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Republic of Congo: Debts

Volume 463: debated on Tuesday 24 July 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the Republic of Congo’s (Brazzaville) compliance with its commitments under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. (149797)

DFID has not made its own assessment as it relies on the assessment of the IMF and World Bank, which administer HIPC. According to the Annual Report of the World Bank and IMF Boards in May 2006 the Republic of Congo’s overall progress in the necessary reforms has been limited and slow. There have been improvements in the management of forestry, the social sectors and health, as well as in developing a poverty reduction strategy. However, there has been limited progress in procurement, debt management, the oil sector and civil society involvement in reducing corruption. There has been no progress in strengthening public investment management.