– Finance Minister at IDB’s 50th anniversary
Through the partnership between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government, Guyana over the years experienced a dramatic transformation in various sectors.

Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, speaking at the 50th anniversary of the IDB.

This acknowledgment was made by Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh and IDB Resident Representative in Guyana Marco Nicola at the 50th anniversary of the IDB, held at the Pegasus Hotel Tuesday.

Among the highlights of the anniversary was the launch of the publication “Guyana and the IDB partners for progress.”

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds who is at present performing the duties of President was among those in attendance.

Nicola described the relationship between the IDB and Guyana as unique, with the highlight being the debt relief which was granted in 2007 and the access which Guyana received to the bank’s concessional financing window.

He said over the years, the IDB served as a consistent source of development financing during difficult times and succeeded in making a valuable contribution to almost every sector in Guyana.

IDB Resident Representative Marco Nicola speaking at IDB’s 50th Anniversary.

Since its inception, the Bank’s total lending operations have amounted to about US$165B. Of this amount, US$6.5B has been lent to the Caribbean.

The Finance Minister described the IDB as the most important source of multilateral financing.

Guyana became a member of the IDB in 1977 and has since benefitted from US$1B in loans across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, transportation, health, energy and education.

Minister Singh noted that over the years, the IDB provided more than US$67M in technical assistance grants for the reform and modernisation of the state, environment and natural resource management, and the promotion of small and medium size enterprises.

The Finance Minister recalled the historic moment in 2007 when the IDB participated in a multilateral debt relief initiative which resulted in Guyana benefitting from US$467M in debt relief. This he noted came after much lobbying efforts by heavily indebted countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, including advocacy by Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo.

The gathering at the IDB’s 50th Anniversary.

The bank’s portfolio in the economy at present includes infrastructure projects such as the New Amsterdam to Molsen Creek road, the Un-Served Areas Electrification Programme (UAEP), the Low Income Housing and the Basic Nutrition Programme, the Justice Sector Reform and Citizens Security programmes.

“A dramatic transformation has been taking place in recent years and the IDB has been an active partner in support of this transformation,” Minister Singh said.

Speaking of the health sector, Nicola alluded to the intervention on ante-natal and early childhood nutrition which won IDB support and resulted in a 30 percent reduction in anemia and a 12 percent increase in the practice of breast-feeding (most significant changes occurred in the coastal areas).

The IDB Representative disclosed that as recent as December 11, the IDB pledged to continue supporting the Ministry of Health in expanding its nutrition programme.

Turning his intention to economic management Nicola said intervention by the IDB led to the introduction of an Integrated Financial and in Accounting System (IFMAS) and the Total Revenue Integrated Processing (TRIP) systems which allowed policymakers and resource managers to achieve real time date on their revenue and expenditure provisions.

Moreover, investment by the IDB, Government and other partners in IFMAS made it possible for the IDB to move closer to the adoption of the Guyana National Systems for the financial management of public resources.

The transportation sector benefitted from a large share of IDB approvals. Nicola said the Guyana Government and the IDB collaborated on programmes that resulted in 90 percent of the road networks and upgrade of air transport.

December 30 will mark 50 years of the establishment of the IDB, which, in its 1959 Charter agreement, was responsible for contributing to the acceleration of economic and social developments of its regional developing member countries.

The IDB has grown from an initial membership of 18 countries to 48 countries, including 20 non-Regional members. (GINA)