Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh has urged the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to support the Region’s implementation of the Jagdeo Initiative as governments continue their efforts to cushion the effects of rising commodity prices.
Singh told the Bank’s 38th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, held in Canada on Thursday, that it should examine ways in which it could provide timely support to activities consistent with this Initiative with the objectives of increasing food production and supply; reducing inefficiencies in distribution networks and dismantling other barriers that currently impede more efficient intra-regional trade in agricultural and food products. He also said the Bank must find ways to support and increase private investment in agriculture and food production, a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release said.
The minister also called for the issues of “climate change, and energy and power including the promotion of energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy sources, increasing private sector competitiveness especially in anticipation of new trading arrangements, and human resources development for growth and poverty reduction in the Region” to be treated with urgency. Singh said Guyana recognizes the Bank’s continued support and pledged its continued cooperation as “we craft strategies to respond to the changes currently taking place in the external environment, and as we advance the task of developing the Region, growing our economies, and further improving the lives of our peoples.”
Singh also noted that the Bank made an important contribution to support the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility. “We welcome the establishment of the Facility, and we reiterate the urgency of the need for it to be extended to provide flood and crop insurance,” he said.
In highlighting its work in Guyana, Singh said the Bank supported projects including the Skeldon sugar modernisation project; a Community Services Enhancement Project “that is transforming four large communities into secondary towns and opening lands for agricultural purposes by constructing facilitative infrastructure”; a water sector project that will build treatment plants and water towers to improve distribution and water quality and “Hundreds of small subprojects financed under the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) in the areas of water, education, health, roads, commerce and skills training in all of the ten administrative regions of Guyana.”
Meanwhile, the minister also told participants of the country’s hosting of the Regional Agriculture Investment Forum on June 9 and 10 which aims to promote private investment in agriculture in the Region. He also congratulated Brazil on becoming a member of the Bank, adding that its admission comes at a time when construction of the Takutu Bridge between Brazil and Guyana has just been completed. GINA said Singh also highlighted Guyana’s development over the last year. He said in 2007, real output expanded by 5.4 per cent, an improvement over the previous year’s performance, reflecting consistent macroeconomic and structural policies that have improved the resilience of the economy and promoted diversification. Singh said too strong growth was recorded in the services and mining sectors as a result of increased private investment, while agriculture returned a mixed performance partly as a result of weather induced factors.
On the balance of payments, the minister said the current account deficit dropped largely on account of strong export performance especially in mining and agriculture, the overall balance of payments recorded a marginal deficit, and import cover was maintained at three months. Credit to the private sector increased by 18.7 per cent with expanded lending to both the productive and personal/household sectors. Less positively, inflation increased to 14.0 per cent at the end of 2007, compared with 4.5 per cent the previous year, this Singh said, reflected primarily, the effects of import price escalation.
