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Guyana strengthens relationship with UN for 2012-2016 country cycle
The future of the relationship between Guyana and those agencies of the United Nations family that maintain a presence here was yesterday solidified at a simple signing ceremony.
The document being signed at the ceremony was the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the 2012-2016 country cycle. The UNDAF is a programme document between a government and the United Nations Country Team that describes the collective actions and strategies of the United Nations to the achievement of national development.
Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira, pointed out that the current country cycle is coming to a close at the end of 2011. Teixeira who was a member of the team drafting this latest UNDAF, shared the major thematic areas under the document. These areas are inclusive governance, inclusive growth, poverty reduction – human and social development, environmental sustainability and disaster preparation and reduction.
Dr. Suleiman Braimoh, Resident Coordinator, UN Country Team (L) and Dr. Ashni Singh, Minister of Finance, sign the 2012-2016 UNDAF
These, she said, were the broad areas that were used in order to not only design the framework, but also to determine the areas under which the country will seek future funding. The four themes, she noted, were not new to the country but are a continuation of the past cycle. She also stressed that there was a strong consultative approach to the entire design process of the Framework.
Dr Suleiman Braimoh, Resident Coordinator of the UN Country Team, stated that the signing reflects the UN’s desire to always and increasingly support stronger coherence within the system that is directed at supporting government. Aside from the four national priorities presented by Teixeira, Braimoh pointed out that there are also four UNDAF priorities signaling the UN policy of working in direct harmony with the Government of Guyana. He said that the Agency did not intend to propose alternatives but to support the governance being provided by the country itself.
Braimoh explained that UNDAFs and development priorities are at their root all about human beings and the only way to measure their success is the impact that they have on the citizens of a country. He then issued a call for all the parties involved to rededicate themselves to the best ways possible to move forward with the implementation of the UNDAF.
Braimoh also spoke of the importance of better coordination in Government, saying on the matter, “Let us face facts … many things we do, we can do better”. He posited that the key to some of that improvement will come in the guise of better coordination in Government and even on the part of the United Nations as well.
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh pointed to the thematic areas covered by the UNDAF and noted that they were not surprising, since they go to the core of the United Nations mandates. He commended the efforts of the team to capture the priorities in the UNDAF which he said went a long way to creating a mentality of strong ownership since the themes coincide with government policy. He answered Dr. Braimoh’s challenge with an admission that there is a real need for stronger coordination within Government.
Representatives of several United Nations Agencies as well as the Ministry of Finance were also present at the signing yesterday morning.
The UN agencies that maintain a presence here in Guyana are the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), UNAIDS, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) , Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO), United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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