The Financing Agreement between the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the European Union was finalized and signed on the August 29th, 2012, the result of an ongoing collaborative process which began in 2009.
The overall objective of this multi-sectoral programme is to support the implementation of Dominica’s Growth and Social Protection Strategy, the GSPS, as the main tool to foster economic development and poverty reduction in the country.
The specific objectives aim at supporting the Government of Dominica to attain growth in the economy, which will generate jobs and reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of Dominicans. To achieve these goals, the programme will specifically support, in the area of economic development, the implementation of key sectoral strategies in 'Tourism' and 'Renewable (Geothermal) Energy' where Dominica has a comparative advantage. In the area of poverty reduction and social development, the programme will support improvement in the targeting and delivery of services in the areas of 'Neonatal and Perinatal Health' and 'Water and Sanitation'.
The key results anticipated from the programme are:
- Strengthening of the macroeconomic environment through policy dialogue and financial support;
- Improvement of the Public Finance Management (PFM) system through strengthening of Government’s accountability mechanism, by enactment and implementation of the Procurement Law and strengthening of the external and internal audit functions;
- Implementation of the GSPS, particularly supporting sectoral strategies identified and financially supported by the Public Sector Investment Programme, the PSIP. Specifically, the proposed operation will support
- Facilitation of training and infrastructural development to foster growth in tourism revenues;
- Strengthening of the institutional framework and human resource capacities in the geothermal sector;
- Fostering of the strategy for the reduction of Infant Mortality
- Enhancement of surveillance, research, and diagnostic capabilities of the health system;
- Improvement of access and reliability of potable water, particularly during disruption periods; and
- Reduction in the frequency of water outages.
In order to achieve these goals, the total amount allocated for this programme is €8,460,000. A maximum of €8,000,000 will be allocated via General Budget Support and disbursed in three tranches. The complementary support of €460,000 consists of Technical Assistance in the areas of Health and to support the implementation of the Public Finance Management Action Plan, as well as visibility for the European Union, Monitoring and Evaluation.
The operational duration of this programme will be three years from the signature of the Financing Agreement, that is, from August 2012 to August 2015. The first fixed tranche of €3,200,000 is expected in the last quarter of 2012, and the second and third variable tranches, of €2,400,000 each, are expected in the last quarters of 2013 and 2014, respectively. The first tranche will be disbursed upon fulfillment of the general conditions of satisfactory progress in the implementation of the GSPS and the Public Finance Management Action Plan, as well as maintenance of stability-oriented macro-economic policy. In addition to these conditions, the second and third tranches will be disbursed upon fulfillment of specific conditions in the areas of tourism, energy, social infrastructure (water) and health.
This programme reinforces the collaborative partnership between the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the European Union. It is envisaged that the 10th EDF General Budget Support Programme will contribute to the overall goals of the GSPS – economic growth and poverty reduction and make a meaningful impact on the quality of lives of Dominicans.