Guatemala City, by Brenda Larios -AGN- With the commitment to meet the highest international standards in public management and as part of the tax transparency process, a mission of the International Monetary Fund -IMF- recently evaluated public investment management in Guatemala.
This evaluation is known as PIMA -Public Investment Management Assessment-, which analyzes infrastructure governance management procedures at all levels of the economic development process.
These meetings began in late May of this year and were conducted virtually. By the first week of June, the face-to-face dialogues took place at the Ministry of Public Finances facilities -Minfin-.
The Evaluation
The main pillars examined in this evaluation include:
- Planning sustainable investments throughout the public sector.
- The allocation of investments to the proper sectors
- Appropriate projects
- Implementation of investment projects to deliver productive and long-lasting public goods and services.
Each requirement is evaluated for its institutional strength and effectiveness, for the degree to which the intended purpose is achieved in practice, and if there is a definite helpful impact.
The mission of the International Financial Institution also carried out an evaluation called C-PIMA -Climate Change PIMA-.
This evaluation assesses investment considering climate change adaptation, including adaptation and mitigation issues contained in public sector infrastructure projects.
Interinstitutional Support
Different authorities and officials from both the treasury department and the institutions involved in public investment attended this meeting, such as:
- Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency -Segeplan-
- Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources -Marn-
- Communications, Infrastructure, and Housing
- Public Health and Social Assistance
- General Comptrollership of Accounts
- National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction -Conred-
Public companies like the National Electrification Institute and Port companies also participated in the project.
Progress
On June 19, the final meeting of the mission was held with the authorities of the ministries in charge of this evaluation, such as the Ministry of Public Finances, Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency, and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The meeting underscored the information analyzed and the conversations with different officials, highlighting several achievements in managing investment in the mentioned pillars.
The mission also observed compliance with international standards, which facilitates achieving better results in the medium term regarding investment and adaptation to climate change.
Therefore, the mission said the country faces significant challenges in the public investment management sector to improve public capital. Also, to expand the capacity of Guatemala’s economic potential, which relies, to a large extent, on improving the quality of public investment.
