The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank has approved the provision of a US$10 million loan to the Government of Grenada, to support reforms to stabilize the economy and pave the way for sustainable growth.
This is the second of three Policy-Based Loans (PBLs) that have been proposed for Grenada to support that Government’s 36 month “Home grown” adjustment programme to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, improve competitiveness and promote sustainable growth. The programme is also supported by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Dr Justine Ram, Director of Economics at CDB, said “This PBL will complement reforms that had started with the disbursement of the first loan in 2014, and is aimed at supporting additional efforts by the Government of Grenada to enhance competitiveness, promote more diverse growth and advance its social development agenda, as Grenada continues to pursue strong, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The Government has already demonstrated a strong commitment to the programme of reform, and significant reforms have already been undertaken during the first half of the programme.”
The first PBL, which was approved in 2014, was geared towards supporting reforms in public sector management and the enhancement of sustainable private sector-led growth and development. The PBLs are at the core of CDB’s broader Country Strategy for Grenada, which was approved by the CDB Board of Directors in May 2014. The Bank’s strategy places emphasis on assisting the Government of Grenada in achieving fiscal stability; improving quality/access to education and training; promoting social development and enhancing sustainable development.
Timothy N J Antoine, Permanent Secretary, Finance, Grenada, said that he was very pleased that the second installment of the PBL had been approved by the board.
“I think when we started this journey we knew that we could not do it without the help of our development partners and CDB for us is a long standing and very important development partner. We are making sacrifices in Grenada but ultimately we cannot do it without the help of our friends and partners, so we believe that given all the efforts we have made, given the good progress that we have made in Grenada, this is a further boost for us and we also believe that it is an investment with a very strong rate of return for the CDB.”
Grenada has been a member of CDB since 1970, and the Bank has approved loans to that country totaling USD 226.3 million as of September 2015, representing 5.6% of CDB’s total approvals to its Borrowing Member Countries. CDB’s lending has mainly been in the area of economic infrastructure.
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