KINGSTON, Jamaica – Finance Minister Audley Shaw says he is confident that Jamaica will meet its commitments under the Stand By Agreement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) even though the Washington-based financial institution has not yet considered the third and fourth quarterly reviews of Jamaica’s performance.
“Jamaica will live up to our commitments with the IMF as this is vital for the continued stability of the Jamaican economy which was achieved at great sacrifice over the last 17 months”,” Shaw said in a statement.
Jamaica last year entered into a US$1.27 billion SBA agreement with the IMF to support the island’s plan to recover from mounting government debt, weak economic growth, and the effects of the global economic crisis.
Shaw said that the reviews have been postponed pending the resolution of certain issues including the public sector seven per cent wage settlement.
He said additional revenue needs or expenditure cuts arising from the settlement will be outlined in a Supplementary Budget to be presented to Parliament on August 31. (CMC)
