Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) — St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas says the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) needs to improve the rate of disbursements of projects already by the financial institution several years ago.
Dr. Douglas, who recently chaired a special meeting of the Board of Governors, said projects had been approved by the region’s premier financial institution but were not disbursed in a timely fashion.
“The disbursement rate is critical to the bottom line of the Bank and can make a real difference in the growth prospects of borrowing member states. The Bank has to be more focused on maintaining relevance to its constituents, improve on efficiency and responsiveness,” Prime Minister Douglas said in an interview with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in Bridgetown.
Dr. Douglas said that the CDB should seize the present and emerging opportunities to expand the use of the policy based loan and guarantee instruments to implement new products tailored to the needs of the clientele it serves.
“The Bank must enhance its systems to ensure full integration of the wealth of information generated by its reports,” Dr. Douglas added.
The meeting in Barbados reviewed the CDB’s 2015 – 2019 strategic plan, the draft of which was first reviewed in May at the Bank’s Annual Board of Governors’ meeting held in Guyana.
Dr. Douglas, who is chairman of the regional lending institution, said that the successful recovery of the St. Kitts and Nevis’ economy was partly due to the innovativeness and unyielding support of the CDB.
St. Kitts and Nevis will host the next Board of Governors Meeting in May next year.