KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says “contingency discussions” involving various international financial institutions have held up its programme for approval by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips told legislators that the discussions involve the IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank “regarding the extent of the commitment from each institution to support the IMF programme”. Last month, the IMF said it had reached a “staff-level agreement” with Jamaica on the key elements of an economic programme that can be supported by US$750 million four year arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).