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UN Offers Support to Bolivia for Public Investment and Financing
🇧🇴 Bolivia /Economy & Trade

UN Offers Support to Bolivia for Public Investment and Financing

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) offers support to Bolivia to optimize public investment and attract financing.
  • UNOPS aims to strengthen the relationship with the Bolivian government and improve efficient budget execution amid a resource crisis.
  • The organization will help prepare projects for multilateral financing and promote transparency to avoid corruption and unlock blocked initiatives.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is offering its support to Bolivia to enhance the efficiency of public investment and attract crucial financing. Nicholas Gardner, director of UNOPS for the Andean region, visited Bolivia to "consolidate" the organization's relationship with President Rodrigo Paz's government and assist in optimizing the execution of the public budget during the current resource crisis.

Gardner highlighted the "many needs" and "gaps" observed across various ministries, emphasizing the "lack" of resources for investment as a significant challenge. UNOPS aims to contribute to more efficient public investment management, bolster transparency, and leverage its "regional and international" expertise for projects funded by multilateral organizations. The agency will assist in preparing projects to secure financing, focusing on prioritizing initiatives with broader, intersectoral impacts.

How to use the resources that are in the public budget, which is never enough in any country, with better efficiency.

— Nicholas GardnerDirector of UNOPS for the Andean region, describing the organization's support for Bolivia.

UNOPS's role involves helping governments tackle implementation challenges for public works projects. Gardner stated, "It is what we do, it is what we can offer here in Bolivia too. How to use the resources that are in the public budget, which is never enough in any country, with better efficiency." A key focus is preventing corruption in procurement by implementing efficient, internationally standardized, and transparent processes, which can lead to significant savings.

The organization also offers support to "unblock projects," a common issue in the region stemming from decision-making paralysis due to fear of investigations or audits. Gardner cited UNOPS's work in Peru, collaborating with the Comptroller General to harmonize control and monitoring of public fund execution without halting projects. This long-term effort involves improving processes, building capacity, and fostering trust in the system to demonstrate transparency and mitigate the fear of scrutiny.

It is what we do, it is what we can offer here in Bolivia too.

— Nicholas GardnerDirector of UNOPS for the Andean region, emphasizing UNOPS's role in assisting governments.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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