ECNETNews, September 18, 2024: The U.S. Department of State has identified Belize and Suriname as the only Caribbean nations lacking significant progress in fiscal transparency, according to the recently published 2024 Fiscal Transparency Report. These countries fall short of the minimum transparency standards that are evaluated annually.
The comprehensive report reviews governments highlighted in the 2014 Fiscal Transparency Report and examines their compliance with key transparency criteria. Key factors include the public disclosure of national budget documents and adherence to strict guidelines for contracting and licensing in natural resource extraction.
While nations such as The Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago received accolades for their transparency efforts, Belize and Suriname were noted for their deficiencies.
Belize’s Compliance Issues
Belize has taken steps toward improvement by publicly releasing its enacted budget, annual reports, and debt data, ensuring consistency between budgeted and actual figures. However, timely publication of the executive budget proposal remains a concern, and although audit agencies function independently, they have not released reports in a timely manner.
Recommendations for Belize include:
- Timely publication of the executive budget proposal.
- Ensuring prompt public release of audit reports from the supreme audit institution.
Suriname’s Fiscal Gaps
While Suriname has made some budget documents available, including the executive budget proposal and debt obligations, it has not published its end-of-year report. The country also failed to disclose off-budget accounts, which hinders overall fiscal transparency. Furthermore, Suriname continues to categorize loans as revenue and has not adhered to its own contractual procedures in the mining sector.
Key recommendations for Suriname include:
- Publishing the end-of-year report in a timely manner.
- Auditing or eliminating off-budget accounts.
- Complying with natural resource extraction legislation and disclosing contract information publicly.
Both Belize and Suriname must address these critical issues to adhere to international standards and enhance their fiscal transparency.
