6
which gives legal effect to electronic documents, records, signatures and transactions. There is
also new Procurement Legislation on the horizon.
22.
In 2012 a new governance structure for investment policy making and facilitation was
approved. Under the new arrangement, the Economic Development Board (EDB) is responsible
for advising Government on new areas of business development for the non-energy sector, the
investment policy and the development of new economic spaces including the five (5) Growth
Poles). In terms of the Growth Poles, a cluster mapping project is currently being executed in the
South Western Peninsula. On completion it is expected that the project will identify the growth
drivers, the levels of industrial concentration, the skills requirements and profile of the area. The
information will serve as the basis for creating a framework for public and private sector
investment.
23.
In terms of the mobilisation of private investment resources through Public Private
Partnerships (PPP), as a first step, project execution teams have been established for health and
education. It is expected that PPPs will play a key role in the delivery of key economic and social
infrastructure and infrastructure-related services and will address deficiencies in critical sectors.
The PPP Project is supported by a Grant from the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and is expected to improve the technical, managerial
and institutional capacity to design and manage PPPs within key Government Ministries and
Agencies.
24.
Reform of the public investment management system has commenced under the IDB-
financed Public Capital Expenditure Management (PCEM) Loan. A Consultancy was engaged to
advise on improving the preparation and management of the Public Sector Investment
Programme (PSIP). The Final Report is being reviewed by the Ministry of Planning and
Sustainable Development and among the recommendations were the adoption of a Medium Term
Macroeconomic Framework (MTMF) and the development of a Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF), in accordance with international best practice to improve the alignment
between resource allocation and Government’s strategic policy goals.
