From left to right: Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, Vice President of Costa Rica; Ana Gabriel Aponte, Vice Minister of Political Affairs and Citizen Dialogue; Christiaan Poortman, Chairperson of CoST Board.
On 27 March, Costa Rica became the fifth country in Central America to join CoST. Committing to strengthening transparency and accountability in public infrastructure, Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, Vice President of Costa Rica, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CoST on behalf of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica’s membership to CoST is a direct result of its participation in the CoST Latin America workshop in 2015, in which six countries in the region came together to share knowledge and develop concrete action plans on infrastructure transparency. CoST Costa Rica has already established a Multi-Stakeholder Group comprising representatives from: Ministry of Public Works and Transport; Ministry of Economic Planning; Ministry of Finance; Chambers’ Federation, Chamber of Construction, Costa Rica Integral, Consumers’ Association and Federated College of Engineers and Architects. Five key Costa Rican infrastructure projects have also been identified for inclusion in CoST disclosure processes. CoST Costa Rica has exciting plans for the national programme going forward, including a dynamic disclosure portal and engagement activities with indigenous and vulnerable populations.
Ana Gabriel Zúñiga Aponte, Vice Minister of Political Affairs and Citizen Dialogue, Ministry of the Presidency, Costa Rica, said: “With this membership, we consolidate the transformation towards an Open Government, one of the pillars of the Solis Rivera Administration. We want all sectors of the population to have spaces to control and influence the use of public resources. We know that infrastructure construction has historically been one of the opaquest and socially conflicting sectors in the communities, so we celebrate this step to improve these projects.”
Christiaan Poortman, Chairperson of CoST Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome Costa Rica into the CoST family. As highlighted by their plans for OECD accession, Costa Rica is committed to incorporating global standards and best practices into its governance framework to improve the lives of all Costa Ricans. CoST and its principles can support this ambition and we look forward to working with our newest member to strengthen transparency and accountability in public infrastructure, delivering better value for all.”
For more information on CoST Costa Rica, check out our video interview with Ana Gabriel Zúñiga Aponte or follow live with #CoSTCR