13 Dec 2013

Kiribati receives World Bank funding for sustainability of public finances

5:27 am on 13 December 2013

The World Bank is giving Kiribati just over five million US dollars to help strengthen the delivery of public services and improve the sustainability of public finances.

The Bank's Pacific country director, Franz Drees-Gross, says Kiribati faces many challenges that are unique to small island nations, including remoteness from markets, a widely dispersed population, and vulnerability to economic shocks.

He says the grant funding will focus on increasing revenue through tax reform and administration of fisheries resources, better management of public assets and liabilities and expanding private sector opportunities, including through reform of the telecommunication sector.