WESTERN BUREAU:
LOW AND middle income residents of the Turks and Caicos Islands stand to benefit from a US$7 million line of credit that was approved by the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Back (CDB) on Monday.
The funds are to translate into an increase in the number of new houses and improvements to the existing housing in the territory.
The announcement came following a closed door session of the 36th annual meeting of the CDB board of governors at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay, where governors are being updated on the CDB's involvement in helping to shape CARICOM's Regional Development Fund as an important compensating and financial mechanism to enable functioning of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy as well as to explore membership arrangements with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The EIB is the world's single largest multilateral development bank and donor membership would significantly strengthen the CDB' s membership base.
The facility will be disbursed through loans to persons at the low and lower-middle income levels and provide an increase in the flow of resources to the productive sectors.
LINE OF CREDIT
According to a release issued following the session, "The line of credit will provide the executing agency, the Turks and Caicos Islands Investment Agency (TCInvest) with financing for its lending programme in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, housing and education."
The CDB loan should also contribute to human resource development in the Turks and Caicos Islands through the provision of loans for tertiary level education and training.
Some US$500,000 will also be made available to address the needs of students from poor and vulnerable households under the student loan scheme.
