WB in Rs. 900m rebuilding programme
Hiran H.Senewiratne
The World Bank will undertake a series of development projects
covering the North and East and other areas worth over US$ 900 million,
its Country Director Naoko Ishii said.
She said they have development projects which are in the pipeline
till 2012. They will cover development projects nationwide covering the
North, East and other areas.
World Bank Country Director Naoko Ishii
Picture by Sumanachandra Ariyawansa |
She said these projects will cover a series of development activities
covering areas including dam safety and water resource planning,
integrated community development, national and provincial road
development, irrigation, maintenance and water resource management,
general education and health sector development being are some of them.
Ishii said that despite the conflict situation in the North and
Eastern part of the country, World Bank has been funding major
agriculture projects in the country because nearly two-thirds of the
pre-war population depended on agricultural farming, livestock raising
and deep-sea fishing for their livelihood.
“With the conflict came damage to irrigation schemes, callapes of
village level institutions such as farmers’ organisations, loss of rural
market access roads, mass displacement of the people, all resulting in a
substantial decline in agricultural production,” she said. Ishii said
food security was ensured for about 33,250 conflict affected people
including those returning who had been displaced in 396 villages in the
project region. This was achieved through the rehabilitation and
restoration of productive capacity of about 369 small irrigation
schemes, which brought about 21,944 hectares of pre-war farmlands back
into cultivation.
The Country Director also said that since they we have received a
number of questions regarding the conflict sensitive approach taken in
the Country Assistance Strategy in early October was a proposed
programmes for the conflict affected areas as well as concerns about
World Bank engagement with the Eastern Provincial Council.
She said that the tense situation has been a major obstacle to the
longer development. It permeates every aspect of the society, including
the results of development assistance. But we cannot wait for the
conflict to be over; rather we need to address conflict driven needs in
a more systematic manner”, Ishaii said.
She also said to make that event successful, an instrument called
conflict filter has been developed to keep them alert to conflict
sensitivities.
It is a list of questions to ask us consistently as we plan, develop
projects with official counterparts and supervise ongoing efforts. This
filter is most clearly applicable when we support work areas directly
affected by conflict and also will work across Sri Lanka,” she said. |