EU rejects reports of lax monitoring of locally-funded projects

By Danielle Campbelle-Lowe

Managing Director of the European Union in the Americas, Christian Leffler has dismissed assumptions that the organisation has failed to closely monitor the inflow of funds to developmental projects in Guyana.
Leffler was responding to questions posed by a Guyanese media operative during a video conferencing from his Brussels, Belgium headquarters. Asked whether funding from the European Union (EU) to the Guyana government had literally disappeared into the local treasury, Leffler said this could not have been further from the truth.
He disclosed that the EU has been frequently criticised for its harsh and inflexible approach in project monitoring and assured the media that the organisation is not lax in its interest to carefully scrutinise the outcome of financial disbursements. “We seek to ensure that funding from the EU and contributing to projects on national and regional levels is used to the best possible effect and with due regard to financial efficiency in the proper legal and administrative framework,” Leffler mentioned.
He pointed out that this is done principally and in cooperation with national authorities with the belief that they are the people best placed to ensure good financial management of public funds properly used to bring benefits to citizens.
Leffler remarked that the EU has very specific measures from a court of auditors under which finances are disbursed to particular countries. This is done using two basic methods through contracts for the award of equipment and services and support to the annual national budget.
“When the European Union contribution goes into the national treasury, it wouldn’t be fair to say that it disappears into the general funds of the government and is no longer traceable. We believe that this is an efficient way to contribute to the development of proper financial management and accountability structures at the national level,” the EU manager of the Americas said.
Clear purpose
He added that the purpose of the funding is never lost sight of, since there is always a very clear contract developed with input from both sides to which all parties must stringently adhere. Leffler explained that the objectives to be pursued and the outcome expected at the end of the period specified are all articulated in such contracts.
However, Leffler stressed that the relationship between the EU and Caribbean/Latin American states (EU-LAC) goes far beyond economics and the excellent trade relations.
“Our relations are way beyond a central cluster of economic issues. EU-LAC has close ties to Europe in a strong relationship based on shared history, common languages, one culture and a common outlook on what we want our societies to look like,” Leffler detailed.