IMF not on cards at this time
Published:Saturday | March 28, 2020 | 12:27 AMNeville Graham/Business Reporter
Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, says a re-engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not on the cards at this time.
He says while the Government has considered all its options in responding to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica’s present condition does not warrant exercising the IMF programme option.
“We have thought about all the options and all of them are on the table but at this point in time that is not on the cards because of the position that Jamaica is in today,” Clarke told the Gleaner Editors’ Forum on Friday.
Clarke said that the IMF has many products and some are such that there can be a transfer of resources without the need for a programme or borrowing relationship.
The finance minister said that at this point, Jamaica, with $3.1 billion in net reserves and about $3.6 billion in gross reserves, has the cushion to respond.
However, he said that the Government would not rule out a return to the IMF in the future.