Guyana is among eight CARICOM member states which will be the first beneficiaries of grants, interest subsidies and concessionary loans through the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF).
Three officials of the CDF were here Monday and Tuesday on what was described as a successful two-day consultative mission, a news release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The CDF was established to deliver technical and financial assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and is mobilizing US$250 million for disbursement to the eight disadvantaged countries over the next four years.
According to the release, the objectives of the consultation were to introduce and promote the CDF to stakeholders and potential beneficiaries as well as to identify possible needs arising from the effects of the implementation of the CSME and to help determine ways of making the organization more responsive than traditional sources of development finance.
While in Guyana the team briefed Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and other senior government officials on the role, function and operating modalities of the CDF.
The CDF consultative mission team comprised Dr Deryck Brown, Regional Development division, Lenox Forte, Manager, Corporate Development and Planning and Herman Grant, consultant to the CDF on appraisal and disbursement procedures.
Discussions were also held on the establishment of in-country counterparts to assist with identification and management of CDF sponsored initiatives and interventions, participation of other development partners in areas related to the core mandate of the CDF and formulation and implementation of projects during the first programming period September 2009-December 2013.
The CDF team also met with private sector bodies and commercial banks to gain a firsthand understanding of the ways in which the local business community is being affected by the CSME.
The mission comes as a follow-up to the briefing meeting between President Bharrat Jagdeo and Chief Executive of the CDF, Ambassador Lorne McDonnough during the recent 30th Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana.
The mission here is the sixth of eight consultative missions and the other member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Belize, the release added.
