The World Bank will for the first time in 27 years start providing direct financing to Somalia’s government. It is calling this a “milestone” in the reconstruction of the Horn of Africa nation which for a long time, has been shattered by fighting.
A statement says the bank’s board of directors has approved $80 million in investment programs to help Somalia’s federal government “mobilize and redistribute the resources needed to rebuild the country after three decades of conflict.”
Five years ago, the World Bank re-engaged with Somalia through the Multi-Donor Partner Fund. Since then it says Somalia’s government has “made progress in building institutions and improving economic performance.”
The government, however remains fragile and the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group remains a deadly threat. Somalia is seen as the world’s most corrupt country, according to Transparency International’s latest global index.
-Associated Press
