World Bank approves US $40 million for reconstruction

The World Bank's board on Thursday approved a credit of US $40 million for the emergency reconstruction, rehabilitation and living conditions improvement project for the Republic of Congo (ROC), the World Bank reported. The credit is for a project that will help the ROC government, among other things, re-establish basic economic activities and social services by rehabilitating roads, drainage and school facilities. The new credit is an integral part of the bank's Transitional Support Strategy (TSS) endorsed by the board to assist the ROC in the transition from war to sustainable peace. It is one of the first two operations of the TSS that would help demobilise and subsequently reintegrate about 10,000 ex-combatants into civilian life, the statement said. The project would be implemented over a three-year period starting from September 2001 and ending August 2004, the statement said. The objective of the emergency demobilisation and reintegration project is to contribute to the ongoing efforts of peace consolidation in the ROC and to offer sound reintegration options to ex-combatants who have joined the ranks of the unemployed after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, it added. The beneficiaries of the project include families of the about 10,000 ex-combatants, people in eight of the country's 11 regions, and communities where minor rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure will allow life to return to normalcy. According to the statement, it is expected that the implementation of the government's programme for demobilisation and reinsertion of ex-combatants supported under the proposed Emergency Demobilisation and Reintegration Project, combined with the impact of structural reforms and governance measures expected under the accompanying Post-Conflict Economic Rehabilitation Credit, will help stabilise and revitalise the economy and pave the way for higher and sustained growth. The resources provided under the credit will also help rehabilitate social infrastructure (primary education and health centres) in communities affected by the conflict. This will allow life to return to normalcy, with an indirect and influential effect on poverty reduction. The credit will complement the support provided by other donors, including the United Nations Development Programme/International Organisation for Migration arms collecting and reintegration programme, which has so far benefited 3,800 ex-combatants.