Public finance, support to the SME and foreign trade since 1993.

 

A. Tax controller in the communal income services of the Saint-Gilles municipality in Brussels

 

1. Dates: November 2002 – May 2003

2. Location: Brussels, Belgium

3. Organisation and parties involved: Income department (falling under the ministry of Finance) of the Saint-Gilles commune (one of the nineteen municipalities that make up Brussels) managed by a municipality income officer;

4. Position: tax controller (« fiscal administration controller ») :

5. Responsibilities: in charge of the recovery of various unpaid fiscal debts not paid within the official deadlines as indicated by the law as to taxes on real estate, personal income and the registration of motor vehicles.

6. Major activities and achievements: according to what stage the recovery procedures of fiscal claims the following up and updating of fiscal dossiers, in collaboration with banking institutions or bailiffs when required ; assist tax payers in the office’s premises, especially those facing possible prosecution.

7. Acquired skills and experience:

The actual situation of some people facing adversity when involved by recovery procedures of fiscal claims in a municipality within Brussels where many of them are from the lower walks of life or society and often of recent immigration flows.

In-depth knowledge of the details of regulations and administrative procedures involved when a communal income officer and his/her department is tasked with implementing them while making sure deadlines and the possibility of recourse are abided by and the constraints faced.

 

B. Experience with a major international consultancy (Public finance component – cfr EPCM folder for the all other responsibilities and achievements

 

1. Dates: September 1999 to June 2002

2. Location: Brussels, Belgium (with many a assignment to Romania and Tunisia for EU funded programmes)

3. Organisation/ company: MWH Inc. (Montgomery Watson Harza), Belgian sister company of MWH Inc. (USA & UK).

International engineering firm specialised in contracting, turnkey projects and technical assistance in various areas, world leader with respect to water and environmental issues (waste-water treatment, sewers, hydro-power, industrial and household waste management) Numbers 5,500 staff and set-ups across the world (Americas, Europe, Africa, Near-, Middle and Far-east, as well as Oceania). Turnover for 2001 fiscal year: € 850 million.

4. Position: Business Manager, seconded to the managing director of the EPC&M (Engineering, Procurement, Construction & Management) department.

5. Responsibilities:

As project manager, I would, amongst other activities, be involved in identifying, responding and following up international tenders issued by States or multilateral organisations which included contracting eventually.

 

6. Major activities and achievements - main projects (refer to the « EPCM » folder on the main web page, as well as to the « Monitoring & evaluation » and « Donors and international financial institutions » folders) with most notably:

Evaluation of a telecommunication project (€25 million) in Tanzania financed by Belgium through a State-to-State loan (Sept.-Dec. 2000):

Following a request submitted by Siemens Inc. to secure the rescheduling of Tanzania’s telecommunications system rehabilitation project initiated since 1991, the Finexpo committee (Foreign affairs and Treasury department) tasked us to provide expertise for its evaluation. An expert was sent on location and though a « Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System », included his technical conclusions in a report that was presented to the director general of the Belgian foreign trade office in January 2001;

 

7. Acquired skills and experience:

This professional experience with MWH, although initially focused on waste-water and environmental management, would regularly overflow on to other areas (in correlation with Pardevo’s practice and expertise) such as technical assistance or projects / programmes supported by the external and/ or development aid in fields as essential as with respect to public finance and export (see also other above-mentioned headlines):

- Procurement and supply control;

- Cost control, demands and constraints of wide range projects (€40 to 50 million)

It also enabled me to widen my experience through permanent contacts with both local authorities and companies and numerous countries: Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the Near East, in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

- A project requiring a thorough knowledge in the Belgian ministry of finance procedures as to support through State-to-State loans.

 

C. Advisor to the minister-president of Belgium’s Walloon region government as to implementing a support for exporting SME programme

 

1. Dates: June 1993 – May 1995

2. Location: Belgium, based in Namur, capital of the Walloon region

3. Organisation and parties involved: Government and parliament of the Walloon region (entrusted in conducting its own economic development and foreign trade policies).

4. Position: Independent consultant, expert in foreign trade.

5. Responsibilities:

- In charge managing the « follow export » unit established in 1993 with the support of the Walloon enterprises union (UWE) and comprising two foreign trade experts;

- In charge of the execution of a Special programme in support to foreign trade geared towards providing advice and incentives to exporting SME (budget € 6.2 million) ;

- Monitoring and supervision (on behalf of the minister-president) of the programmes managed by AWEX (Walloon export agency), notably as to the commercial missions it organises and her network of commercial attachés and lobby men;

- Reporting directly to the minister-president’s chief of staff (2 during those 18 months).

 

6. Major activities and achievements:

- Coordination of initiatives between the unit, the minister-president’s staff and the UWE’ (staff and members as well as liaising with other ministerial departments, offices and staffs;

- Drafting of numerous briefs and recommendations to the minister’s and his chief of staff’s attention in the field of foreign trade and international affairs;

- Represent the minister-president at AWEX and at several institutions tasked with promoting foreign trade at regional or national/federal level such as the OBCE (Organiser of commercial missions with the king’s brother), the Ducroire (national export insurance), Copromex (export incentives), the Foreign trade fund etc.;

- Prepare the minister’s economic missions abroad and his public interventions (presentations, addresses…) ;

- As a member of many a committee awarding accreditation to specialised consultants;

- Establishment of a collaboration framework between the AWEX and UNIDO as well as similar conventions at bilateral and multilateral levels (ABD, AsDB, ERDB, IBRD, EC);

- Organisation of a conference in Namur with Mr Miklos Nemeth, former Hungarian prime minister, ERDB’s vice president and its director for Belgium, Mr Bernard Snoy ;

 

7. Acquired skills and experience:

- This experience in a minister’s office and with the AWEX enabled me to deepen my knowledge of:

- the constraints that SME encounter when willing to export and tackle new markets ;

- the different tools and instruments in the field of foreign trade promotion (OBCE, Copromex, Ducroire, Foreign trade fund, credit facilities abroad, collaboration between SME and larger companies or multinationals etc.) ;

- the programmes of various international financial institutions (development banks, the EC’s Phare, Tacis, ECIP…) in support to companies ;

- the Belgian political world and the country’s national and regional institutions ;

- …as well as establishing numerous relationships with the corporate world in Belgium, in Wallonia particularly.