Regional News

The former Prime Minister of Jamaica Percival Patterson says the failure of the Golding administration to respond in a timely manner to the global economic recession, was the main factor that caused Jamaica to return to the International Monetary Fund. In 1995, Patterson received much accolades when he announced that Jamaica was ending its borrowing relationship with the IMF. In the 1970s, the People’s National Party administration, then led by Michael Manley entered into a borrowing relationship with the IMF in a bid to rebound from the ravaging effects of the world oil crisis. However, the imposition of strict loan conditionalities forced successive administrations to effect cost cutting measures which had devastating social consequences, including massive public sector job losses, wage freezes, the closure of some public institutions and a significant reduction in Government spending. For many, the IMF's structural adjustment program represented an albatross around the necks of Jamaicans. However, in 2008 Jamaicans were stunned when they were informed that the Golding administration was engaged in efforts to resume a borrowing relationship with the fund. Through much public relations, the then administration sought to allay the fears of Jamaicans by suggesting that the IMF had changed its posture and was no longer a harsh institution. The following year, then Finance Minister Audley Shaw completed negotiations which resulted in a 27-month standby agreement between Jamaica and the IMF.