The World Bank recently approved a US$15 million Development Policy Credit and Loan (DPC/DPL) for Grenada.
A press release from the World Bank said this funding seeks to build on the reforms supported under the first DPC/DPL in a series of three and is aligned with the government of Grenada’s national development strategy, which aims to accelerate economic growth, restore fiscal debt and sustainability, strengthen financial stability and improve social development statistics.
The key objectives to be achieved through this loan are:
* Improving the investment climate through the creation of a new regulatory framework for the tourism sector, reinforcing ties between agriculture and tourism, revamping the customs system and a new Public Private Partnership policy.
* An updated public sector by means of a stronger public procurement system, addressing the social programmes for the poor and vulnerable and the restoration of fiscal debt and sustainability.
* Greater resilience against natural disasters via a Physical Planning and Development Control Bill and a policy for national building codes.
* An augmented banking sector by way of improved regulation and supervision.
It is part of a multi-donor engagement, which includes technical and financial aid from the International Monetary Fund’s 36-month Ex- tended Credit Facility and the Caribbean Develop-ment Bank, along with US$10 million credit and US$5 million loan from the International Develop-ment Association (IDA) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Develop–ment (IBRD) respectively.
Grenada which had been dealt a blow during the 2008 global financial crisis witnessed accelerated economic recovery in 2014 driven by improved performances in the tourism and agriculture sectors.
According to Country Director for the Carib-bean, Sophie Sirtaine, “Grena-da’s ambitious fiscal consolidation efforts are showing positive results.
With this financing Grenada is expected to address critical bottlenecks to help promote inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the country.”
