Dear Editor,
It was reported that President Ali said 15 to 20 thousand applications were received at the Guyana Development Bank (GDB); that almost 30 per cent of applications received were for agriculture-related businesses; and that evaluations are being conducted (https://kiskadeewatch.com/guyana/development-bank-has-received-15000-20000-applications-ali/).
In examining what has transpired so far, the following is observed. First, with no one on the Board of Directors having any experience in agriculture and with no credit staff, it is puzzling to understand how agricultural loan applications will be evaluated, given that 30 percent of the applications are from the agricultural sector. Furthermore, at a time when agricultural output is decreasing and the demand for food is increasing, this failure to appointment people with the required expertise in agriculture is counterproductive to establishing food security. Incidentally, the Ministry of Agriculture has not published a list of agricultural food prices since June 26, 2025. Certainly, when food demand is increasing (for example, more people visiting and living in Guyana), and agricultural production is decreasing (Bank of Guyana Half Year Report 2026:https://bankofguyana.org.gy/bog3/images/research/Reports/HalfYear2026.pdf),), it is obvious that prices paid by consumers for agricultural goods must be increasing. Consequently, a survey at the various markets should be completed to address the demand and supply issues as well as an investigation should be undertaken to measure its impact on the cost of living.
Second, conducting onsite project appraisal examinations before a project is approved; and conducting project supervision work when the project implementation and production operations have started are critical components of the work undertaken by the credit staff, who should be managing the loan portfolio of the bank. Therefore, the question is: Will the Board of Director be responsible for doing these important tasks, given that no credit staff have been hired? The Board of Directors must make a statement on these matters.
Third, since the GDB has not published a credit policy, except to state that no collateral is required; and no interest will be charged for any loans, it is mystifying to understand what other project criteria will be considered. For example, a loan is typically some percentage of the total cost of a project, since banks typically do not finance a project 100 percent of the investment. In other words, the borrower must have some of his or her own money in the project, unless the value of collateral taken by the bank is more than the value of the loan. Therefore, the question is: Will the GDB finance 100 percent of the total project cost or will borrowers be required to finance a proportion of the project cost from their own resources? This needs to be specified.
Fourth, it was reported that persons applying for financing will be publicly identified and members of the public will be allowed to raise objections about any applicant. This is one of the most bewildering aspects of the GDB. Why must the privacy between the applicant and the BGD be made public? Can you imagine if a Mr. X do not like the applicant because of some XYZ issue and Mr. X submit an objection against the applicant, the question is: Who in the GDB will undertake this task to verify and resolve that objection? This will be an interesting side issue that can damage a lot of people. Just a reminder, project financial viability and economic development objectives must be the only criteria used in GDB decision making; and all other issues should be resolved in other public or private institutions.
Finally, the fact that no interest will be collected from the loans approved and disbursed to clients by the GDB, there will be no income, but only an expense summary and an unusually structured balance sheet for the GDB. Therefore, this GDB operation will undoubtedly present a novel accounting experience, and the Auditor General must be mandated by Parliament to set the rules and guidelines of this operation.
Sincerely,
Dr. C. Kenrick Hunte
Professor and Former Ambassador
Discussion