The International Monetary Fund said yesterday that it would recommend to the institution's executive board that Jamaica receive a financing facility of US$958 million in a four-year arrangement.In a statement yesterday, the IMF said its executive board would consider approving the Extended Fund Facility at a meeting by the end of April.
The IMF said it welcomedthe progress that Jamaica had made in the implementation of the programme, including the efforts to complete mandated prior actions. In February, Jamaica launched a debt-exchange programme to satisfy conditions to forge the new pact with the IMF and halt what the prime minister described as an economic crisis.
According to the IMF: "The success of this programme crucially depends on full and timely policy implementation by Jamaica of a coordinated set of reforms, to strengthen the public finances, restore debt sustainability, enhance growth, and bolster the resilience of the financial sector.Overall, Jamaica's debt is over 140 per cent of gross domestic product. Roughly 55 per cent of government spending goes to paying it.