Granada: FMI dice que país no cumplió objetivos y diseña nuevo plan económico

No benefits for Grenada

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Tuesday that despite two consecutive financial arrangements with Grenada, totaling more than US$28 million, the island missed the key programme objectives of securing a sustainable fiscal position and a higher growth path.

The IMF said that Grenada during the period 2006-11 had received US$15.2 million in assistance under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement and a successor US$13.3 million Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement that was approved in April 2010.

The IMF said on January 13, this year, its executive board discussed the ex post assessment (EPA) of the longer term programme engagement in Grenada and “broadly agreed with the staff’s assessment that engagement with the Fund under two consecutive arrangements during 2006-2011 had helped Grenada cope with major shocks and advance key reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and improved financial regulations.

“Nonetheless, they considered that the overall economic performance under the Fund-supported programmes had proved uneven, and the key program objectives of securing a sustainable fiscal position and a higher growth path had largely been missed.”

The Washington-based financial institution said against this background, the IMF has drawn “lessons that should inform the design of future programmes with Grenada and comparable small economies”

It said the IMF executive directors highlighted the importance of choosing programme objectives that are consistent with extensive capacity and institutional constraints and the critical need of securing programme ownership by country authorities.

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