Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the Saudi Fund for Development’s Chief Executive Officer, Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, display the signed documents following a brief ceremony at Government Headquarters yesterday. (C. Pitt/BGIS)
Government and officials from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) have signed two development loan agreements worth USD $92.7 million, to facilitate the Polyclinic Upgrade and Refurbishment of Primary Health Care System Project, and the Urban Renewal Project in Water, Housing and Infrastructure Sector (Phase 1).
The documents were signed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the SFD’s Chief Executive Officer, Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, during a brief ceremony on Wednesday at Government Headquarters.
Ms. Mottley said that the occasion was significant as government was now in a better position to bring “credible and ready” assistance to the health sector by way of the USD $58.5 million loan, allocated for upgrades to the polyclinics and a complete rebuild of Randal Phillips and Eunice Gibson polyclinics.
In Phase 1 of the Urban Renewal project, the Prime Minister pointed out that USD $34.2 million will be spent on water, housing and urban infrastructure support for some communities on the outskirts of Bridgetown.
Ms. Mottley contended that her government was committed to “removing, for example, pit toilets from our landscape and we have been doing that out of our ordinary revenue and government’s ordinary expenditure over the course of the last few years”.
She continued: “With this loan, we believe that we will be able to make a dent in that respect. We will also be able to continue to provide critical community infrastructure in areas where people are deprived of it at this point in time, and where the absence of that infrastructure means that there are less opportunities for those persons living in those communities. We are adamant that we have a responsibility to take toilets from our landscape, in the 21st Century, where there is no place for them.
“This will help us within the urban corridor, allowing government then to have to focus its own resources or look for alternative funding, to be able to deal with the rural communities where they exist.”
Ms. Mottley insisted that government was engaged in responsible borrowing for the future development of citizens.
“We are borrowing to build capacity which will enhance the country’s ability to repay in the future… this is responsible borrowing for the purposes of the development of our people…And therefore, appropriate, mature, and balanced approaches to debt, ensuring that as you grow the economy, that your debt equally stays in relationship to what your growth is, to something that is affordable.. But rest your hearts and be assured, this is responsible borrowing for the development of our people,” she maintained.
Meanwhile, Mr. Al-Marshad said the signing marked the beginning of the Saudi Fund for Development’s partnership with Barbados and represented a key milestone in building a lasting partnership for sustainable development.
He said his agency was keen to support development in the island’s health and housing sectors and thanked Ms. Mottley for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to the team, as he wished Barbados continued success.
