Economics & Development

Ratings for the Electricity Access Services Expansion Project for Democratic Republic of Congo were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, the Bank's performance was moderately satisfactory, and the monitoring and evaluation quality was modest. Some lessons learned included: Activities aimed at rehabilitating the Mobayi Hydropower Plant and the associated transmission and distribution network in Gbadolite were fully canceled eight months before the project’s closure, as were the indicators linked to the activities that were to be implemented in the Northern Ubangi province. The delayed cancellation of these activities and keeping the related PDO indicators on the project’s results framework for so long significantly penalized the project's overall performance. The project aimed to expand connections in several urban and peri-urban neighborhoods of the capital city of Kinshasa, in the town of Gbadolite/Mobayi in the northern Ubangi province at about 1000 km from Kinshasa, and in several other provinces to promote private sector-led energy connections, including the conflict-affected provinces of North and South Kivu. During implementation, activities in the Ubangi province were dropped because of procurement delays and the inability of key stakeholders to timely address logistical, procurement, environmental, and social safeguards challenges, primarily for project activities. It would have been more realistic to select activities located in a limited and easily accessible territory; this way, implementation challenges can be addressed quickly and effectively.

Employment in Bhutan stabilized with minor changes. The employment rate remained steady, as 18.7 percent gained jobs and 17.4 percent lost them. Paid work slightly increased from 48.0 percent to 49.4 percent, and wage and salaried workers rose from 53 percent to 68 percent, mainly due to private sector jobs. Service sector jobs recovered, while agriculture jobs declined. Wage workers' earnings increased by 7-8 percent, but half of the self-employed and business owners saw reduced revenues. Food security improved, likely due to lower food prices. The Druk Gyalpo Relief Kidu provided crucial government assistance to 18 percent and 12 percent of respondents in rounds 1 and 2, respectively, aiding those most impacted by the pandemic.