(From left) Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell of Grenada, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Prime Minister Andrew Holness. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde has singled out Grenada, St Kitts and Jamaica as exemplary countries for the region having successfully implemented reforms to bring down debt levels.
Lagarde, who was delivering in the opening address of the 2017 High-Level Caribbean Forum at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, reasoned that while many had questioned whether oversight by the IMF would be of benefit to th country, they have been proven wrong after both Governments held firm on its promise to conetinue reforms under the programme.
By 2012 Jamaica had accumulated debt equal to 145 per cent of GDP. To stabilise the economy, reduce debt and fuel growth, the Government has begun implementation of an ambitious reform programme which has garnered national and international support.
As part of a comprehensive package, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank each agreed to provide US$510 million between April 2013 and March 2017, while the International Monetary Fund committed a US$932 million funding programme through its Extended Fund Facility covering the same four-year period.
At the end of 2016, the IMF approved a three-year US$1.64 billion programme under the Stand-By Arrangement as a follow-up to the now concluded EFF.
With the institutional reforms and efforts to improve the investment climate starting to bear fruit, the country’s credit rating has improved and Jamaican bonds trade at a premium in international markets.
Total government debt fell to 121 per cent of GDP by the end of 2016. According to minister of Finance Audley Shaw that rate now stands at 115 per cent and should fall to 108 per cent by the end of the fiscal year.
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