David Mwiraria, Kenya's minister of finance comments on Wolfensohn's term in office
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David Mwiraria, Kenya's minister of finance comments on Wolfensohn's term in office

Since 1960 Kenya has received around $5bn from the Bank, which remains the single largest donor

The World Bank is the single largest donor to Kenya and hence the President of the Bank is of crucial importance to us. Since 1960 Kenya has received about US $5bn from the Bank to support various development initiatives. During his tenure Mr. Wolfensohn was fully committed to fight poverty in developing countries, including Kenya. He was a well-meaning person who worked with professionalism and zeal with a view to improving the economic status of developing countries.

In my opinion, Mr. Wolfensohn’s term in office was a great success. It was during his tenures that many developing countries, including Kenya, prepared poverty eradication plans, which were integrated into national budgets. Kenya, for instance, successfully developed the Economic Recovery strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation, 2003-2007. Based on this, the World Bank Country Assistance Strategy document was approved by both boards of the Bank and the IMF. With the help of the Bank, Kenya has implemented economic reforms that led to the upgrading of Kenya from the low case to the base case scenario. In 2003, Kenya received a grant of US $50 million from the World Bank to support the Free Primary Project, thus enabling us to achieve one of the Millennium Development Goals on Universal Free Primary Education.

The Bank under Mr. Wolfensohn’s leadership has given sharp focus on fighting HIV/AIDS, thus providing a solid base for winning the war against this disease. Through this initiative, the Bank has given HIV/AIDS scourge a global approach, resulting in the establishment of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

I am pleased that Mr. Wolfensohn’s term in the Bank has enabled the Bank to initiate various policy changes, which have facilitated the effort to simplify and modernize the Bank’s operational policies. These changes have helped the borrowers to reduce transaction costs and better align the Bank’s policies and procedures with host country development objectives and conditions, which have resulted in good institutional practises in borrower countries, and facilitating harmonization with other donors.

We wish Mr. Wolfensohn’s success in his next undertaking and trust that his successor will build on the foundation he laid during his term.

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