“At the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) meeting in Paris this week, the UK Government presented a strong and powerful case for a change to the international rules governing which countries are eligible to receive Official Development Assistance (ODA).
“The UK argued that these rules should be varied in times of severe calamity – such as that brought by Hurricane Irma – for countries which, while no longer eligible on strict wealth criteria, have a clear need for assistance, at least on a temporary basis, while they recover.
“The DAC found the UK’s argument persuasive and has agreed to start a process to review its rules and arrangements in such circumstances. This is good news for the future, but for the moment at least hasn’t changed the DAC’s position regarding Anguilla’s eligibility for ODA following Irma.
“Myself and the Chief Minister are, however, continuing to talk with the UK about non-ODA classified support, in addition to the help already provided by the UK in recent weeks.”
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
