By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
mckenzie@tribunemedia.net
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) plans to approve close to $60 million in loans to the Bahamas this year, its president said yesterday, adding that it currently has a portfolio worth $253 million in this nation.
Addressing a press conference at the first day of the IDB’s annual meeting, Luis Alberto Moreno said 90 per cent of the bank’s loans to the Bahamas were directed towards infrastructure investment.
“We currently have a portfolio of loans to the Bahamas in the amount of $253 million, almost 90 per cent of which is focused on infrastructure; in roads, airports and energy,” he said.
“Our portfolio of grants is close to $7 million. That is helping to support projects in the area of sustainability in the case of Andros island.”
Mr Moreno added: “This year we will be approving close to $60 million in youth apprenticeship programmes, and to help support the airport infrastructure in the Family Islands.”
The IDB is the largest multilateral development bank operating in the Bahamas. This nation has been a member since 1977.
Its 2016 annual general meeting, being held at the Baha Mar convention centre, is the first in a Caribbean country since it met in Jamaica in 1979.
IDB officials and the Government held a brief signing ceremony yesterday morning for two loans; one a $20 million loan for citizen security, and the other a $33 million loan for public financial management.
Mr Moreno said that while some are of the opinion that countries should no longer qualify for concessional development funding, the IDB did not share that view.
“I know there has been opinion in this regard from the United States. Certainly that has been a discussion but, at the end of the day, the majority of our shareholders are of the opinion that we shouldn’t graduate countries, and that regardless of the income per capita, there is always problems of poverty that need to be dealt with and we will continue to work with the Bahamas,” said Mr Moreno.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years ago
A well known cyber attack group has no doubt by now hacked into the confidential emails of senior IMF officials that disclose the intent of the world's international lending agencies (IMF, World Bank and IDB) to destabilize the financial system of the Bahamas by causing a major credit event. The time table for this destabilizing credit event has likely been moved up because of the so called "Panama Papers" leak. The IMF was about to do the same to Greece until certain highly sensitive IMF emails were made public exposing their devious plans to wrongfully exert pressure on the European Union for very misguided purposes. They may still target Greece and certainly have the Bahamas on their list of countries to be destabilized by a major credit event. "World Government" is a most dangerous thing as we Bahamians shall soon learn first hand as a result of our corrupt government's insatiable appetite to suck on the generous lending teat ("tit") of these unscrupulous international lending agencies!
sheeprunner12 8 years ago
IMF .......... IDB ............ partners in crimes against poor countries
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