ST GEORGE'S, Grenada: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lived up to its promises to ease the financial constraints on low income countries when the IMF Board took a decision on January 21, 2005 to lower interest rates on its natural disaster assistance loans. Now the Government of Grenada will benefit from lower interest rates it has received from the IMF. The Ministry of Finance has announced that the IMF has taken the decision to reduce the interest rate on the IMF loan to Grenada from 3 percent to 0.5 percent, effective immediately. As part of its assistance to Grenada, following Hurricane Ivan, Grenada received a loan of US$4.4 million at a rate of 3 percent . Grenada also received a similar loan in 2003 after Tropical Storm Lily. The interest rates on both loans are now 0.5 percent. The Government of Grenada is currently engaged in a debt restructuring programme in an effort to reduce the country’s debt obligation. In this regard, financial and legal advisors have been contracted and are working closely with the Ministry of Finance, according to a release from the Government of Grenada. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com