Morocco and the World Bank

Last updated

Morocco's involvement with the World Bank primarily focuses on infrastructure, such as road, transport and water sanitation. In addition the bank supports projects across the health sector, youth development, renewable energy, governance and the support of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 27 projects are ongoing, including three projects initiated in 2017. [1] The World Bank invested over US$1 billion every year from 2014 to 2016. [2]

Contents

History

Morocco and the World Bank have a long history that began with their first project together in 1962. Since then, the World Bank has worked on nearly 260 projects in the nation, 24 of which are currently active, and 214 of them are complete. [3] In 2019, the World Bank spent nearly 1.3 Billion US dollars on projects in Morocco, there highest amount in the last five years, and more than the combined total spent on projects in 2017 and 2018 combined. [4] Three of the four most expensive projects the World Bank has funded in Morocco have been initiated in the year 2019. [3] Morocco currently has .31% of the IBRD votes, .36% of the votes in the IDA, and .38% of IFC votes and MIGA votes respectively. [5] The annual World Bank meetings will be held in Marrakech, Morocco in October 2021. [6] This will mark the seventh time in the organization's history that their annual meetings will not be held in Washington, D.C. [7]

Relation with IFC

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a component of the World Bank, has helped Morocco build infrastructure in the agricultural sector, utilizing a public-private partnership (PPP). It brought private companies to invest in both rural and urban areas, with a focus on water supply. The plan calls for building an irrigation plant that can provide 60 to 85 million cubic meters capacity of irrigation in Chtouka area. [8]

2017 projects

Three projects were approved in 2017.

Financing Innovative Startups and Small and Medium Enterprises Project

On March 10, 2017, a project that aimed to help seed innovative businesses. Project cost is USD50 million, providing loans and support such as monitoring and evaluating those companies. The project ends in 2023. [9]

Identity and Targeting for Social Protection Project

This project was approved on March 10, 2017, which committed 100 million to improving the National Population Register (NPR), and SSN base on a social register. Improvements included computer-based data for registration, and updating existing information to the new data base. Revise the procedures to better regulate registration. [10]

MA-Second Capital Market Development and SME Finance DPL

This project was approved on May 16, 2017. It is to loan USD350 million to the Morocco government. It aims to support the Morocco SME sector and boost the Morocco economy, as well as institutional reform and scrutiny of the banking sector. [11]

2019 Projects

Education Support Program

This project was approved on June 20 of 2019 and is set to be completed in September 2024. [12] The project costs are projected at over 496 million US dollars. [5] This program is being implemented as a response to the ways the First Education Development Policy Loan project that was approved in June 2009 and closed in late May of 2011. This program achieved success largely based on metrics like primary school access, which reached over 96% availability by the year 2014. [13] Some of the major problems were in the quality of education received at the institutions. A study revealed that nearly 75% of fourth grade students in Morocco did not reach even the lowest standard of the 4 benchmarks on international tests in 2011. [14] The Global Education Monitoring Report also cited large dropout rates for primary schools in Morocco, up to 11% nationally, and a large portion of students that were not enrolled in primary education, despite its universality. [14] There is a geographical gap in the enrollment, as 33% of urban youth were unenrolled in primary school, compared to nearly 80% of rural children. [13] In addition to this, many Moroccans, up to 60%, see the nationally run education system as corrupt. [14] Compounding these issues, there was only a 51.8% completion rate of grades 1-9 in 2014. [13]

The Education Support Program seeks to combat these areas of weakness in the education system of Morocco with a three part plan to solve the aforementioned problems. [12] The first goal is to improve the enrollment numbers of children ages 4 and 5 in preprimary education programs, and provide quality education services to them. [15] This is in response to the low number of students enrolled in preprimary schools, which better prepares schools for success in primary education. In 2017 only about half of Moroccan 4 and 5 year old kids attended some sort of primary education. [16] To increase the quality of preschools in Morocco, the second goal is implementing a number of in-training personal and professional development programs as well. [12] In order to foster better educational outcomes among primary and secondary students, the program will introduce pre-employment training services, as well professional training, and in-service programs to foster a higher supply of qualified teachers employing effective customs to promote learning. [15] The success of this goal will be measured on the number of jobs it gives to teachers through these programs and if they at least 50% of the teachers are women. [12] The final goal of the Education Support Program addresses the Moroccan people's mistrust in their educational institutions. [15] This goal focuses on decentralizing control from the Moroccan Ministry of Education, and strengthening the education sector's management and accountability by promoting more regional and provincial supervision. [16] This will be measured by the number of performance based employment contracts given out at the regional and provincial level itself by the time of the projects ending in 2024. [12]

Supporting the economic inclusion of youth

This was a 55 million US dollar project financed by the World Bank, that was approved on May 10 of 2019 and will conclude in late September 2024. [17] The goals include creating training services including apprenticeships, orientation, qualification, and retraining services for Moroccan youth, administered equitably to women and across geographic locations. [17] The World Bank will measure this projects success based on the number of service centers created for youth, as well as the number of new entrepreneurs produced through these programs, which will be another heavy focus of the project. The World Bank will also attempt to create services to improve the social skills of the young people of Morocco that they expect have positive impacts across sectors. [17]

Municipal Performance Program

This project has a total cost of about 760 million US dollars. [18] The program's overarching goal is to promote efficiency and proper oversight in Morocco's urban sectors. [19] This will include funding to accurately monitor municipalities performance and administer performance based grants to successful services as well. [19]

Financial Inclusion and Digital Economy DPF

This project costs over 685 million US dollars and aims to create a more equitable private sector, and spur private investing by more Moroccans by creating a new national economic model that emphasizes human capital, conscientious governance, encourages quality youth employment, addresses climate change, and fosters social cohesion. [20]

Country Partnership Framework

In 2014, the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) aimed to improve Morocco’s government and private sectors. In order to promote a better business environment, and build a resilient future, lending from IBRD increased from US$600 million a year to US$1 billion over the past four years. [21] I CPF focuses largely on women's empowerment, involving an "EmpowerHer" Hackathon. [22] [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Cameroon</span>

The economy of Cameroon was one of the most prosperous in Africa for a quarter of a century after independence. The drop in commodity prices for its principal exports – petroleum, cocoa, coffee, and cotton – in the mid-1980s, combined with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long recession. Real per capita GDP fell by more than 60% from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and foreign debt grew. Yet because of its oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon still has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Ecuador</span> National economy

The economy of Ecuador is the eighth largest in Latin America and the 69th largest in the world by total GDP. Ecuador's economy is based on the export of oil, bananas, shrimp, gold, other primary agricultural products and money transfers from Ecuadorian emigrants employed abroad. In 2017, remittances constituted 2.7% of country's GDP. The total trade amounted to 42% of the Ecuador's GDP in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Kazakhstan</span>

The economy of Kazakhstan is the largest in Central Asia in both absolute and per capita terms. In 2021, Kazakhstan attracted more than US$370 billion of foreign investments since becoming an independent republic after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Togo</span> National economy

The economy of Togo has struggled greatly. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks it as the tenth poorest country in the world, with development undercut by political instability, lowered commodity prices, and external debts. While industry and services play a role, the economy is dependent on subsistence agriculture, with industrialization and regional banking suffering major setbacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Yemen</span> National economy of Yemen

The economy of Yemen has significantly weakened since the breakout of the Yemeni Civil War and the humanitarian crisis, which has caused instability, escalating hostilities, and flooding in the region. At the time of unification, South Yemen and North Yemen had vastly different but equally struggling underdeveloped economic systems. Since unification, the economy has been forced to sustain the consequences of Yemen's support for Iraq during the 1990–91 Persian Gulf War: Saudi Arabia expelled almost 1 million Yemeni workers, and both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait significantly reduced economic aid to Yemen. The 1994 civil war further drained Yemen's economy. As a consequence, Yemen has relied heavily on aid from multilateral agencies to sustain its economy for the past 24 years. In return, it has pledged to implement significant economic reforms. In 1997 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved two programs to increase Yemen's credit significantly: the enhanced structural adjustment facility and the extended funding facility (EFF). In the ensuing years, Yemen's government attempted to implement recommended reforms: reducing the civil service payroll, eliminating diesel and other subsidies, lowering defense spending, introducing a general sales tax, and privatizing state-run industries. However, limited progress led the IMF to suspend funding between 1999 and 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honduras and the World Bank</span>

The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that has provided leveraged loans and monetary assistance to the Central American country of Honduras in order to assist with the funding of critical tasks needed to ensure security of Honduran access to financing, expansion of social program coverage, and rural development. The country is the second poorest in Central America and its high poverty rate of 66% in 2016 has prompted an increased focus on the importance of diversification of rural income sources, quality education, and targeted social programs as a way of spurring economic growth.

Sri Lanka has been involved with the World Bank since its initial entrance into the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) on August 29, 1950. Currently, Sri Lanka's quota in the IBERT is approximately 515.4 million dollars, thus allotting 5,846 votes or 0.25% of the total votes in the institution. Sri Lanka later became a member of the other institutions in the world bank such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on July 20, 1956, with a current quota of 7.491 million dollars, allotting 8,311 votes or 0.32% of the total votes; the International Development Association (IDA) on June 27, 1961, with a current share of 98,100 votes or 0.36% within the institution; the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on November 11, 1967; and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) on May 27, 1988, with a current quota of 4.78 million SDR. Sri Lanka is currently in the India-led constituency for these organizations, representing the country as part of the South Asian block.

The World Bank Group country partnership framework aims to support Haiti's efforts to reduce poverty and provide economic opportunities for all Haitians. The framework aims to strengthen institutions, government capacity, and public financial management as aid and concessional financing rapidly decline.

Uzbekistan became a World Bank member in 1992, shortly after declaring independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The World Bank has supported projects in Uzbekistan in the areas of education, infrastructure, agriculture, and water resource management. Uzbekistan's collaboration with the bank has been increasing, with IBRD and IDA lending reaching a recent peak of $500 million in 2015. The World Bank has provided financing for 27 projects through the IBRD and IDA in throughout its relationship with Uzbekistan, with 15 active projects as of June 2017. Current IBRD and IDA projects total $1.9 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico and the World Bank</span>

Mexico has a thriving, diverse economy with strong macroeconomic institutions and is open to trade and private investment. With a population of over 130 million, Mexico is filled with citizens in the upper middle income bracket. Its economy is the 11th fastest growing in the world. Low growth rates and significant inequalities continue to hamper the growth of the Mexican economy. This is a central issue and is addressed in the systematic country diagnostic. The World Bank Group (WBG) discussed its support for the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Mexico on February 27, 2020. The CPF covers a six-year period (2020-2025) and aligns the WBG’s engagement with the government’s National Development Plan. The CPF builds on the analysis of the Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) and reflects the views and strategy of the authorities on the way to foster growth and poverty reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnam and the World Bank</span> Vietnams relationship with the World Bank

Vietnam joined the World Bank Group (WBG) on 21 September 1956. Before the mid-1980s, Vietnam was one of the world's least developed countries. A series of economic and political reforms launched in 1986, known as Đổi Mới, caused Vietnam to experience rapid economic growth and development, becoming a lower middle-income country. The World Bank (WB) has maintained a development partnership with Vietnam since 1993. As of 25 March 2019, it has committed a total of US$24 billion in loans, credits, and grants to Vietnam through 165 operations and projects, 44 of which are active as of 2019 and comprise US$9 billion. With an estimated extreme poverty rate below 3% and a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2018, Vietnam's economy continues to show fundamental strength and is supported by robust domestic demand and export-oriented manufacturing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina and the World Bank</span>

Argentina has a longstanding relationship with the World Bank. Argentina has one of the biggest economies in Latin America and is rich in natural resources, which could play a large part in its future economic development.

In 1980, Djibouti became a member of the World Bank Group (WBG). The WBG includes five different organizations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Accounting for more than thirteen thousand projects across 173 countries, the WBG is one of the main lending facilities of the world. The WBG works together with governments and private sectors in order to enhance countries efforts towards development and poverty reduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia and the World Bank</span>

Croatia joined the World Bank in 1993, two years after declaring independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. The World Bank's projects from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s primarily focused on infrastructural and environmental projects.

Myanmar is considered a lower-middle income state, and although there are areas in the country that are lagging there have been measurable improvements in terms of development since 2005. The World Bank's current strategy in Myanmar is to focus on rural development. Due to the conflict in the Rakhine area the World Bank Group (WBG) has increased its focus on social inclusion. Implementation of projects within Myanmar have increased access to electricity, schools, and healthcare. The current framework is laid out in the Myanmar Country Partnership Framework 2015-2019.

Tajikistan did not join in the World Bank until 1993. Before the collapse of USSR in 1991, Tajikistan was experiencing planned economy which was dominated by Moscow. Right after the dissolution, different from other nations which experienced a relatively stable transition from planned economy to market economy, Tajikistan fell into a serious civil war. As a result, the first mission after Tajikistan became the official member of the World Bank, was to recover its economy from bullets and blood. In 1997. $10 million credit was grant for Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Project. The proposed credit was used to conduct necessary imports and to restore production. Under different time periods, the World Bank and Tajikistan worked together in response to various problems. Later on, the economic crisis of 2008 caused the inflation of food prices in Tajikistan. In response to the crisis, the World Bank issued $6.25 million for the Emergency Food Security and Seed Imports Project in order to help at least 28000 households to release the food price pressure. Coming into the 21st century, Tajikistan received financing from IDA and IBRD of the World Bank with respect to programs of healthcare, education, irrigation and agriculture. Over the past years, Tajikistan has received over 130 projects of which 17 are active and a total of over $1.4 billion from the World Bank. With the help of those projects, from 2000 to 2017, the poverty rate in Tajikistan had been decreased from 83% to 29.5%. Besides, current GDP growth rate in Tajikistan is around 7%. Nevertheless, with a stable GDP growth rate, Tajikistan is still one of the poorest countries in Central Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panama and the World Bank</span> Relationship between Panama and the World Bank

The World Bank Group, composed of five institutions, works together with the Panamanian government to reduce poverty and increase prosperity. Panama first became a member of the World Bank Group on March 14, 1946. In the past decade, Panama's annual growth has increased by 7.2% in the span of 12 years, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world. In 2019, Panama was ranked the second fastest growing economy in Latin America by the World Bank. As of 2019, Panama has $435.59 million US dollars being distributed amongst seven projects, all geared toward their overall goal of poverty reduction and indigenous inclusion. Continuing with their efforts to reduce extreme poverty, the World Bank along with efforts of the Panamanian government has reduced poverty from 39.9% to 26.2% while extreme poverty has been reduced by an estimated 15.6% to 11.3% from 2014 to 2019. As of late 2019, there is an estimated $213.26 million US dollars of undisbursed loans.

Jamaica first joined The World Bank Group (WBG) on the 21st of February, 1963, when the island nation became a member of The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which lends to middle and low income nations. This occurred the same month as Jamaica joining the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and one year after declaring political independence. Since joining The World Bank, Jamaica has received in excess of $3 billion US Dollars in loans and grants. Jamaican Minister of Finance, Donald Sangster, led the Jamaican delegations to World Bank and International monetary Fund meetings between 1963 and 1966, while also serving as Governor of the World Bank and IMF. Sangster would go on to serve briefly as the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

The Philippines' history with the World Bank started in 1945 when they became one of the first members of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). Their first project with the Bank came in 1957 with the Binga Power Project. Since then, the Philippines has received $2.14 billion of disbursed loans from the IBRD. The Philippines is in the constituency entitled EDS 15, comprising Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, and headed by Executive Director Fabio Kanczuk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraguay and the World Bank</span> Relationship between a country and the World Bank

Paraguay joined the World Bank Group on 28 December 1945. In 1951, the World Bank approved an Agriculture project in Paraguay marking the beginning of a partnership that persists to this day and has given rise to 76 development projects of which 6 are currently active. Paraguay has received $2,718,521,989 in total commitments from the World Bank. Paraguay saw an annual growth rate of 4.5% per year until 2016 making it one of the fastest growing economies among regional neighbors. The implementation of steady and dependable macroeconomic policies have fostered a friendly environment for investors that largely contribute to Paraguay's consistent economic growth, however much of Paraguay's economic development has resulted from the replacement of forests with agriculture operations. As forests become increasingly scarce and climate change disrupts agricultural output, Paraguay will be forced to adapt its economy and society to meet a number of targets including strengthening the rule of law, achieving sustainability in regards to its natural resources, investing in human capital, and improving government services. To achieve these goals, Paraguay is collaborating with the World Bank including strategic partnerships with IBRD, and IFC. Jordan Schwartz is the World Bank director for Paraguay and Matilde Bordón is the World Bank representative.

References

  1. ↑ "All Projects". www.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  2. ↑ "Morocco Home". www.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  3. 1 2 "Projects". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  4. ↑ "Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  5. 1 2 "WBG Finances - Country Details - Morocco". financesapp.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  6. ↑ "World Bank Group and IMF to Hold 2021 Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco". IMF. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  7. ↑ "Annual and Spring Meetings List". IMF. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  8. ↑ "IFC Helps Deliver Vital Infrastructure in Morocco". www.ifc.org. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  9. ↑ "Projects : Financing Innovative Startups and Small and Medium Enterprises Project | The World Bank". projects.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  10. ↑ "Projects : Identity and Targeting for Social Protection Project | The World Bank". projects.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  11. ↑ "Projects : MA-Second Capital Market Development and SME Finance DPL | The World Bank". projects.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Education Support Program". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  13. 1 2 3 "Education Development in Morocco: Enhancing Education Quality and Governance". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  14. 1 2 3 Guerida, Fatine (2017). The State of accountability in the education sector of Morocco. Global Education Montering Report. pp. 4–5.
  15. 1 2 3 "Morocco Education Support Program" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  16. 1 2 "Morocco Education Support Program". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  17. 1 2 3 "Supporting the economic inclusion of youth". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  18. ↑ "Municipal Performance Program". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  19. 1 2 "New World Bank program to support Moroccan municipalities' performance and service delivery". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  20. ↑ "Financial Inclusion and Digital Economy DPF". World Bank. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  21. ↑ "Morocco Overview". World Bank. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  22. ↑ Flah, Loubna (2013-09-17). "World Bank CPS Defines Development Priorities for Morocco for the next Three Years". Morocco World News. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  23. ↑ "World Bank Organization Launches Morocco's "EmpowerHer" Hackathon". Morocco World News. 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.