Reducing Debt To Achieve Growth

For Jamaica to achieve stability and sustainability, it must reduce its debt trajectory. That’s according to the Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr. Nigel Clarke while speaking at the Mayberry Investment forum recently.

He says the Government of Jamaica is on a path to achieve its Vision 2030 goal, by ensuring that growth targets are met for the economy. Adding to this, he says one means of getting this done is through reduced borrowing from external entities, including the International Monetary Fund.

“We don’t go to the fund because we don’t have money for hospitals or for roads or education. We ended up going to the IMF which is a multilateral institution because our ability to pay our external bills as they become due, that ability is compromised,” Finance and Public Service Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke explained. “So they come in , they lend money or provide a guarantee to our central bank and agree on a set of reform measures.”

The Finance minister goes further to explain that Jamaica’s Fiscal accounts are sustainable.

“We don’t have commitments that would lead over to the medium term to the budget being unable to be financed. That has not been our history,” he adds.

He believes that Jamaica now has a sustainable path in place.

KHADIJAH THOMAS