KINGSTON, Jamaica - Dr Peter Phillips must be under tremendous pressure from his Cabinet colleagues over the slide of the Jamaican dollar in relation to the greenback, now at J$100:US$1.
But Dr Phillips and the central bank governor, Mr Brian Wynter, must hold their nerve. In fact, Dr Phillips has pushed back hard, telling his colleagues to accelerate and begin to deliver on projects to stabilise the economy.
Further, it is important that the finance minister and other holders of key economic portfolios move urgently to keep private-sector leaders on board in the face of the surprisingly naive response by some to the exchange rate adjustment.