Imf Agreement

[Skeng DX]

.........collapsed........

[Skeng DX]

Stand-by Agreement with IMF in trouble

A high-ranking official of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, based in Jamaica has confirmed that the country's Stand-By Agreement with the multinational Washington-based lending institution is in deep trouble.

The IMF's Senior Representative in Jamaica Dr. Gene Leon, has all but confirmed, in an exclusive interview, that the government is desperately scrambling to get the multi-billion dollar deal back on track.

The Golding administration had gone knocking on the door of the IMF to get a deal sealed for Balance of Payment support, or to put extra monies aside to pay for essential imported goods like oil.

But ever since the government sought an extension of the 2 year agreement , the issue has been mired in political controversy with the opposition charging that the government has flunked IMF tests.

Finance Minister Audley Shaw has not allowed the claim to go unchallenged and has stated in Parliament that the deal was still in tact but there were some loose ends to be tied up.

IMF's Senior Resident Representative in Jamaica, Dr. Gene Leon. said it didn't make sense going to the IMF

“Part of why it doesn’t make sense is when you go to the board to go to the board expecting that the board will approve, so its not like I go to the board and say I don’t agree with this or that…. Up to the point where we believe we can make a reasoned case to the board , that the board will approve having heard the arguments put forth” said Dr Leon in an exclusive interview with RJR News.

The forward looking component refers to the policies that the government puts forward and how and when they are implemented.

According to Dr. Leon, the quarterly review is only a small part of the process, with more emphasis on the forward looking component.

And that's primarily where the delay hinges.

By now the country should have had six IMF tests and getting ready to do the seventh of eight under the current IMF deal. The process hit a road block at the fourth quarter ending in December 2010.

Dr. Leon says the IMF is still talking with the government to see how the country will meet critical targets like debt reduction, public sector wages, pension and tax reforms among other issues.

“We don’t have a date for the fourth review in fact the forth and the fifth, because we go to the board when we believe we have a macro-economic wholistic assessment that gives the board some degree of comfort” he said.

http://rjrnewsonline.com/news/local/...nt-imf-trouble

[Mosiah]

Dr. Gene Leon is a comrade. Errbody know dat!