'A remarkable run'

“My heart is full,” said outgoing Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke after soaking up a plethora of tributes on Tuesday from lawmakers, who praised him for his sterling contribution to the legislature and the country.

Acknowledging the commendations from his parliamentary colleagues, Clarke said he appreciated his constituents, neighbours, and friends, but it was a completely different thing to be applauded by one’s peers and leader.

Clarke lifted his right hand in a final salute to those he worked with in the Lower House over the last six years and made a brisk walk from the chambers of Gordon House and bade farewell to legislators and the parliamentary staff.

But, before he departed, his colleagues on both sides of the political divide flocked him as they gave strong handshakes and mostly hugs and embraces as the man who earned the respect of many prepares to jet off to Washington, DC, where he will take up the post of deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday.

In his tribute, Edmund Bartlett, leader of government business in the House, hailed Clarke as one of the finest to have graced the halls of Gordon House.

He said Clarke has had a remarkable run for the last six years as “an outstanding member of this honourable House, an outstanding debater and advocate of the people, and an excellent minister of finance”.

Commenting on the finance minister’s ascension to the post at the IMF, Bartlett said Clarke’s latest assignment marks a pivotal chapter in the history of not only Jamaica but the Caribbean, as no one from the region had held such a high-ranking position at the IMF.

“As you turn your attention to the global financial stage, you will undoubtedly excel and become a great ambassador for the region, and you, Minister, Member, can bank on us to cheer you along,” he added.

Phillip Paulwell, leader of opposition business in the House, said Clarke served with distinction. He said while both sides have disagreed on issues, it should be noted that Clarke brought a high quality and intellectual rigour to debates in the House.

“Despite sometimes the furore inside here, we do take up the phone and we speak in very cordial terms with each other, and there has always been respect,” Paulwell said of the interactions with Clarke.

Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson said his counterpart has made a positive contribution to Jamaica’s development.

Robinson, who said he knew Clarke for nearly three decades, as they both studied in the United Kingdom, encouraged the outgoing finance minister to maintain his integrity, which has never been questioned in public life.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness applauded Clarke for significant achievements as finance minister. He said Clarke was able to increase the country’s reserves to the highest levels in decades, presided over several Budgets without increasing taxes, and decreasing the national debt, which once stood at 145 per cent of GDP, to 74 per cent of GDP.

Holness called the formulation of the Independent Fiscal Commission an important institutional legacy that Clarke leaves behind.

“It is that institution that will take our fiscal affairs substantially out of the political domain,” the prime minister said.

He applauded Clarke for issuing the first international financial instrument denominated in Jamaican dollars.

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

Holness could name Clarke's successor today.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com