Earlier this week we told you about emergency loans that the Caribbean Development Bank is making to seven Caribbean countries. $15 million US is earmarked for Belize - but the Financial Secretary today explained that it is not cash in hand, but debt relief:
Joe Waight- Financial Secretary
"The Board of Directors of CDB met earlier this week and approved a lone to the Government of Belize. The loan will then be used to meet our debt service payments to CDB for the next year. So, it's a refinancing in a sense, along the term loan to give us immediate relief for this year. The total amount is about USD$15 million for this. It will give us a break. It is not money in hand that we can spend elsewhere. It's basically a refinancing of what we would have had to pay CDB this year. We really do hope that the other IFIs could take a lesson, a page out of CDB's book."
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