Haiti to Join Caribbean Development Bank Despite Suspension From Regional Bloc
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) -- Haiti will soon become a member of the Caribbean Development Bank, giving the poverty-stricken nation access to low-interest loans, officials said Wednesday.
Compton Bourne, the president of the Barbados-based lending institution, said Haiti had fulfilled most of the requirements for membership and would become a member within weeks.
The country's admission would come despite its suspension from the 15-nation Caribbean Community, which has refused to recognize the U.S.-backed interim government that took power after the February 2004 armed uprising that toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The bloc has called for an investigation into Aristide's claims that the United States had engineered a coup against him, allegations Washington denies.
"We have always said that we will continue to be engaged in Haiti because of the humanitarian factor, and that is what we are doing here," said St. Kitts Prime Minister Denzil Douglas during the bank's two-day annual meeting of bankers, finance ministers and economists.
Douglas said officials at the meeting would consider a proposal to send high-level consultants to help prepare Haiti for membership and create project portfolios to be funded by the bank.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and most people are unemployed, living on less than a US$1 a day.
The interim government has complained about the slow disbursement of US$1.3 billion (euro1.03 billion) that world donors pledged in July. In March, donors approved about 380 reconstruction projects and assigned them to half a dozen nations, hoping to speed up the disbursement. The countries included France, the United States, and Canada, as well as the European Union.
Haitian elections officials have complained that October and November elections could cost US$15 million more than the original estimate of US$60 million (euro47 million).
The Caribbean bank, established in 1969, disbursed US$113 million (euro89 million) in loans last year, a 20 percent increase from 2003. It has an annual share capital of US$705 million (euro558.59 million).
Trinidad and Jamaica are the largest shareholders with 19,342 shares each, while Britain, a non-borrowing member, has 10,402 shares.
