Africa Needs USD93 Billion for Infrastructural Development

WASHINGTON, November 12, 2009—Over the last few years, Africa has benefitted from some significant improvements in infrastructure. Over 50 percent of Africa’s population lived in range of a GSM mobile phone signal in 2006. Five African countries have already met the millennium targets for universal water access and 12 others are on-track to do so; and around 80 percent of Africa’s main road network is in good or fair condition.

However, this is only part of the story; daunting challenges remain. Only one in three rural Africans has access to an all-season road; more than 20 percent of the population in Cameroon, Ghana, Mauritania, Niger, and Tanzania must travel more than two kilometers to their primary water supply; African consumers pay twice as much for basic services as people elsewhere in the world; and a monthly basket of prepaid mobile telephone services costs $12 in Africa but only $2 in South Asia. These are examples of Africa’s infrastructure challenges.

The World Bank just announced in its study, Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation, that the poor state of infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa—its electricity, water, roads and information and communications technology (ICT)—cuts national economic growth by two percentage points every year and reduces productivity by as much as 40 percent. The study team conducted an in-depth assessment of the state of infrastructure in 24 countries across the continent.

To close the infrastructure gap with other parts of the world, meet the Millennium Development Goals, and achieve national development targets in Africa within 10 years, an annual spending of $93 billion would be required. This estimate is more than double what was originally thought. This estimate is still short of what China allocated to infrastructure during the last 20 years, which only in terms of capital investment was the equivalent to 15 percent of its GDP.

Fragile states face the most daunting burden of meeting the spending needs for infrastructure; to catch-up on infrastructure over the next decade fragile states would need to devote more than a third of their GDP. The conundrum is that countries with the greatest infrastructure needs are often the countries that are least attractive to investors. Many African countries, particularly fragile states, have taken longer to catch up on infrastructure and have considered lower-cost technologies. Urgent action is needed, the report argues, and the global financial crisis further underscores the need for a massive effort to overhaul Africa’s infrastructure.

Generating Power

Access to energy is critical for economic growth and poverty alleviation; no country in the world has developed its economy without abundant energy supplies. Today, chronic power shortages plague 30 African countries and only one in four Africans has access to electricity. The entire installed generation capacity of 48 Sub Saharan African countries is 68 gigawatts, no more than Spain’s. Firms in many African countries indicate that the largest obstacle to doing business is the power constraint. Outside of South Africa, power consumption is barely one percent of the level in high income countries.

The report finds that of the $93 billion needed to improve Africa’s infrastructure, almost half is needed to boost the continent’s power supply. The financing is needed to support the installation of new power generation capacity at the rate of seven times the annual average of the last 10 years. In addition, the existing capacity also needs refurbishment because, as it stands today, a quarter of Africa’s installed power generation capacity is not operational.

Improving the operating efficiency of power utilities through reforms at the institutional level would save Africa $2.7 billion a year—a significant contribution. Presently, less than 90 percent of charges billed to customers are actually collected by utilities, compared with 100 percent for a well-run utility. In Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, or Uganda–-to name a few–-uncollected power bills are as high as a whole percent of the GDP. Improving efficiency could facilitate improvements in maintenance or increases in investments for infrastructure.

“At 18 cents per kilowatt-hour on average, Africa’s power is very expensive to produce by global standards,” says Briceno-Garmendia.

While improving maintenance of power is key for increasing access for Africans, regional trade is another important piece in the puzzle of lowering costs for African consumers. The study finds that regional power trade could save Africa US$2 billion per year in energy costs.

Financing Infrastructure

Africa is already spending $45 billion a year on infrastructure. A bulk of this infrastructure spending comes from domestic sources. However, infrastructure providers waste $8 billion a year on excessive staffing, distribution losses, undercollecting revenue and inadequate maintenance. African utilities are unable to collect some $2.4 billion a year of services billed. Efficient use of existing resources can release an additional $17.4 billion in finance for infrastructure every year. However, even after the full potential of efficiency gains are realized, a substantial funding gap of US$31 billion will remain, particularly for water and power infrastructure in fragile states.

Closing Africa’s US$31 billion-per-year infrastructure funding gap is a critical effort that countries and the international investment community can make to address the massive shortfalls in infrastructure development. External finance for Africa’s infrastructure was buoyant in the years leading up to the global financial crisis, swelling from $4 billion in 2002 to $20 billion in 2007. Domestic finance in many countries during the same period benefitted from the growth and high prices of natural resources.

However, the current global financial crisis is likely to arrest that growth, reducing the funds available for infrastructure and checking the demand for infrastructure services. To close the funding gap a wide combination of resources will be needed, including public budgets, resource rents, local capital markets, private sector and non-OECD finance, as well as traditional donor assistance. The report concludes that many countries may have to consider other ways of aligning infrastructure targets with the available resource envelope.

“African countries face daunting challenges in increasing investment and improving maintenance and upkeep of their infrastructure stock,” says Foster. “The good news is that no one can doubt that investments in maintenance yield solid returns—we found that every $1 invested in upkeep of roads returns $4 in asset longevity and service.”

About the Report

Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation highlights the results of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a study conducted by a partnership of institutions including the African Union Commission, African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and the World Bank.

The study is one of the most detailed ever undertaken on the African continent. Surveys were conducted among 16 rail operators, 20 road entities, 30 power utilities, 30 ports, 60 airports, 80 water utilities, and over 100 ICT operators, as well as the relevant ministries in 24 countries. The results were derived from detailed analysis of spending needs (based on country-level microeconomic models), fiscal costs (which involved collecting and analysis of new data) and sector performance benchmarks (covering operational and financial aspects as well as the country’s institutional framework).

Nigeria is at Peace

Nigerian officials are reportedly planning to give 10 percent of the country's oil revenues to people in the Niger Delta, an area plagued by insurgencies. Presidential adviser Emmanuel Egbogah told the Financial Times that the money would go directly to communities, bypassing powerful state governors. Analysts say the government fears local officials would embezzle the money. The plan is part of the government's effort to stop militants from attacking oil installations in the delta. Such attacks have been going on for years, but the government recently held an amnesty and claims to have persuaded a number of leading militants to hand in their arms. Rebels say they are fighting for a fairer share of oil wealth for delta residents, but frequently resort to killing and kidnapping, and fund their activities by stealing oil.

(BBC)

World Bank Group: 2009 Development Highlight About Africa

Total population: 0.8 billion
Population growth: 2.5
Life expectancy at birth: 52 years
Infant mortality per 1,000 births: 89
Female youth literacy: 67%
Number of people living with HIV/AIDS: 22.3 million
2008 GNI per capita: $1,082
GDP per capita index (1998=100): 122

The global financial crisis halted half a decade of high economic growth in many African countries, significantly pulling down the average growth rate from 6.1 percent in 2007 to a projected 1.7 percent in 2009. Remittances and the private capital flows were also diminished, slowing down progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

In fiscal 2009, the IBRD and IDA commitments to Africa constituted 17 percent of World Bank lending, totaling $8.2 billion, a $2.5 billion increase compared to the previous year. More than half of total IDA commitments, 56 percent, went to support projects in Africa. The sectors that received the largest funding were Law, Justice, and Public Administration; Energy and Mining; and Agriculture, Fishing, and Forestry. Together, these three sectors received almost 51% of all funds to the region.

Note: From the Desk of Shanta Daveranja, The Chief Economist for Africa, World Bank Group.

Posted By: Nwankwo Stephen, United Nations Online Volunteer

Say something over Africa.

Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, would like to invite you to share your thoughts on how best to help African countries with higher poverty rates.

These countries' economies are already growing more slowly. Could it be that this happens because they are caught in a low-level equilibrium trap? And if so, should aid policy be adjusted to take into account the possibility that these countries are "stuck" in low growth, high poverty and poor governance?

Are fragile states "too poor to grow?"

Share your opinions here: http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/are-fragile-states-too-poor-to-grow?cid=EXTAFR1blogtoopoortogrow

Thanks for Your Participation

Nwankwo Stephen

Japan’s N1.2 bn donation targets polio, malaria; Nigeria

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday received a grant of N1.2 billion ($ 8.5 million) for child survival programmes in Nigeria. Donated by the Government of Japan, the grant is for polio eradication, routine immunisation and the prevention of malaria. According to a statement made available to BusinessDay by UNICEF, although Nigeria is making progress in reducing its high child mortality rate, some challenges remain that need to be addressed if the country is to achieve the health MDGs. Childhood killer diseases are still rampant.
Malaria alone is said to be responsible for one quarter of deaths of children while vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, tetanus or whooping cough are also among the major causes of child mortality. In addition, the wild polio virus is still endemic in Nigeria, although great strides have been taken in recent times to ensure interruption of wild polio virus in the country in the months ahead.

The level of child mortality can be reduced with simple interventions such as immunisation and the use of insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria.

According to UNICEF the grant would contribute to stopping Wild Poliovirus transmission in Nigeria by the end of 2010; strengthen the immunisation cold chain system and contribute to the reduction in deaths and illnesses due to Malaria.
The UN agency said this year’s contribution from Japan would be used to provide Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for use against polio during Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) and to procure cold rooms to strengthen immunisation cold chain system. It will also be used to procure Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) for malaria control to complement national efforts of universal coverage of two nets per household in Nigeria by 2010 and support social communication to empower families and communities with knowledge, skills and tools that will improve the chances of children to survive.

BusinessDay newspaper

Friday, 21 August 2009 01:13 MAX Amuchie

Global Business Investing in Africa -- The Case of Nigeria

Globalization and Small/Medium Enterprises: Any mention of the subject of globalization immediately brings to mind huge multinational corporations like ChevronTexaco, Shell and Microsoft -- companies with great amounts of capital capable of investing successfully in almost any viable market. But it is not only the big multinationals who are into global business. Though the risks may be higher for them, entrepreneurs of small to medium business enterprises (SMEs) have always been part of the global business environment. Many multinationals today grew from such small operations. Success as a global business operator depends less on size than on other factors such as being able to discern and take advantage of available opportunities, building up a thorough understanding of the business and social cultural environment and familiarity with local business rules, regulations and conventions. Well organized and properly managed developing economies provide fertile ground for SMEs to thrive. In decades past, Asia provided such fertile ground for small industries to grow. Asian economies attracted and continue to attract massive foreign investment which fuelled the remarkable economic growth in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Africa and the Case of Nigeria: Since the start of the 21st century there has been an emphasis on economic reforms in Africa which make regional economies more attractive to foreign investors. Over the past six years in Nigeria, for instance, the government has pursued a policy of trade liberalization -- making the operating environment for businesses less rigid and more friendly to foreign investors; and privatization -- allowing private ownership of previously government-owned operations. As a result, many opportunities for global business operators have been created in Nigeria -- the second largest economy in the region after South Africa. Efforts to Change Negative Image: Because of the negative way the international press portrayed Nigeria beginning from the mid 1980s through the '90s, foreign investors have been slow to take advantage of opportunities in the country. Since 1999, however, the government of President Olusegun Obasanjo and individuals and organizations in the Nigerian private sector have worked to erase that negative portrayal of the country. The private sector engages in public (international and domestic) education about Nigeria through workshops, seminars and trade fairs. The government is doing the same as a sponsor of public education programs as well as through its economic policies. All the effort is yielding results. The World Bank and other international lenders recognize improvements in Nigeria's macroeconomic performance and say this is an indication of the soundness of government economic policies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to support more economic growth in Nigeria through its willingness to help finance infrastructure development and improvements in the country. The IMF, however, urges fiscal prudence and a sustained program of inflation reduction. On a visit to Nigeria in December 2004, IMF executive, Anne Krueger, observed that, "Prudent management of [Nigeria's] significant oil windfall has helped to stabilize the economy and to begin to address the major macroeconomic imbalances. Inflation has begun to fall, the exchange rate is more stable, and there has been significant buildup of reserves." Ready For SME Investment: What all of this means is that Nigeria is ripe for SME investors from everywhere in the world. While Western (European and North American) investors have largely been scared off by past negative media portrayals of the country, Asian entrepreneurs were far less impressed by the negative press and are today the largest group of global SME investors in Nigeria. The Asians have not been afraid to invest in Nigeria and learn about the nation's business culture. Many of them (Lebanese and Indian entrepreneurs) have been in Nigeria since the early 1970s and longer. Newer arrivals from China have also invested heavily in the Nigerian economy. Many of the early Asian SMEs in Nigeria started out as traders and retailers of consumer goods. Slowly they have graduated to small scale manufacturing and food packaging for the Nigerian consumer market and for export. Case Histories: Rofico: Maker of Milcow - a popular milk brand The Letraco Group is a Lebanese business concern that has been in Nigeria for 25 years. They operate as importers of consumer goods and supermarket operations in Nigeria. In 2002 Letraco set up a food packaging company at a new factory in Ikeja, Lagos State. The new company, Rofico packages powdered milk products under the brand name, 'Milcow'. The powdered milk is manufactured in other countries and imported by Rofico for packaging in Nigeria. Rofico became quickly successful under the economic policies of the Nigerian government. The company opened 14 warehouses in less than 18 months after startup. Their distribution network reaches 26 of Nigeria's 36 states as of February 2005. According to Raja Ezzeddine, managing director of Rofico, his company developed the Milcow package in 6 months and the product attained high market penetration with good customer patronage within a few weeks of introduction. "When we decided to invest in Nigeria, we did a lot feasibility studies... in the food packaging subsector, fast foods and restaurants. We also carried out other market studies and found out that food packaging has good business opportunities here. We did very deep and thorough marketing studies that took us about ten months before we decided on the business we would go into. After this, we used another four to six months to go to the regulatory authorities to register the company, to register the brand and then went to meet machine suppliers and milk suppliers. We had to study the whole process of the packaging industry before we were able to put the company together," Ezzeddine says. De-United Foods Industries Limited - Maker of Indomie Noodles: De-United Foods is owned and operated by Chinese entrepreneurs. They manufacture the internationally popular chinese noodles under the brand name 'Indomie'. The company has operated its factory in Ota, Ogun State for more than 10 years. A new factory was completed in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State in 2004. In mid 2004 a rumored death after consumption of the Indomie noodles caused a health scare in the country. The Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) closed down the Ota factory as it carried out tests on the noodles. At the time, De-United CEO, Roger Yeo, expressed confidence that his company would be found not responsible for the one death. Eventually, the rumor was found to be false and sales picked up again and has continued to climb. De-United employs over 700 people in two factories. The company has 300 distributors, 100,000 retailers throughout Nigeria servicing over 38 million consumers in the country. A Case for African-American Investors The presence of Asian businessmen in Nigeria is comparatively very high. Only South African businesses are competing as highly. While American corporate presence is very strong, African-American SMEs do not have nearly as strong representation. And yet there is no reason why the African-American presence should not be as strong and even stronger in Nigeria than the others. There are many reasons why the Asian presence is so strong in Nigeria. One of them is that the Asians have not hesitated to learn about the country through long-term investment, and so they have been able to properly acculturate. South Africans are also strong in this country because of their government's recognition and championship of a common purpose with Nigeria and the rest of Africa through the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). African-Americans have strong reasons to invest in Nigeria. Their historical affinity with Africa and their government's current policy for the continent, such as the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), represent an advantage for a strong African-American SME presence in Nigeria. The Nigerian government looks favorably on partnerships between Nigerian entrepreneurs and foreign investors. Their National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy or NEEDS is a reform program supported by the US government and the IMF. It focuses on the non-oil sectors of the economy, like agriculture and food processing, and is aimed at alleviating poverty in Nigeria. Companies that can take advantage of these initiatives in developing their business plans are more likely to succeed in Nigeria. Many areas of investment exist for which African-Americans can benefit and at the same time have the satisfaction of being direct participants in the development of Nigeria and Africa. In the agricultural sector, Nigeria is looking for investors in the processing of produce, like cassava, for the export market. In the energy sector, they are looking for investors in electricity generation. The banking sector is another growth area. Recent changes in policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria requiring each commercial bank to attain N25 billion (US$185 million) capitalization by December 2005 is behind the drive to mergers and increased stock exchange activity. Here also the Asian presence is strong. Early in December 2004, Malaysian and Singaporean investors, through a deal put together by Price WaterHouse of Hong Kong, agreed to invest US$100 million in Hallmark Bank of Nigeria. Because of the culture and the way the economy is set up, it ought to be easier for African-American entrepreneurs, with relatively small capitalization, to do business in Nigeria so long as they are willing to learn and adapt to the Nigerian orientation. By Obi Akwani, MGV Editor http://www.imdiversity.com

THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY: the cog in its wheel of progress

The Nigerian Economy is a Public Sector depending Economy. Although, termed as a mixed economy, the economy is built on the public sector with the private sector playing a minimum role. Government who is a major player owns greater assets of the National Income, while the citizenry acting as private sectors contribute less. Of course, the system is more defined with the uses of fiscal policy. The origin can be sourced from her colonial master (Britain). The British Economy during the Great Depression adopted the propounded fiscal policy of John M. Keynes of UK as an instrument to redress their economic depression. Latter, the policy became a major economic tool for national income policy and other economic development policy makers. Many countries including Nigeria embarked on its uses. However, the truth is that in today’s economy, there is an existence of both monetary policy (which is propounded by Milton Friedman of USA) and fiscal policy. They interweave in the policy formulation of every economy including that of Nigeria.

Back to the Nigerian case, the public sector operates as the driving force of the economy with the support of the Nigeria Central Bank (CBN) regulating the circulation of the currency via the tool of the monetary policy. The private sector known as a second sector respond indirectly in accordance with the description of the instrumentality of the public policy. Following the abundant human and natural resource endowment of Nigeria , her economy suppose be a top leading economy in Africa, perhaps among the best 20 in the world, that is if the formulated set of policies are well implemented, monitored and evaluated during the developmental process. But failure has been the result in all sectors ranging from the agricultural to industrial sector. The public sector has failed, thus brought a reproach to the effectiveness of the fiscal policy. Now, it is Government (Nigerian Government) failure instead of Market failure, which was a major reason why J.M. Keynes propounded the fiscal policy for the Western economies.

However, many people held neo-colonialism, neo-imperialism and corruption as responsible factors. In the less of corruption, to some extent, the above mentioned factors are not harmful to the Nigerian Social development (that is not my argument). But the truth is hold on a concrete evidence that the socio-political-economic institutions of Nigeria are deformed and have all failed due to self-caused factors.

The Economic institution is mainly characterized with some bottlenecks on its supply-side, thus has made the economy to be productive incapacity. The productive factors such as labour, capital, etc are misallocated and even as been misallocated, they are also mismanaged. The endowed natural resources (less crude oil) are less explored. As the case may be globalization policy is seen as sabotage to the economy, since the economy cannot produce. Failure to produce has turned the economy into a consumption-depending economy. This is why China and other New Industrialising Countries (NICs) especially from the Asian region have turned Nigeria into a dumping place of their various goods.

For the Political institution, instead of a true spirit of capitalism a la Prof. Okowa (former Dean of Social Science Faculty, University of Port Harcourt), Abdulistic Capitalism has taken over as the driving force of the economy. Perhaps, this is the major reason why labour lost its dignity in the economic institution. Those working hard in the manner of the true spirit of capitalism do not get rich and people in politic get richer, thus the few Abdulistic Capitalists (Abdul is a northern legend who believed that; the only way to make money in Nigeria is to be connected in politic) enriched themselves via corruption, dominate and controlled the society. This is why government and anti-graft agencies in Nigeria cannot fight corruption.

Lastly, the Social institution exists with the people having the believe that-it is only the fool that obey the laws. The poor masses subconsciously believed that the law is made only for them. The rich are seen to often buy their innocence in the court when they commit crime, and the poor who cannot afford a police bailout of five thousand naira (#5000.00) are often victimized and arraigned to court in most cases.

However, Nigeria is not the first country to experience this socio-political economic backwardness or upheaval. Many developed countries once in time had similar social condition, which led to their revolution. We cannot forget the French Revolution (1789–1799), the American Revolution (1770-1783), the English Revolution (1640-1660) and others. All hope are not lost, Nigeria can still meet up with the Chinese economy. However, if that to be achieve, the idea of seen her poor economic development as an economic problem (as the failure of other institutions are ignored) must be disdain into a refuse bin. Policies of institution innovation relatively to institutional approach must be adopted. These policies must exist to stimulate changes in her various institutions. They must be goal-getter policies. All hands must be on deck for their implementation, monitoring and evaluation. And finally, the social and opportunity costs of the policies must be accepted by the general public because at the early trend, people will suffer the course, but the long run benefits are sustainable development in brand.


Written By: Nwankwo Stephen,
Click: http://nstephen-profile.blogspot.com

NOTE: Next Article: The two ways to put Nigeria into a developing trend

WBN: New Research Computation for Economic Research Practioners and Policy Makers.

The World Bank’s Development Research Group has partnered with StataCorp to provide free state-of-the-art computationaltools for applied economic research to practitioners andpolicymakers in developing countries.

Until now, users of theBank’s automated platform for applied economic analysis(ADePT) have needed their own copy of the Stata program. Thenew partnership, effective mid-September 2009, allows the Bankto distribute ADePT free of charge as a standalone program tousers around the world.

ADePT has so far been widely used bothin the Bank and by the government and research institutions indeveloping countries. The cooperation of the World Bank withStata Corporation combines the computational power of Statawith the expertise of World Bank researchers to help developingcountry governments fight poverty, improve health andeducational outcomes for children, design efficient andwell-targeted systems of social protection, and address manyother issues of economic development.

Disclosed: World Bank Group Report

GDN: Countries Join Initiative to Improve Their Prospects for Agricultural Development

July 27, 2009—Delegations from eight developing African countries arrived in Addis Ababa this spring with a common goal –they wanted better results for their investments in agriculture.

They left with a plan to measure the effectiveness of programs with the help of a new initiative that aims to find out what works on the ground, and what doesn’t.

Agricultural Adaptations, or “AADAPT,” supports rigorous assessments of agricultural development projects known as “impact evaluations.” The program’s major goals are to gather knowledge about agricultural best practices and to provide the evidence needed for more effective agricultural policies and programs.

The initiative has the potential to “radically shift the path of agricultural development,” and improve the lives of millions of small farmers and others in rural areas who depend on agriculture for their incomes and very survival, says Arianna Legovini, head of Development Impact Evaluation at the World Bank.

“Doing this as part of our agricultural program is critically important today,” says Legovini. “Countries were very vulnerable to the food crisis and vulnerability might increase with changes in climate. There is a new urgency to invest in knowledge for agricultural growth and food security.”

The recent G8 meeting in Italy reiterated the importance of food security and expressed concern about the impact of financial crisis and high food prices in developing countries, as well as the longstanding underinvestment in agriculture.

Disclosed: World Bank Report

WBN: Emulate from Chinese NGOs as WBG Lauds Them

In China, nongovernmental organizations (NGO), also referred to as social organizations, nonprofit organizations or the third sector, have been growing fast in the last two decades. There are more than 133,000 officially-registered social organizations and 1,268 foundations. In addition, there are many grassroots or community-based organizations which are not officially registered or registered as businesses due to difficulty of registration. Many NGOs are making a significant contribution to China's social and economic development by engaging in public benefit activities such as environment, health, education, scientific research, cultural services, poverty relief, legal aid, social welfare, and services to disadvantaged groups such as orphans, the elderly, and the disabled. They constitute an important part of an emerging civil society in China.

Since 1995, the Bank has been making efforts to engage with NGOs and promote the development of NGOs in China in several ways, including:

Assisting the government in providing an enabling environment for NGO development in China. In FY01 the Bank provided an IDF grant to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MoCA), the government agency in charge of NGO registration and regulation. The two-year grant project supported activities including a study tour to the Philippines and Australia; a comparative study of NGO-related laws of China and other countries; a book of collection of experience and best practices of Chinese NGOs with 2,000 copies distributed to government agencies and NGOs; several NGO networking meetings and dialogues with MoCA officials; development of training materials and provision of training courses for NGO leaders and staff; and proposal of a NGO classification system more compatible with the international practice.

In FY04, at the request of MoCA, the Bank commissioned a consultant study on the tax laws, rules, procedures and policies for non-profit organizations (covering social organizations, foundations and private service units). The purpose was to analyze and assess the current tax laws and policies applicable to NPOs, provide international experience and best practices, and make recommendations to the government for improving tax system to promote NPO/NGO development in China. The report was delivered to MoCA around the end of 2005, distributed to government agencies and NGOs. It is also made available on the Internet.

Another initiative in FY04 is a translation project in collaboration with the Law School of Beijing University. The project has selectively translated NGO-related laws of other countries and made them available on the Internet with an aim to gradually build up an online library of NGO-related laws in Chinese language for Chinese legislators, policymakers, researchers and NGOs to use in the process of developing China's own legal framework for NGOs.

Providing direct financial assistance to NGOs' own initiatives and projects through the Small Grants Program (SmGP). The Small Grants Program of the World Bank in China targets at the local NGOs, with an aim to promote civic engagement in the development process. From FY99-06, the SmGP in Chinaawarded grants to some 53 local NGO initiatives, with six to ten projects a year on average. SmGP supported a wide range of activities. Activities included, for example, forum series on NPO-related laws, journalist salon on environmental issues, dialogue between representatives of the disabled people with local government officials, training and awareness raising on the protection of the rights of women and environmental protection; HIV/AIDS prevention and control, and participatory community development.

Supporting NGO capacity building and networking. In FY00, the Bank supported the startup of China NPO Network, the first such organization in the country, by funding their newsletters, workshops andtraining activities. In FY05 the Bank set up a Development Knowledge Center (mini-PIC) at the China NPO Network, with an aim to disseminate the Bank's knowledge products among local NGOs.

The Bank co-sponsored a number of NGO conferences in China, e.g. International Conference on NGO and Poverty Reduction Strategy in 2001, Corporate and Civil Society Forum and the first provincial-level NGO Forum in Ningxia in 2003.

Increasing consultations and operational collaboration with NGOs. The Bank invited NGOs to participate and express their views in the consultations for its 2006-2010 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) which was approved by the Board in May 2006.

The Bank made efforts to involve NGOs in the designing, preparation and implementation of its projects in China. To cite a few examples: the Bank engaged NGOs in AIDS prevention and control activities through information, education and communication under Health Nine Project; a local NGO leader was invited to chair an advisory group for monitoring safeguard compliance under Chongqing Urban Environment; Bank-funded irrigation projects have created hundreds of water users associations which allow local farmers to operate and maintain the lower levels of the irrigation systems by themselves. In the first community-driven development program (CDD) launched by the World Bank and Chinese government in May 2006, four international NGOs – Action Aid, Plan International, World Vision, and WWF-China - are assisting in program training and local facilitation, and a fifth NGO, Oxfam Hong Kong, supported program design. The Bank used a grant from the Japan Social Development Fund to support the All-China Women's Federation's efforts to empower unemployed/laid-off women workers and migrants in the poor western provinces with access to knowledge, support and opportunities, through training, grant financing for small business startup and capacity building for program management, monitoring and evaluation.

ChinaDevelopment Marketplace. The first China Development Marketplace, initiated by the World Bank in partnership with a number of government, multilateral and bilateral, and private sector organizations, was held in 2005-06, with an aim to promote civil society development in China. In the course of 10 months, the China DM received 975 proposals from NGOs all over country and mobilized over US$650,000. 30 winners were selected and received grants up to $30,000. The winners proposed reducing poverty through a range of different approaches. Some winning ideas include supplying environmentally sustainable biogas to single mothers in Hubei province; creating support networks for waste collectors in Shenzhen province; and training Muslim children of poor herdsmen in Xinjiang with vocational skills using a creative combination of microcredit and apprenticeships (for more information on the China Development Marketplace, please visit: www.developmentmarketplace.org.cn).

Updated in July, 2006
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WBN: World Bank IDIS Jakarta's Moving Forward

In responding to the need for change and a better way of doing business, we wish to inform you that the World Bank Indonesia (WB) will be closing its Indonesia Development Information Services (IDIS) center at the World Bank Office Jakarta, effectively on July 10, 2009. Please kindly note however, that this closure relates only to the physical space on the 13th floor of our office. The existing services provided by IDIS will continue on an on-line basis, while our public information staff will be more than happy to assist your requests by email or telephone.
In its management of public information services, WB is committed to seeking new ways of sharing World Bank knowledge and learning products. The underlying aim is to provide information that is available at the right time, at the right place, in the right form, for the right people. The methods for doing so are multiple and must be continuously updated to reflect the times. While the traditional channels of dialogue and print/broadcast media will always be utilized, an emphasis on digital media channels –websites, social media, blogs, E-Library – is ever increasing.

Public information centers like IDIS, which require a significant amount of physical space and resources to maintain, also stand as one of the more traditional channels of sharing knowledge. However, Indonesia’s growing reliance on the Internet in certain cities is quickly rendering the effectiveness of public information centers obsolete. With Jakarta ranking high among Indonesia’s web-savvy cities, WB believes it would be most prudent to switch the country office-based IDIS operation to an on-line service thereby reaching more people – quicker, better and greener since this switch entails a paperless operation.
For the benefit of the many external visitors our office sees every work day, we will soon begin displaying new Major & Regional publications and periodicals in the 12th and 13th floor lobbies. Operations will resume as normal in our network of 18 public information centers - particularly in 3 IDIS situated in ITS University in Surabaya , FISIP-University of Indonesia in Depok Jakarta and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. Other Regional Information Outlet (RIO) centers - found in 15 other locations across the country - will still hold current World Bank Office Jakarta publications in hardcopy, online database and portable e-library. IDIS Jakarta collection will be donated to FISIP-Universitas Indonesia to support their operation.
Again, we would like to ensure that all services will remain the same, only the channel and platforms will vary. More detail on services provided by IDIS will be announced soon.
Since the closure on July 10 until July 15, 2009 external clients can still come to visit us for reference enquiry. Subsequently we can be contacted at : IDIS Help Desk :Wiwiek Sonda : 6221- 5299 3146 (wsonda@worldbank.org)Santi Santobri : 6221- 5299 3140 (ssantobri@worldbank.org)

Thank you for your attention.
on behalf of World Bank Office JakartaIndonesia Stock Exchange Building Tower 2, 12th & 13th Floor, Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav.52-53, Jakarta