Reviving the Private Sector, a Necessity not a Choice for Benkirane’s Government
May 18, 2012
At the current conjuncture, the lack of job opportunities in Morocco can be a lurking threat to the government’s viability and, eventually, to the country’s stability. Those who believe that Morocco is out of the danger zone may have to reconsider their appraisal of the situation. Faced with all sorts of hurdles ranging from financial to infrastructural ones, the government is still pondering how to fulfill their promises. The domestic growth seems entrapped in a status quo due to the budget deficit and the consecutive seasons of drought that paralyze agriculture, one of the key sectors in the Moroccan economy. The public sector burdened with public expenses can no longer lift the weight of job demands among Moroccan youth.
EBRD energy lending report: conflicting investments end up contradicting climate science
May 17, 2012
London – Almost half of the 6.7 billion euros lent by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) between 2006-2011 goes to support for fossil fuels, according to a report issued today by CEE Bankwatch Network. Support for coal, oil and gas must be discontinued altogether, argues Bankwatch, if the bank’s commendable efforts on increasing financing for renewables and energy efficiency are to have a positive impact in the global fight against climate change.
Critical Perspectives on EBRD Transition Investment Priorities in Egypt
May 16, 2012
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5453/critical-perspectives-on-ebrd-transition-investmen
Revolution at the EBRD required for any new role in Egypt
May 14, 2012
The figures should be well known. Somehow, though, in the western world, and especially in official quarters, they tend to get overlooked in the rush to impose the ‘next latest thing’ on post-revolution Egypt. The country’s seven percent GDP growth figure in 2007, hailed by the World Bank and others, concealed a multitude of injustices. For one thing, average per capita GDP growth plummeted from 4.1 per cent prior to 1990 to 2.7 per cent during the neoliberal era set in motion by the IMF structural adjustment regime in 1991.
Proposed model for consultations between the EBRD and civil society organisations
April 5, 2012
These comments, prepared the Arab NGO Network for Development together with Bankwatch suggests improvements for the model of consultations between the EBRD and civil society organizations. It is particularly relevant in view of the upcoming civil society consultations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean as the EBRD prepares to extend its lending to the region.
The two sides of reality – what the BTC pipeline means for the EBRD in north Africa
March 19, 2012
To illustrate its readiness to help Arab Spring countries, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development draws on the Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline project as a positive example. Having closely followed the project, Manana Kochladze outlines why people in north Africa should be wary of what’s to come when the EBRD enters their countries.
EBRD plans for Egypt slammed by human rights group
March 13, 2012
An independent Egyptian human rights organisation, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), published in early March a scathing assessment of the EBRD’s plans for its future investment activities in Egypt. Based on an EBRD Technical Assessment document, EIPR takes issue with the EBRD analysis on three main counts:
Arab civil society and international groups against diverting the revolutions’ economic and social justice goals through conditionalities imposed by international financial institutions
June 20, 2011
