EPOC Confident In Jamaica’s Economic Recovery

EPOC Confident In Jamaica’s Economic Recovery

The Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) is expressing confidence that Jamaica will be able to bounce back from far-reaching effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.

EPOC says the island has achieved macroeconomic stability over the past seven years, which now creates a foundation to execute the recovery.

EPOC believes the current financial plan is robust enough to navigate the country to a full economic recovery despite a 22.8 % drop in revenue from international trade, production & consumption.

Chairman Keith Duncan explains why EPOC expects to see positive GDP growth in the next year and will return to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2023/2024.

The economy went into shock in April when the government implemented strict measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The fiscal deficit in April stood at $13.28B compared to $6.02B in the same period last year.

Duncan explains that going forward, greater focus must be placed on building a new economy.

Duncan says EPOC supports the phased, structured, and controlled reopening of the country as there is always a need to balance lives and livelihood.