Isaura Daniel*
São Paulo – The Brazilian Savings Bank (Caixa Econômica Federal), a financial institution that belongs to the Brazilian government, is going to sign, up to the end of the year, an agreement to transfer its experience in the habitation sector to Morocco. According to the foreign relations manager at the bank, Luiz Felippe Pinheiro Júnior, Morocco intends to increase its production of housing units for low-income families and wants to know how Caixa operates in the area. The bank operates as an agent for public policies for the Brazilian federal government and is responsible for the greatest part of the low income habitation financing in the country.
Talks with the Moroccans began in 2004, when bank representatives participated in a Brazilian government delegation to the Arab country. The delegation also included the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the National Water Agency. The Moroccan organizations negotiating the agreement with Caixa are the Ministry of Habitation and Urbanism and the Moroccan Savings and Management bank, which is connected to the government of the Arab country, and operates in more or less the same method as Caixa. Last year, a delegation from Morocco also travelled to Brazil to learn about some of the habitation projects.
According to Pinheiro, during the trip the Moroccans also became interested in the national construction methodology that makes low-income housing cheaper. The technology, developed by professor Francisco Casanova, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) consists on the use of the clay in the ground, economizing on cement, when building the foundations of the houses. This mixture may also be used in the production of bricks. According to the manager, the bank is financing the construction of 1,300 houses using this system in the northern Brazilian state of Rondônia. Caixa will be responsible for the transfer of this technology to Morocco.
The financial institution sent to its Arab partners a text explaining the project and is awaiting confirmation to proceed with the establishment of the partnership. It should be signed by authorities from Brazil and Morocco up to the end of the year. According to Pinheiro, after the agreement is closed, a delegation from Morocco should come to Brazil for a technical seminar. Then, already having greater knowledge of the Moroccan reality and needs, a delegation from Caixa should travel to the Arab country to elaborate a plan for joint technology transfer.
Pinheiro stated that cooperation with Morocco is part of the Brazilian government strategy for technical cooperation with the developing countries. Apart from the Arab country, Caixa also has agreements with Namibia and São Tome & Principe. A partnership with the Dominican Republic is also being developed. Cooperation programs include the transfer of experience in urban development, operation of income transfer programs, micro credit operations and banking technology.
The latter area includes the establishment of bank correspondents, a program through which Caixa offers its services at points of retail and services, coming closer to low-income families. In the Dominican Republic, for example, Caixa is transferring its knowledge in operation of income transfer projects, like Bolsa Família, through which the Brazilian government transfers funds to poor families. Caixa also cooperates with organizations in European countries, in this case learning about their experiences in project management. Caixa has been operating in international cooperation for around two years and established a department focussing on the area in January this year.
*Translated by Mark Ament
