Source - Latin America and the Caribbean
Haiti: report indicts US government and IDB for violations of the rights to clean water and health
23 Jul 08
In 1998, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) awarded USD 54 million (EUR 34 million) in loans to the Haitian government to improve the country’s public-water system. However, according to a new report from Partners In Health and three other groups the IDB failed to distribute these loans.
Brazil: federal police investigates alleged PAC fraud
22 Jul 08
TCU, Brazil's Supreme Audit Institution, found evidence of fraud in the execution of works in 29 municipalities of the state Minais Gerais. A police investigation hit upon a criminal scheme to divert funds intended for the construction of low-income housing and sewage treatment plants.
Paraguay: President-elect to prioritize water, infrastructure works
29 May 08
President-elect Fernando Lugo is holding meetings with a number of specialists to prioritize infrastructure and water works. One of the first steps will be to declare the country’s health system in a state of emergency. This will help obtain funding for water and sanitation works, and will also speed up the execution of works.
Peru: President García passes bill to create Environment Ministry
29 May 08
Peruvian President Alan García has passed a bill to create the Environment Ministry, which will be headed by two deputy ministers. Although the ministry’s responsibilities will include monitoring of industrial wastewater emissions and industrial water use, it will not have authority over water management.
Brazil: environment minister to propose 10-year basic sanitation plan
28 May 08
Brazil’s new environment minister Carlos Minc proposes a 10-year plan to alleviate the lack of basic sanitation in the country, and to raise the proportion of the population with access to sewage service from the current 35% to 75% .
Peru: IDB to provide EUR 220 million for water projects, Japan confirms EUR 139 million loan
22 Apr 08
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will lend more than US$ 350 million (EUR 221 million) to Peru over the next five years for the development of sanitation and water projects, benefiting over 100,000 families.
El Salvador: sanitation is a national priority in 2008
22 Apr 08
El Salvador’s government is making sanitation a national priority and increasing coverage throughout the country, says national aqueduct and sewerage authority Anda sanitation department director Rubén Alemán. The country committed itself to improve sanitation when it signed the Cali declaration at the 2007 Latinosan conference.
Brazil: over EUR 4 billion/year needed for basic water and sanitation, survey claims
21 Apr 08
A new survey says Brazil needs to invest 11 billion reais (EUR 4.2 billion) in basic water and sanitation services every year for 20 years.
Latin America: governments sign multilateral water cooperation agreement
20 Mar 08
Government representatives from Chile, Spain, Peru and Uruguay signed an international technical cooperation agreement on water resources and the expansion of drinking water and sanitation services
Colombia: Agua Transparente programme launched and investment in five water plans
20 Mar 08
President Álvaro Uribe has launched the Agua Transparente [transparent water] programme, which aims to control the funding used in water projects and the implementation of initiatives, as well as supervising tenders related to water projects, in an effort to avoid corruption.
