Mayors of Bolivia and Ecuador meet on initiative of CAF

(Quito, July 30, 2007).- A group of Bolivian mayors, formed by Juan del Granado of La Paz, Oscar Montés of Tarija, and Gonzalo Terceros of Cochabamba will visit some of the works being executed by the mayors of Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. The visit, from July 3 to August 2, is part of a project to exchange experiences and best practices in local government, organized by CAF.

Paco Moncayo, mayor of the Quito Metropolitan District, accompanied by EMOP manager Iván Alvarado, will guide the Bolivian mayors, CAF representative in Ecuador Luis Paláu–Rivas, and Bolivian ambassador Juan Javier Zarate Rivas, on a tour of the Road Program of the Quito Metropolitan District. The group will visit barrios of the city which have sewage systems, paving and recreation facilities.

The project promotes an exchange of experiences between local government officials based on the fact that knowledge of methodologies and improvement of practices has been shown to minimize the cost of new projects. The mayors will visit projects that give priority to areas of vital importance for municipal government such as infrastructure, basic sanitation, environment, mass transport, barrio improvement, among others.

CAF president & CEO Enrique García said it was imperative to promote exchanges of experience between authorities, and to offer others the opportunity to learn about and work on conceptual and practical bases which lead to the creation of viable projects designed to benefit the population. After the visit, the mayors will face the challenge of repeating the successes in the economic and social situation in their country.

The CAF project will benefit the municipalities of Sucre, La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Tarija in Bolivia, and Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca in Ecuador. The municipal leaders will visit the most successful projects in both countries and create lines of communication to share experiences and results in the future.

On August 1, the mayors will visit Guayaquil and a large part of the tourist area in company with city technical officers and meet with Mayor Jaime Nebot. Lastly, on August 2 they will travel to Cuenca to see the progress made by the Barrio for Better Living Project and meet with mayor Marcelo Cabrera.