Government will have to cut the supplementary duties on imports by at least 2 percentage points, besides fulfilling 10 other conditions, to get the fourth tranche of the World Bank's Development

Support Credit (DSC).

A WB mission is due in February to set the timeframe for meeting the 11-point set of conditions for the $100 to $150 million DSC instalment. The government so far has received a total of $700 million in the earlier three tranches of the credit.

The supplementary duty cut is aimed at deepening the trade liberalisation. The WB also wants the government to ensure media

access to the proceedings of the

Public Accounts Committee of parliament as well as introduction of a public procurement law in order to make the public financial management more transparent.

The cabinet has already passed in principle a draft public procurement act to get the third DSC tranche. The WB now wants the law to get enacted by parliament.

It also prescribes putting a complaint mechanism including independent review panels into operation for public procurement and quarterly web-publication of findings of monitoring and inspection of procurements in infrastructure and the power sector.

One of the conditions is for strengthening the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for neutral and active prosecution of serious acts of corruption. Another is for setting specific terms of reference and a fixed tenure for the managing directors of nationalised commercial banks with a view to corporatize the banks.

The government will have to formulate and adopt a least-cost plan for developing power generation and define its strategy for power generation investment, specifying the proportion of public and private sector financing in the sector.

The WB also wants the government to offer a bid package to qualified private investors for at least one new, base-load, power plant. It wants to see a transparent and competitive procedure, with a selection criterion based on technical competence and financial capabilities, in setting up small power plants.

Yet another condition is for restructuring the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in line with the NBR's Strategic Development Plan adopted by the government to ensure its effectiveness and accountability. The NBR will also have the flexibility to recruit from the private sector if necessary.

Sources at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) said the WB considers the upcoming national election as a major hurdle for steering ahead the ongoing reform programme. So, it will disburse the future development credits only upon the implementation of the agreed reforms. The amounts of the loans and timing of their disbursements will also depend on the government's express commitment to reforms, they said.

A finance ministry source said the fourth DSC tranche is included in the budget financing of the current fiscal year.