Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, along with fellow Governors of the Caribbean Region on Wednesday attended a meeting with World Bank Managing Director, Axel Van Trotsenburg, held under the theme “Road to Recovery: Tools for Building Back Better in the Caribbean”.
A Ministry of Finance release on Wednesday explained that the session focussed on the priorities of the Caribbean and the ways which the World Bank could support economic recovery and resilience. The attendees were able to hear directly from the management of the World Bank of its approach to regional issues, and in particular, “issues of recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerability to economic and climate shocks, as well as strengthening debt sustainability.”
According to the release, the World Bank’s Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Semi-annual Report for 2022, reported the average growth for constituency countries – excluding St Kitts & Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda – as six per cent in 2021. It added that when this figure was adjusted to remove Guyana’s 19.9 per cent growth, the average growth for constituency countries was estimated at 4.3 per cent. The reasons for this rebound in economic activity seen in these countries, it stated, were increased vaccination programmes and the reopening of economies.
It was disclosed that in March, the Ministry of Finance met with a high-level World Bank team led by Country Director for the Caribbean, Lilia Burunciuc, and new Resident Representative of the Bank, Diletta Doretti. The meeting served as an opportunity for discussion concerning the Government of Guyana’s economic objectives and priorities as well as potential opportunities for World Bank support through its assistance and lending programmes. “Key priorities that were discussed included Guyana’s Low Carbon Development agenda, human capital development, and opportunities for partnership between the government and the financial institution in other areas in line with its expanding and evolving capacity.”
It was noted that the Bank has been supporting several projects over the years through a number of loans and grants including a US$20 million loan for the Guyana Petroleum Governance and Management Project to support the enhancement of legal and institutional frameworks, and the strengthening of the capacity of key institutions to manage the oil & gas sector in Guyana. Additionally, the Bank loaned US$6 million to Guyana under the Guyana Payments System Project to improve Guyana’s national payments system, while another US$13.3 million was loaned for the Guyana Education Sector Improvement Project to improve student learning outcomes through reform of curriculum and teaching practices.
The release also stated that US$37.9 million was loaned under the Flood Risk Management Project, and US$12.5 million went towards the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project. Further, the Bank also provided a US$7 million grant to this country towards the Guyana Education Sector Programme Project for the “improvement and learning conditions at the nursery level in select areas, as well as the increased use of technology-assisted learning at the primary level in select areas and to improve functionality of the education management information system nationally.”
Singh is currently attending a series of meetings in Washington, on the occasion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s Spring and Annual Meetings, and is accompanied by Deputy Chief of Mission, Guyana Embassy in Washington DC, Zulfikar Ally.
It explained that the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG), bring together Central Bankers, Ministers of Finance and Development, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organisations, and academics, to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
The Spring Meetings events will be held over the period April 18 to 24, the release added.
