No room for error

In his final presentation in Gordon House on Tuesday, outgoing Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke warned that there was no room for policy error as the country continues on a path of economic success.

“As much success that we have had, the path ahead does not allow for policy error, because Jamaica’s finances are so rigid and tight,” Clarke told lawmakers.

He urged the finance ministers that would succeed him not to be impressed by the many offers from the markets overseas to lend money to Jamaica.

Clarke said, by the end of the current fiscal year, the country’s debt to GDP ratio should be in the region of 68 per cent, the lowest it has been since the mid-1970s.

With a significant reduction in the country’s debt, Clarke said Jamaica should now pursue a path to change the composition of its debt from a majority US-dollar debt to Jamaican currency.

“So, though we might be at 68 per cent at the end of the [fiscal] year, we still have 60 per cent of that amount denominated in US dollars, which is a source of risk. Now, because we are in a position where we can demand what we want, my posture has been, if you want to lend me money, you come to me with Jamaican dollars. I will borrow from you,” Clarke insisted.

He reasoned that economic stability was not a panacea as it does not solve all the country’s problems. However, he noted that the country cannot solve all problems sustainably without it.

“Economic stability is not anyone’s enemy. It is the friend of every noble, social and economic objective that you want to sustain over time, but keeping it is not an inevitability,” he said.

He suggested that it was only through public investment that the country can improve its quality of life.

Giving an update on his last three tasks, Clarke said the Independent Fiscal Commission will take effect on January 1, 2025 and the governor general has already appointed commissioners to that body.

The commission will become the independent arbiter of the country’s fiscal rules.

He also announced that the request for application for an approved integrated resort development order for St James appears on Page C12 of today’s edition of The Gleaner.

Clarke also said that, as at Monday, the reverse income tax credit has 260,976 successful applications. This week, some 77,000 Jamaicans are expected to receive notification that their tax credit will be at their financial institutions or remittance agencies, he added.

Clarke’s resignation from the House, where he sat as the member of parliament for St Andrew North Western, took effect last night.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com