By Julie Wilson
Barbados (BGIS) — The Caribbean will soon have a greater say in the process of aid reform, due largely to its participation in a 2011 survey monitoring the Paris Declaration, Barbados Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, said on Friday.
Even though Barbados is not a signatory to the Paris Declaration, the minister said the island’s participation reflected its eagerness to “re-examine the framework relating to the management of aid at all levels”.
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler
“This process of consultation and cooperation effectiveness, must remain an imperative of small island developing states such as Barbados, given that our economies continue to be challenged by the adverse effects of global shocks,” he said.
Sinckler further stated, “The ever-changing global landscape continues to challenge our global development agenda and has assigned enormous responsibilities on policy makers.”
The finance minister warned that the World Bank’s recent pronouncement about increased poverty worldwide as a result of escalating commodity prices, coupled with the ongoing global recession, would pose new challenges to the region.
“It means, therefore, that we must try as far as possible, to re-calibrate our views and our effectiveness of aid, by choosing better targets, more efficiency and achieving better results,” he added.
While acknowledging that the Declaration’s five key principles: ownership; alignment; harmonisation; management for results and mutual accountability were critical to enhanced developmental outcomes, Sinckler cautioned that the survey must be viewed as more than an “international exercise of good intentions”.
“Within this context, Barbados, and, by extension the region, must continue to take the lead in determining the goals and priorities for this development. Thus, the launching of the 2011 Monitoring Survey, is therefore indicative of Barbados’ commitment to advancing the process of development cooperation and, by so doing, taking ownership of the respective development programmes,” he said.
The finance minister also pointed out that, while technical cooperation and assistance were important in the growth process, it would not be a substitute for visionary leadership.
“Government has signaled its intention to reconfigure its strategy with respect to technical cooperation by developing a comprehensive technical framework. These efforts must, however, be buttressed by donors aligning their aid modalities to national development…,” Sinckler stressed.
Barbados is among 86 countries participating in the 2011 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration.
