With its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme expiring at the end of September, Government is expected to start repaying the $850 million it borrowed from the financial institution from next year.
However, while he declined to say if he thought Barbados should remain in an IMF programme, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes said Government would have to keep focused on a disciplined approach to its financial management, including debt.
In December, the IMF’s executive board approved an immediate $48 million disbursement to Barbados after directors approved its staff’s sixth review of the External Fund Facility Barbados entered in October 2018. This brought to $850 million the amount of IMF funding Government received since then.
Speaking yesterday during his first quarter press conference at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Haynes said repayment of the loans was likely to start in 2023. (SC)
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