-IDB finds
Of the five countries that are entitled to receive concessional resources from the Inter-American Bank (IDB), Guyana is one of the better performing countries in terms of its project execution, Country Economist Musheer Kamau says.
At a press conference held yesterday at the IDB Office in High Street, Kamau disclosed that Guyana was performing favourably in a group which also included Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Haiti.
Country Representative Marco Nicola said that while there have been “mixed experiences” in the past, there has been an evolution. According to him, the country’s performance is improving as well as the absorption capacity of the country in terms of execution. He said efforts have been made to reduce transactional costs, as well as to move towards a more national system in financial management. Further efforts are being made to ensure the reduced use of project executing units and stronger emphasis being placed on building the capacity of the line Ministry. All this is an attempt to ensure that all projects remain sustainable, Nicola said.
Nicola also noted that the approval of the new country strategy where the bank has set clear benchmarks between the government and the bank in terms of project execution. He also said this year they will reach a record here in terms of financial flows in the country. “This year, we will reach a record year in terms of financial flows into the country,” he said. According to him, the IDB is aiming to reach US$64 million – US$65 million as financial flow to Guyana compared to an average of US$47 million for the last ten years.
The country representative said that on Friday, the IDB approved US$34.8 million loans for the country and a further US$3.55 million in grants. The IDB has approved a loan of US$ 24.8 million for the country’s road improvement and rehabilitation programme, US$5 million for the reform of the financial sector and a further US$5 million for the expansion of the Health Ministry’s Basic Nutrition Programme.
In grants, US$1 million was given to the Transport Sector, a further US$1 million for the water sector, including improving institutional strengthening of the Guyana Water Inc. A further US$1 million was granted to the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to be used towards the preparation of the Integrated Management Plan for Natural Disasters. US$400,000 was also granted towards supporting the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy Unit.
Meanwhile, Chief of Operations José Ruiz disclosed that since that partnership between the bank and Guyana goes back to more than 30 years and that during this time Guyana has received over US$1 billion in loans and US$60 million in grants.
In recognition of the continued partnership between the IDB and Guyana, a special document ‘Guyana and the IDB: Partners for Progress’ will be launched this evening at the Pegasus hotel. The event is being co-hosted by the Minister of Finance and the IDB. This is the 50th anniversary of the IDB’s formation.
