KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Bank of Jamaica posted on its website February 15 an IMF press release with the caption, 'IMF and Jamaica authorities reach staff-level agreement on key elements of the EFF-Supported programme'. This is the first of two steps in the approval process; the other is approval by the IMF board that should take place by the end of March. This means that Jamaica will be able to draw down U$750m, 175 per cent of the amount to which it is entitled. It also means that Jamaica will be able to receive loans and grants from other multilateral and bilateral sources. That is, however, as good as it gets. What this loans means is that Jamaica will be able to kick the can down the road. It does not mean that, as a nation, we will fundamentally break with the cycle of poverty, low rates of economic growth, and indebtedness that has been our lot for more than three decades.
