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Issue No 3, December 2010 - March 2011
In the last quarter, DFI continued to provide capacity-building assistance to more than 40 countries on debt, aid and private capital management. The current FPC programme drew to a close with the publication of 3 reports in the Franc Zone. DFI also expanded its programmes of advocacy and research work on the G20, development cooperation, and the impact of FDI on development. In the next 3 months we will accelerate our advocacy and research efforts on innovative financing, global financial regulation, aid for LDCs, global foundations and mutual accountability/transparency on aid, conduct the final events of the HIPC Debt Strategy Capacity Building Programme in cooperation with our regional partners, continue the client review of the African Development Bank, and launch major new capacity-building programmes in Africa and Latin America. For more details, see Upcoming Activities.
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Research, Analysis and Advocacy
- 20 December - Togo and Guinea-Bissau Reach Completion Point of HIPC. The IMF and the World Bank have decided to cancel part of Togo's and Guinea Bissau's debt after both West Africans countries reached completion point under the HIPC Initiative. Having met all the necessary conditions, Togo and Guinea Bissau will see, respectively, $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion of their debt cancelled. For more details, consult Jubilee Debt Campaign's press release.
- 2 December - Paris Club Reduces DRC’s Debt. The Paris Club Creditors and Brazil agreed to reduce the Democratic Republic of the Congo's debt after the country reached completion point. Under the enhanced HIPC Initiative, and with a view to encourage debt sustainability, DRC will receive a total of USD 7 350 million of debt relief. For full details, read the press release.
Capacity Building Events
- January - February - Timor-Leste Procedures Manual. DFI continued to assist the Government of East Timor in building its debt management capacity, by launching the preparation of a debt management procedures manual which will assist government to organise all procedures and information flows. This will be finalised during a mission in Q1.
- 30 Jan-3 February - DFI Assists Sudan Government to Plan Debt Relief and Capacity-Building. DFI was funded by the Swiss Ministry for Economic Affairs to conduct this mission to Khartoum to assist the government with technical inputs for planning potential debt relief under the HIPC process, depending on various decisions relating to the treatment of debt in the discussions on secession by Southern Sudan. It also assisted the government to plan a 4-year programme for capacity-building to maximize its debt relief and ensure its debt remains sustainable after relief.
- 31 January - 4 February - Francophone Medium Term Debt Strategy (MTDS) Workshop. DRI participated in this workshop organized in Dakar, Senegal by Pôle-Dette and sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF. Participants familiarized themselves with the MTDS framework and were shown how to analyze the costs and risks and how to use the simulation software to support the elaboration of the MTDS.
- December - DeMPA Assessment Missions. DFI participated in a DeMPA assessment mission to Bhutan led by the World Bank on 13-20 December. The mission met with senior policymakers about providing longstanding capacity-building support in debt management. The mission also made a presentation on the IMF-World Bank Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF). A second DeMPA joint mission of the World Bank, UNCTAD, and DRI visited Mongolia on 15-20 December to conduct an assessment of debt management in the country and also provided training in risk analysis, debt and sustainability.
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Research, Analysis and Advocacy
- 9 February - DFI Contributes to UNCTAD Expert Meetings. DFI participated in UNCTAD's Peer Review Meeting in Geneva on 1 February, to discuss sections of the World Investment Report 2011. It also presented synthesis findings at UNCTAD's Multi-Year Expert Meeting on Investment for Development during 2-4 February. The meeting was well attended by international experts, and a number of countries from the SSA and LAC regions. Discussions focussed on the nexus between public and private, domestic and foreign investment, looking at different types of capital flows, and the role of public investment in boosting growth, private investment, and industrial policy.
- 3 December - Senegal targets private sector development in new IMF programme. Senegal's new 3-year Policy Support Instrument with the IMF includes detailed commitments to advance private sector development in several areas. It covers a restructuring and recovery plan for the energy sector, maintaining financial equilibrium in the water and sanitation sector, implementing actions on credit in the financial sector, enhancing business climate reforms, raising Senegal's Doing Business ranking, and enhancing governance.
- 2 December - Concerns Over IFC Lending Through Financial Intermediaries (BWP / Eurodad). Two papers call for a reformulation in IFC's approach to lending. Noting increasing IFC reliance on intermediaries such as banks and private investment funds, this Bretton Woods Project paper finds a lack of transparency, inadequate attention to social and environmental concerns, and failure to link directly to development impacts. This Eurodad report has found less than 20% of IFC support in LICs since 2008 went to companies from LICs, instead concentrating in 8 major projects and rich country firms. It questions the process for project selection, and motivations to invest driven by financial returns rather than LIC needs.
- 1 December - Private Investment for Diversification in SSA. A UN, OECD and NEPAD report argues that the private sector is the best means for Africa to diversify away from commodities. Using case studies for Angola, Benin, Kenya, South Africa, and Tunisia, it recommends policies that strengthen the business environment including international trade agreements, public-private partnerships, capacity building for the private sector, and partnerships with donors and trading partners.
Capacity Building Events
- 24 February - Mali Releases FPC And IP Analytical Results. Mali successfully closed its first cycle of the FPC CBP in November 2010 with a high response rate of 72.8%. Results of the national survey on investor perception and foreign private capital have now been released in a comprehensive report featuring detailed data analysis and subsequent policy recommendations (in French only).
- 17 December - FPC and IP Analytical Findings for Niger Now Available. A soon-to-be-announced dissemination event will close Niger’s first survey of Foreign Private Capital flows and Investor Perceptions. Achieving an impressive response rate of 89.1%, the country is now releasing its national analytical report containing all the detailed findings generated by the survey, covering the methodological approach used, analysis of investment climate and of foreign assets and liabilities, and policy recommendations.
- 14 December - Guinea Bissau Publishes FPC Survey Results. Results of Guinea Bissau's survey of Foreign Private Capital flows and Investor Perceptions are now public. They will be officially released on 20 December at a dissemination event which will close the country's first FPC/IP survey cycle. Detailed results and analysis can be accessed here.
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Research, Analysis and Advocacy
- 8 March - WaterAid Commissions DFI to Produce Background Study. DFI has recently completed a background study for WaterAid analysing central government allocations to the water, sanitation and hygiene sector (WASH). One of the challenges in doing the study was the lack of comprehensive WASH sector budget data, although DFI was able to draw on its previous work it had done in compiling aggregate sectoral data on central government spending. WaterAid plans to prepare an overall report based on a number of background papers including the one by DFI, which will be available on the WaterAid website later this year.
- 7 March - DFI contributes to UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report. Launched on 1st March, UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011- The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education explores how armed conflict is depriving 28 million children of an education worldwide. DFI was commissioned to produce a cross country study on Monitoring the impact of the financial crisis on national education financing and contributed to a case study on Mozambique investigating the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Education Sector Spending and Government Policy Responses. An official launch of the report will be held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 8th March.
- 28 February - DfID Multilateral Aid Review. The UK Department for International Development has released two major Multilateral and Bilateral Aid Reviews in keeping with the shake up of Britain's aid programme. More information here. DFID also agreed to publish the evaluation of multilateral aid institutions provided by DFI, based on the HIPC Capacity Building Programme donor evaluation scores, which was submitted as input to the DfID Multilateral Aid Review. The report presents the assessments of 12 multilateral institutions by developing country aid officials, across a range of policy and procedural issues.
- 14 February - DFI-GEG to Conduct Client Review of AfDB. Building on their earlier work in evaluating multilateral aid organizations, DFI and the Global Economic Governance Programme of Oxford University have been contracted in partnership by the African Development Bank to conduct an independent review of its performance by its African clients, during March-October 2011. The review will involve extensive consultations with government policymakers and officials, parliamentarians, civil society organizations, private sector representatives and representatives of other African organizations which work with the AfDB, through workshops, interviews and surveys.
- 27-28 January - DFI Resource-Person at GCAP G8-G20 Advocacy Planning Meeting. DFI was funded by the Heinrich Boell Foundation to attend this meeting of more than 100 global development CSOs, planning their engagement with the G8 and G20 for 2011, in order to analyse implications for cooperation between CSOs and low-income countries. For regular updates by the Foundation on the G20, click here.
- 25-26 January - UNDCF-OECD Cooperation Planning Meetings. DFI attended highly productive meetings between the UN Development Cooperation Forum secretariat and the OECD Development Cooperation Directorate to plan cooperation over the next two year cycle of the DCF. Meetings were also held with Better Aid and UNESCO to discuss cooperation on DCF events.
- 7 December - DFID Review of Impact and Effectiveness of Transparency and Accountability Initiatives. Commissioned by DFID, this report aims at analysing the impact and effectiveness of the new transparency and accountability initiatives by reviewing experience in 5 main sectors of transparency and accountability work : public service delivery; budget processes; freedom of information; natural resource governance; and aid transparency.
Capacity Building Events
- 11 February - Second Guinea Aid/Auditing Mission. The second mission of the national capacity building programme in aid management, and audit and control is currently taking place in Conakry. After the first evaluation mission which reviewed the Guinean regulatory, legal, institutional and operational framework, two DFI consultants are now implementing the agreed schedule by launching a training programme for Ministry of Finance executives and public investment experts.
- December - January - Rwanda Financial Resource Mobilisation Strategy. A DFI associate, funded by UNDP, assisted the Government of Rwanda to design a Resource Mobilisation Strategy to fund the national development programme. This focussed on diversifying financing sources away from OECD aid to new concessional and private financing sources.
- 5-17 December - Uganda Partnership Policy Workshop Discusses Draft. DFI conducted the third mission in this DFID-funded project to help the Office of the Prime Minister in Uganda to design a partnership policy covering aid and beyond aid issues. The mission conducted a workshop for all stakeholders (government, development partners, parliament and civil society) on the draft document, and subsequently submitted a final draft of the policy to government based on comments received. Since the mission GoU has virtually finished designing a monitoring framework for the policy, and a further mission in Q1 2011 will finalise the project.
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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
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• Completing final events under the HIPC Debt Strategy Capacity Building Programme, including in Burundi, Ethiopia, Honduras, Malawi, Uganda and many Franc Zone countries, as well as final FPC CBP dissemination events in Cameroon, Mali, Niger and Togo;
• In-country support to build capacity in public financing and/or debt management in Guinea, Haiti, Sao Tome and Principe, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Uganda.
• Participation in a CEMLA/World Bank regional workshop on the DeMPA (in cooperation with the World Bank), and in World Bank Debt Management Facility Missions to Afghanistan, the Maldives and Moldova
• Advocacy to enhance innovative financing and G20 representation for low-income countries, including a LIC Francophone Ministerial Meeting at the BWI Spring Meetings (in cooperation with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie), and other targeted advocacy activities;
• Research/advocacy studies on pro-development global financial regulation, low-income country representation in the G20 and Financial Stability Board, and reforming the International Accounting Standards Board; and advocacy events on these issues at the C-10 African meetings and the BWI Spring Meetings (in partnership with New Rules for Global Finance);
• Launching the AfDB Client Survey and organising two consultative stakeholder workshops.
• Support to CBP regional partners in launching post-CBP programmes of capacity-building
• Completing projects on parliamentary oversight of aid, revising debt sustainability frameworks to promote African development, and bank regulation in Africa
• Further work analysing trends in MDG-related spending by developing countries, in cooperation with multiple United Nations agencies and various global CSOs.
• Supporting phase 3 of the UN Development Cooperation Forum, including a publication on how to enhance national-level mutual accountability and transparency, and analysis of aid to Least Developed Countries and of the rise of Northern and Southern foundations.
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