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Contact:
John Emmanuel
Wednesday, June 16, 2004 - The fourth in a series of workshops aimed at
improving the standards and profile of public financial management throughout
the Caribbean has gotten underway at the Rex St. Lucia Hotel in Rodney Bay.
Public financial management relates to the efficient and effective use of
government’s resources, while promoting integrity and transparency.
The 2 ½ - day event, which attracted participants from throughout the wider
Caribbean is organised by the region’s lead agency in the promotion,
development, and application of best practices in public financial management,
the Caribbean Public Finance Association (CAP-FA), in conjunction with the
Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC). It is expected to
address the aspirations, myths and realities of programme budgeting and among
other things, medium-term planning and multi-year budgeting.
In his address, St. Lucia’s Director of Finance and Chairman of the Board of
Directors of CAPFA, Isaac Anthony, said the workshop sought to address some of
the fundamental questions of programme budgeting existing in the region.
“However one looks at it, this workshop seeks to address several issues, whether
directly or indirectly associated to the age-old problem of how we make the best
use of our scares financial resources. I hope that the workshop provides a great
opportunity to share the rich knowledge and experience, which evidently exist
across the region in keeping with one of CAPFA’s most important objectives,”
said Mr. Anthony.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Trevor Braithwaite, said the St.
Lucia workshop came at a time when several Caribbean countries are faced with
worsening fiscal difficulties and increasing demands by the public for greater
accountability, and more judicious use of scares financial resources. “The move
to performance budgeting, which is being contemplated by a number of regional
governments will help to improve allocation of resources and enhance the ability
to assess accountability for the use of these resources,” he said.
CAPFA will hold its annual conference towards the end of this year.
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