Philippines urged to make better use of aid funds

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MANILA, July 30 (AFP): The World Bank said today it has asked the Philippines to make better use of hundreds of millions of dollars lent by the multilateral agency every year.
For 2007, just 15.2 per cent of the total aid pledged by the World Bank had been disbursed so far, slower than in the previous year and below the 20 per cent agreed target, it said in a statement.
The actual amounts released in 2007 and 2006 both stood at around 137.2 million dollars, compared to the pledged amounts of 410 million dollars and 395 million dollars.
"The slow disbursement is attributed mainly to issues linked to insufficient level of readiness, complex project design, slow progress in policy reforms on which the release of loans is hinged, and delays in budget approval and/or release by the government," the World Bank added.