Lee Chin believes Clarke at IMF is good for Jamaica

WESTERN BUREAU:

Businessman Michael Lee- Chin, chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), has said that he believes the pending departure of Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke from the Government, to take up a job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will reposition Jamaica to greater access in the global economic space.

“It would be good for Jamaica because it gives Jamaica better access, and it showcases that we are a nation that punches way above our weight,” Lee-Chin said while fielding questions from the media in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, yesterday. “Dr Clarke is a very good representation of us in Jamaica, so it's, overall, a good thing.”

Clarke is getting ready to, at the end of October, take up his new job as deputy managing director at the Washington-based IMF. It is an appointment that has also been hailed by other leaders and economists across Latin America and the Caribbean who hope his presence will provide a significant voice for developing states in the decision-making of the major financial agency at the United Nations.

Clarke's appointment was made public two weeks ago and was quickly followed by the announcement that he would be leaving his post in Prime Minister Andrew Holness' Cabinet and as the member of parliament for the St Andrew North constituency, which he has been representing since winning a by-election in 2014.

According to Lee-Chin, who once chaired the nation’s Economic Growth Council, the Government should consider building out a management structure around the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service instead of relying on the principal minister.

Lee-Chin argued that such a structure is needed so as not to be challenged by the departure of the main architects, pointing to the scenario where people are now saying that Clarke’s pending exit from political representation and as minister of finance has left a void and a hole to be filled.

"There are a lot of indispensable people now in the grave. It is now for us to build the institution so that it's not just dependent on just one person,” said Lee Chin, in noting that Jamaica has some strong institutions from which the Government can adopt best practices.

“We in Jamaica have some strong institutions, and we can do better. Yes, and we will be better because we are learning,” the NCB chairman stated.

In the meantime, in responding to questions from The Gleaner on the financial state of the country, Lee-Chin said Jamaica needs strong economic growth.

“We need growth, and we need to get back to start thinking about growth,” he said, pointing out that economic growth will come from creating an environment that enables and facilitates growth.

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has reported that the economy remained relatively flat, with an estimated growth of 0.1 per cent during the April to June 2024 quarter. It is also forecasting that the economy will decline in the July to September quarter from a range of negative 1.0 to 0.1 per cent, at best, due to the damage caused by Hurricane Beryl.

Lee-Chin was in Westmoreland to take part in an NCB customer blitz series aimed at strengthening the financial group's relationship with its customers by providing them an opportunity to directly interact with its chairman and senior executives.

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