Announcement of IDA to Support Economic Management and Training Project in Mali on December 9, 1982

FOR IMM DIATE RELEASE .world Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/28 Contact: Pam Brennan December 9, 1982 ( 202) 47 7-5344 IDA TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING PROJECT IN MALI /t A further step toward strengthening economic management in the R~public of Mali will be taken with the support of an SDR 9.7 million ($10.4 million) credit from the International Development Association (IDA). The credit from the World Bank's affiliate for concessionary lending will provide assistance to improve economi.c and financial policies and public institutions and will finance training for civil servants. Assistance has already begun through advances of $1 million made under the Bank's Project Preparation Facility. The advances made it possible to respond rapidly to the government's request in late 1980 for technical assistance to help design and eventually implement a program of structural adjustment. IDA funds will help develop a program of economic and financial reform and support policy analysis at the sectoral level. In most areas, the credit will supplement technical assistance and training provi'ded by other donors. The assistance amounts to about 425 work-months of specialists--including the project preparation stage--and the equivalent of about 380 months of overseas fellowships. The IDA credit will also finance related e·quipment, operating costs, and construction, as well as some additional studies. As a result, improvements may be expected in such areas as the liberalization of cereals marketing, operation of rural development agencies, rehabilitation of the state enterprises sector, economic policy analysis, and management of the civi.1 service and public debt. Training, amounting to one-quarter of the project's total cost of $11.5 million, will be ov,erseen by the P:r~oject Coordinating Unit. The credit is IDA's twenty-seventh extended to Mali, bringing total commitments to $248.3 million. Transportation and agriculture represent the largeat share of past lending. The IDA credit is for SO years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but bears a small annual service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances.) NarE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a ''basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of negotiation of the credit.