KINGSTON, Jamaica — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, which ended its review of Jamaica’s performance under the current Stand-by Agreement yesterday, has warned that reform of the public sector cannot be delayed any longer.

The team said that there was broad agreement on the need to accelerate the public sector’s wage negotiations, and that further delays pose significant risks and uncertainty to the Government’s fiscal accounts.

Team leader, Uma Ramakrishnan, told a briefing at Jamaica House this evening that it was also acknowledged that wage negotiations should be anchored on a forward-looking medium-term compensation framework, to sustainably reduce the wage bill and release resources for the much needed social and growth-enhancing spending.

“Going forward, it is important to rethink the extensive and inequitable system of allowances and the overall pay structure in the public sector,” she said.

“More fundamentally, reforms to a large and inefficient public sector cannot be delayed any further. Achieving greater efficiency requires a scale back of the roles, responsibilities, and overall size of the public sector. Strengthening the procurement process would also ensure a timely execution of capital projects,” the IMF representatives said.

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