World Bank keen for movement on transition

The World Bank would like to see the transitional institutions provided for in the Arusha peace accord set up quickly, according to Great Lakes director Emmanuel Mbi. “Burundi should move ahead quickly in setting up the transitional institutions,” he told radio Bonesha, a private station in Burundi, according to a report on the Bank’s website. [http://www.worldbank.org/developmentnews/] “It is a reciprocal undertaking. The World Bank has pledged to give funds and Burundi has pledged to advance along the road to reconciliation,” Mbi added. In December, international donors agreed at a pledging conference in Paris to give some US $440 million in humanitarian and emergency aid to Burundi, and to do more if peace and reconciliation were to materialise. On 30 December, the World Bank agreed to loan Burundi US $40 million to fund reconstruction projects.