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- Juan José Daboub announced disbursement of U$ 50M
Contact:
In Dominican Republic: Alejandra de La Paz (809) 566-6815
adelapaz@worldbank.org
Santo Domingo, December 10, 2007 - Juan José Daboub, World Bank Managing Director concluded a two-day official visit to Dominican Republic last Monday, where he restated the support of the World Bank for the government’s reconstruction efforts after the devastating effects of Hurricane Noel. He further announced disbursements of US$50 million as part of the second of three installments of a programmatic loan amounting to US$150 million.A few weeks earlier, the WB had announced that it would provide US$56 million to the Dominican authorities to offer emergency assistance to the population. With today’s announcement, most of these resources are now readily available.
The high-level international official also met with government authorities, leaders from the private sector and representatives of the civil society and saw first hand some of the areas impacted by hurricane Noel. He further offered the country technical and financial support, and visited WB-funded projects, including the Early-Childhood Education Project and the Health Reform Project.
After meeting with the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Temístocles Montás, the Governor of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu, and Vicente Bengoa, Minister of Finance, Daboub said, “Now that the country enjoys macroeconomic stability and growth, it is time to close the social gap by increasing opportunities for all citizens.”During his visit, Daboub traveled to some areas in the Province of Peravia (Baní), in the country’s south, where he met with, Bienvenido Montero, the Governor, Héctor Oter, Undersecretary of Management and Finance at the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (SESPAS), Gustavo Rojas, Director of the Executive Committee for Health Sector Reform (CERSS), and Héctor Pimentel, General Director of the National Instute of Water Resources (INDRHI).
Daboub visited some areas where the infrastructure was severely damaged by Noel. Additionally, he visited an initial education project and a small enterprise project, both funded by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.Back in the capital city, Daboub visited the El Café de Herrera district, where he was engaged in a lively dialogue with local youth, winners of Development Marketplace 2006 awards for innovative development projects.
During his visit, Daboub was accompanied by Yvonne Tsikata, new World Bank Director for the Caribbean, Christina Malmberg Calvo, World Bank Representative in the Dominican Republic, and by Salem Rohana, IFC Representative in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
As of December 1, 2007, Juan José Daboub, a Salvadoran national, supervises the portfolios of Middle East and North of Africa; South-Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Along with the team led by Pamela Cox, World Bank Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Managing Director seeks to materialize the vision of the World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, about an inclusive globalization that benefits all sectors in society.
For more information about the work of the World Bank in Dominican Republic, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/do - WORLD BANK AND CONARE SIGN DONATION SUPPORTING A PLAN TO SPREAD ACCESS-TO-INFORMATION LAW
Contact In the Dominican Republic:
Alejandra De La Paz
(+809) 566-6815
adelapaz@worldbank.orgSANTO DOMINGO, 28 November 2007 — The Executive Director of the National Council for State Reform (CONARE in Spanish), Marcos Villamán, and the World Bank’s resident representative in the country, Christina Malmberg Calvo, signed today in front of the Japanese Ambassador, Nobutaka Shinomiya, a $527.200 donation agreement destined to support circulation in rural areas of the General Law of Free Access to Public Information Nr. 200-04, with a view to improving its usage in marginalized and vulnerable communities.
The donation will be made through the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), which is administered by the World Bank. CONARE will be in charge of selecting the local agency to execute the task according to criteria laid down in the agreement.
“This donation will contribute to those people in communities away from the capital and in poor areas, to educate and have access to public information that relates to them”, stated Christina Malmberg Calvo during the signing ceremony.
“Access-to-information laws and their appropriate use are key tools in strengthening governance and making up to the demand for transparency”, she added.
Marcos Villamán, on his part, indicated that “this initiative will reinforce efforts carried out by the government intended to close the social gap that exists between remote communities and those in bigger cities”.
He stated that “because of this donation, the poorest individuals will be able to train in data analysis and take part in meetings on public policy and program design”.
The focal points of this donation are rural residents and vulnerable groups, who will be provided with the knowledge of citizen’s rights that this law stipulates. Funds will be used to design ways to access that public information of greater interest to the public and to provide tools, technological and communicational, that allow both information requests and sustain demand for them.
The main criteria in the selection of the executing agency will be having a participatory methodology, proposed through a competitive bid led by CONARE and the World Bank.
The Government of Japan and the World Bank established the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) in June 2000 as a means to provide direct assistance to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
This donation forms part of the guidelines of the World Bank Assistance Strategy for the Dominican Republic 2005-2009, which is intended to assist in improving governance and strengthening public institutions.
For more information on the JSDF visit http://go.worldbank.org/U5OQZVF200
For more information on the World Bank and the Dominican Republic, visit
http://www.bancomundial.org.do - Dominican Republic - Water and Sanitation in Tourist Areas Project
- Dominican Republic - Water and Sanitation in Tourist Areas Project
- Tropical Storm Noel: WB supports recovery efforts in the DR
Contacts:
In Washington: Sergio Jellinek (202) 358-2841
sjellinek@worldbank.org
Stevan Jackson (202) 458-5054
sjackson@worldbank.org
