A senior member of the Commonwealth Secretariat has accused the US Congress of acting "grossly irresponsible'' by failing to meet its funding commitments to developing nations.

Sir Humphrey Maud, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, yesterday leveled the blast at a press conference at the Southampton Princess -- site of this week's Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting.

Saying initiatives such as the International Development Association which are designed to provide "a soft-lending window'' for poorer nations -- many of them members of the Commonwealth -- have now been called into question by the actions of the Congress.

"The Republican-dominated Congress has not been particularly sensitive...they seem to be allergic to some forms of aid and there are no strong voices for developing nations there,'' he said.

Commonwealth Finance Ministers from 53 nations -- with an eye to next week's International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington -- are expected to stake out common ground on the issue of multilateral debt relief and eligibility.

On Saturday a group of Finance Ministers are scheduled to hold a press conference at the World Bank headquarters in Washington to report on the outcome of their Bermuda meeting and to discuss proposals they intend to pursue at the IMF/World Bank gathering, said Sir Humphrey.

"We expect a broad-brush discussion of the world economic scene and as always we expect rich, well-nourished debates. Anything topical may be brought up,'' he added.

In addition to multilateral debt, the three-day conference will touch on the issue of private capital flow and development.

Ministers are expected to review and assess the implementation of the Commonwealth Private Investment Initiative, which was endorsed by Commonwealth heads of state in Auckland New Zealand, last November.

The initiative is an attempt to channel long-term commercial investments into small or medium-sized ventures in developing nations.

According to Sir Humphrey, the Africa Investment Fund -- the first of a series of regional funds under the aegis of the CPII -- has made remarkable progress.

Ministers are also expected to endorse a comprehensive strategy for combating money laundering. The Commonwealth strategy will attempt to establish guidelines for banks and other financial institutions to track money laundering and will involve regional initiatives.

American State Department officials, in a recent report in The Washington Post, have said the islands of the eastern Caribbean are re-emerging as major transit points in the narcotics trade and hundreds of millions of dollars are being laundered there in the process.

The Commonwealth has been asked by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to help raise defences in confronting the problem, said Sir Humphrey.

Opening ceremonies for the conference kick off this afternoon at the Southampton Princess' Mid Ocean Amphitheatre. Finance Minister Grant Gibbons will chair most of the plenary sessions while Commonwealth Secretary General Chief Emeka Anyaoku of Nigeria and Premier David Saul will address the delegates later.

About 250 delegates are expected to take part in the conference. The last time Bermuda hosted such a prestigious gathering was in 1980.

Sir Humphrey Maud