World Bank approves "post-conflict" credit

The World Bank has approved a US $20 million fiscal consolidation credit to CAR, aimed at helping the country carry out its basic functions in a still fragile post-conflict context. A World Bank news release last week said the immediate objective was the timely payment of wages to government employees and the military. "This should enhance the prospects for sustained civil peace and economic recovery, which will lay the foundations for poverty reduction," the statement said. It noted the emergence of a growing consensus across the political spectrum in CAR that fiscal consolidation, economic reform, improved governance and civil peace were all needed to put the country back on the development path. "The credit seeks to support this consensus and the new government's commitment to fiscal discipline, improved governance and economic reform," the release stated.