CAF reaffirms strategic alliance with CLAD at International Congress on State and Public Administration Reform

As part of the 27th CLAD International Congress on State and Public Administration Reform, CAF—development bank of Latin America—, through its Corporate Vice President of Strategic Planning Christian Asinelli, reaffirmed its strategic alliance with the Latin American Center for Development Administration (CLAD), with which it shares its 50th anniversary, and stressed the importance of coordination between international organizations.

Asinelli kicked off the presentations at the event held in Sucre, capital of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, with the theme “The success of regional public management: A commitment from CAF.” A total of 24 Ibero-American countries participate in the meeting and constitute one of the main scenarios for reflection and exchange on the institutional practices of public administration.

This Congress addresses issues related to the modernization of state management systems, sovereignty of economic policy, the role of state-owned companies, the insertion of new technologies in public administration, strengthening the fight against corruption, improving the relations of public officials, artificial intelligence, innovation and closer relations with citizens, among others, with the aim of analyzing new technology trends that improve public service and bring citizens closer to state entities.

In this connection, Cristian Asinelli highlighted in his speech the importance that CAF attaches to participation, collaboration and coordination of efforts at all levels of society, in order to ensure more robust states and public administrations.

“We believe that this is the first guarantee to ensure public governance and the principles of transparency, citizen participation and accountability at national and local governments,” said Asinelli, noting that the second guarantee would be “strategic planning, setting priorities and goals, in addition to coordination of efforts,” which strengthen the State, involving the private sector and empowering the civil society of countries.

After his presentation, CAF’s Vice President concluded that the construction of democratic governance is also the construction of a less unequal society, and it is clear that citizens must take an active part in the design, formulation and monitoring of public policies. He also pointed out, among other conclusions, that technology alone is not enough to promote more participatory and transparent governments, and that governments will be central to mobilize funds and make decisions in terms of modern and effective public policies to ensure a true transformation.

“For our part, we will continue to make available sources of financing, our knowledge and the technical assistance necessary to open up new opportunities that benefit governments, households and businesses in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Asinelli.

The CAF delegation also introduced the Director of Institutional Development and Training Nathalie Gerbasi, who presented “the impact of training as a fundamental tool for regional development,” where she referred to building capacities of the public sector in the region, which is a priority issue for CAF, as it always strives to meet the demands and needs of all member countries. “We are sure that the training tool will grow, become stronger and will be realized daily in each of the countries, allowing the expansion of knowledge and skills, and will be considered the fundamental driver to improve, advance and realize the impact on development as the main objective for the region,” she added.

“Being able to generate more and better training tools to optimize the capacities of development agents in Latin American and Caribbean institutions is CAF’s fundamental and priority goal. At CAF, we know the region, we understand our counterparts and their needs, and thus, we can make a difference and enrich the region,” said Gerbasi.

In addition, the Chief Economist-CAF, María Dolores de la Mata, discussed in her speech the “inter-generational mobility in Latin America,” emphasizing the inequalities inherited from factors such as the family economic issues, gender, ethnicities, in access to quality jobs and the possibility of accumulation of assets. Her presentation contains issues that are part of the Economy and Development Report (EDR 2022), which will be officially presented by CAF in early December in Montevideo.

Lastly, CAF’s Chief Executive and Telecommunications and ICT Leader, Eduardo Chomali, also participated in the event with a presentation on the digital transformation of public procurement systems. “The opportunity of how to create public value, not only based on optimization and transparency in the use of public funds, but also on innovation, where collaboration in GovTech ecosystems between the public and private sectors is of greater relevance for innovation in solving problems of a public nature.”

Furthermore, Chomali referred to the opportunities in terms of transparency and integrity where digital transformation—from multiple variables—can contribute to that transformation.

The CLAD event is attended by representatives of Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Spain, Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Paraguay, Portugal, Andorra, Angola and Equatorial Guinea as an observer.