Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh yesterday said that the focus must be on execution as the government and the World Bank held an all-day review of the multilateral agency’s projects here.
According to a release from the Ministry of Finance, Singh said “what I would ask is that the focus be on execution”. He added that, “We have mobilized resources and we have earmarked them for project interventions but the big issue now is delivery and I want us to use this day to make sure that we focus on implementation and execution, moving as quickly as possible to procurement, design, delivery and implementation’.
The release said that Singh pointed out that he had made the call to the World Bank to use the International Development Association (IDA) – the concessionary lending arm of the World Bank Group to leverage allocations for the innovative projects being reviewed such as the Caribbean Efficient and Green Energy Buildings, Coastal Adaptation and Resilience, Integrated Transport Corridors and One Health projects.
The portfolio review brought together senior government officials, project implementation units (PIUs), and World Bank representatives to evaluate progress, address bottlenecks, and agree on actions to accelerate project outcomes across Guyana.
During the review process at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Singh was joined by senior officials of his Ministry including Director of Projects Bernard Lord, and Head of Multilateral Financial Institutions Donald DeClou.
The World Bank team was led by Acting World Bank Group Country Manager for Guyana and Suriname Juan Carlos Alvarez.
The release said that Alvarez noted that the review’s main objective is delivery and effective implementation. He emphasized that the projects are not World Bank projects but are Government projects financed by the international financial institution.
“It is in both of our interests to ensure that they are implemented effectively, and it is important that we use this opportunity to identify any potential bottlenecks and find solutions so that the persons for which the projects are intended will get the benefit of the development,” Alvarez stated.
The review involved evaluating project outputs, identifying implementation challenges, documenting lessons learned, and signing off on a matrix of agreed actions to scale up delivery across all sectors.
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