9 March 2009
On March 11 and March 14 2009, the World Bank will be consulting with civil society in Yemen to discuss their new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) 2010-2013.
The World Bank will be holding civil society consultations for their Yemeni Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) 2010-2013 on the following dates and times:
- SANA’A: March 11, 2009 from 9am-11am
- ADEN: March 14, 2009 from 4pm-6pm
See contact information
What is a CAS?
The Country Assistance Strategy is the World Bank’s “master plan” for a given country. It is a document prepared by the World Bank which defines, for a particular country, the Bank’s overall strategy for lending and non-lending assistance over a three-to-five-year period. The strategy indicates anticipated Bank operations in the country, including projected lending levels and the composition of assistance, such as thematic and sector priorities. In the case of low-income countries, the CAS is supposed to be based on the priorities set out in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.
The last CAS for Yemen was issued in May 2006, covering the period of 2006-2009, and promised $400 million to focus on increasing non-oil growth; improving human development outcomes; improving fiscal sustainability; and addressing the resource sustainability crisis.
Now the World Bank is preparing to draft another CAS to cover the the years 2010-2013.
How is the CAS prepared?
At the early stage of preparing the CAS, the World Bank staff will be consulting civil society as they often do, though they are not mandated to do so. After these consultations, the Task Manager (TM) responsible for the CAS in the Yemen department will draft the document and technical annexes that contain the country’s macroeconomic projections. A discussion on the draft takes place with the country’s government before going back to the World Bank for Management and Board approval.
The World Bank, whose policies are most acutely represented in the CAS, may be affecting you directly through the projects and policies they finance, or indirectly through their influence on governments, investors, and the development discourse in general.
In the past, the Bank has not been very successful with drafting an effective assistance strategy for Yemen. In fact, in 2006, the Independent Evaluation Group conducted a country assistance evaluation (CAE) for Yemen in 06 to assess the Bank’s performance between 1999 and 05. Two CAS’s were operative at this time. The CAE found the Bank’s strategy to be “moderately unsatisfactory”. So it is now time for Yemeni civil society to really get involved and help develop policies that have a positive impact on the lives of Yemenis.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions about the CAS process or about how to get involved, please contact:
Samra Shaibani
Senior Communication Officer
World Bank, Yemen Country Office
Tel. (967)-1 421623-8 (X: 242)
Fax: (967)-1 413 709
Mobile: 733222651
Keep visiting our website to stay updated about the CAS consultations!