afrol News, 20 June - The World Bank has approved US$ 110 million in development support to Kenya, of which almost half is a grant. The loan and grant would not have been approved without the recent government change, the Bank strongly indicates.

The World Bank yesterday approved US$ 110 million in support to the government of Kenya through two operations. The first will provide textbooks and capacity building for primary education. The second will enhance food security and promote sustainable livelihoods through community driven development, and natural resource and drought management in the arid districts of Kenya. Of the total amount, US$ 50 million is in grant form.

- The election of the new government last December [2002] has presented an exciting new opportunity for the World Bank Group to resume and strengthen its program of support to Kenya, as the government quickly moves forward to address governance problems and strengthen poverty reduction efforts, according to the World Bank's Michael Mills.

The Bank had suspended its Kenya operations during the last years of ex-President Daniel arap Moi's regime, which did not meet the Bank's criteria on fighting corruption. As soon as opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki won the presidential elections, the World Bank and other international institutions returned to Kenya. Mr Mills in his statement goes far in confirming the Bank's involvement would not have been approved without the government change.

- The government has set education as one of its highest priorities, and some bold policy changes are now being introduced, added Mr Mills. Also the UN, the IMF and donor countries have praised President Kibaki for his policies, in particular the decision to provide all Kenyan children with free primary education.

The Free Primary Education Support Project was to assist the Kenyan government's new policy of free primary education for all through a US$ 50 million grant, the World Bank says. The project is to help Kenya obtain textbooks to ensure that the quality of primary education is not undermined by a lack of instructional materials.

Although the whole project will be implemented over a three-year period, the instructional materials were to be procured mostly within the first nine months to help address the urgent need in primary schools and try to ensure that no pupils are excluded from school because they cannot afford to buy books.

The second component of the project was to support the training of teachers and strengthening of planning and management capacity to improve the implementation of education reforms and the delivery of education services.

The second project to be financed is the Arid Lands Resource Management Project. with the approved US$ 60 million credit. This project is aimed at enabling communities in the pastoral, arid regions of Kenya "to move beyond survival and subsistence to sustainable development."

Implemented in 22 arid and semi-arid districts suffering regular acute food insecurity related to drought, the first component was to improve the management of natural resources and reduce the impact of shocks caused by natural disasters by strengthening and institutionalising natural resource and drought management.

The World Bank said it recognised the Kenyan government priority on education "as essential for sustainable development as evidenced in both projects." In addition to the Free Primary Education Support Project, the arid lands project was to have a great emphasis on education. "It will support government efforts to provide suitable education for nomadic pastoralists, especially through mobile school development," the Bank said.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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