Don’t waste concessional loans, World Bank programme coordinator warns states

The National Coordinator of the World Bank-backed HOPE Governance Programme, Assad Hassan, has challenged federal and state governments to fully leverage concessional loans to build robust institutions and sustain governance reforms beyond the scope of external funding cycles.

Hassan gave the charge on Tuesday in Enugu during the South-East Implementation Support Mission of the programme convened by the World Bank, warning that Nigeria risks repeating a cycle of abandoned reforms if deliberate steps are not taken to institutionalise ongoing interventions.

This was contained in a statement issued by Communications Officer of the HOPE Governance Programme, Joe Mutah.

“Inasmuch as the bank is a significant partner in this, they are gracious enough to give us soft loans, concessionary loans, but I think the onus is on us to make sure that at the end of the day, we see how we can sustain these programs,” he said.

The HOPE Governance Programme is designed to strengthen institutional frameworks in basic education and primary healthcare delivery, with a focus on improving service outcomes at the state level.

Hassan, however, raised concerns over the country’s track record in sustaining reforms initiated under previous World Bank-supported programmes, including the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability programme.

“What next? I think that question behoves us to look at ourselves in the mirror. What have we done after the precursor to this programme — SFTAS? Did we just receive the incentives and move on?” he asked.