear marked loans of $3.47 million, $18.25 million, $13.40 million, $17.30
million, $54.62 million, $18.64 million, and $68.80 million respectively have
been disbursed.