The Tribune

MINISTER of State for Finance Michael Halkitis yesterday deflected concerns that the decision to accept additional funds from the Chinese government has not been approved by parliament.

Mr Halkitis explained that the agreement for an $8 million grant will be tabled in the House of Assembly before the funds are formally accessed. Mr Halkitis added that the grant was not a loan and would not have to be repaid.

“Before you formally access the loans, or do any sort of borrowing, you have to get approval from the parliament,” he said. “You can’t do no borrowing without getting approval from parliament, so what happened over the weekend is just an agreement that when these funds become available we’re going to go to access them. In order to access them of course we’re going to have to follow the law.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie met with the President of China Xi Jinping and agreed to the “new package of technical support” during his visit to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, last weekend.

The agreement was met with criticism from the official opposition, who questioned the need for further borrowing on top of the $465 million loan needed this fiscal year.

According to a press statement, projects in agriculture, education, culture, tourism and national infrastructure were outlined as suitable initiatives for the investment of the Chinese grant.

Spending criteria are to be settled in New Providence with Chinese officials, an official statement said.