WB Country Partnership Strategy for 2012-2016 ready by February

By Dinali Goonewardene

The World Bank is currently carrying out an assessment in consultation with stakeholders such as the Government to develop a Country Partnership Strategy for Sri Lanka, which has progressed to middle income status from low income status.

A preliminary draft of the strategy which replaces the Country Assistance Strategy for low income countries will be ready by February this year and will provide the guidelines for funding from 2012 to 2016.

In the process of developing the strategy the World Bank identifies Sri Lanka’s development programme taking in to account the ‘Mahinda Chinthana,’ which sets out the Government strategy for development and identifies the areas the bank feels the country needs to develop, described as a holistic or helicopter view of areas the country needs to develop.

Among the areas being looked at is universal health coverage, where Sri Lanka says that free healthcare is provided to everyone and the World Bank may look at areas such as the quality of service provision but has not yet come up with a concrete plan and is in the process of drafting one.

The plan, once developed, will provide the basis for discussions with the Government on which areas the bank will be funding. Sri Lanka as a middle income country has access to funds from the World Bank affiliated International Development Association, which provides funds to low income countries and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which provides larger loans at concessionary interest rates taking in to account factors such as country risk factors.

Factors such as governance and political interference in project implementation and monitoring are taken into account in disbursing funds, which in the past has seen a shift in project funding from infrastructure to livelihood support.

The World Bank prepares a Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) every three to four years. The existing strategy for Sri Lanka ends in June 2012.The objective of the upcoming CPS is to set out the rationale, objectives, strategies and direction of support to be provided by the World Bank for the next four years (2012 to 2016).

The document is prepared in close consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka and other important stakeholders, including the general public, civil society organisations, the private sector and other development partners in the country.

Sanjeeva...

Before this assignment he was the Sector Head of the Transportation Sector. He is a printer by profession, having qualified from the London School of Printing, and is a member of the London Institute of Printing.