A US$13.7 million technical assistance package will become available through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Member States will be assisted in increasing public sector savings, containing public debt within manageable limits, and increasing the level of economic and social infrastructure development in their respective societies.
CARICOM Chairman, Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, on 8 May, 2001, signed on to the international donor assistance facility, paving the way for the start-up of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), the project which will focus on strengthening the financial sector within CARICOM Member States.
The official signing ceremony took place at the Georgetown-based headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat. CARICOM Secretary-General Mr. Edwin Carrington, Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Carla Barnett, and Mr. Richard Olver, Resident Representative in Guyana for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), attended the ceremony.
CARTAC, which will be in place for three years in the first instance, will be financed largely through donor resources. Operations of the project will be coordinated through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with annual counterpart contribution from participating countries to the tune of US$200,000 for the life of the project. The CARTAC Centre will be located in Barbados.
Tax administration and budget management in Member States are among the key areas the project will be addressing to increase public sector savings and contain public debt within manageable limits. Training and advisory assistance are also included in the package of assistance. Areas which will be covered will include fiscal, monetary, financial, and related statistical needs.
The technical assistance package will be made available to government departments, including Ministries of Finance; central banks; customs and tax authorities; and central statistical organisations. The private sector across the Region will also benefit from the technical assistance project.
