Jamaica reports successful 5th IMF Staff Review

All seems set for Jamaica to formally get the nod of approval from the Board of the Intenational Monetary Fund (IMF) for its performance, following the latest Staff Review.

The fifth Staff Review of Jamaica's performance under the four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was conducted from August 13-22.

The mission met with government officials, technical staff and a number of stakeholders in the private sector and civil society.

According to a release from the Ministry of Finance on Friday morning, the Fund staff concluded that, "despite challenges, Jamaica’s economic performance has been consistent with the programme and structural reforms are progressing.  Fiscal performance continues to support the debt reduction objective, the external accounts are improving and economic growth is continuing, accompanied by steady growth in employment."

Criteria met

Furthermore, the Finance Ministry reported that the IMF found "all quantitative fiscal and monetary performance criteria under the programme have been met for the review period and the government has also implemented all of the structural benchmarks."

The Finance Ministry said the Government and Fund staff concurred that "boosting growth requires steadfast implementation of the fiscal and other structural reforms, supported by a strong social safety net."

These reforms along with the implementation of major catalytic projects are important to boosting investor confidence, it said. 

"The Government of Jamaica is therefore committed to continuing the extensive programme of tax and public sector financial management reforms, public sector modernization, labour market reform as well as the implementation of additional measures to enhance the ease with which the private sector conducts business," according to the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry said significant progress has been made in strengthening the financial sector with the passage of the Banking Services Act. 

"With the support of the Fund, progress has also been made on the framework for reforming the non-bank financial sector. These reforms will address risks inherent in Jamaica’s highly interconnected financial system," it added.

Letter of Intent

The documentation of Jamaica’s performance, as well as "time-bound commitments" under the economic transformation programme are outlined in a Letter of Intent which is to be submitted to the Executive Board of the IMF in September 2014.

"Given the country’s strong performance to date, and continued commitment to the implementation of the programme thus far, we anticipate that the Board of the IMF will complete the fifth review under the EFF, and approve the disbursement of SDR45.95 million (about US$71.0 million) under the arrangement," the Finance Ministry's statement concluded.