Lima, June 26, 2014—The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the Government of Canada presented for the fourth year the national ranking of municipal good governance, an index that seeks to promote transparency in how the royalties from extractive industries are invested. The district government of Torata (Moquegua), provincial government of Ilo (Moquegua), and the district government of El Alto (Piura) were recognized for their outstanding performance.
The municipal good governance ranking is elaborated by the Improving Municipal Investment (MIM Peru) project, an initiative of the IFC supported by the Government of Canada, which seeks to provide communities with information on how authorities are using public resources. This serves to inform local officials about public perception of their performance, and to strengthen civil society institutions so that they can systematically monitor resources from mining royalties.
“The Government of Canada seeks to support useful models that help Peru to improve efficiency and increase transparency in the management of resources from mining royalties. This index enhances other initiatives promoted and supported by Canada, such as the Partnership for Transparency and Dialogue and the EITI in Peru,” said Patricia Fortier, Canada’s Ambassador to Peru.
The publication of the index seeks to foster healthy competition between the municipalities that are part of the project, motivating them to improve their performance with specific indicators. The index is compiled with information on the municipalities’ performance in two areas: capacity for responding to the population’s needs, and their accountability for public investment of mining royalties.
After four years of publishing this index, 22 of the 31 municipalities evaluated have improved their performance, which means that the index encouraged authorities to make improvements in the areas under evaluation. The improvements made by municipalities that climbed in the ranking between 2013 and 2014 include an increase in the percentage earmarked for the execution of projects with participatory budgets, and improved responses by authorities to questions from citizens that were channeled through the regional MIM programs.
“This index gives both local authorities and the public a basis for dialogue on how resources are used,” said Fernando Ruiz-Mier, IFC’s Regional Coordinator for Strategic Community Investment Projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. “This project illustrates the importance of dialogue between communities and local governments to spur development,” he added.
Participating in the event were the Ombudsman, Dr. Eduardo Vega, and several representatives of the oversight committees, civil society, corporations, and mayors of the municipalities honored. There were two panels on the role of civil society in promoting municipal good governance and the challenges and opportunities involved in promoting transparency in public investment.
About MIM Peru
MIM Peru is an initiative that brings together 47 civil society institutions to promote municipal good governance in 31 municipalities and eight regions that receive substantial royalty income and want to use it to improve the quality of life of the population: Ancash, Cajamarca, Cusco, La Libertad, Moquegua, Piura, Puno, and Tacna. The initiative also promotes informed dialogue among citizens and local authorities to contribute to improving the impact of public investment on local development.
About the Embassy of Canada
Peru is a country of focus for Canada's development cooperation, with a bilateral program budget for 2013-2014 up to $25 million. The Peru Program aims to reduce poverty in a more democratic and inclusive Peru. Under Sustainable Economic Growth, Canada's support to development programming contributes to the sustainable development of Peru's natural resources sector by improving the investment climate, by strengthening mechanisms to prevent conflicts. Canada is also supporting small businesses and vocational skills training programs to contribute to economic diversification and inclusive economic growth in extractive regions. Under Children and Youth, the Program is helping increase the quality of basic education. Canada engages with the private sector across its programming. In November 2013, the Canadian Embassy to Peru and Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru launched a Partnership to Support Transparency in the Extractives Sector. For more information, visit
www.peru.gc.ca
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments reached an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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