Belize will modernize its financial management and improve its fiscal sustainability with an US$8 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The loan is part of Belize’s strategy to boost public spending efficiency by investing on digitalization and increasing transparency, two strategic areas of action the IDB is prioritizing to help its member countries accelerate their economic recovery in the post-pandemic era.
The IDB loan will finance the adoption of improved methodologies, processes and information technologies that will allow the country to better manage its debt, promote more efficient allocation of financing resources, as well as enhance both internal and external oversight on government spending. The new processes include the adoption of better internal auditing practices and the creation of a transparency portal for citizens.
The project is expected to improve transparency of the budgeting process and improve the quality of information on spending earmarked for gender and climate-change-related issues. Belize is also upgrading its procurement system to enable the use of reference price, supplier registry, and business intelligence to reduce costs of acquiring goods and services.
The loan will support staff training, the expansion of a datacenter at the country’s Ministry of Finance, and the implementation data analytics, measures that will enable the upgraded public financial management system be faster and more reliable.
The IDB loan has a maturity period of 25 years, a grace period of 5.5 years and an interest rate based on LIBOR.
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The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.