POND ISLAND–Finance Minister Michael Ferrier says that, as he predicted, meeting all of the international requirements for the World Bank is “taking much time” and this is slowing down the release of the bulk of the Dutch recovery aid.

He said in this week’s Council of Ministers press briefing that six months after the Netherlands generously made 550 million euros available for the country to rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Irma, “we really still can’t access the bulk of that money, neither in the form of a grant or in the form of a loan. This is really nobody’s fault. [It is – Ed.] just the nature of the beast.”

The civil servants are “doing utmost to get St. Maarten up to speed with World Bank rules and policies,” he said. “We are still a bit frustrated with regard to getting the funds released so that we can do the things that we needed to do for those people that are will in need in St. Maarten.”
Civil servants have and will continue to receive training on the World Bank’s procedures.

Discussions with the Netherlands, the World Bank and local Ministers are also continuing about the establishment of a trust fund into which the bulk of the recovery aid will be poured for the World Bank to administer. Talks about the setup of a project bureau are also ongoing.

Bron: Daily Herald