IMF loan funds pour in

The Antigua and Barbuda government has received its first payment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a three-year US$117.8 million loan agreement approved last week.

"The first disbursement, which we have already received, amounts to US$24.5 million. Subsequent disbursements under this arrangement will take place on a quarterly basis, once Antigua and Barbuda meets the agreed fiscal targets and benchmarks," Finance Minister Harold Lovell said on television Monday night.

"The Fund will undertake quarterly reviews of the government's performance in order to determine whether the targets have been realised. Once these targets have been realised, a disbursement will be made to the government."

The IMF said that the agreement will support the Baldwin Spencer administration's efforts to restore fiscal and debt sustainability and set the stage for a sustained recovery.

"Antigua and Barbuda's tourism-dependent economy has been severely impacted by the global economic and financial crisis. Falling tourism and foreign direct investment-related construction activities have triggered the worst recession in decades and contributed to a sharp decline in government revenue.

"This has aggravated an already unsustainable fiscal position resulting from longstanding fiscal imbalances and accumulation of a large stock of arrears to domestic and external creditors," the IMF said.

- CMC