The Independent Review and Evaluation System of the Inter-American Development Bank Needs Support

The Inter-American Development Bank was established by international agreement in 1959 to promote the economic development of Latin American member countries. In 1976, the Bank made loans and provided technical assistance of more than $1.5 billion to 20 Latin American countries. The United States has contributed 58 percent of all members' contributions to its financial support. The Secretary of the Treasury has primary responsibility for U.S. participation in the Bank. As a result of a 1967 amendment to the Inter-American Development Bank Act, the Group of Controllers was established to perform independent and comprehensive reviews of Bank operations.

The effectiveness of the Group of Controllers has improved steadily since its creation. Its reports have contained many recommendations for improving Bank operations, and most of its recommendations have been adopted and implemented. The Board of Executive Directors has established a working group to consider reorganizing the Group in 1979. Some of the suggestions would adversely affect the present evaluation system by reducing the Group's independence. Protecting the Group's independence and strengthening its role is in the best interest of the United States and other members of the Bank. Further improvements in the Bank's operations could be made if the Group placed greater emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of individual loans. Recently, the Group redirected efforts in this direction. There have been some problems in reports because of language and style.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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