Project description: The project was much larger in scope than was recognized by the client, the consultants, and perhaps DFID itself. The project called for nothing less than the revamping of the entire Ministry of Finance, both structurally and in its method of doing business. Although it appeared initially that the Government of Belize was committed to the project, as its full implications were recognized, it became clear that the Government would be extremely hard pressed to meet its implied and explicit obligations from a resource point of view, both financially and in the availability and provision of trained personnel. Faced with the problem, decisions involving the commitment of resources were delayed time and again. These delays were experienced almost from the very outset. Indeed, the project initially ran without a Government of Belize leader for a full 12 months. As another example, the appoinment of a qualified individual to head the revitalised Belmopan Computing Centre - a central part of the entire plan - did not take place until some 16 months into the project. These are only the most glaring examples of tardiness in providing personnel. Many other posts needed for the successful completion of the project in areas such as the computerization of Accounts Payable and Funds Control were at the time of the final mission in March 2001 still unfilled. On a day-to-day basis, the project suffered from the lack of a continuous presence in Belize of appropriate consultants. In retrospect, a consultant's project officer should have been set up from day 1 and continuously staffed by appropriate consultants, with the Consultants' Project Leader permanently present and other consultants rotating as necessary. Because of the understaffing on the part of GoB, those GoB persons assigned to the project on a part time basis (or "full" time basis, for that matter), found themselves caught up in other day-to-day activities of their various departments. This in turn meant that for those periods when the consultants were not present in Belize, actions points were often not followed up, or took considerably longer than was planned. Project information last updated 21 Mar 2003 |
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Copyright The Global Village Newsline 2007
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