Thank God for recession

The Editor, Sir:

As a Jamaican longing for some decency in the managing of our economic affairs, I wish to say a big thanks to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for forcing our hand. It seems there are some people who would want 'business as usual' for their own selfish gain, even if it means the sinking of the entire ship.

For too long this madness of continued high interest rates was allowed to run amok, even at the expense of our economy and the productive sector. Recently I read an excerpt from the Jamaica Productivity Report in The Gleaner which showed we have become less productive as a nation over the years. Maybe, with lower interest rates, we can now begin to turn this around.

People are no longer interested in producing as it is more profitable to put money in high-yielding papers and become rich doing nothing. Thank God for the recession.

The high interest rate, along with corruption and crime, has stifled the growth and potential of our country for too long. We have been foolishly borrowing money (at high interest rates) to pay civil servants and other public debt. What rubbish!!

Now that the IMF has caused us to deal seriously with our very foolish economic path, maybe they should now include some conditionality that would force us to deal seriously with the business of crime before they give us even one red cent.

I am, etc.,

VERY GRATEFUL

Jamaica