Initiative unites mayors from Bolivia and Ecuador

(Quito, February 15, 2007).- Aydee Nava, mayor of Sucre, Bolivia accompanied by Quito Metropolitan District Mayor Paco Moncayo, CAF representative in Ecuador Luis Paláu-Rivas, and Bolivian ambassador Juan Javier Zarate Rivas toured the first phase of the Metropolitan District Road Program on February 12, as part of a project to exchange best local government practices, promoted by the Andean Development Corporation.

Aydee Nava’s visit is the first of several to be made by five mayors from Bolivia and three from Ecuador to successful projects in the two countries in order to exchange best practice experiences. The mayors will visit programs of vital importance for municipal government including infrastructure, basic sanitation, environment, mass transport, and improvement of barrios.

CAF President & CEO Enrique García said that it was imperative to develop the exchange of experiences between local authorities, to offer others the opportunity to learn about and work on conceptual and practical bases that result in viable projects for the benefit of the population. The challenge for the mayors will be to repeat the successes in the economic and social conditions of their own countries.

The project promoted by CAF will benefit the municipalities of Sucre, La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, and Tarija in Bolivia, and Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca in Ecuador. Local authorities will become familiar with the most successful projects in the two countries, visiting them and creating a line of communication with a view to sharing experiences and results in the future.

On February 14, the Sucre mayor traveled to Cuenca where she visited the Barrio for Better Living Project accompanied by her counterpart and technical officers. CAF will continue coordinating the visits of local government officials to cities in Bolivia and Ecuador during the rest of this year.