Gov’t Increases Borrowing Ceiling from CDB to $6 Billion

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (Jan. 11) passed a Resolution to increase the borrowing ceiling from the Caribbean Development Bank to $6 billion from $40 million.
State Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Fitz Jackson, who moved the motion titled ‘The Loans (Caribbean Development Bank) increase in borrowing Authority) Resolution’, explained that this was being done to keep apace of current borrowing levels, and take into consideration, the fact that exchange rate movements over the years had made the $40 million ceiling irrelevant.
He said that CDB borrowing represented just 2 per cent of the external debt stock and 0.8 per cent of the overall public sector debt.
Under section three of the Act, the Government of Jamaica (GoJ) may, in such manner and on such terms and subject to such conditions as may be agreed between the GoJ and the CDB, borrow from the Bank on such occasions as may be required.
Subsection five of section eight of the Act has been amended by deleting from the definition of prescribed sum, the words, “forty million” and substituting the words “six billion”.
Also tabled in the House, were the report of the Auditor General on the appropriation and other accounts of Jamaica for the financial year endingMarch 31, 2004; the Clarendon Alumina Production Limited annual report for 2003/04; the annual report and statement of accounts of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica; the Jamaica Directory of Educational Institutions, 2003-2004; the Atrium Holdings Limited audited financial statements for the 18-month period ended March 31, 2002 and year ended March 31, 2003; and the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) Annual Report for 2002/2003.