The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is urging the Jamaican Government to immediately address public sector governance shortcomings to spur further economic growth.
In a report following its fifth review under the stand-by arrangement for Jamaica, the IMF said achieving higher economic growth calls for action from the public and private sectors.
According to the IMF, the fiscal loosening with the reduction of the primary surplus by half of a per cent of GDP supports growth and provides the space for spending on areas such as infrastructure, school meals, and transportation.
The Fund argued that further cuts to distortionary financial taxes will support economic activity and job creation, but noted that issues including corruption must be addressed.
“This could be achieved, in part, by (i) empowering the Integrity Commission; (ii) passing regulations to solidify a transparent and competency-based process for board appointments to public bodies’ boards; (iii) migrating funds from the Government’s commercial bank accounts … and closing those accounts; and (iv) reducing the number of public bodies,” said the IMF.
“The private sector, for its part, should capitalise on these fiscal measures to increase investment, and create new opportunities for advancing financial inclusion,” added the IMF.
the emphasis should be focus more so on the govt. and public sectors as private sector is private and as such DICTATE their own objectives, because of curruption and how opaque the govt and public sectors operate from 1962 to current, the country has lost trillions of foreign dollars that is very essential to the BOJ and economic initiatives due to curruption, shuddy oversight, mismanagement, political tribalism, the lack of investment in infrastructure and technologies to implement and enforce tax laws especially real estate tax from the 1960’s to current, the country has lost trillions that could do wonders on the above mentioned and possibly could have significantly reduce the reliance on the IMF and other international financial institutions, I think its really starting to sink in now when they’re sitting on CHINA’$ eye lid, is it too little too late? don’t know, but what I know is its a good thing if there is an initiative to clean house and rid society of curruption that has infected and infested our society for decades, do it for the good of the country, people and to appease your wipping master and pun is intended for the latter!
Well done IMF. It’s about time the international community startb to observe the Jamaican government. Money is not being spent in the country. This is why the government is embracing crooked China. There is no way that these policlans can say they love their country, why else would they be selling it out?