Jun 2010 Financial News

Gov't 'guardedly optimistic' Jamaica will pass second IMF test

Jun 25, 2010

THE Government has expressed confidence that the country's economy is in a good enough state to enable it to pass the second International Monetary Fund test, which comes up in roughly another week.

"We are guardedly optimistic on the basis of the recent indications we have had about the economy's turn, a turn that we have not seen. This country is looking at interest rates now that are the lowest in 28 years," Prime Minister Bruce Golding remarked on Tuesday while seeking the approval of Parliament for the extension of the State of Emergency for Kingston and St Andrew and announcing the inclusion of St Catherine.

"We are now having to respond to the pleas of the exporters and the hoteliers that we are to do something to prevent the dollar from gaining anymore," he said.

"I received my fortnightly briefing from the (finance) Minister and his team on Wednesday of last week regarding the performance of the economic programme. We have a quarterly test that will be upon us within another week and while we don't celebrate until after the results are announced I will only say to you that having received the briefing of the Minister I am awaiting the June test without any trepidation," Golding added.

The prime minister, however, noted that the country still has much ground to cover before it is out of the woods.

"We still have a long way to go because it is a long way we are coming from and when you make that turn in the road it is almost as if the journey just begins because it is a new path you are on," he said.

He noted though, that a good economic programme and meeting targets would be nothing to celebrate if crime and violence was not curbed.

"If we don't deal with this problem of violence, the level of crime that not only makes business difficult but makes life itself difficult we are not going to be able to achieve the kind of sustained growth and birth of new opportunities we want," Golding told Parliament.

At a press conference in May, Finance Minister Audley Shaw announced that Jamaica had met all nine quantitative targets for the end-March test. At the time, IMF mission chief of the Caribbean Division, Trevor Alleyne confirmed that the Government passed the test "without the need for waivers, and substantial progress was made on the structural reform agenda". He said accelerated tax administration measures and expenditure limitations were responsible for meeting the fiscal targets.


Source:
Alicia Dunkley
Jamaica Observer
Friday June 25, 2010

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Gov-t--guardedly-optimistic--Jamaica-will-pass-second-IMF-test_7739706