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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks by Carl Leonard,
Oral Statement of the United States Delegation to the
Acting Assistant Administrator
Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean
Consultative Group on the Reconstruction and
Transformation of Nicaragua
Inter-American Development Bank
Washington, D.C.
May 23-24, 2000
Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the U.S. delegation, I want to express our great appreciation for the opportunity to comment on the progress to date and remaining challenges to Nicaragua's Reconstruction and Transformation program.
We recognize the important achievements of the Government of Nicaragua, and more so, we stand in admiration of all those Nicaraguans who have shown such resolute spirit in rebuilding new lives after the staggering destruction brought by Hurricane Mitch.
Today, the United States reconfirms its commitment to the long-term recovery of Nicaragua. Through our direct bilateral assistance program; our support for debt relief and our continuing efforts to facilitate expanded trade, we will continue to assist Nicaragua as it endeavors to consolidate democracy and achieve higher levels of economic growth.
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, the U.S. pledged $94.1 million in new resources to support a reconstruction program that is now well underway. Of that pledge, $93 million or 98 percent has been committed and we expect to expend $37 million or 40 percent by the end of our fiscal year. In the northern and northwestern areas of the country and along the Rio Coco where Mitch caused widespread flooding and landslides, we expect our projects to directly assist approximately 260,000 people. We are channeling an estimated $52 million through local and international NGOs to help restore economic livelihood to farmers, micro-entrepreneurs and rural laborers in Mitch-affected areas. The balance of our assistance is being spent in the areas of health, disaster mitigation, reconstruction of schools and accountability activities, with the help of over a dozen U.S. Government agencies.
The U.S. believes that reducing Nicaragua's debt burden is a crucial step toward ensuring transformation and sustainable reconstruction. Last August, we informally agreed that Nicaragua should qualify for enhanced HIPC debt relief but noted that first Nicaragua needed to make progress in the certain key areas, including developing a poverty reduction strategy paper. We are very encouraged by the presentations this morning, which indicated the progress being made in developing that strategy in a participatory manner.
It is also critical that Nicaragua follow a development strategy that allows sustained economic growth, increased exports, and reduced dependency on donor support. The U.S. is committed to increasing access to U.S. markets for Nicaragua and the rest of the Caribbean basin countries. We are pleased to report that on May 18, President Clinton signed trade enhancement legislation which has the potential to generate thousands of new jobs in the region, thereby fulfilling another commitment to sustainable recovery.
We recognize and admire the ambitious set of challenges Nicaragua set for itself in Stockholm. This Consultative Group meeting has been very helpful in continuing this constructive dialog among civil society, the international community and Nicaraguan authorities.
It is clear that the international community intends to remain engaged, but it is also clear from the comments around the table, that the full measure of the international community's support for Nicaragua will ultimately hinge on concrete steps taken by the Government of Nicaragua.
We believe that the statement of the Follow-up Group is a useful and balanced evaluation of progress measured against the Stockholm principles.
Our written statement, which will be distributed, comments on this process with the Stockholm Declaration as a reference point, and on U.S. cooperation with Nicaragua. However, I want to highlight areas of particular importance to us as we go forward:
- Making Nicaragua's poor and marginalized communities less vulnerable to future disasters.
- Enabling Nicaragua's democratic institutions, particularly the Controller General's Office, the Supreme Electoral Council and the Supreme Court, to carry out their mandates with integrity, efficiency and without political interference.
- Strengthening decentralization to bring the decision-making process closer to the people most affected by these decisions.
- Continuing efforts to resolve outstanding property issues.
- And finally, ensuring as we move into the electoral period, that the "rules of the game" are applied in a way that promotes free expression and pluralism.
These challenges are great. As friends of Nicaragua, we are committed to assisting Nicaragua achieve these objectives and build a new and more prosperous Nicaragua for all of its citizens.
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 12, 2001 |
