Announcement of World Bank Support of Uganda's Institutional Capacity Building Project on June 1, 1995

The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20433, USA IDA News Release No. 95/72/AFR' Contacts: Eric Chinje (202) 473-4467 (Internet: Echinje@worldbank.org.) Sheela Reddi (202) 473-5091 UGANDA: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT The following is information on a project approved by the World Bank's Board. DATE: June 1, 1995 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: International Development Association (IDA)l credit: SDR 25.0 million (USS36.4 million equivalent). The IDA credit is for 40 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has an annual charge of 0.75 percent on the disbursed balance and a variable charge of up to 0.5 percent (currently zero percent) on the undisbursed balance. TOTAL COST: USS42.19 million equivalent OTHER PROPOSED FINANCING: Government of Uganda IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: Project Steering Committee ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: December 31, 2001 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The main objectives of the Institutional Capacity Building Project are to establish greater local institutional and human capacity to develop and implement public policy and support the growth of the private sector through: (a) support for the continuation of the Civil Service reform; (b) assistance to the Government of Uganda in its decentralization program; and (c) strengthening the legal and financial accountability framework and institutions. The project consists of five components: * The Central Government Capacity Building component will support the Civil Service Reform program by providing assistance for the streamlining of the civil service, improving the transparency of personnel management and focusing the civil service on efficient and effective delivery. IDA (the World Bank's concessionaty lending af]7liate) credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are va!ued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The US dollar equivalent of the SDR of the IDA credit ref7ects rhe exchange rates at the time ofthe negotiations of the credit. Archives/Records Center, H 81-001 ( 1) * The Local Government Capacity Building component will support Government's ongoing decentralization program through assisting in defining and implementing an appropriate system of inter-governmental finance. It will continue the process of strengthening local government financial and personnel management structures, systems and procedures. * The Legal Sector Reform component will strengthen the legal framework for private sector development, improve availability of legal decisions, support strengthening of major institutions in the legal sector and introduce improvements in legal education and training. * The Accountancy Profession component will support the development of the professional association, the establishment of a local professional qualification and examining capability and the introduction of local accounting and auditing standards. * The Training Funds component will pilot a demand-driven process of providing funds on a cost sharing basis to public and private sector institutions to acquire their training needs for implementation skills from the local market. It will also assist selectively identified weak training institutions with potential for improvement through staff training and acquisition of study materials and equipment on a cost sharing basis. II#9