General

The proposed operation supports a standalone Multipurpose Water Resources Development program and is aligned to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda (GoR)’s development agenda and envisaged economic transformation as outlined in Vision 2050 and the NST-1. The first set of activities under the program are the construction of the dam including installation of the hydropower plant and preparatory studies for downstream investments for irrigation and livestock use. The proposed dam is located on the river Muvumba in Rwanda near the Nyagatare Town. The River arises in Uganda joins the Kagitumba River downstream, which in turn flows into the Kagera River. The program will improve natural resources and environmental management and empower people in the district through land management and capacity development on alternative livelihood. It is expected to be implemented over 70 months starting in January 2021. The Cost of the first set of activities under the program to be financed by the Bank and counterpart contribution from the GoR is EUR 124.190 million net of tax and duties.

Objectives

The objective of the program is to improve water, energy, food and nutrition security by harnessing water resources for irrigation, domestic, livestock use and hydropower generation, while ensuring sustainability of the resources and building resilience against climate change and variability.

Target Groups

The initial set of activities under the program only relates to dam construction with the embedded hydropower plant (installed capacity of 740 kW and annual power generation estimated at 5,719 MWh), for which there are no direct beneficiaries. The initial stage of the program also involves the detailed design of the irrigation and livestock water use project, while the government is in parallel undertaking detailed designs for the water and sanitation project. Both these uses will be served by the storage dam. When the subsequent investments are implemented, the direct beneficiaries include the population of Nyagatare (estimated at 560,000 people).Benefits will be derived from: (i) irrigation development for a command area estimated at 7,380ha covering Tabagwe, Gatunda, Karama, Rukomo, Nyagatare, Rwempasha, Musheri and Rwimiyaga sectors; and(ii) municipal water supply estimated at 24,000m3/day for 300,000 people in Karangazi, Rwimiyaga and Nyagatare sectors in addition to livestock use. Estimated direct employment from the irrigation component would be 37,000 people, while indirect employment would be estimated at 30,000 people.

General

The proposed operation is for an ADB Loan of Two billion three hundred million South African Rand (2.3 billion ZAR), to the Republic of Namibia to finance the second Phase of the Governance and Economic Recovery Support Program (GERSP II). The GERSP is designed as a programmatic series of two consecutive General Budget Support (GBS) operations covering the fiscal years 2021/22-2022/23 for total indicative financing of 3.8 billion Rand. This second phase follows Board approval of the first phase on 17 March 2021 for an amount of 1.5 billion Rand and subsequent implementation of the related program measures. The processing of this second phase of the operation (GERSP II) was made possible by the satisfactory implementation of the first phase in accordance with the Bank's PBO policy. GERP-II maintains the same three mutually reinforcing and complementary components of GERP-I. Component 1, Attaining Fiscal Sustainability; Component 2, Supporting Private sector-led Agriculture and Industrial Sector Transformation; Component 3, Enhancing Economic and Social Inclusion.

Objectives

The overarching development objective of GERSP II is to continue to strengthen resilience and enhance inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms. The program will continue to support Namibia’s medium to long term development agenda, with particular emphasis on enhancing fiscal performance, revival of critical sectors of the economy, development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and social protection.

Target Groups

The beneficiaries of the program remain the same as in GERSP I. The direct beneficiaries are the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies whose reforms are being supported by the operation. These are the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Industrialization and Trade; Ministry of Public Enterprises; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; and Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare. The private sector will benefit from improved investment opportunities in agriculture and industry (including in sustainable special economic zones), and PPP opportunities. The MSMEs will benefit from improved policy framework and access to affordable finance. Entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors will benefit from job opportunities as well as higher retention rates in targeted industries. The program will ultimately indirectly benefit all citizens of Namibia as enhanced fiscal performance will help to expand fiscal space for development and pro-poor spending; and climate sensitive sector reforms will help to attract private investments for green growth and job creation. The operation will contribute to strengthened policy frameworks for economic empowerment of women and is a category III on the Gender Marker System.

General

The proposed operation is an ADB Loan of One billion four hundred and seventy million South African Rand (1.5 billion ZAR), to the Republic of Namibia to finance the Governance and Economic Recovery Support Program (GERSP). The GERSP aims to support GRN’s reforms geared towards strengthening resilience and enhancing inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms, as articulated in the Letter of Development Policy. The operation is designed in response to a request submitted by the Namibian Authorities in June 2020. This follows the completion of the Economic Governance and Competitiveness Support Program (EGCSP) in 2020 which has achieved significant results. The GERSP is designed as a programmatic series of two consecutive General Budget Support (GBS) operations covering the fiscal years 2020/21-2021/22. This is the first of the two-year series of the Program Based Operation (PBO). The package of reforms under the proposed program is organised around three mutually reinforcing and complementary components: (i) Attaining Fiscal Sustainability, will enhance macroeconomic performance and create fiscal space for the prioritization of capital and social spending by helping to enhance domestic resource mobilization and mitigate fiscal risks (including those related to SOEs and PPPs); (ii) Supporting Private sector-led Agriculture and Industrial Sector Transformation, will support the strengthening of the policy framework for agriculture and industrial sector productivity and value addition, and enhanced private sector participation, with environmental sustainability in mind; (iii) Enhancing Economic and Social Inclusion, will support the development of the MSME framework, social protection and gender mainstreaming. It is a balanced program combining fiscal and sector-specific reforms while supporting measures geared towards enhancing inclusion.

Objectives

The goal of the proposed operation is to strengthen resilience and enhance inclusive postpandemic economic recovery through improved governance and real sector reforms. The program will support Namibia’s medium to long term development agenda by building on the achievements of the EGCSP, with particular emphasis on enhancing fiscal performance, revival of critical sectors of the economy, development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and social protection.

Target Groups

The program’s direct beneficiaries are the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies whose reforms are being supported by the operation. These are the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Industrialization and Trade; Ministry of Public Enterprises; Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform; Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare; and Ministry of Gender Equality. The private sector will benefit from improved investment opportunities in agriculture and industry (including in special economic zones), and PPP opportunities. The MSMEs will benefit from improved policy framework and access to affordable finance. Entrepreneurs in the formal and informal sectors will benefit from job opportunities as well as higher retention rates in targeted industries. The program will ultimately indirectly benefit all citizens of Namibia as enhanced fiscal performance will help to expand fiscal space for development and pro-poor spending; and climate-sensitive sector reforms will help to attract private investments for green growth and job creation. The operation will contribute to strengthened policy frameworks for economic empowerment of women and is a category III on the Gender Marker System.