Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer, Minister of Finance, Errol Cort, and other government officials met on Monday with a team from the Canadian Government to discuss the initial stages of proposed projects in democratic governance and accountability in the Caribbean.
Prime Minister Spencer, who chaired the discussion with the Canadian officials, welcomed the initiative, and indicated that his government has passed several pieces of legislation designed to improve the process of Governance and Accountability in the twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda.
He revealed that: "We have passed very early in our administration what we refer to as the trilogy of legislation, that is, the Integrity in Public Life Act, the Freedom of Information Act and the Anti-corruption Act, all of which are designed to increase accountability and transparence in public life. However, the effective implementation of some of these laws still remains a major challenged for the government."
During the deliberations, Michele Gibson, Senior Development Officer at the Canadian High Commission in Barbados and Legal and Governance Consultant, Dennis Darby indicated that the Government of Canada has decided that the Caribbean Community will be a region of focus for international development assistance for the next ten years, and has approved - through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - a Strategic Programme Framework for the region for the period 2008 to 2018.
According to the Canadian officials, the purpose of the programme is to strategically address the root causes of vulnerability and institutional weakness by supporting the region as a whole, so that it can be more self-reliant.
It was further highlighted that Canada and the Caribbean region maintain a special relationship, based on shared historical, political, business, immigration, and personal linkages.
It is against this background that the overall programme initiative in the region will focus on Regional Democratic Governance, Regional Economic Renewal and Regional Human Capital Formation.
Minister of Finance Dr Cort, meanwhile, expressed appreciation for the efforts by the Canadian Government to provide support to countries like Antigua and Barbuda.
He also indicated that Antigua and Barbuda would welcome technical and financial support in its thrust to improve the overall financial and social management of the economy.
Key areas highlighted for consideration include but are not limited to: harmonization and streamlining of procurement systems, support for the further development of auditing capacity in central government, strengthening of Parliamentary Oversight Commissions/Committees, civil service reform and strengthening of the effectiveness of Statutory Boards and civil society organizations and the media.
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