The Office of the National Authorising Officer, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation to Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean, will be conducting a Budget Support Review Meeting, carded for Wednesday, 31st July 2013. Participants at the Review will include the Ambassador Mikael Barfod, Head of the EU Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and staff, the Financial Secretary, Permanent Secretaries, the Director of Audit, Heads of Department of the Ministry of Finance, the Chairman of the Non-State Actors Advisory Panel, along with the staff from the Office of the National Authorising Officer for the European Development Fund.
Discussions at the Budget Support Review will include the following:
- Progress in the Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms, as per the implementation of the PFM Action Plan.
- GSPS implementation.
- Sector performance and policy implementation
- Progress on indicators for the disbursement of the variable tranches
The Budget Support Review is an annual exercise which provides a framework for dialogue on achievements of the programme with main stakeholders. This year’s monitoring mission is required in order to fulfill conditions for the disbursement of the second tranche of 2.4 million Euros expected in November of 2013. The first fixed tranche of 3.2 million Euros was disbursed in February 2013, 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.
The Financing Agreement between the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica and the European Union for the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) General Budget Support Programme was finalized and signed on 29th August, 2012, in the amount of 8.46 million Euros.