The Antigua and Barbuda government says it intends to fully repay by Tuesday, the US$117.8 million loan given to the island by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) nearly eight years ago.
In 2010, the Washington-based financial institution approved the multi-million dollar loan to the Antigua and Barbuda to support the government’s plan to recover from mounting government debt, weak economic growth, and the effects of the economic crisis.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, said then that St. John’s had only US$13 million outstanding and two weeks ago, the government made a payment of eight million US dollars to the IMF.
Last September the country was refused a moratorium on the debt despite the natural disaster that destroyed over 90 per cent of Barbuda and incurred over US$150 million in reconstruction and recovery costs.
“I gave instructions…to the Ministry of Finance to liquidate the IMF loan on Tuesday. We are paying it off in full,” he said.
Browne said that he is not aware of any country in this hemisphere “in recent times that would have borrowed as much as 10 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) got bail out” as he criticised the then Baldwin Spencer administration for entering into the IMF agreement.
“Generally speaking an IMF programme is when the government would have failed, cannot meet its obligations, would have had balance of payments difficulties and had no other way out or other alternative but to go to the IMF.
“Whenever you go to the IMF it signals bad governance,”” he insisted adding that the government then “did nothing constructive with the money” it borrowed from the IMF.
Browne is leading his Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) into Wednesday’s general election which he called more than a year ahead of the constitutional deadline.
The party’s main challenge will come from the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) that governed the island up until 2014.
In the last general election, the ABLP won 13 of the 17 seats with the remainder going to the UPP.
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Robbing Peter to pay Paul. What was the scheduled payment amount? Not the original loan amount. It would be wonderful to see a full accounting of all government’s existing loans with a payment schedule/terms for each and current status. Well I guess we can all dream. All in EC or US dollars, you choose.
Typical UPP supporter answer y’all leader put us in thier hands and now we put of them way y’all bed. Tomorrow you will be laid to rest and never again will we be put in the IMF way
Thank God! Sick and tired of hearing about the IMF!! Harold Lovell/Baldwin Spencer legacy.
lol…hey gaston no running water in all saints west for along while after 4 years it is the same shit we vote out chandler for that reason. …this is not good…..you paying off imf but taking money from one bank to pay another this is not sustainable the country will crash, first thing u need to do is cut back that $10,000 a month for housing allowance hey this country is crazy
Good riddence to them we should have never went to them in the first place but that is Harold Failire legacy.
How SAD??? 1 day before the ELECTION??? YPU THINK WE ARE ALL IDIOTS??? WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE PAID THEM OFF BEFORE??? YOU CAN’T BUY OUR VOTES THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE??????
Paid off the IMF, Biggest Hoax since Houdini. Gaston you are making yourself into pappy show,, too bad your arrogance got in the way of your Governance of the country.
Please remember the Barbuda people how you treated them. They will never forget.
Quit making baseless comments. The people will NOT be fooled. #FACTS!
taking money from world Bank to pay off imf u still doing the same thing nothing new ……you can fool the alp supporters that follow u blindly
the upper will get 8 seed tomorrow the bpm will win its seat so u heard it here first
ABLP or UPP , things still seem to remain the same. No water, just horrible roads, a delapidated city, terrible infrastructure and the list goes on and on. We still have to migrate just to get the basics and yet the politicians tout the progress in the country. Until people expect better for themselves and hold the politicians accountable, this will be the best we’ll see.
Wah wah wah the UPP supporter crying again. U just can’t please these damn people. Their leader was the one who put is through an IMF program and now the loan has been paid off they still vex. Never mind to the fact their leader did not even bother pay the loan when he got it. Not surprise though this is the UPP crybabies we talking her. Tek that in aru nene.
Exactly! Everything Harold Lovell touch, he mash up!! We aint gong back to those days. Forward Ever! Backward Never!!!
Bad governance,no new taxes but the UPP killed us with personal income tax and tax us out of existence with not 5 or 10 but 15% ABST whiles they give over $100 million of ABST free to Sandals.On top of that they dragged us to IMF after they mismanaged, borrowed and overspent scarce resources…wicked set of ppl
Gaston has already borrowed over $300 million USD to pay for roads, schools, ABIB, Port Development and more. Now because it’s not IMF does it mean it’s not debt? We just had the worst year of crime on record! Are we serious????
IMF is for desperate and failed govts, the last place to go.We just had 3 category 5 hurricanes in sept and the IMF refused to even give us any moratorium on the payment, that is the kindda beast and cruelty it is,just to introduce harsh conditions and increase poverty. It is your UPP govt that over borrowed from ABIB bank and failed to meet its statutory obligation causing the downfall of ABIB. What did the UPP used the IMF money to do?nothing to show,they couldnt even operate and pay workers at the port.The difference is the profit the port is making presently,and the money borrowed to develop the port will be further justified after the project is completed and yielding vast economic activities. The money will be translated into the infracstucture for all to see and not the $300 million the UPP borrowed from IMF and it vanished into the thin air,no accountability seriously?
Smh you UPP supporters sad sad sad whenever a country goes to the IMF it means one thing they fail and once you in there is no getting out. GB made the right move to pay it off one time and done. That is what hurting you people.
@truth look at the thing you said GB borrowed money to do I don’t see any bad loans roads port school saving a local bank and jobs?
You UPP supporters just don’t love no good for people unless it was something done by them.
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