Niger: WB issues $100 million to improve decentralized services and management of the extractive sector amid COVID-19

05 Août 2020

Niamey, Niger, August 5 (Infosplusgabon) - The World Bank Board of Trustees Tuesday approved a loan and grant totalling $100 million dollars to strengthen the capacities of local administrations and management of the extractive sector in Niger, a press release issued here said.

The funding came from from the International Development Association (IDA), said the World Bank representative in Niamey.

According to the statement, the extractive sector Governance for Local Development (GOLD) and COVID-19 Response Project will strengthen and promote the implementation of policies, laws and regulations on decentralization and sustainable management of mining. It also provides support for the coordination mechanism of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the local level.

The project will, more specifically, increase access to basic services that have been decentralized, in particular water, primary education and health services; improve budget execution at the municipal level; increase and strengthen the management of revenues from extractive activities and increase the attractiveness of the mining sector for private sector investment.

It will also improve the monitoring of mining activities and support the regularization and capacity building of artisanal miners in terms of good environmental and social practices.

The project will tackle development challenges that fuel the fragility and risk of conflict in Niger, including the lack of basic social services and state presence in parts of the country where there is great insecurity.

“Governance gaps in the extractive sector, especially in the mining sector, are also a problem and a source of social and economic tensions. Lack of economic opportunities for young people, deep inequalities between men and women, and poor education and health outcomes attributable to lack of services exacerbate and contribute to these difficulties," the statement said.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/PLM/GABON2020

© Copyright  Infosplusgabon