Multicycle Evaluation of the Unified Special Development Fund Sixth and Seventh Cycles 2005-2012

This report presents the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation of the Sixth and Seventh Cycles of the Special Development Fund (Unified) of CDB, covering the period 2005 - 2012.The evaluation assessed the utilisation of SDF6 and SDF7 resources based on the criteria of Relevance, Strategic Positioning and Responsiveness; Effectiveness; Efficiency; and Sustainability; as well as Results Based Management and Monitoring and Evaluation. Gender and the Environment are analysed as Cross-Cutting Issues.The evaluation is intended to provide evidence to improve the selection, design, preparation and implementation of SDF-funded interventions; increase the value-added by CDB in addressing its overarching mission of systematic poverty reduction in BMCs; and enhance the coherence, integration and alignment in meeting the CMDGs, including Development Effectiveness, and other strategic development objectives beyond 2015.The report provides 8 recommendations.

Student Loan Scheme - Grenada (2016)

The Grenada Development Bank (GDB) has been involved with CDB’s Student’s Loan Scheme (SLS) programme for over 15 years.  In July 2001, GDB submitted an application for funds to finance its student loan programme. Following discussions between the Government of Grenada (GOGR), GDB and CDB, concerning the performance of GDB, and negotiations with GOGR, the Board of Directors (BOD) of CDB approved a loan October 10, 2002 to GOGR not exceeding the equivalent of 3.548 million (mn) United States dollars (USD3.548 mn). The loan comprised USD3 mn from CDB’s Ordinary Capital Resources (OCR) and USD0.548 mn from CDB’s Special Funds Resources. USD3 mn was to be used for the traditional SLS. USD0.5 mn or 14 per cent (%) of the total funds were designated to provide educational loans to students from poor and vulnerable households who satisfied the educational criteria but not the financial criteria of the SLS programme. Grenada is a tri-island state with a population estimated at 101,000. A labour survey done in October 2014 year showed a drop in unemployment rate from 32.5% in 2013 to 28.9% in 2014. However, the survey also showed that the highest unemployment rate was among persons between the ages of 15 to 24. CDB assessed that GDB needed institutional strengthening and strategic planning to improve its competitiveness.  A component of the loan included Technical Assistance (TA) to facilitate the preparation of a strategic plan.  It was also a condition of the loan that all posts of managerial and auditing functions be held by persons whose qualifications and experience are acceptable to CDB.

Policy Based Loan - Barbados (2016)

The post-2008 global economic and financial crisis exacerbated Barbados’ fiscal position which was already tenuous. The economy contracted in 2008, 2009 and 2010 due to declines in the key economic sectors. The crisis also exacerbated the country’s fiscal deficit which had already started to increase since 2005 on the back of a rapid expansion in public expenditure. In 2009, the economic downturn further restricted revenue intake, but necessitated counter-cyclical spending, exacerbating the already weak fiscal position of Central Government (CG). CG’s debt-to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio had been on a steady increase, especially since 2007 given the fiscal deterioration and an increase in contingent liabilities. Meanwhile, interest payments as a ratio of total revenues increased. Barbados’ foreign currency bond rating had been downgraded by two international rating agencies in June and November 2009.

Policy Based Loan - St. Kitts & Nevis (2016)

At the time of project appraisal, the level of public indebtedness in SKN was high by international standards and significantly above the prudential limit of 60% of GDP as suggested by the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). Similarly, debt servicing ranked highest among members of the ECCU and exceeded the GOSKN combined spending on health and education. The difficult debt situation posed a real threat to the success of the country’s fiscal adjustment programme in maintaining macroeconomic stability and growth prospects for St. Kitts and Nevis. The constraints on policy flexibility and the fiscal vulnerabilities stemmed from St. Kitts and Nevis’ susceptibility to external shocks and its high levels of public indebtedness.

Financial Sector Stabilisation Loan - St. Vincent & the Grenadines (2016)

In February 2010, GOSVG requested assistance from CDB for a loan in the amount of USD30-40 million (mn) to help stabilise the financial sector through the divestment of the publicly-owned commercial bank, National Commercial Bank (NCB). The St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ (SVG) financial sector is dominated by commercial banks which represent just under 70% of total financial sector assets (excluding National Insurance Scheme (NIS) assets). NCB, which is the target of this intervention, accounts for about 27% of financial sector assets and 40% of commercial bank assets.

Policy Based Loan - St. Vincent & the Grenadines (2016)

The Board of Directors of the CDB approved the financing of a Policy-Based Loan (PBL) valued at USD25 mn, to GOSVG on May 25, 2009. The Agreement became effective on August 24, 2009 and was to be completely disbursed by September 30, 2010.

Flood Mitigation Project - Saint Lucia (2016)

The island of St. Lucia is mountainous and vulnerable to landslides and flooding in coastal plains in locations such as Castries, Anse La Raye and Vieux Fort which lie below sea level. After widespread flooding in Saint Lucia from tropical storm Debbie, the Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) undertook design work to improve the drainage systems in Castries, and Anse La Raye. In 2004, the Government requested assistance from CDB to finance a flood mitigation project. The Board of Directors (BOD) of CDB approved a loan of USD5,453,000 and a grant of USD20,000 for public education and awareness activities.

Third Consolidation Line of Credit: Caribbean Financial Services Corporation (2016)

CDB has enjoyed a lending relationship with the Caribbean Financial Services Corporation (CFSC), headquartered in Barbados, since 1994, and as at 2005 had provided two loans of USD5 mn each. As a regional private sector Development Finance Institution (DFI), CFSC seeks to fill a gap in the provision of development finance to small and medium-scale export-oriented enterprises. CFSC’s core business areas are loan and equity investments to commercially viable, employment generating projects in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member countries, Barbados, Belize, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. CFSC’s loan and equity portfolios are heavily skewed towards tourism and related activities, but attempts were made to diversify across geographical locations in which it operates. CFSC has created a niche in financing tourism activities, especially within OECS member countries. In 2005, CFSC, applied to CDB for a third Line of Credit (LOC) of USD5 mn to assist with the financing of its medium to long-term lending programme to export-oriented enterprises involved in agriculture, industry, tourism and service sectors.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training 1990-2012

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has received focused attention at a regional level through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), anchored by the 1990 Regional Strategy for TVET. In 2013, the Regional Strategy was revised, and TVET was redefined and promoted as an agent of Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness.The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) supports interventions in education and training, particularly for unemployed youths and people at-risk, as critical to the achievement of national and regional social and economic development.The evaluation covers the period 1990-2012 and takes account of the results articulated in BMCs Human Resource and Education Strategies, Strategic Plans and Country Strategies; and projects/programmes; as well as current trends and good practices in TVET across projects in Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the OECS.The objectives of the evaluation were to: (a) take stock of regional and international evidence of the effectiveness of TVET; (b) assess the performance of CDB interventions; (c) identify lessons of experience; and (d) provide strategic, policy, administrative and operational recommendations to inform future interventions. The report presents the key findings, issues and recommendations that emerge from the assessment of the TVET interventions financed by CDB.

Upgrading of EcoTourism Sites - Dominica (2015)

In 1993, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) provided technical assistance (TA) by way of a contingently recoverable loan to allow the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica (GOCD) to engage consultants to visit, study and evaluate 12 ecotourism sites identified by GOCD and to make recommendations for improvements of access and facilities for the sites which had the most economic potential. This project was informed by the findings of that TA consultancy.