By Kenton X. Chance,
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CMC) — The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday night with its Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Faisal AlQahtani, saying that the fund stands ready to help the Caribbean meet its developmental agenda, including responding to climate change.
The fund was established in 1974 by a royal decree and started operation in 1975. Since then it has provided over 800 loans to finance projects in 100 countries around the world, AlQahtani told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) ahead of a gala dinner here to mark the golden anniversary.
“Let me take it from the last year only, SFD has signed about 40 loan agreements with 29 countries, and nine of those countries are Caribbean countries,” AlQahtani told CMC.
“So we take great pride in our contribution to small islands developing states, and we are expanding our operations exponentially in those countries from the feeling that we know that they are vulnerable to climate change,” he added.
AlQahtani said this has influenced the SFD’s expansion into the Caribbean and the Pacific resulting in the nine loan agreements last year.
“And this year, we signed two loan agreements, and we are planning to do more. The pipeline is quite substantial and we’re working on it in order to tackle it over the rest of this year and the beginning of the next year.”
He said the SDF finances “all types of projects” but in addition to the priorities of the borrowing country, focuses on social and transportation projects.
“We consider the priorities of the recipient countries as priorities for us. What we do, usually, we provide a development plan with our partners over the next five years in order to tackle their priorities and finance them gradually over the next five years.”
AlQahtani said that in light of the fund’s consideration of climate change, it is financing a solar plant in Belize.
“And also we extended the loan for Grenada for climate-smart structures. And the last loan that we signed earlier this year, is with St. Vincent and the Grenadines to reconstruct some of the affected buildings and facilities by the climate change and to modernise them and upgrade them to be resilient and to resist all the climate actions,” AlQahtani said.
He acknowledged that there are many development funds around the world, but said that SFD is “not competing with anyone.
“We are partnering with other institutions. At the same time, we are unique when it comes to swiftness,” he said, adding that the approval cycle varies from four to six months.
“Our teams are very swift. Once we receive the requests, we consider them. We go through the rigorous process,” AlQahtani told CMC, adding, “we make sure that we do not overburden our partners with debt that they are not capable of taking those loans”.
To avoid debt overburden, the SFD sends its technical team to assess the projects.
“We come back with a report that is presented to our board of directors, and they see it from all angles. They study it 360 and based on that, they provide their approvals, and right after the approval, we proceed with the signing.”
AlQahtani told CMC that the SFD ensures that the money is spent as intended.
“Basically, we never extend our assistance to governments. We extend it to service providers, vendors, consultants, contractors and suppliers. That’s basically the way that we implement our projects.”
He said there are periodic follow-up missions that do on-site audits, financial audits and technical audits “and based on those reports, we extend our withdrawal applications and payments to the vendors who are implementing those project”.
In his address to the dinner, chairman of the SFD board of directors, Ahmed bin Aqeel AlKhateeb, said he feels proud of the Kingdom’s achievement through the fund.
“With these achievements financing over 800 development projects and programmes in over 100 developing countries, with a total value of more than US$20 billion in different vital sectors such as education, health water, energy, water, transportation and others, it is one of our sources of pride and inspiration,” AlKhateeb told an estimated 500 guests.
He said the fund has impacted the lives of millions of people.
“We have seen these health projects funded by the fund. These projects have allowed people to get the comprehensive health care that they deserve.. The fund has contributed to funding 77 projects resulting in the establishment of 325 healthcare facilities in 45 countries with the capacity of more than 25,000 beds,” he said.
He said that these facilities have provided healthcare services to communities that had not before had the chance to receive advanced medical care.
In the transportation sector, the fund has financed airports, ports and highways amounting to 230 projects in 71 countries.
“These have had the highest impact in facilitating the commute and transportation of millions of beneficiaries between countries and regions and supporting the operations of commercial exchange,” AlKhateeb said.
In the education sector, he said that SFD has worked on enabling human capabilities and creating job opportunities in developing countries through contributing to financing 84 projects leading to the establishment of approximately 600 education facilities serving approximately one million students per year.
AlKhateeb further said that the SFD has contributed to enhancing the transfer of accumulated expertise in the Saudi private sector to other developing countries to ensure that the projects are done and implemented to the highest international standards.
The fund was established in 1974 by a royal decree. Did you know according to the bible a decree cannot be changed? Ok I hope you understand that. Another point.
So we take great pride in our contribution to small islands developing states, and we are expanding our operations exponentially in those countries from the feeling that we know that they are vulnerable to climate change,” they know that you small islands are vulnerable…I told you before that the borrower is slave to the lender. I read an article about slavery mentality among the people. This is the reason why you will never be free. You are a borrower. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia Is the lender. Do your homework, work out who is who.
They continue to say, We consider the priorities of the recipient countries as priorities for us. What we do, usually, we provide a development plan with our partners over the next five years in order to tackle their priorities and finance them gradually over the next five years.” my mother use to say, tex time kill ants and you will find him got guts.
They say, And also we extended the loan for Grenada for climate-smart structures. And the last loan that we signed earlier this year, is with St. Vincent and the Grenadines to reconstruct some of the affected buildings and facilities by the climate change and to modernise them and upgrade them to be resilient and to resist all the climate actions,” AlQahtani. Let me tell AlWahtani this, you are not born in St Vincent and the Grenadines. You have no inheritance there, somehow you acquired something by your decree and it’s only a higher decree that can overthrow your decree. St Vincent and the Grenadines is for Vincentian. I don’t know who give you all this power over me. I am speaking for myself because Vincentian is too foolish. They full of bottom education and have no common sense. You people have shut yourselves up in a battie hole and it’s when you started to rotten in Saudi filt that you will cry out to God. Don’t worry I’m waiting for the day when things really get hopeless with you….
More revenue flowing into the London banks and Trust funds.