REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA July 7, 2005

New Agreement Will Also Support Capacity-Building In Government Ministries

MALABO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA – The government of Equatorial Guinea announced a new Social Development Fund to establish a transparent, effective means of funding priority social programs. The Fund will initially focus on health, education, women’s affairs, and potable water and garbage collection.
“This is a momentous step forward in continuing and improving the significant investment we have begun to make in developing our nation, said Miguel Abia Biteo Boriko, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea. “Our new Social Development Fund will help ensure that the nation’s resources are spent more effectively while increasing the ability of our government to directly manage development projects in the future.”
“The government of the United States recognizes and applauds the commitment of the government of Equatorial Guinea to this initiative that benefits the people of Equatorial Guinea,” said U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, R. Niels Marquardt. “This is a concrete demonstration of the government’s commitment to using its new-found wealth to improve the lives of its citizens.”
The Social Development Fund will provide an immediate, autonomous means of spending government funds on priority social needs, while building administrative and programmatic capacity within government ministries. Project spending will be subject to regular internal and external review to ensure transparency, accountability and effectiveness. The Fund will also increase communication and coordination among the myriad organizations contributing the Equatorial Guinea’s development – government agencies, multilateral organizations, bilateral programs, private companies and NGOs.
“This Fund is about Equato-Guineans trying to address their issues with their own funds in a uniquely Equato-Guinean way,” said Jim Rader, of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a global non-profit organization that helps companies and governments achieve success in ways that respect ethical values, people, communities and the environment. BSR provides information, tools, training and advisory services to make social responsibility an integral part of business and government operations and strategies. Business for Social Responsibility provided technical assistance to Equatorial Guinea in setting up the Social Development Fund.
Equatorial Guinea has already made substantial investments to increase transparency in its financial practices, modernize its infrastructure, strengthen its public health system, and promote education to build a strong foundation for the future development of the country. Organizations such as the IMF have cautioned that continued capital spending by the government of Equatorial Guinea at current levels could be too much, too fast and potentially have negative monetary consequences. The creation of the Social Development Fund would ensure continued investment in the country and its people while addressing these concerns.
“The measured approach that the Social Development Fund provides will mean real improvements in our people’s quality of life without the debilitating inflation that has hampered the efforts of too many developing nations,” concluded the Prime Minister. “This Fund strikes the right balance for the long-term success of our efforts.”

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT FUND OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA
The purpose of the Social Development Fund is to establish an immediate, autonomous means of funding priority social needs. Institutional capacity-building programs are built into the Fund to ensure that the relevant Equato-Guinean Ministries acquire over the medium and long-term the sufficient administrative and programmatic capacity to directly implement social programs effectively. The Fund, using only Equato-Guinean government revenues, will initially focus on health, education, women’s affairs, and potable water and garbage collection.
The Social Development Fund will help ensure that government spending is:
Transparent. Funds will be allocated to separate accounts and will be subject to annual external, independent audits.
Accountable. Funds will have clearly defined rules, procedures and responsibilities to guarantee accountability.
Effective. Procedures are built into the Fund’s operation to ensure that program goals and activities are well-planned and executed according to internationally-accepted development standards.
The Fund will be managed by a Governing Board, consisting of a Chairman (President of Equatorial Guinea), an Executive Vice President (Equato-Guinean), ministers of the four related government ministries, 3 foreign advisory experts, as well as support staff.
To increase communication and coordination of activities, Program Committees will be developed for each of the main priority social need areas. These Committees will involve relevant Ministry officials, multilateral organizations, bilateral programs, private companies and NGOs.
Individual priority projects will be funded using the following process:

1. An individual project is identified by an individual Ministry and vetted by the Program Committee.

2. Proposals are prepared by the relevant Ministry and Fund staff for review by the Governing Board.

3. Once the Governing Board approves funding for a project, the Minister of Finance will establish a separate project account with designated funds.

4. Once the project account is established, the money will immediately be available for use by the project implementer – subject to approval by the Finance Ministry and relevant subject matter Ministry.

5. Fund projects will be subjected to financial and project reviews quarterly to keep all parties apprised of progress and alerted to potential problems during implementation.

6. Fund projects will also be subjected to annual financial and project audits by an external agency, the results of which will be publicly released.

7. Once a project is completed, a final financial and project report will be prepared by the project implementer.

8/julio/2005
www.embarege-londres.org


Fuente: Presidencia de la República-Oficina del Consejero

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