Working Together in Nepal — World Bank Development Partners

 The Government of Nepal
 The Nepali People
 Local Government
 Donor Organizations
 Civil Society Organizations
 The Private Sector
 The Media

The World Bank does not operate alone. In Nepal, the Bank works with multiple development partners: The government, other bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector, and the general public—including academics, scientists, economists, journalists, teachers, and local people involved in development projects. The Bank's method of operation is not to implement "World Bank projects," but to provide financing and advice for projects which are owned and supported by the Nepali people and which are a logical part of a comprehensive and efficient overall development agenda.

The Government of Nepal

According to the Articles of Agreement by which the World Bank is bound, loans are provided to a country only through its national government. While ideas for new projects can be identified by various parties, only the central government can formally propose a specific project and request financial assistance from the Bank. The Bank works with the government to set the terms of the loan and to monitor the progress of loan-supported projects until they close.

A priority in the World Bank's lending is to improve the government's ability to continue the valuable development work of projects long after the Bank's assistance is complete. Therefore, the Bank provides advice and financing through its loans for building the government's development-related institutions. Such institutions, if given the necessary resources and management, can continue to function, even through changes of government, lessening the threat of disruption of crucial development programs. The Bank also assists the government in identifying where it would be most beneficial to transfer certain types of development work from government organizations to private companies.

Institutional strengthening and capacity building in project implementing agencies are invariably important components of projects funded by the World Bank in Nepal. Over the years, the Bank has also supported such initiatives at key planning and monitoring institutions such as the National Planning Commission, the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Office of the Auditor General and the Financial Comptroller General's Office. The Bank will continue to address institutional challenges and governance issues in its sectoral lending and studies and will collaborate with other donors in the areas of administrative reform and improving fiscal and public expenditure management.

The Nepali People

The Bank's most important development partners are the citizens who participate in and are affected by projects. Whether he or she is part of a civil society organization or is simply an individual whose life a project will change, his or her views are important, since without their input and ownership, projects are predisposed to fail. With the people's contribution, Nepal's development will meet their values and needs and ensure the kind of future they desire for their children.

The Bank's Kathmandu Office is now taking on a bigger role as the institution decentralizes and responsibilities are transferred in-country. Since September 1997, the Bank's Country Team for Nepal has been led from Kathmandu by a Country Director based there. Moving resources and responsibilities to Kathmandu has allowed greater speed and flexibility, as well as greater participation by Nepalis in designing development strategies, preparing projects, and carrying out research.

In 1998, the Bank's Kathmandu Office took its largest step in seeking local input into its assistance for Nepal. It held a series of seminars throughout the country, inviting Nepali citizens to discuss their needs, expectations, and concerns about development and the World Bank's role. Nearly 1,000 people, including village organizations, farmers groups, women's groups, NGOs, government officials at all levels, journalists, and academics attended the conferences. The results of these conferences were taken into consideration as the World Bank produced its Country Assistance Strategy, the comprehensive plan which outlined its development assistance to Nepal for the next three years. And for the first time, the full Country Assistance Strategy was made a public document.

Local Government

Since 1999, the World Bank and the Government of Nepal have been piloting a local government-led approach to planning and managing the improvement of Nepal's network of rural roads. The Rural Infrastructure Project intends to test and fine-tune a framework for effective partnerships in rural infrastructure development between District Development Committees and the Ministry of Local Development, in line with the policies of decentralization adopted by Nepal. The framework entrusts all decision-making related to design, supervision, and transparent implementation of civil works to the District Development Committees. The Bank hopes that the learning and results developed under the project can be mainstreamed and expanded in other sectors as well.

Donor Organizations

In order for Nepal to develop as efficiently as possible, it is critical that the work of the multitude of active external donor organizations be coordinated and complimentary. The various organizations bring different experience and resources which can be most effectively applied in their particular area of expertise and interest. Most importantly, coordination of donor aid is needed to ensure that Nepal's overall development agenda fits with the values, priorities, and most critical needs of the Nepali people.

Recently, development agencies based in Kathmandu have organized themselves in 12 thematic groups. These meet regularly, often with the participation of concerned government officials, to exchange information, learn lessons from each other, and to contribute ultimately to the formulation of coordinated sectoral programmes and projects. UNDP-Nepal and the World Bank co-chair regular meetings of the wider donor group based in Kathmandu. In addition, the World Bank chairs the Nepal Development Forum (formerly known as the Nepal Aid Group Meeting), usually held every 18 months.

Civil Society Organizations

By representing the interests of the poor and as advocates in promoting the priorities and concerns of local communities, Civil Society Organizations are invaluable partners of the World Bank. The World Bank in Nepal has, over the past few years, actively sought to engage NGOs and other civil society groups in Bank-funded projects and in the wider policy dialogue.

For example, the Bank-funded Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project works closely with nearly 85 NGOs. These NGOs help communities to make decisions about the identification, design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of their water supply and sanitation schemes and ensure that the investments of the project are sustainable. In Sunsari Morang III, a Bank-funded irrigation project, an NGO is monitoring the project's Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and will provide an independent verification and assessment of its implementation.

Civil Society Organizations were widely consulted in the preparation of the Bank's latest Country Assistance Strategy for Nepal. The Bank now regularly consults with NGOs and other civil society groups on matters relating to the design, preparation, implementation, and evaluation of projects in all sectors, as well as in the formulation of sector studies and strategies.

The Private Sector

The private sector is the World Bank's link to faster growth and deeper poverty reduction. Nepal needs to grow well above its current 2 to 3% per year if growth is to have any impact upon poverty reduction. Growth will only come from investment—the majority of which will have to come from the private sector.

Investment in Nepal is very low—Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was less than US$9 million in 1998. In order to understand the private sector in Nepal better, the World Bank, in conjunction with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), is carrying out a private sector survey of 250 firms within the manufacturing sector. The results of the survey are expected to help identify the major constraints to private sector development in Nepal.

In order to promote a robust private sector environment in Nepal, the World Bank will continue to provide lending support and policy advice in the areas of financial sector reform, private sector participation in basic infrastructure services—i.e., water, electricity and telecommunications, the privatization of inefficient public enterprises, overcoming administrative barriers to FDI, and improving auditing and accounting standards.

In 1999, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending affiliate of the World Bank Group, opened an office in Kathmandu in order to develop a better understanding of private sector needs and to work more closely with clients in Nepal. The IFC currently has an portfolio of close to US$60 million invested in tourism and hydropower projects in Nepal.

The Media

As the most effective disseminators and analysts of development information, the media is a respected development voice. The World Bank now better understands the links between development and issues of voice, accountability, and transparency, and it is running courses for journalists in all regions of the developing world. In Nepal, the World Bank Institute has started to offer core courses in economics and business to help journalists understand the changing dynamics of their environment. Bank staff, too, meet regularly with journalists to discuss their work. In addition, the Bank's Kathmandu Office publishes a quarterly newsletter, hosts a website, and houses a Public Information Center to disseminate information about Bank supported activities in Nepal.