The Grenadian parliament has approved a measure that will allow the Tillman Thomas-led administration to borrow EC$20 million (US$7.5 million) from local commercial banks as part of a plan to stimulate the economy. Finance Minister Nazim Burke told the House of Representatives during a special sitting that the money would be injected into key sectors of the economy, and would also provide counterpart funding for donor-sponsored projects. Counterpart funding "It must be applied to assist the farmers, road workers, small businesses, young people, dialysis treatment for patients and for many other economic and social activities," he said. "Some of the donor projects need counterpart funding to be unlocked and we are going to use some of the money to unlock these projects," he added. Grenada, like other Caribbean countries, has started to feel the effects of the global economic crisis. The finance minister said the government had negotiated a special plan to repay the loan, adding that the taxes which the banks were required to pay in the normal course would serve to reduce the government's debt to the financial institutions. But opposition parliamentarians refused to support the initiative. Opposition Leader Dr Keith Mitchell described the plan as unrealistic. He also maintained that, unless the money borrowed was used to benefit Grenada's poor and most vulnerable, the parlia-mentary opposition would not support the borrowing. "I would like to see the government use some of that money for dialysis treatment," he said. The development comes eight months after the Thomas government took over the administration of the country following last July's general election. Reprinted from: jamaica-gleaner.com