GEORGETOWN, Guyana – As the year turned and Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller addressed the people of Jamaica, their main concerns seem to have been to hear from her some indication of when, and on what basis, the now prolonged discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be concluded. But this was not to be, and the government’s negotiations, led by Minister of Finance Peter Phillips, continue. Hopes had subsequently been raised that following a retreat into the weekend, some indication would be given that the Jamaican cabinet would have arrived at a definitive response the Fund’s representatives in Jamaica, but this too, seems not to be the case.
To the Jamaican people this would seem to be a continuing saga since Jamaica first confronted the IMF in Michael Manley’s second term during the 1970. The substantial fear of the population – business persons, companies and ordinary folk alike – has been the almost persistent decline in the economy as reflected in the continued devaluation of the currency since the days, in the early 1970s, when a United States dollar was worth approximately 89 Jamaican cents. Today one United States dollar is worth approximately 98 Jamaican dollars, in a context in which the government seems to be unable to stop the slide of the floating currency.