NASSAU, Bahamas – The Inter-American Development Bank held its Meeting of the Public Policy Management and Transparency Network Development Effectiveness and Result-Based Budget Management for the Caribbean Countries on Monday, January 12.
The meeting at the British Colonial Hilton was facilitated by the Ministry of Finance, and held at a time of ever-increasing demands for greater effectiveness in public sector management, in a manner that is consistent with the efficient allocation and use of resources, according to the IDB.
The meeting attracted participants from IDB member countries, including The Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.
In his welcome remarks, Minister of State for Finance the Hon Zivargo Laing said the objective of good government is to provide a safe and orderly society in which citizens are able to pursue their ambitions commensurate with their education.
“In pursuit of that objective, governments expend considerable sums, organised in annual budgets,” he said. “The monies spent in that regard are monies that are derived from exacting taxes on the citizens now, or exacting taxes on them in the future to pay for borrowings done now.”
He said that it is that particular element in the whole budget exercise and the extent to which it draws on the resources of the citizens of a country, that “makes it so necessary for those of us who are the managers and overseers of the budget process to achieve the results that we say we are going to achieve and that the public expects us to achieve.”
Added Mr. Laing: “I believe that it is safe to say that more and more citizens of our countries are becoming more observant of the budget process, more observant of the activities of government in executing those budgets and are becoming more and more demanding as governments do more in either the same amount of money that is given to it or sometimes with less.
“In the current environment in which we find ourselves, I think that this situation becomes even more pronounced.”
He said that it is against this background that the public policy management transparency network that is being pursued, is so important.
“Clearly, the extent to which we in the region and the wider hemisphere are able to embrace policies, understandings, information, best practices to help us truly to have an evidence-based performance measure for the way in which we conduct our affairs in respect to the budget, is the extent to which we are able to deliver the results that the citizens of the country expect us to deliver on their behalf,” Mr. Laing said.
He commended the IDB on the important work it is doing in partnership with member countries to help them not only perform in the spirit of good public policy as it relates to transparency and accountability, but also in seeking to advance the ability to operate in a manner that produces results to the people they serve.
Oscar Spencer, IDB Representative in The Bahamas, said the meeting was held at a time when policy makers are grappling with the issue of performance and the need to move towards a development effectiveness framework that focuses on results and the use of information systems to improve decision-making.
“The Public Policy Management and Transparency Network, with its focus on development effectiveness and result-based budget management, aims at the integration, analysis and harmonisation of ideas related to the budget process,” Mr. Spencer said.
Its main objective is to support a discussion forum among borrowing member countries of the Bank, in order to improve budget and public sector management.
It is one of eight similar networks that have been established as part of a much broader Regional Policy Dialogue initiative that was launched seven years ago. The other networks are in areas of trade and integration, central banks, poverty and social protection, education, environment, natural disasters and science and technology.
“Since its establishment, the Regional Policy Dialogue and its networks have proven to be an effective mechanism for fostering dialogue among the borrowing member countries of the Bank, for sharing of insights on key issues for countries and for the region as a whole, for exchanging experiences and lessons learned, and for boosting the development of mechanisms to face common challenges,” Mr Spencer said.
Lindsay Thompson
Bahamas Information Services
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The meeting at the British Colonial Hilton was facilitated by the Ministry of Finance, and held at a time of ever-increasing demands for greater effectiveness in public sector management, in a manner that is consistent with the efficient allocation and use of resources, according to the IDB.
The meeting attracted participants from IDB member countries, including The Bahamas, Belize, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico.
In his welcome remarks, Minister of State for Finance the Hon Zivargo Laing said the objective of good government is to provide a safe and orderly society in which citizens are able to pursue their ambitions commensurate with their education.
“In pursuit of that objective, governments expend considerable sums, organised in annual budgets,” he said. “The monies spent in that regard are monies that are derived from exacting taxes on the citizens now, or exacting taxes on them in the future to pay for borrowings done now.”
He said that it is that particular element in the whole budget exercise and the extent to which it draws on the resources of the citizens of a country, that “makes it so necessary for those of us who are the managers and overseers of the budget process to achieve the results that we say we are going to achieve and that the public expects us to achieve.”
Added Mr. Laing: “I believe that it is safe to say that more and more citizens of our countries are becoming more observant of the budget process, more observant of the activities of government in executing those budgets and are becoming more and more demanding as governments do more in either the same amount of money that is given to it or sometimes with less.
“In the current environment in which we find ourselves, I think that this situation becomes even more pronounced.”
He said that it is against this background that the public policy management transparency network that is being pursued, is so important.
“Clearly, the extent to which we in the region and the wider hemisphere are able to embrace policies, understandings, information, best practices to help us truly to have an evidence-based performance measure for the way in which we conduct our affairs in respect to the budget, is the extent to which we are able to deliver the results that the citizens of the country expect us to deliver on their behalf,” Mr. Laing said.
He commended the IDB on the important work it is doing in partnership with member countries to help them not only perform in the spirit of good public policy as it relates to transparency and accountability, but also in seeking to advance the ability to operate in a manner that produces results to the people they serve.
Oscar Spencer, IDB Representative in The Bahamas, said the meeting was held at a time when policy makers are grappling with the issue of performance and the need to move towards a development effectiveness framework that focuses on results and the use of information systems to improve decision-making.
“The Public Policy Management and Transparency Network, with its focus on development effectiveness and result-based budget management, aims at the integration, analysis and harmonisation of ideas related to the budget process,” Mr. Spencer said.
Its main objective is to support a discussion forum among borrowing member countries of the Bank, in order to improve budget and public sector management.
It is one of eight similar networks that have been established as part of a much broader Regional Policy Dialogue initiative that was launched seven years ago. The other networks are in areas of trade and integration, central banks, poverty and social protection, education, environment, natural disasters and science and technology.
“Since its establishment, the Regional Policy Dialogue and its networks have proven to be an effective mechanism for fostering dialogue among the borrowing member countries of the Bank, for sharing of insights on key issues for countries and for the region as a whole, for exchanging experiences and lessons learned, and for boosting the development of mechanisms to face common challenges,” Mr Spencer said.
Lindsay Thompson
Bahamas Information Services
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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