Dear Friends, I am pleased to share with you the first issue of our e-newsletter. This edition contains information on the World Bank’s new Country Assistance Strategy, and features two recent World Bank studies: one on the ending of the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) and its implications for the garments industry; the second on water resources in Bangladesh. The e-newsletter also has a discussion of e-Government Procurement Systems. We look forward to your feedback and comments on this e-newsletter. Please send your comments to wbdhakanews@worldbank.org to help us make this e-newsletter responsive to your interests and needs. Best wishes, Christine I. Wallich Country Director ********* Table of Contents 1. World Bank Country Assistance Strategy - Bangladesh
2. End of MFA Quotas - Bangladesh must act quickly to remain competitive
3. The Waters of Bangladesh - Meeting Competing Needs
4. Reflections on Transition to e-Government Procurement
5. World Bank Projects in Bangladesh
6. Further World Bank Reading (Please visit us at http://www.worldbank.org.bdto download these and other documents) =============================================================================== 1. World Bank Country Assistance Strategy for Bangladesh Governance is at the heart of the new World Bank Country Assistance Strategy and the program envisages to lend up to $3 billion for the next four years. Bangladesh has recorded impressive economic and social gains in the past decade. The country has doubled per capita growth and taken strides towards reaching many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It outperforms most low-income countries - as well as its South Asian neighbors with the exception of Sri Lanka - across a range of social indicators. Gender parity in school enrollment at both primary and secondary level has been achieved, child mortality has been halved, and life expectancy has increased significantly since the 1990s. These gains have taken place despite widely held perceptions of weak and deteriorating governance. The Bank’s strategy, strongly focused on governance, is aligned with the PRSP. The CAS’ two pillars, Improving the investment climate and Empowering the poor, reflect the focus of the Bank’s programs across sectors. These programs will address sector governance issues in both pillars, as well as ‘core’ governance, such as public procurement, public financial management and judiciary reform. This mainstreaming of governance implies that all Bank Group interventions will be as much about improving governance as they will be about improving sector performance. more>> ========================================================================= 2.End of MFA Quotas - Bangladesh must act quickly to remain competitive Success in global trade is vital to Bangladesh’s economic growth prospects and its hope of meeting the MDG target of halving poverty by 2015. As global competition in the Readymade Garments (RMG)industry heats up, Bangladesh cannot afford to be sidelined. Presently, three-quarters of Bangladesh's export earnings come from sales of knitwear and woven goods, of which 96 percent are destined for the US and EU markets. The apparel sector is the biggest source of industrial jobs and, along with the accessories industry, provides direct employment for over 2 million workers, mostly women. Moreover, RMG export is a major source of foreign exchange earnings for the country. A recently completed study by the World Bank titled, "End of MFA Quotas: Key Issues and Strategic Options for Bangladesh Readymade Garment Industry," explores the factors that have brought success to Bangladesh’s RMG industry and examines the likely threats and key constraints in the post-MFA era. It also sets out a number of strategic options for the sector to pursue, building on past achievements and competitive advantages in order to enhance Bangladesh’s export competitiveness in the global marketplace. more>> Download the report =========================================================================================================================== 3.The Waters of Bangladesh: Meeting Competing Needs Bangladesh's water resources are precious -- and precarious. Water has competing uses: it is needed for agriculture and industry, and is essential for health and life. Water also has an important poverty dimension. A comprehensive Bangladesh Country Water Resources Assistance Strategy for Bangladesh, drawing on an extensive consultation process with government, experts and civil society, has recently been released by the World Bank.With Bangladesh's growing population, both water quality and water quantity need equal attention. And both urban and rural areas must be addressed. The strategy therefore aims to identify and prioritize needed reforms and investments in all major water-related sectors, ranging from water supply and sanitation, agriculture, fisheries, and water resources management, to inland water transport. The Water Resources Assistance Strategy aims to sharpen the focus of government and other interested parties in Bangladesh’s water sector and elicit their strong engagement in the country’s water development and management efforts, under the umbrella of Bangladesh’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and the National Water Management Plan. more>> Download the report =================================================================================== 4. Reflections on Transition to e-Government Procurement
(Speech given by Country Director, Christine I. Wallich at a workshop
on Planning for Transition to e-Government Procurement) Procurement reform is clearly a crucial building block in improving governance and public sector management and accountability in Bangladesh. Poor public procurement practice lends itself to corruption and wastes scarce public funds. It is now well documented that corruption in public procurement also affects economic growth and worsens the investment climate, skewing public investment and spending to those areas where the opportunities for personal gain are highest and away from those that the economy needs most. At the most fundamental level, corruption in public procurement causes erosion of public confidence in government and its leadership, seen or suspected to be acting in their own, not the national interest. In more than one country in recent memory, governments have been voted out of office by a disillusioned electorate, voting in a "cleaner" government. The World Bank’s new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) puts governance at center stage. Governance will be the core focus in every sector we engage, and sector governance reform will be the target of every Bank-supported project. The strategy also aims to enhance transparency and accountability and reduce opportunities for corruption by (i) strengthening "core" governance institutions, including such key "watchdog" agencies as the Comptroller and Auditor-General (C&AG), Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Public Service Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Bangladesh Bank; and (ii) the "core" governance processes of public financial and budgetary management and public procurement, among others. Mainstreaming governance is also at the heart of our "Joint Strategy" partners’ programs—ADB, DFID, and Japan. The new draft Procurement Law, tabled in Parliament is awaiting approval in the next session. Procurement reform is never an easy undertaking, and we know the law has encountered opposition—even in very high quarters. The government can be commended for its persistence in this important reform. A comprehensive Procurement Law, properly implemented and enforced by the government, will provide a strong platform for better governance, specifically, for better governance of budgetary spending, with economy and efficiency in public purchases. more>> =============================================================================================== 5. World Bank projects in Bangladesh The World Bank supports 27 ongoing government projects in Bangladesh and is active in a wide range of sectors including health, education, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture, local government and financial sector reform, as well as public procurement and financial management reform. Detailed description of active projects | Brief description of active projects
=============================================================================================== 6. Further reading from the World Bank in Bangladesh Please click on the following titles to download the Bangladesh Development Series reports: Bangladesh Country Assistance Strategy 2006-2009 ; Summary:English | Bangla   Social Safety Nets in Bangladesh: An Assessment Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project, Effectiveness and Lessons Learned Revitalizing the Agricultural Technology System in Bangladesh ; Summary: English | Bangla Targeting Resources for the Poor in Bangladesh ; Summary: English | Bangla Comparative Advantages of Health Care Provision ; Summary: English | Bangla Bangladesh Water Country Assistance Strategy ; Summary: English | Bangla End of MFA Quotas: Key Issues and Strategic Options for Bangladesh Ready Made Garment Industry ; Summary: English Bangladesh PRSP Forum Economic Update - Recent Developments and Future Perspectives Forthcoming Publications Economics and Governance of NGOs in Bangladesh Evaluation of Recent Health Decentralization Initiatives Dhaka Urban Poverty Study ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to suggest further names to receive this newsletter, please send an e-mail to wbdhakanews@worldbank.org the subject line: New subscribers. If you wish to unsubscribe please send an e-mail to wbdhakanews@worldbank.org with the subject line: Unsubscribe. | 
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