William Mahfood, chairman of Wisynco, poses with his preferred flagship brand — Wata. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

Continual devaluation of the Jamaican dollar against hard currencies such as the US dollar hurts Jamaican exports and impoverishes the people, according to William Mahfood, former president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and chairman of Wisynco, a manufacturing and distribution company.

The effect of monetary policy, particularly regarding the Jamaican and US dollar, contributes to “continuous devaluation”, Mahfood said in an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer last week, shortly after the end of his term in office.

There is a “need to remove hurdles to create parity in the two currencies”, Mahfood said.

“Every time the dollar moves in an economy like ours where there is no growth, all you do is impoverish the people,” he explained. “That goes to pension fund regulations and investment-grade assets.”

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Devaluation-hurts-manufacturing-and-impoverishes-the-people—Mahfood_72544