KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica, for all practical purposes, has an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It will be merely formalised by the fund's executive board at their meeting on May 1.
So, the fiscal programme being pursued by the Government for the financial year that started on April 1 is predicated on the terms of the US$958 million extended-fund facility. In that regard, the Government will face the first quarterly performance tests under the agreement at the end of June – in less than three months' time.
This fact should concentrate the minds of policymakers on mobilising the country around the programme and tough economic choices to be made. It is time to be specific.
