Jagdeo chairs Caribbean development finance working group

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 February 2024, 20:58 by Denis Chabrol

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo was Wednesday selected to chair a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) working group to search for more money for the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) to cushion impacts on member nations and promote growth, Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley said.

She told a news conference to wrap up the three-day summit of CARICOM leaders in Georgetown that Mr Jagdeo would be assisting her, as leader responsible for the CARICOM Single Market, to explore ways of garnering more funds for the CDF which is now in its third funding cycle.

The four-month task would see Mr Jagdeo, a Russian-trained economist and former Finance Minister, to formulate reports and recommendations to “unlock more funding to capitalize the CARICOM Development Fund.” “Vice President Jagdeo will chair that working group look into see how we will unlock the liquidity from the private banking system and how they a win win situation,” Ms Mottley said.

“It is our view that the region is full of liquidity but what is missing is the appropriate mechanism to unlock that liquidity and to allow those countries that need access to concessional funding, as is available under the CARICOM Development Fund, to be able to access them so that we can build up the systems to promote growth, rather than treating to it just purely for the adaptation and resilience aspect of it,” said Ms Mottley, a Caribbean-trained lawyer who is also her country’s Finance Minister and Economic Affairs.

Meanwhile, the Barbadian Prime Minister also announced that Guyana, The Bahamas, Barbados, Green Climate Fund, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Latin American Development Bank have committed US$75 million in seed capital. The aim, she said, would be to reach US$100 million to finance resilience and adaptation. “While Barbados started, it was only because of the complexity of getting it through the processes, but it was always intended for it to be a regional institution,” she said. When the seed funds reach US$100 million, she said the Blue-Green Investment Bank would be able to lend as much as US$500 million for resilience and adaption in CARICOM.  Guyana and The Bahamas have pledged US$15 million and USAID US$1.5 million.

In the split system of mobilising cash, she said the CDF would cater to the needs of disadvantaged countries and sectors while the Blue-Green Investment Bank would seek funds to deal with climate resilience.