Government is in full support of the new initiative by the International Development Agencies (IDAs) to engage various domestic partners and stakeholders Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh says.
Delivering the feature address at a reception held on Tuesday evening at the Georgetown Club, Singh said the administration was also in favour of wider dissemination of information by the donor agencies regarding the initiatives they were supporting in Guyana.
The reception was a joint initiative by the seven IDAs operating in Guyana and is the beginning of a new venture by these entities to strengthen openness, transparency and accountability by engaging a wider range of stakeholders. It is also an attempt to publicize in a greater measure their ongoing efforts locally.
Singh said that over the years Guyana has had a healthy relationship with the IDAs and the partnership has been extremely beneficial to the country within recent years. He noted that for 2009, the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB) disbursed US$17 million to the country. This amount was the highest level of policy-based disbursements in nine years, Singh disclosed. He said that the “country’s current and pipeline portfolio of policy-based loans with the IDB includes sectors such as justice, competitiveness, electricity and the financial sector.”
The minister also singled out the European Union, which, he said, had disbursed some 25.5 million euros in general and budgetary support grants during last year and 27 million euros in 2008. According to him, this support by the EU reflects “recognition and tangible acknowledgement” of “the government’s track record in implementing agreed reform programmes and achieving progress against preset performance indicators.” Singh also acknowledged the role played by the EU “in pioneering and promoting the general and sector budget support modality for delivering development assistance.”
The keynote speaker also acknowledged “that important progress has been made on a number of other aspects of the aid effectiveness agenda, including in the strengthening of country systems, in the use of and reliance on country systems, and in improving project implementation structures.”
Speaking about Guyana’s domestic economy, Singh stated that it has experienced strong and sustained growth over the last four years in spite of a hostile and volatile external environment. “Our fiscal deficit is on a steady downward path and is currently at its lowest level in over five years…our external reserves are today at their highest level in our country’s history,” he said.
He noted that these developments were not only testimony of the government’s policy initiatives but also reflected the responsiveness of the private sector and a non-governmental sector to the policy environment created by the administration. He said these achievements were “considerably aided” and supported “by the work of our development partners” and other bilateral with countries such as “China, Cuba, India and Venezuela.”
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Kiari Liman-Tinguiri said this initiative was important as efforts were being made to further streamline the country within the framework of the Paris Declaration. This declaration is based essentially on how effectively aid supplied to the different countries is used. He also pointed out that the partnership was also important in getting the country closer to achieving the various Millennium Develop-ment Goals (MDGs) within the stipulated deadline, which is five years away.
Identifying some positive developments in the country, Liman-Tinguiri said the country had maintained a stable macro-economic framework in spite of the global financial crisis and had been committed to the cause of Climate Change. However, he noted that there were other areas where work needed to be done and he identified areas such as infrastructural development and the creation of an economic climate to boost economic growth.
Liman-Tinguiri further said this new attempt at dialogue was a way of partnering with members of civil society in an attempt to achieve sustainable development in the county. He promised that there will be a follow-up meeting later this year.
Also addressing the gathering was Chairperson of the National Toshao Council Yvonne Pearson who urged that more dialogue be held with the Amerindian community. “Give us that opportunity to speak so we can tell you how we feel,” she said. According to her, while the lives of Amerindians had been gradually improving there was still some way to go since the many Amerindians still wanted a better life. She identified areas such as the health and education sectors as among the areas where improvements were needed.
The agencies involved in this venture are the European Union, the Canadian International Development Agency, the UK Department for International Develop-ment, the IDB, the UN, United States Agency for International Development and the World Bank.