Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said his government would assist homeowners struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments, amidst a downturn in tourism hit hard by the global financial meltdown.

Ingraham said the decision was taken following consultation with mortgage lenders, and was designed to assist those who, due to unemployment, underemployment or other unforeseen circumstance, were unable to service home loans.

"For persons who would have lost their jobs, persons in the hotel sector who would be on short work weeks, and persons who, for some other unforeseen circumstance, are now unable to keep current in their mortgage payment, but who ordinarily sought to make their mortgage payments for their homes, we would like to ensure that these persons don't end up losing their homes because of what we consider to be this temporary setback," said Ingraham, Sunday, in Washington.

Meetings

He earlier met with the managing director of the International Mone-tary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn ahead of the annual IMF/World Bank meeting on Monday where he was due to deliver a statement on behalf of Caricom.

Ingraham said in his country there was no indication of "how long this temporary situation is likely to exist," but stressed the need to provide social safety nets for the most vulnerable in society in a period of uncertainty.

The programme could be implemented as early as November.