KINGSTON, Jamaica – Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is unlikely to approve an extended fund facility for Jamaica by the end of March based on the schedule of the executive board.
Golding said it is “a matter of concern” that the IMF updated its executive board calendar archive on its website on February 6 and replaced Jamaica with the Philippines for the board meeting scheduled for March 29.
In any event, he noted that Friday, March 29 is Good Friday, a day that is recognized as a public holiday in Jamaica although not in Washington where the IMF head office is located, but added that the other two days in the month, March 30 and 31 will fall on weekend days “when the existing board is highly unlikely to meet.”
