Audit of the activities of the Bahamian agricultural credit guarantee fund

The audit covers the period 1976-12/89. The Bahamian Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund operated for nearly 14 years, largely without A.I.D. oversight. A.I.D. did not effectively oversee the $800,000 in funds deposited for the program because management responsibility was not assigned to a specific A.I.D. unit. As a result, activities were not tracked and accumulated interest totalling at least $989,000 to be remitted to the U.S. government was inadequately accounted for. Additionally, the Government of the Bahamas (GOB), which had principal operating responsibility, did not commit the necessary resources to supervise and monitor the loan process appropriately to ensure loan repayments. Accordingly, there was minimal use of the fund in the past three years, and a substantial loan default and arrearage rate. Recently, the GOB has tried to revitalize the fund and improve loan management activities. However, considering the age of the program, the absence of A.I.D. involvement, and the extent of problem loans, termination of the fund should be considered.