Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has told World Bank President Robert Zoellick that Dominica supports fully, a capital increase for the financial institution.
Both individuals met with the media this afternoon, to give an update on the ongoing CARICOM heads summit currently being held at the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau.
Skerrit said the increase would allow the World Bank to better respond to challenges confronting CARICOM.
“We also want to thank the World Bank for its pivotal role in Haiti, before the earthquake and after,” he said.
Skerrit also noted that CAIRCOM will continue to forge a deeper partnership with the World Bank.
“The World Bank has been very involved in the Caribbean over the years in projects like basic education reform. We are now seeing almost 60 percent increase in students attendance at secondary school,” he said.
Meantime, Zoellick confirmed the institution’s interest in assisting CARICOM Governments with their debt issues.
The debt situation is among matters being focused on at the meeting.
Zoellick said the World Bank is willing to look at the debt situation of each country, as the debt may vary in the different countries.
“What I had suggested to CARICOM in October is that we would try to look country by country at the debt profiles, because each situation is different … In some countries, the debt is significantly owed to their own private sector financial institutions or pension funds…We would outline country by country, some options for trying to deal with this,” Zoellick explained.
Zoellick said he has offered to send off teams to countries, to “try to see whether one could develop a strategy that focuses on growth, good fiscal management [and] effective use of debt”.
CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington noted that the region has been struggling with a debt problem for some 17 years now.
He described the matter as “a perennial difficult one”.
DNO CORRESPONDENT.
LOL
A nation with a ratio of 1 minister: 1550 persons in the population leading the Caricom in asking for financial assistance.
what is the definition of TOP heavy?
The statements by DEBT CRISIS & FISHERMAN are directed to the GOVERNMENT and as concern DOMINICANS we need an answer especialyly when the security of our Fishermen out on the waters are threaten with guns they should not be treated that way
European & American state aid is interlocked into the International Bank of Settlements, which is tied to World Bank, which is tied into the IMF, which is like all things: Tied into Goldman Sachs!
AIG (American International Group)which is bankrupt is run by Edley of Goldman Sachs!
All roads lead to: Goldman Sachs!
Goldman Sachs is a bunch of arbitrage wielding sycophants & sociopathic criminals who profit by destroying the system
There several new alternatives to the IMF-World Bank now! Why deal with the IMF & World Bank?
The IMF (World Bank) admits it is bankrupt! So it has little or no real resources to act as lender very soon – In fact, even the IMF is scrambling to replace the US Dollar as the world currency because the Chinese are about to unfold their new alternative to the IMF! One CURRENT alternative permitted by the IMF is alternative currency swaps between Asian countries without the US Dollar, (google: Chiang Mai Initiative)
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2001/2847imf_bankrpt.html
Joe Stiglitz is a leading critic of international development organizations — especially the International Monetary Fund, (IMF & World Bank). And yet, in his book, Globalization and its Discontents, he points to one country that got it right — Botswana. How did it succeed? By ignoring advice from Washington-based institutions, as Mr. Stiglitz explains. He also speaks how Botswana beat the criminal Diamond monopoly De Beers:
http://www.theglobalist.com/storyid.aspx?storyid=2507
Here is news on the developing Asian alternative to the IMF & World Bank:
http://www.globaleconomicgovernance.org/blog/2009/05/watch-out-imf-and-watch-out-washington-dc/
60 Questions about the World Bank debt scam:
http://www.cadtm.org/60-Questions-on-the-IMF-World-Bank
Actually, there are several excellent books on the World Bank debt scam here:
http://vakindia.org/shop-online-page4.html
How the World Bank caused America & European financial bankruptcy (free download):
http://vakindia.org/pdf/IE.pdf
How Malaysia dumped the World Bank (IMF) & thereby prevented economic and social chaos:
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/gtrends1.htm
Another interesting book on the topic – World Bank & IMF, Fifty Years is Enough:
http://www.alternativeradio.org/programs/KEND001.shtml
In summary, the IMF and World Bank will only extend loans if countries agree to accept ‘structural adjustment programmes’ (SAPs). SAPs are forced down the throats of the people of the former colonial world. To pay off the loans, the IMF and World Bank demand governments raise money by selling off public assets and companies (privatisation) and cutting state expenditure on social services like health care, education, and pensions. SAPs require countries de-regulate and “open up” their economies by cutting subsidies to local industries and slashing trade barriers and tariffs. Countries must open up their economies to the multinationals (usually based in Western countries), remove restrictions on foreign investments, and allow corporations access to the workers and natural resources of the country at bargain basement prices.
The vast majority of the profits made by the multinationals are taken out of the country and brought home (repatriated) to the West. SAPs encourage export-oriented growth (selling cheap raw materials or commodities on the world market, like cash crops, garments, or computer chips) to generate hard currency. All in all, the IMF and World Bank SAPs turn countries into loan repayment machines, generating easy profits for the world’s biggest companies and banks. IMF policies also both directly and indirectly impact on workers in, for example, Europe and the US. Because they are partially funded with public money, the IMF and World Bank redistribute wealth from working people in the West (through their taxes) and funnel it to programmes which benefit the multinationals.
The effects of IMF/World Bank programmes are to lower wages and working conditions worldwide, which exerts a downward pressure on workers’ living standards in the industrialised countries as well.
The IMF and World Bank loans have created a huge debt trap. This overwhelming debt has led to the poorest countries in the world allocating enormous portions of their national incomes towards paying interest. Debt is one of the most important weapons with which the big capitalist powers dominate poor countries. It is used as a means of blackmailing the poorest countries and tightening the screw on the vast majority of the people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
However, due to the collapse of the US Dollar & all Central Bank controlled European nations, many alternatives to the World Bank have opened up! Dominica will be wise to use an alternative to the World Bank – Besides; even the World Bank admits it & the US Dollar are bankrupt!
@ Fisherman
You sound very intelligent and thoughtful. Not dissing fishermen, but doubt you are one. lol.
Very interesting perspective.
What would happened if Skerrit had not endorsed the world bank increase?
As a beggar country, I think he should do more listening and less endorsing. Let the financiers of the world band endorse the bank’s decisions. I
If you all don’t understand the issue, do not comment on it and appear to be nincompoops. Just an advice.
The region suffers from a debt problem for a very good reason. It has let the bankers come in and once they get through with their program to make money for themselves, your country is in big time debt. They own you.
This has been played out in 3rd world country after 3rd world country and now they are even doing the first world countries.
Skerrit is just the current pawn that they are playing with. I guarantee you that the world bankers don’t come here to do you any good. They come to do themselves good. Mr. PM has already sold land and water to them big time.
They are all patting each other on the back. Guess who gets to pick up the bill? You.
Now for the big question……….can somebody actually translate what this article is about?
The only conclusion that I can come to is that it is another sell out by RS to the bankers.
What financial institution? The world bank? More payments?
When PM Skerritt is in the presence of Cubans, Chavez, Morales, Ortega and so, he mouths anti-imperialist slogans. He would agree with them that the World Bank and IMF have contributed to the increased debt, and economic malaise of countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The conditionalities set by World bank and IMF and their policies re. lending to poor third World countries have made the rich richer and the poor poorer. IMF held back about $500 million dollars for Haiti because Aristide was president. Due to their policies of ensuring Haiti remained poor and dependent, they forced the country to open up its market for goods from US that competed with locally produced crops. That crippled the Haitian economy. Haiti used to produce tons upon tons of rice, now it imports most, if not all, of its rice from US.
World Bank and IMF will assist CARICOM countries to reduce their debt? What a laugh!! Do some research Mr. PM. Those institutions thrive on the indebtedness of poor countries to continue to control their economies and further their capitalist agenda. Examples are clear to see in the ACP countries. The situation becomes worse in the absence of good governance. Corrupt politicians, fraudulent elections tend to make matters worse. What is Dominica’s debt presently? Can someone tell me? How much do we owe World Bank and IMF? What or how much do we produce or manufacture to pay back the debt?
slow down skerrit…you breaking Ron and them heart.doh do that to dem.
dear editor
This is very good that security is being adressed.
As a Dominican fisherman I feel absolutely no sense of security in our waters.
3 times I have been held at gun point by frenchmen while in Dominca’s waters.
Many other fishermen have to abandon/surrender their FAD’s when the french fishermen want it.
In 2009 were not three fishermen from Dominica executed while in our waters?
How many others have simply disappeared?
When our fisheries and coast guard cuaght the french fishermen did not the Cabinet order that they be released without being prosecuted?
Who is allowing Venezuela to take over our territorial waters around Bird island ?
some Now that Venezuela is trying to get it recognised as an island is not Dominica losing hundreds of square miles of territorial waters?
Is it not that the result is that we only have ~35 miles to our west?
Has this not stirred up a hornets nest of security issues that has placed Dominica in the middle?
How many nuclear powers are now arming naval and bases in the caibbean sea becuase of the challenges to their territorial waters that Bird island is now posing?
Let us ask ourselves the following:
Is there not a russian presence in the caribbean sea training venezuelan troops?
has the (US, Brittish, French, Dutch and Chinese, Iranian) military presence been increasing in the Caribbean basin?
How does this affect the (Food, Territorial, naval, energy, shipping, Fisheries, ..)security of the Caricom?
Have not the French been transporting plutonium through the Caribbean sea for the past 15years?
What was the secret ‘extremely dangerous’ material spilled from the sunken ship off St Lucia last week?
Is not Dominica being used by a non national to penitrate the CARICOM?
Do not laws of Dominica and that of the French prohibiting someone from holding office as a civil servant or millitary post/service in a foriegn power?
Was not the PM made to reveal the secret that he is a French citizen?
Who is chairman of the CARICOM? is it a EU citizen or a Caricom Citizen?
If the French do not permit someopne to hold civil or military posts in a foriegn power/country and keep the French citizenship as a dual citizenship then if the french citizenship has not been revoked then is it not safe to say that there is an exception being made for the person holding the dual citizenship?
what has this got to do with CARICOM security?
Concerned and threatened (single citizenship) Dominican