Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Alain Lamassoure

Environmental and labour taxes as % of GDP

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a disbursement of SDR 60.74 million (about US$85.45 million) under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) 1 arrangement on March 2, as well as an augmentation of access under the ECF arrangement of 50 percent of Sierra Leone’s quota, equivalent to SDR 51.85 million (about US$72.94 million). The Executive Board approved also a request for SDR 20.74 million (about US$29.18 million or 20 percent of the country’s quota) in immediate debt relief under the catastrophe containment window of the Catastrophe Containment and Relief (CCR) Trust2.

MEPs have another busy week ahead of them.

Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, plans to hold a vote on Feb. 26, on the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as Attorney General of the United States, replacing Eric Holder, who is retiring. The stakes in the Lynch vote go far beyond the issue of who will be the next top law enforcement officer of the United States. At stake is the Obama Administration’s unbroken policy of protection for Wall Street at all costs—including the lives of countless Americans whose future is being destroyed as victims of illegal drugs and terrorism.

Development plays a crucial role in improving people's lives around the world, but what is the best way to finance it? On 24 February the EP's development committee held a public hearing on how to mobilise all available means and types of financial resources for sustainable global development and poverty eradication over the next 15 years. The hearing, led by committee chair Linda McAvan, was attended by representatives from UN agencies, companies and civil society.

The World Bank Group (WBG) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Development Fund (SDF) announced that they have forged a multi-year partnership to design and implement SDF’s Social Enterprise Development Program (SEDP) in eight SAARC countries. The partnership aims to improve the quality and delivery of basic services to the poorest and underserved populations across South Asia by combining finance, global knowledge, and capacity development support for 100 social enterprises that will receive grants of USD 100,000 to 250,000 per enterprise. Thereafter, SDF will provide finance to these enterprises to enable them to scale their impact.

The World Bank Group’s (WBG) Board of Executive Directors approved a total of US$75.5 million to improve the management of fisheries and increase the economic benefits from fishing-related activities for families living in the coastal communities of the South West Indian Ocean region on February 27.

With more than two-thirds of its population lacking access to electricity, Bihar needs to add significantly to its generation capacity and ramp up investment in transmission and distribution if it is to provide affordable and reliable power to its people, says a World Bank study.