President Bharrat Jagdeo, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh
President Bharrat Jagdeo and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh met with Inter- American Development Bank president, Luis Alberto Moreno, at IDB Headquarters in Washington DC. At the meeting, President Jagdeo acknowledged the outstanding role played by the IDB over the years in supporting Guyana’s development efforts in various sectors, a release from the Guyana government said.
Following the meeting, Minister Singh and Moreno signed a US$5 million loan agreement, titled “Sustainable Operation of the Electricity Sector and Improved Quality of Service”. This project aims to boost the efficiency of Guyana’s power system through electricity loss reduction measures, and improvements in the operation and maintenance of the distribution network. More specifically, the project will rehabilitate a portion of the distribution network and continue a series of commercial loss reduction actions, while financing capacity-building and energy conservation activities.
This new loan complements other programmes within the electricity sector that the IDB has supported, such as the US$21.2 million Unserved Areas Electrification Programme, which consolidated the structural reforms in the electricity sector and promoted rural energy development; and a current US$12 million power sector support policy-based loan aimed at promoting a more sustainable and efficient energy sector through the reduction of electricity losses; promoting institutional, legal and regulatory measures to contribute to the sustainability of those reductions; and strengthening the power utility company’s capabilities.
The president and finance minister are currently attending the board of governors’ meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. Recently, Moreno praised President Jagdeo for his valuable leadership on global topics like renewable energy and environmental preservation. The IDB president also acknowledged President Jagdeo’s vision and leadership, which have transformed the economic landscape of Guyana and the wider Latin American and Caribbean region.
