THERE ARE MILLIONS of dollars from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loans going a-begging, Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley charged yesterday.
In fact, said the Member of Parliament for St Michael North East, at least 50 per cent of most of the loans for key projects, some dating as far back as 2009, remained undisbursed to Government.
“And a Government last year could only pick up $9 million out of $48 million in financing the deficit. And they say they are short of cash.”
Mottley was replying to the 2013 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals outlined by Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler Tuesday.
She revealed there was a US$20 million IDB “Skills for the Future” loan, approved in 2012, of which not a cent had been disbursed.
Mottley said US$26.3 million of a US$40 million Housing and Neighbourhood Programme loan, approved in 2008, which was to go towards the upgrade of City areas such as Greenfields and Cats Castle, remained undisbursed, while a 2009 Water and Sanitation loan for US$53 million still had US $48.2 million undisbursed.
She said a similar situation obtained for an Agriculture, Health and Food Control Programme loan, for US$28 million (US$19.3 million undisbursed), as well as a Coastal Programme loan for US$42 million (US$27 million undisbursed).
“The Smart Fund is supposed to help people get access to a package of financial instruments and technical assistance in renewable energy, to reduce the level of fossil fuel dependency, at a time when imports have gone to $800 million – that still remains, for the most part, unexecuted,” Mottley revealed.
She said of that US$10 million loan, approved in 2010, US$7.9 million of it remained undisbursed “at a time when people are reeling against the pressures of the high electricity prices in this country”.
Despite this, said Mottley, the Government has been relying on short term notes, at a time when financial institutions were “not taking up these instruments like bonds and notes”. “And that is why you see the change in the lending pattern in short term money and that is an expression of no confidence,” Mottley charged.
“There is no economic solution to the loss of confidence and the only thing that can now save us is a political solution and the renewal of the confidence of people in this country,” Mottley said. (hle)?